One of the top programs in college men’s volleyball is coming to Vanguard for the first time.
Vanguard as part of unveiling its 2027 schedule announced that it will have a home-and-home non-conference series against Long Beach State in February.
This will be the third consecutive year that the Lions and the Beach have played each other, but it will be the first time in the series that Vanguard will have a home match. Long Beach State at home swept both previous meetings against Vanguard, which enters its third season after transitioning from NAIA to NCAA Division I-II.
Vanguard had a winning record in conference play last season en route to being the only NCAA Division II team to qualify for the MPSF Tournament. Outside attacker Grant Veldman also was in the top 15 of the MPSF with a 2.73 kills per game average.
Long Beach State one year removed from winning the NCAA championship ended the 2026 season as the Big West champions and reached the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Multiple All-American starters are slated to return for the Beach during the upcoming season, including middle attacker Jackson Cryst. Cryst as a freshman last season finished with a .517 attack percentage and was eighth in the nation averaging 1.09 blocks per game.
The Long Beach State series will be two of the five matches that Vanguard will play against Big West teams during the upcoming season. Vanguard will have a home match against UC Irvine and will travel to CSUN and UC San Diego.
2027 Vanguard schedule
Jan. 12 vs. Barton
Jan. 15 vs. Springfield
Jan. 22 vs. UC Irvine
Jan. 27 at CSUN
Jan. 30 vs. Stanford
Feb. 2 vs. Jamestown
Feb. 5 at UC San Diego
Feb. 12 at Long Beach State
Feb. 13 at Long Beach State
Feb. 17 vs. USC
Feb. 19 at USC
Feb. 25 vs. UMES
Feb. 26 vs. UMES
March 10 vs. Sacred Heart
March 19 at Pacific
March 20 at Pacific
March 24 vs. Pepperdine
April 9 vs. Menlo
April 10 vs. Menlo
April 16 vs. Jessup
April 17 vs. Jessup
April 21 vs. Concordia
April 24 at Concordia