The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2025-26 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team rebounded from its season-opening loss to Stanford on Sunday afternoon, dominating visiting Oregon State at the Walter Pyramid for its first win of the season. The Beach won 25-17, 25-22, 25-16.
“We talked a lot about the response after the match against Stanford,” said second-year LBSU coach Natalie Reagan. “[We talked about] treating every team the same and making sure that we hold our standard regardless of the team that’s on the other side and I’m really proud of this group because I feel that we did just that.”
Logan King led all attackers with 17 kills, while Madi Maxwell spread the ball to six hitters with multiple kills and tallied 34 assists in her first win as a full-time setter. The 2024 Big West All-Freshman Team honoree played opposite last year and has taken over setting duties this season in place of UCLA transfer Zayna Meyer.
“After Friday, we talked a lot about spreading the ball around because every hitter in our offense is capable of getting a kill,” said Maxwell, who also recorded seven kills of her own on .778 hitting. “Everyone was just doing what they needed to do and when they weren’t getting the ball they were selling it so I think it all just gelled together really well.”
The Beach were down early in the first set before taking a 6-5 lead, and never trailed for the rest of the set. Maxwell spread the ball around to Elise Agi and Anabel Kotzakov who each had four kills in the set, while Maxwell had three with an efficient 1.00 hitting percentage. The Beach combined to hit a match-high .452 in the set with just three errors.
King started to find her rhythm at opposite as the match progressed and recorded nine of her match-high 17 kills in the second set. She hit .419 on the evening and helped LBSU battle through a much closer second frame, capping it with a set-point kill to give the Beach a two-set lead.
“I think it’s just being with these girls. Our team gels so well and I just feed off of them,” King said of finding her momentum. “We got really hyped towards the end and even the bench was going crazy. Without them I don’t know how I would get that energy but I have it now because of them.”
The redshirt freshman spent her summer playing for her home country on Canada’s women’s U21 National Team and in the FIVB U21 World Championship. King recorded 88 kills at the World Championships this past August and spoke about transitioning from overseas play to her first year of college volleyball.
“Playing with team Canada is always an honor and this summer was a big opportunity for me being able to play in two tournaments,” King said. “The coaching staff there is just amazing and even though it’s been a big adjustment coming back here I think we’ve done a really good job gelling together and starting off the season strong.”
The Beach trailed on the opening point of the third set before a 7-0 run gave them the lead for the rest of the match. King added six kills in the set in which the Beach hit .370 and finished on a 9-3 run to secure the win.
Alongside King’s 17 kills, Agi and Kotzakov each chipped in nine. Maxwell had seven kills and 34 assists, while Nieko Thomas finished with a match-high five block assists.
The Beach will have a quick turnaround before its next match against UCLA on Monday at the Pyramid, a reunion with former Beach setter Meyer. Meyer ranks No. 4 all-time in career assists at Long Beach State and became the sixth player to surpass 3,000 assists in three seasons at the Beach.
“We’re really excited to welcome Zayna back into the gym,” Reagan said. “It’s going to be pretty special to have her back here, but we need to lock into our side and make sure we can handle what we can control. So it’s just playing up to our standard and playing Long Beach volleyball regardless of who’s across from the net.”
“When I first got here I didn’t get to set but I learned a lot from her,” added Maxwell. “A lot of my setting comes from her and I learned a lot from her so it’s really exciting to get to play against someone that I learned from. She’s such a special human to be around so I think we’re all really excited to see her.”
