The Long Beach State men's volleyball team is the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division I men's volleyball team for

Long Beach State University California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

. Alan Knipe has been the head coach since 2001, except for three years coaching the

United States men's national volleyball team The United States men's national volleyball team represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches. The team is governed by USA Volleyball, and it has won six Olympic medals, with three of them gold. History As the birt ...

Program record

{, class="wikitable" , - !Year !Head Coach !Overall
record !Conference
record !Conference
standing !Postseason , - , - , 1970 , Randy Sandefur , 6–4 , 3–2 , 3rd , NCAA Runner-up , - , 1971 , Randy Sandefur , 5–4 , 2–3 , 4th , NCAA Regionals , - , 1972 , Randy Sandefur , 6–8 , 2–4 , 5th , NCAA Regionals , - , - , 1974 , Randy Sandefur , 3–10 , 3–10 , 6th , , - , 1975 , Miles Pabst , 2–10 , 2–10 , 6th , , - , 1976 , Miles Pabst , 5–7 , 5–7 , 5th , , - , 1977 , Dick Montgomery , 4–10 , 4–10 , 6th , , - , 1978 , Dick Montgomery , 13–6 , 9–5 , 4th , NCAA Regionals , - , - , 1979 , Dick Montgomery , 14–9 , 9–9 , 6th , , - , 1980 , Dick Montgomery , 21–7 , 13–5 , 4th , , - , 1981 , Don Paris , 15–13 , 9–7 , 4th , NCAA Regionals , - , 1982 , Ray Ratelle , 15–15 , 4–12 , 7th , NCAA Regionals , - , 1983 , Ray Ratelle , 20–9 , 11–5 , 2nd , NCAA Regionals , - , 1984 , Ray Ratelle , 15–10 , 10–8 , 5th , NCAA Regionals , - , 1985 , Ray Ratelle , 14–19 , 3–15 , 9th , , - , - , 1986 , Ray Ratelle , 19–15 , 7–13 , 7th , , - , 1987 , Ray Ratelle , 18–15 , 5–13 , 7th , , - , 1988 , Ray Ratelle , 20–14 , 8–10 , 6th , , - , 1989 , Ray Ratelle , 22–9 , 12–8 , 6th , , - , - , 1993 , Ray Ratelle , 18–13 , 12–7 , 2nd , , - , 1994 , Ray Ratelle , 13–15 , 7–12 , 5th , , - , 1995 , Ray Ratelle , 18–9 , 12–7 , 3rd , , - , 1996 , Ray Ratelle , 21–6 , 15–4 , 2nd , , - , 1997 , Ray Ratelle , 19–10 , 12–7 , 2nd , , - , 1998 , Ray Ratelle , 22–7 , 13–6 , 2nd , , - , - , 2002 , Alan Knipe , 13–18 , 9–13 , 7th , , - , 2003 , Alan Knipe , 17–13 , 11–11 , 8th , , - , - , 2005 , Alan Knipe , 22–10 , 14–8 , 5th , , - , 2006 , Alan Knipe , 22–10 , 14–8 , 4th , , - , 2007 , Alan Knipe , 11–17 , 6–16 , 10th , , -

Coaching History

Head coach

* 1970–1974: Randy Sandefur * 1975–1976: Miles Pabst * 1977–1980: Dick Montgomery * 1981: Don Paris * 1982–2000: Ray Ratelle : Ray Ratelle was the Head Coach for 19 seasons with an overall win–loss record of 385-190 (.670) and conference record of 207-137 (.602), with 3 Conference titles and 3 NCAA appearances. 1990 NCAA Finalist and in his tenth year, won the first ever Men's NCAA Championship team title of any sport in Long Beach State's history of athletics. Ratelle was also named Coach of the Year in both 1990 and 1991. * 2001–2009: Alan Knipe * 2010–2012: Andy Read † * 2013–present: Alan Knipe : Alan Knipe's win–loss record as of the 2025 regular season stands at . Knipe has been to the Semifinals twice as a player (1990, 1991) and nine as Head Coach (2004, 2008, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024). He was a member of Long Beach's 1991

Men's Volleyball National Championship Team; he has coached the Beach to two

Championships (2018 and 2019). He was the Head Coach of the U.S. Men's National Team (2009 - 2012) and he returned to LBSU upon completing his service. : Under Knipe,

