The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2025-26 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
Coming off a three-set loss to Oregon the night before, Long Beach State found itself in another hole after dropping the first set to San Diego State on Saturday night.
Needing a response, the Beach found its rhythm in the second set, hitting a match-best .270 to even things up before carrying that momentum into the third where they never trailed. Long Beach State held firm down the stretch to beat San Diego State in the Walter Pyramid, 19-25, 25-23, 25-11, 25-21.
“I think there was a lot of accountability taken on our side when that first set got dropped,” said LBSU coach Natalie Reagan. “To see this team say ‘no more’ is one thing, but to be able to live it is another. That was something we’ve talked a lot about this weekend is taking action in those moments and being able to be aggressive.”
Madi Maxwell racked up a match-high 32 assists while adding 10 digs. Logan King finished the night with a team-high 11 kills on .172 hitting while Rhiann Sheffie had eight kills on a match-high .500 hitting. Elise Agi added six kills and 12 digs.
After being out-blocked 10-5 by Oregon on Friday, Long Beach State responded with a dominant effort at the net against San Diego State. Nieko Thomas led the way as the Beach posted a 14-5 blocking advantage, finishing with two solo blocks and six assists. Sheffie added four block assists, and the duo combined for 14 kills down the middle.
“We talk a lot about our standard and this was our standard,” Reagan said of LBSU’s middles. “I think blocking wise we did a great job tonight. We just have to execute it more. We’re capable of it and we see it everyday in practice but it’s just a matter of not getting caught up on the wrong things when we’re watching our opponent and making sure our hands are in the right spot.”
Long Beach State led for the entire first set and had its biggest lead after a Thomas block made it 16-13. Zara Stewart then led the Aztecs on an 8-0 service run to give them a lead they’d hold on to. The run was a part of a 12-3 finish for San Diego to take the opening set.
The Beach hit their match-high .270 in the second, in a set that saw eight ties and two lead changes. LBSU had 15 kills in the set, including four from King and three from Agi. Maxwell put down two dumps and had 12 of her assists in the frame while connecting with five different hitters.
“We talk a lot about distribution with Natalie and Mike [Ma] and using all of our hitters,” Maxwell said. “Theres not one position on the court that’s better than any other hitters on the court and I trust literally anyone to go up and take a huge rip or swing.”
Long Beach State opened the third set on a 6-0 run thanks to a service run by Sidney Hamaker, who finished the night with a match-high four aces. The Beach closed the set on a 9-1 run in a lopsided 25-11 third set.
Hamaker scattered two of her aces across another 6-0 service run in the fourth set. San Diego rallied back with a 6-0 run of its own near the end of the set, before a dump on the final point of the match by Maxwell.
Ella Schabort and Campbell Hague led the Aztecs with 12 kills each while Mila Gehlen chipped in seven. Kendall Mairs had 22 assists while Zara Stewart had a match-high 14 digs.
LBSU has multiple other back-to-back games on their schedule, and recently came home from three back-to-back games in Northern California. The Beach will be on the road for the next two weeks, including three consecutive games in Wyoming on Sept. 18-20. They’ll return to the Walter Pyramid against Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 27.
“The back-to-backs are hard because we have to show up from [point] one to 25,” Reagan said. “That’s for the first match and for the last match. I don’t think there’s much excuse there from us and we have lapses. Like any team there’s some waves and momentum in that, but we have to shorten those.”
