The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2023-24 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
The juggernaut keeps rolling. Long Beach State men’s volleyball, the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation, improved to a perfect 16-0 on the season Friday night at home in the Walter Pyramid. Flexing the depth of their program, the Beach picked up a seventh-straight sweep with a quick 90-minute brooming of EIVA opponent Sacred Heart, 25-17, 25-16, 25-20.
The Beach (16-0) will return to the Pyramid next week for a pair of matches, hosting CSUN on Friday at 7pm and Princeton Saturday at 7pm.
“Connor Bloom and Alex Kandev, we flexed our depth tonight,” said associate head coach Nick MacRae. “You don’t always see these guys on the court, but they’re putting in the consistent work day in and day out.”
The Beach rested several starters in the nonconference match, as they prepare to get into the heat of the Big West schedule. The Beach swept CSUN on the road Wednesday, making light work of the No. 7 Matadors in their own gym.
Against Sacred Heart, the Beach hit .405 and held their opponent to .284. Star freshman setter Moni Nikolov, as usual, had a large contingent of fans there supporting him, sticking around after to try and get autographs and pictures. He was excellent as usual, with 24 assists (the Beach hit .462 on his sets), two aces, six digs, two blocks, and four kills. As evidence that the Beach was cruising, Nikolov was set on the last three points of the match by backup setter Ryan Peluso, putting down a big kill to a loud ovation.
The Beach’s depth pieces looked strong against Sacred Heart. Stalwart Skyler Varga had 12 kills but Alex Kandev got a start and performed with nine kills on .500 hitting, five aces, seven digs, and two blocks. Kandev hails from Sofia, Bulgaria, a volleyball-crazed town in a volleyball-crazed country, and a notable one for Long Beach State fans–former National Player of the Year Alex Nikolov hails from Sofia as does current team leader Moni Nikolov.
“They absolutely bleed black and gold in Bulgaria,” MacRae cracked.
Connor Bloom had six kills on .429 hitting as well. The Beach had 12 aces to just one from Sacred Heart. While the ace number isn’t how the Beach’s coaching staff evaluates its serving performances, there is an acknowledgement this year that the 2025 group is a special group at the end line. Kandev coming in and putting up five aces is evidence of the team’s depth in service.
“Every single one of our guys can bring repeatable heat from the end line, that’s not a common thing,” said MacRae. “All six guys on the court and our serving subs. Normally you have two or three big time punch, heat guys and two or three more pace and direction guys…right now our entire team, our weaponry of arms from the end line is big time. This is a special time to watch Long Beach State volleyball from the service line.”
The special times for the Beach aren’t just happening on the court. While the team is rolling through their schedule inside the Pyramid, life is still happening outside of it too. MacRae’s wife Ashley just gave birth to the couple’s third child, as baby Maeve recently joined five year-old Reese and three year-old Nyles in the growing family’s ranks.
