No. 1 UCLA men’s volleyball (8-0, 2-0 MPSF) will face No. 2 Long Beach State (8-0) in front of a sold-out crowd at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California. Both squads are undefeated heading into Friday evening’s matchup – a rematch of the 2025 NCAA championship affair, in which the Beach swept the Bruins. Daily Bruin Sports staff writer Chloe Agas provides a scouting report on the upcoming match.
Long Beach State
Coach: Nick MacRae
Starting lineup: MB Ben Braun, OH Skyler Varga, OPP Daniil Hershtynovich, L Kellen Larson, OH Alex Kandev, S Jake Pazanti, MB Jackson Cyst
Strength: Action at the net
Weakness: Service errors
X-Factor: MB Ben Braun
Making waves
Ending the 2025 season with a 239-51 record since 2015 and a national title for the first time since 2019, Long Beach State continues to establish itself as a men’s volleyball powerhouse.
Although MacRae’s squad experienced major departures such as setter Moni Nikolov – who boasted a .398 hitting percentage last season – the Beach has continued to cement its on-the-court presence.
Across eight matches, Long Beach State averages 12.65 kills per set on a .407 attack percentage – more than double its opponents’ .175 clip – alongside a .906 assist-to-kill conversion rate.
But the offense is just one part of the equation.
The Beach have also racked up 74 blocks and 217 digs in comparison to their opponents’ 27 and 198, respectively.
Balanced offense and defense have fueled the Beach’s early and undefeated success.
Diving in
Every rally begins with a defensive move.
The Beach posted 800 digs last season. Nikolov, outside hitter Skyler Varga and libero Kellen Larson tallied nearly half of them.
For the Beach this season, that first touch has come from its best defender, who brings international experience.
Larson has racked up 51 digs across eight matches, averaging 1.96 digs per set with only two reception errors. The sophomore recorded 10 digs in both matches of a back-to-back opening slate against Lindenwood and McKendree.
Alongside Larson, Varga adds versatility. The opposite hitter ranks second on the team with 43 digs, averaging 1.72 per set. Varga accumulated 112 digs – second to Nikolov’s 168 – averaging 1.13 digs per set, with only 18 reception errors across 99 sets last season.
Getting past the Beach’s defense won’t be easy.
The iron wall
The Beach’s tallest pillar stands at 6-foot-11.
Middle blocker Ben Braun has posted 26 blocks, good for 1.13 per set, this season. During the 2025 season, Braun posted 77 blocks and averaged 1.24 per set across 62 frames played. Braun also earned the Big West Defensive Player of the Week title Jan. 19, after recording 13 combined blocks against Central State, George Mason and Ohio State from the week of Jan. 11 to Jan. 17. The Rancho Mirage, California, local also notched 86 kills on a .571 clip last season.
But Braun isn’t the only force at the net.
The Beach welcomed a new pillar to its front line this year.
Middle blocker Jackson Cryst dominated the high school volleyball scene before heading to Long Beach, capturing multiple CIF State championships, and he was a Fab 50 selection in the class of 2025 by Volleyball Magazine. Cryst currently leads the team with 35 blocks in his inaugural collegiate season.
Alongside Braun and Cryst, opposite Daniil Hershtynovich has tallied 17 blocks this season. The Toronto, Canada, local provides another two-way force at the net, accumulating 57 blocks across 77 sets, alongside 245 kills – the team’s second most – on a .354 clip last season.
Facing a wall constructed of old and new pieces, the Bruins will need to find a way to break through it.
From the conductor’s podium
An orchestra can not function without a conductor.
Eight matches into the season, Long Beach’s hitters have accumulated 329 kills across 26 sets on a .407 collective clip.
But no offensive rhythm is possible without a steady hand to guide it.
With Nikolov departing from the Beach to go professional, MacRae has leaned on another young piece to complete his puzzle.
Setter Jake Pazanti is the core of the Beach’s offense and has recorded 236 assists, averaging 9.83 per set. Pazanti has also stepped up on the attack, tallying 17 kills across 24 sets at a .464 clip.
The Bruins will need to decipher Pazanti’s fingertips to disrupt the Beach’s offensive rhythm.
What’s at stake
This isn’t either team’s first rodeo.
Both forces have dethroned each other time and time again, building formidable programs that consistently perform on collegiate volleyball’s biggest stages.
The Bruins and the Beach are not just playing among the nation’s best.
They are the best.
As the two powerhouses duel under the Friday night lights, one question remains.
Who will rise to the top?
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