Long Beach State outside hitter Alex Nikolov, right, hits over UCLA setter Miles Partain (24) and middle blocker Guy Genis during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA outside hitter Alex Knight (12) hits over Long Beach State setter Adian Knipe (5) and middle blocker Grant Marocchi, right, during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA players celebrate a point against Long Beach State during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State middle blocker Shane Holdaway, top center, hits against UCLA during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA outside hitter Ethan Champlin serves to Long Beach State during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State outside hitter Alex Nikolov, top, blocks against UCLA setter Miles Partain during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA outside hitter Ethan Champlin hits against Long Beach State during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA players celebrate after winning the first set over Long Beach State during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State outside hitter Clarke Godbold spikes the ball over UCLA outside hitter Ethan Champlin during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA outside hitter Ethan Champlin serves against Long Beach State during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State middle blocker Grant Marocchi, top, spikes the ball against UCLA during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA opposite Kevin Kobrine (8) has his shot blocked by a group of Long Beach State defenders during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA players celebrate a point against Long Beach State during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State libero Mason Briggs digs a serve during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal against UCLA on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA middle blocker Merrick McHenry hits against Long Beach State during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State outside hitter Alex Nikolov, top, hits over UCLA outside hitter Ethan Champlin during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State middle blocker Shane Holdaway serves to UCLA during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State outside hitter Alex Nikolov, top, center, hits against UCLA during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA outside hitter Ethan Champlin hits against Long Beach State outside hitter Clarke Godbold (12), middle blocker Grant Marocchi, center, and outside hitter Spencer Oliver during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State outside hitter Spencer Oliver, right, hits over UCLA setter Miles Partain during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA players celebrate a point against Long Beach State during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA middle blocker Merrick McHenry (13) reaches back for the ball during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal against Long Beach State on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State libero Mason Briggs, right, digs a serve during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal against UCLA on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
UCLA outside hitter Alex Knight hits against Long Beach State during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State coach Alan Knipe talks to the team during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal against UCLA on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. Top-seeded LBSU rallied to win, 18-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-10, 16-14, and will play in the national championship match on Saturday at 5 p.m. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State setter Adian Knipe sets the ball during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal against UCLA on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State outside hitter Spencer Oliver (31) hits against UCLA during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State opposite Simon Torwie celebrates a point against UCLA during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State outside hitter Alex Nikolov (23) and libero Mason Briggs, left, celebrate a point against UCLA during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. Top-seeded LBSU rallied to win, 18-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-10, 16-14, and will play in the national championship match on Saturday at 5 p.m. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State libero Mason Briggs and his teammates celebrate a point over UCLA during their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. Top-seeded LBSU rallied to win, 18-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-10, 16-14, and will play in the national championship match on Saturday at 5 p.m. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Long Beach State middle blocker Shane Holdaway, top, celebrates with opposite hitter Simon Torwie (11) after they rallied to defeat UCLA in an NCAA semifinal match on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. Top-seeded LBSU rallied to win, 18-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-10, 16-14, and will play in the national championship match on Saturday at 5 p.m. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Students listen to the national anthem before the NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal between UCLA and Long Beach State on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Students listen to the national anthem before the NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal between UCLA and Long Beach State on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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LOS ANGELES — Four years ago to the day, Long Beach State won a national championship by defeating UCLA on its home court in a five-set nailbiter.
Four years later, LBSU delivered another devastating postseason blow to its regional rival in five sets – on the same court at Pauley Pavilion. This time, it resulted in a berth in the national title match.
And it also came in comeback fashion.
After losing the first two sets (both by scores of 25-18), top-seeded Long Beach roared back to win the last three – 25-15, 25-10 and 16-14 – on Thursday night to advance to the title match, where it will attempt to win its third title in five years on Saturday against Big West Conference rival Hawaii (26-5), which rallied to defeat No. 2 seed Ball State, 28-26, 19-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-11.
