The No. 9 Long Beach State men’s volleyball team will look to senior libero Ryan Windisch to have another career night as it heads to No. 5 Brigham Young for two matchups.
The 49ers (8-4, 5-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) will travel to Utah without their head coach Alan Knipe, who is out with personal health issues. Although it has been difficult for the team missing its leader, assistant coach Tyler Hildebrand said everyone is handling it well and the team is looking forward to welcoming back coach Knipe in a few weeks.
“Coach Knipe is Long Beach State volleyball,” Hildebrand said. “Alan has been great with communication…and it has been seamless other than missing the big guy.”
The 49ers split the overall series last season with each team winning on its home court. The Cougars (9-3, 8-2) will have the advantage of playing at home as they are 6-0 at Smith Fieldhouse. Hildebrand said BYU is always a tough team at home and has some of the best crowd attendance in the nation.
“[BYU] plays with a lot of emotion,” Hildebrand said. “They are hard to stop when [they are] playing good volleyball.”
In the overall series between the 49ers and the Cougars, BYU holds the edge with a 27-21 record and a 15-7 record at home against LBSU. Sophomore setter Curtis Stallings said that the team has to be in the right state of mind for the game and focus on not getting too hyped up.
“The mindset is just going in knowing that if we can execute and handle the situation that we can come out with a win,” Stallings said.
The 49ers are coming off of their sixth sweep of the season on Feb. 13 when they defeated No. 14 Cal State Northridge in a dominant performance. Windisch led the defensive effort for The Beach with a career high of 18 digs, his seventh double-figure dig performance this season.
Stallings directed the offense with 33 assists helping junior opposite hitter John La Rusch and junior outside hitter Cody Martin end the night with 13 kills a piece.
BYU is coming off a strong road win of its own, defeating No. 2 USC on Feb. 13. Sophomore outside hitter Jake Langlois led the Cougars with 15 kills, six blocks and six digs against the Trojans. Junior opposite hitter Matt Underwood added a season high 14 kills in the four-set win over the Trojans.
The Cougars have an impressive .290 attack percentage compared to their opponents’ .197 percentage. Windisch said that if everyone does their job on the court, the team would be able to come home with a win.
“They’re a big team,” Windisch said. “If we’re able to take care of them at the net, the back court can keep digging the ball.”
The 49ers start their two-game road series against BYU Friday in Provo, Utah at 6 p.m.