El legado de voleibol de Long Beach State brilla en las listas de la VNL 2026

The 2026 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) season will showcase an extraordinary Long Beach State presence, with 11 former and incoming athletes representing five different countries as they compete for a spot in the final rounds. The United States roster features three standout former NCAA champions from Long Beach State: TJ DeFalco, Kyle Ensing, and Mason Briggs.

DeFalco, a two-time AVCA National Player of the Year and two-time NCAA champion, currently stars professionally for Japan’s JTEKT Stings and remains a cornerstone of Team USA. Ensing, a key contributor to the Beach’s 2018 and 2019 national title teams, recently helped Poland’s Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie capture the PlusLiga championship and continues to play regularly for the U.S.

national team. Briggs just completed his professional season in France with Nice in the Ligue Masculine A.

After the first week of VNL action, the United States sits in third place.

Bulgaria features brothers Alex and Moni Nikolov, who made NCAA history as the first and second freshmen to earn AVCA National Player of the Year honors. After their Bulgaria national team stint this summer, Moni will join his brother in Italy to play for Cucine Lube Civitanova.

Moni also led Long Beach State to a national title before turning professional. They are joined by Lazar Bouchkov, a member of LBSU’s 2025 championship team.

Canada has three athletes on its VNL roster: Skyler Varga, Daniil Hershtynovich, and incoming transfer Owen Weekes. Varga and Hershtynovich both helped Long Beach State win the 2025 national championship and are rising through Canada’s national team system.

Varga, a first-team All-American in his senior season, just signed his first professional contract with Japan’s Toray Arrows Shizuoka. Weekes will suit up for the Beach this fall, adding another international-caliber player to the program.

Germany is represented by middle blocker Simon Torwie, whose size and blocking ability have made him a standout at both the collegiate and international levels. He has spent several years in Germany’s national team pipeline and is considered one of the country’s top young middle blockers.

Poland rounds out the list with outside hitter Wojciech Gajek, who quickly became a fan favorite at Long Beach State and was a reliable option opposite Varga as the Beach returned to the NCAA Final Four. Gajek announced he would leave after the season to begin his professional career, competing in France with Le Plessis-Robinson Volley-Ball.

The VNL will run through the end of July, with the finals hosted in Ningbo Beilun, China. Long Beach State’s deep influence on international volleyball is clear, as these athletes continue to represent their countries at the highest level.