“They got pressure on us early, we got pressure on them late – and then it was just a race to 15,” LBSU coach Alan Knipe said.
The fifth set, unlike the first two, came down to the wire with neither team holding more than a two-point lead. With the score even at 14-14, star freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov delivered a kill to set up match point, and then Simon Torwie’s ace sealed the win for Long Beach (21-5).
Long Beach State comes back to win in the fifth set, 16-14, in an incredible comeback after losing the first two sets to UCLA to advance to the national championship.
They will play the winner of Ball State-Hawaii on Saturday @InsideSoCalSpts pic.twitter.com/I81ZmuK7og
— Eric He (@erichejourno) May 6, 2022
Nikolov, fresh off becoming the first freshman ever voted the National Player of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, paced Long Beach with 20 kills, six digs, three assists, two blocks and a .405 hitting percentage.
“In the fifth set, after a certain point – after seven or eight points – you have to go for it,” Nikolov said. “You have to rely on your training and hit the ball as hard as you can, get high and get points.”
UCLA (22-5) cruised to a first set win, outhitting LBSU .400 to .176 and never trailing after Long Beach recorded the first point. The second set, too, was all Bruins.
But something flipped for Long Beach in the third set. It reeled off four of the first five points and didn’t let up. The serves got more aggressive. The kills were sharper.
LBSU led by as many as 10 in the third set and closed it out with consecutive kills from Nikolov and Spencer Olivier. The fourth set consisted of much of the same.
Down 2-0 and staring at elimination, Knipe told his team to stop worrying about their position in the match, and just focus on being present for each point.
“We needed to be a little more freed up and unlocked, and trust what we do the whole time,” Knipe said to his team.
Olivier, who struggled early in the match but ended up with nine kills – including several crucial kills in the comeback – got the message.
“Right after the second set, we were like, ‘It’s do or die at this point,’” Olivier said. “We’ll have to outwork them. And the difference for me at least, was just raw emotion.”
The two programs met for the 98th time on Thursday in a series that dates to 1970, when UCLA swept Long Beach State to win the national title – which LBSU got revenge for 48 years later.
Before Thursday’s semifinal, UCLA coach John Speraw referred to Long Beach as a rival and pointed to the competition as a sign of the growth of men’s volleyball.
In 2018, when the two teams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 and faced off against each other in a regular-season match at the Walter Pyramid, Speraw recalled his wife telling him that people were scalping tickets outside.
“When you’re scalping tickets in the parking lot of a men’s volleyball match, we’re going in the right direction,” Speraw said.
Despite being among the top teams in the country all season, both UCLA and Long Beach needed at-large bids to make it to the NCAA Tournament after failing to win their respective conference tournaments – though LBSU still managed to earn the top seed and one of the two byes into the semifinals.
UCLA defeated Pepperdine in four sets in a quarterfinal on Tuesday night. The Bruins had entered Thursday night a perfect 11-0 in semifinal matches at Pauley Pavilion.
Ethan Champlin (13 kills) and Alex Knight (10 kills) paced the UCLA attack.
“We had a great season,” Speraw said. “Proud of the guys. Proud of the fifth set. It’s not easy to get smashed. Our energy wasn’t in a great place. We turned it around, played a good fifth set. So, I’m proud of them for that. Proud of the whole year.”
Knipe is seeking to lead LBSU to its third championship in the last five years after back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. The 2020 season was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, then Hawaii won the 2021 title.
LBSU has reached the final for the ninth time. In his 19th year as coach, Knipe is the only person to be a part of all three of LBSU’s national titles – he played on the 1991 team that brought Long Beach its first championship and started coaching in 2001.
“We’re really excited to play on Saturday night,” said Knipe, whose team defeated Hawaii twice during the regular season (both at LBSU) but was swept by the reigning national champs in three tight sets in the Big West title match in Honolulu. “We’ll get some rest and get something to eat and get prepped to play for a title.”
