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 has a lot to be thankful for this holiday season. The Beach had stacked up a couple of convincing wins heading into the Big West Tournament, which they’ll have the pleasure of hosting in the newly named LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid.
The Beach took advantage of their home-court advantage against UC Irvine in the first round on Wednesday night, sweeping the Anteaters for the third time this season with a 25–18, 25–20, 26–24 win.
“Being at home is huge, to be able to play in front of our community, and I thought the team played really well today,” said LBSU coach Natalie Reagan. “It’s always tough going against a team that’s good and talented, and UCI has had their share of adversity this year and they’ve done a great job to come back and battle. We talked a lot about showing up against this team and making sure we don’t overlook them, and our team did a great job of that.”
The Beach won the first two sets comfortably, but were met with a tough response from UC Irvine after leading midway through the third set. The Anteaters chipped away at the lead with seven consecutive points and even came back to take an 18–17 advantage.
Looking for a response, LBSU leaned on their pin hitters, senior Elise Agi and redshirt freshman Logan King, who had seven kills each in the set to help the Beach rally and take it in extra points. King finished the night with 11 kills on a game-high .435 hitting percentage, while Agi led the match with 12 kills while hitting .250.
“I think just being in so many situations like that before, I get really excited when I have those pressure moments,” said the senior Agi. “I told them I was going to be ripping balls and I know everyone has my back with that. This is what I love to do, and it’s just leaning on my team and staying aggressive.”
For King, the performance doesn’t come as a surprise for a player who’s averaged over 13 kills per match during her freshman campaign. Wednesday night’s showing came just after the release of the All–Big West awards, where UC Santa Barbara’s Gabi Martinez won Freshman of the Year despite King earning Freshman of the Week honors in seven of the conference’s 14 weeks.
“I’m always going to push myself as hard as I can, and maybe if I didn’t do enough to get that accolade, then that just means more work on my end,” King said. “I’m just excited to keep pushing in the Big West with the girls and try to win it.”
“Martinez is a great player and this is nothing against her, but we really missed out on not getting Logan King Freshman of the Year,” Reagan added. “With the stat lines she has and the way she’s carried the team at times, I really feel like that was a missed opportunity.”
Wednesday was also another big night for fellow senior Rhiann Sheffie, who had 10 kills on .208 hitting while getting in on a team-high three blocks. The performance marks her fourth match with double-digit kills in the Beach’s last five, a mark she had reached only three other times this season.
LBSU dominated the first two sets, hitting .162 in the opener while holding UC Irvine to -.051. The Beach used runs of five and six points in the first set and led by as much as 10. Similarly, they went on a six-point run midway through the second set to take a comfortable lead.
The win marks the Beach’s 11th straight home victory this season, dating back to September. LBSU will be back in the Pyramid after Thanksgiving on Friday to take on Cal Poly in the semifinals at 6 pm.
“Cal Poly is a great team and their offense is hard to stop,” Reagan said. “It really comes down to the serve and pass battle that triggers the game so much. So being able to take care of the ball on that side of it is really important.”