Scott Touzinsky Scott Joseph Touzinsky (born April 22, 1982) is an American volleyball player and coach. He was a member of the U.S. national team 2007–2018. With the national team, Touzinsky played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and won a gold medal. Person ...

was a Long Beach State assistant coach. Touzinsky was suspended by

USA Volleyball USA Volleyball (USAV) is a non-profit organization which is recognized as the national governing body of volleyball in the United States by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committe ...

in July 2018 because of a pending investigations by the

United States Center for SafeSport The United States Center for SafeSport is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization set up to reduce sexual abuse of minors and athletes in Olympic sports in the United States. Established in 2017 under the Protecting Young Victims from Sex ...

. Since the NCAA doesn’t fall under SafeSport jurisdiction, Touzinsky wasn’t prohibited from coaching in college. The complaint against Touzinsky related to when Touzinsky was a player on the USA National Team. Touzinsky left the program in April 2019 after it was revealed he was sanctioned by the SafeSport following an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. † ''Interim Head Coach''

Conference

* 1970–1978: SCIVA ** Overall Record (incomplete): * 1979–1985: CIVA ** Overall Record: * 1986–1992: WIVA ** Overall Record: * 1993–2017:

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the Western United States, although it has added members as far east as Massachusetts. The conference participates at the NCAA Divisio ...

(MPSF) ** Overall Record: * 2018–present:

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

** Overall Record:

Home court

The volleyball team played in the Goldmine gymnasium at CSULB until 1994. Since November 30, 1994, the team has played at the

Walter Pyramid The Walter Pyramid, formerly known as The Long Beach Pyramid, is a 4,000-seat, pyramid-shaped indoor arena on the campus of Long Beach State University in Long Beach, California. It serves as home venue to the University's men's and women's ...

. The 18-story tall complex has played host four times to the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championships (

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

). Its infrastructure utilizes 18,000 steel tubes and connection modules. It cost approximately $22 million to build.

National championships

* 1991: NCAA by defeating

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

With an overall record of 31 wins and just 4 losses, the 1991 NCAA Men's Volleyball Champions swept three out of their five post-season opponents. In the WIVA Tournament (Irvine, CA) the 49ers beat

UCSB The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joine ...

and

SDSU San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

3–0 before overcoming county/national nemesis, the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Bruins 3–2. From there it was on to Hawaii for the '91 Final Four. 'the Beach' said

aloha ''Aloha'' ( , Hawaiian: �ˈlohə is the Hawaiian word for love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy, that is commonly used as a greeting. It has a deeper cultural and spiritual significance to native Hawaiians, for whom the term is use ...

to Penn State in a clean sweep 3–0; they then needed an extra game winning 3–1 over longtime rival

for their first national championship to date. 1991's team included these mentionable leaders: Alan Knipe, Brent Hilliard (NCAA Final Four MVP), Brett Winslow, Matt Lyles, Zach Small, Jason Stimpfig and Ray Ratelle (Asics/VB Mag. & AVCA C.O.Y.). No other 'BEACH' Men's VB Team has ever won as many games as this singular team; they were a combined 89% in their win-lost ratio. * 2018: Won second NCAA title by defeating UCLA 3-2 (at Westwood,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

). They defeated Ohio State University (defending national champions) 3–1 in the semi-finals. With co-Valuables Josh Tunaniga, JR-Setter AND TJ DeFalco, JR-Outside Hitter, eight thousand in the stands were treated to a thrilling five-setter match (in overtime) favoring the men of south L.A. county. * 2019: Won third NCAA title by defeating Hawaii 3-1 (at Long Beach). LB defeated Pepperdine University 3–1 in the semi-finals. Back to back national championships for the first time in school history. *2025: Won fourth NCAA title by defeating UCLA 3-0 at (Columbus, Ohio). Long Beach State defeated Pepperdine University 3-1 in the semi-finals.

