SANTA BARBARA, CA—Despite a match-best 14 kills by NJIT's Piotr Namiotko, No. 2 Long Beach State collected a 3-1 victory over the Highlanders at the 2018 UCSB ASICS Tournament hosted by UC Santa Barbara at The Thunderdome.

NJIT (0-4) wraps up a challenging trip out West which saw the Highlanders take on a trio of teams ranked in the top-11—#4 UCLA, #11 Cal State Northridge and #2 Long Beach State.

Long Beach State took the first set, 25-19, as the Highlanders answered with a 25-22 win in the second frame to knot the match at 1-1.  The Beach went on to win the next two sets, 25-21 and 25-16, cruising to a 3-1 victory.

The duo of Kyle Ensing and Bjarne Huus led the Beach (3-0) offensively as Ensing had a team-high 13 kills and Huus added 12. Both were also solid at the net as Ensing posted four block assists and Huus recorded three block assists and one solo block.

In addition to Namiotko's match-best 14 kills, freshmen Alvaro Gimeno, who has made an immediate impact for the Highlanders since joining the team in the beginning of January, combined for seven kills.

Highlander Ricardo Whitaker piled up 27 assists while Namiotko and Gimeno paced NJIT with six digs each.  Senior Shannon Heckman earned a spot on the all-Tournament team.

Transfer Luca Berger combined for a .571 hitting percentage (4k, 0e, 7a) and posted a match-best seven total digs (1 solo, 6 assists) while Kevin Myren turned in a .667 performance (4k, 0e, 6a). Bailey Mundy posted four block assists for NJIT.

Long Beach State and NJIT began the match trading points, until the Beach broke a 4-4 tie on a kill by TJ DeFalco which sparked a 4-0 run forcing a Highlanders' timeout. The Beach surged ahead and opened up the game taking a 17-12 advantage.  LBSU led by as many as six in the set, 23-17.  After the Highlanders second timeout of the set, Long Beach State closed out the set on a kill followed by an attack error on NJIT to win, 25-19.

NJIT took a 1-0 lead in the second set, and although the match was tied seven times throughout the frame, never allowed Long Beach State to take the lead. Despite trading points throughout the set, the Highlanders came away on top as they edged the Beach, 25-22, to even the set score.

The Beach hit .367 (16-5-30) in the third set, however, NJIT notched 10 kills in the frame and hit .381. The teams battled through five ties and a pair of lead changes, but the Beach pulled away and took the set, 25-21.
 
Long Beach State turned in its strongest offensive showing of the match in the fourth set as the Beach hit .625 connecting on 11 kills on 16 attempts, while making just one error. The Beach broke the frame open on a kill by Huus which sparked a 6-1 run that the Highlanders could not overcome. Long Beach State cruised to a 25-16 victory to close out the set and match.

NJIT will break for a week and return to action on Saturday, January 13 when the Highlanders host IPFW at 7pm in the new Wellness and Events Center. 

UCSB Asics Invitational All-Tournament Team
MVP: TJ DeFalco – Outside Hitter (Long Beach State)
Arvis Greene Jr – Opposite (CSUN)
Shannon Heckman – Libero (NJIT)
George Huhmann – Opposite (Princeton)
Kevin Rakestraw – Middle Blocker (Stanford)
Stephen Braswell – Outside Hitter (St. Francis)
Roy McFarland – Outside Hitter (UCSB)
Grady Yould – Libero (UCSB)
Josh Tuaniga – Setter (Long Beach St.)