LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Big West Champion and No. 3 seed Long Beach State advanced to the 2026 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship semifinals and one step closer to defending its title with a straight-set win over ninth-ranked Loyola in the regional finals, 25-21, 25-21, 25-19, at LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid on Saturday night.
With the victory, LBSU moves to 25-4 on the year and is set for a fourth tussle of the season with fellow Big West squad and second-seeded Hawai’i in the national collegiate semifinals. Both regular-season meetings went to the ’Bows with the five-set Championship battle going to the Beach at the Bren Events Center in Irvine last Saturday night.
With an all-Big West semifinal contest set for May 9, the league is guaranteed a national finalist for an eighth-straight season – every year since sport sponsorship in 2018. With UC Irvine advancing on the other side of the brackets, the potential for a Big West finale exists for a third time (2019, ’22).
Skyler Varga led the LBSU offense with 14 kills on .520 hitting and two aces. Connor Bloom added 12 kills at a .435 hitting clip, while Big West Championship MVB Wojciech Gajek contributed nine kills. Setter Jake Pazanti recorded 36 assists with a match-high eight digs. LBSU hit .369 as a team and the nation’s top serving squad finished with eight aces compared to just one for Loyola.
The opening set between Long Beach State and Loyola was the most competitive of the night. LBSU built an early 4-1 lead, highlighted by a triple block from Gajek, Bloom and Ben Braun. Loyola was able to regroup and settle in behind the play of Aleksandar Sosa and UC San Diego graduate transfer Josh Schellinger as the Ramblers took their first lead at 12-11 and pushed it to 13-11, taking advantage of a brief dip in the sideout efficiency of the Beach.
However, the home team was able to respond quickly after Bloom delivered back-to-back out-of-system kills, and another block tied the set at 13-13. From there, the teams traded points until 19-19 before Long Beach closed on a 6-2 run. Gajek and Bloom each contributed key kills, and freshman Jackson Cryst finished the set with a service ace as the Beach hit .480 in the opening frame.
Set two shifted in LBSU’s favor midway through. After an even start, Varga and Cryst sparked a 4-0 run from the service line, including consecutive aces by Cryst, to extend the lead to 9-5. The Beach maintained control from there, using balanced offense and steady serving pressure to limit Loyola’s opportunities.
Bloom and Gajek contributed consistently, while Loyola’s errors increased under pressure. Long Beach led by as many as six points before closing the set at 25-21, hitting .333 and holding Loyola without a team block.
The third set followed a similar pattern early, with the teams tied at 14-14. Loyola briefly took an 18-17 lead after a service ace, but that was its final push. The Beach answered and then used a block by Cryst and Gajek followed by a service ace from Pazanti to create separation at 20-18. Closing the match on a 5-1 run, with Varga sealing the win with a service ace.
The Ramblers got 14 kills apiece from Schellinger and Sosa as Loyola narrowly outhit LBSU .371-.369 in the match, closing the year at 21-9.