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Multiple All-Tournament Team selections at the recent USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships will continue their volleyball careers at Long Beach State.
Coach Alan Knipe announced that high school seniors Nate Dickinson, Clarke Godbold, Matthew Iamaleava, Noah Robin, Sebastian Rodriguez and Simon Torwie have all signed national letters of intent to play for Long Beach State beginning in 2021.
“This group of young men will have an immediate impact on our program,” Knipe stated in a statement. “They are great additions to our Long Beach State team culture. They all have a high level of volleyball IQ, and they know how to compete at the highest level. They want to work as hard as they can in order to be the best that they are capable of being. They have all had success at the junior level and, some, at the international level. They will come to us after being coached by some of the nation’s best coaches, and we are very excited to welcome these amazing young men and their families to our Long Beach State men’s volleyball family.”
Rodriguez, a 6-foot-5 outside attacker from Redondo Beach, California, led his club team to two gold medals at the National Championships and was a two-time All-Tournament Team member. Along with being the 2018 most valuable player at the National Championships, Rodriguez spent the last two years on the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Training Team.
Godbold, a 6-foot-5 outside attacker from Palos Verdes, California, had 10 kills on a team-best 62.5 percentage offensive efficiency as the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team swept Chinese Taipei in the 15th-place finals at the FIVB U19 World Championship in August. The outside attacker earlier that summer led his club team to a gold medal and earned All-Tournament Team honors at the National Championships.
Torwie, a 6-foot-10 opposite from Frankfurt, Germany, led the German Boys’ Youth National Team and was fifth among all players at the U19 World Championship with 122 kills. In addition, Torwie had a match-high 18 kills to help Germany defeat the United States in the 13th-place semifinals.
Dickinson, a 6-foot-7 opposite and outside attacker from Newport Beach, California, was a member of the USA Volleyball Youth A1 National Training Team earlier this year. He also has played both pin-hitter positions during his high school career.
Iamaleava, a 6-foot-6 middle attacker from Long Beach, California, won a bronze medal at the 2019 National Championship and was named to the All-Tournament Team. The hometown recruit also plays for his high school team at Long Beach Poly.
Robin, a 6-foot-7 middle attacker from Huntington Beach, California, plays both high school and club volleyball in Southern California.
Long Beach State ended last season winning its second consecutive NCAA championship. The Beach, though, enters 2020 attempting to replace four All-American starterfs.