Notable players

Alumni

* Bob Ctvrtlik (1983) – All-American Honorable Mention 1983, U.S. National Team Member (1985-1996). Olympian in 1988, 1992, 1996. 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist. 1992 Olympic Bronze Medalist. FIVB Best Player in the World 1995. * Brett Winslow (1988-1991) – 2x First Team All-American 1990, 1991. NCAA All-Tournament Team 1991. U.S. National Team Member (1992-1999). 1996 U.S. Olympian. Winslow's #15 jersey is retired and hanging in the Walter Pyramid. * Alan Knipe (1990-1992) – 2x All-American (First Team 1992, Second Team 1991). 3x AVCA Coach of the Year (2004, 2017, 2018); U.S. National Team Coach (2009-2012), 2x MPSF Coach of the Year (2008, 2017), 3x Big West Coach of the Year (2018, 2019, 2024). 3x NCAA Champion, as a player in 1991 and as Head Coach in 2018 and 2019. * Brent Hilliard (1990-1993) –

AVCA The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is an organization of over 9,000 members, incorporated as a private non-profit corporation, non-profit educational corporation in 1981, as the Collegiate Volleyball Coaches Association. It is cur ...

National Player of the Year 1992. 4x All-American (First Team 1991,1992,1993; Honorable Mention 1990). NCAA All-Tournament Team 1990,1991. NCAA Tournament MVP 1991. All First Team

MPSF The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the Western United States, although it has added members as far east as Massachusetts. The conference participates at the NCAA Division ...

15th Year Anniversary Team. U.S. National Team Member (1991-1995). 1992 Olympic Bronze Medalist. Hilliard's #7 jersey is retired hanging in the Walter Pyramid. * Tom Hoff (1994-1996) – 2x First Team All-American 1995, 1996. 3x U.S. Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008). 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist. All Second-Team

15th Year Anniversary Team. NCAA triple-doubles leader (K-B-D). * David Lee (2001-2004) – First Team All-American 2004. U.S. National Team Member (2003-2016). Olympian in 2008, 2012, 2016. 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist. *

(2001-2004) – MPSF Co-Freshman of the Year 2001, First Team All-American 2004, NCAA All-Tournament Team 2004, U.S. National Team Member (2007-2018). 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist. *

Paul Lotman Paul Michael Lotman (born November 3, 1985) is an American former professional volleyball player. He was part of the U.S. national team, and a participant at the Olympic Games London 2012. The 2014 World League and the 2015 World Cup winner. ...

(2005-2008) – First Team All-American & AVCA Co-National Player of the Year 2008. U.S. National Team Member (2008-2016). Olympian in 2012. Current member of the AVP Tour. *

Taylor Crabb Taylor Crabb (born January 26, 1992) is an American beach volleyball player who plays as a left-side defender with his partner Taylor Sander. He has won fourteen tournaments on the AVP Pro Tour and one gold medal on the FIVB World Tour. Gro ...

(2011-2014) – AVCA Player of the Year 2013. 3x All-American (First Team 2013, 2014; Third Team 2012). Olympian in 2020 in

Beach Volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

. Current member of AVP Tour. *

Kyle Ensing Kyle Ensing (born March 6, 1997) is an American professional volleyball player who plays as an opposite hitter for Warta Zawiercie (volleyball), Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie and the United States men's national volleyball team, U.S. national team ...

(2016-2019) – 3x All-American (First Team 2018, 2019; Second Team 2017). Big West Player of the Year 2019. NCAA All-Tournament Team 2018. U.S. National Team Member (2019-Present). Olympian in 2020 and as an alternate in 2024. * Josh Tuaniga (2016-2019) – AVCA Player of the Year 2018. 4x All-American (First Team 2017, 2018, 2019; Second Team 2016). NCAA Tournament MVP 2018. 2x NCAA All-Tournament Team 2018, 2019. U.S. National Team Member (2019-Present). Named an alternate for Olympics in 2020. * TJ DeFalco (2016-2019) – 2x AVCA Player of the Year 2017, 2019. 4x First Team All-American (2016-2019). NCAA Tournament MVP 2019. 3x NCAA All-Tournament Team (2016, 2018, 2019). U.S. National Team member (2019-Present). Olympian in 2020, 2024. * Aleksander Nikolov (2022) – First ever men's true freshman to be named AVCA Player of the Year 2022. NCAA All-Tournament Team 2022. Bulgarian National Team Member (2022-Present).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Long Beach State Men's Volleyball California State University, Long Beach Long Beach State Beach men's volleyball