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The national accolades keep coming for Long Beach State.
The AVCA announced Tuesday that head coach Alan Knipe was named the AVCA National Coach of the Year, while associate head coach Nick MacRae was selected as the National Assistant Coach of the Year.Long Beach State was the unanimous No. 1 ranked team in both the coaches poll and media poll for the majority of the season and went undefeated until the final week of the regular season. With a nation-best four All-Americans in the starting lineup, the 49ers won the inaugural Big West championship and earned the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
This is the second consecutive year that Knipe has been named the National Coach of the Year. It is also the fourth time in his 15 years at Long Beach State to win the national award.
The 49ers under Knipe led the nation with a .379 attack percentage and hit more than .400 in 11 matches during their 23-match winning streak to open the season.
MacRae is in his sixth season with Long Beach State and serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator. In addition, MacRae was promoted to associate head coach earlier this year.
Long Beach State making its third consecutive appearance to the VolleyFour is attempting win its first national championship in almost 30 years. The team will play the winner of the Ohio State versus UC Irvine in the VolleyFour on Thursday.