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https://longbeachstate.com/sports/mens-volleyball/stats/2023/grand-canyon/boxscore/8247
By Cindy Luis
FAIRFAX, Va. >> In the end, it came down to experience in the postseason. Not just the conference tournament but THE NCAA tournament.
Both Long Beach State and Grand Canyon had been eliminated in their respective conference semifinals — Beach in the Big West, the Lopes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
But this was different.
This was the NCAA tournament where elimination was permanent and final for 2023.
In the end … and at the end of 125 minutes … Long Beach State more that showed the having been here before was crucial. Beach, in its 13th NCAA appearance — sixth in the past seven tourneys — came up big when it counted the most, being just a little better on the little plays.
And no one came up bigger, especially on the big plays, than junior Simon Towrie. The 6-foot-10 middle had 10 kills with no errors on 11 swings, hitting a career-best .909, and was in on eight of the team’s 10.5 blocks as Long Beach State turned back Grand Canyon, 22-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-23 at EagleBank Arena.
Beach (21-4) advances to Thursday’s first semifinal against top-seeded UCLA, the Bruins (29-2) having a bye into the semifinal. On the other side of the bracket, second-seeded Hawai’i (28-2), the two-time defending national champion, has a bye into Thursday’s second semifinal and awaits the winner of Tuesday’s second match between Penn State (26-3) and Ohio State (23-9).
Grand Canyon finishes the year 23-7 after making history with the program’s first ever NCAA appearance. It was a hump that Grand Canyon had been trying to get over since the program started in 2009.
“Now we have a new hump,” said GCU junior hitter Jackson Hickman, who put down 13 kills. “We have an expectation now. There is where we should be.
“It’s an expectation, not a discussion.”
Having to deal with the presence that is Towrie will be quite the top of discussion for GCU.
“He’s big, really big,” added Lopes’ junior hitter Camden Gianni, finishing with a match-high 18 kills.
Towrie’s final kill put him back on the service line with Beach leading 22-21. When he left after his second ace, Long Beach State had match point at 24-22.
Senior hitter Christian Janke’s 10th kill pulled the Lopes to 24-23, forcing a Beach timeout. Sophomore hitter Sotiris Siapanis, who sat out Set 1 after an illness this week, looked just fine when finishing it off with his 12th kill.
“Win and advance,” Beach coach Alan Knipe said. “Now we have a day off to prep for UCLA.”
It’s a rematch of the 2018 national championship won by Long Beach State over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. This season, the Bruins defeated Beach twice on consecutive nights, 3-0 at Pauley Pavilion and 3-1 at the Walter Pyramid.
Asked how different his team is from when they last saw UCLA in February, Towrie said, “We’re learning to play together. Playing together and having fun.”
Junior libero Mason Briggs finished with 13 digs for Beach. Senior hitter Spencer Olivier added a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs.
The Big West has won the past four NCAA titles, Beach in 2018-19 and Hawai’i 2021-22. In 2019, Beach defeated UH and in 2022 the Warriors defeated Beach.