With college sports moving in the current direction, the transfer portal has become a vital asset for colleges to improve their teams with immediate impact, and LBSU has taken advantage of it.
This year’s transfer class includes three outside hitters from Power Five schools: redshirt junior Abby Karich by way of Utah, graduate transfer Hanna Lesiak from Northwestern and junior Elise Agi from Oregon.
Karich is returning back home to Southern California as she is from Surfside, California. She went to Los Alamitos High School, which is less than 15 minutes away from LBSU. In classic Southern California fashion, she described her return as an experience that has been “so sick.”
She has looked right at home in the preseason, coming in third on the team in kills per set with 2.31 and points per set with 2.50, majorly improving her numbers from last year.
“It’s been awesome to have my family there, they’ve been like my biggest support system through my whole career,” Karich said, “It’s been cool to reconnect with some people that have had a part in my career and my life.”
With the new name, image and likeness deal that allows college athletes to profit off their NIL, athletes can make money from brands that reach out for product promotion.
“I’ve had a couple of people reach out about promoting their business here and there and it’s been cool to help out their businesses that help me,” she said.
Karich is focusing on volleyball right now and would rather do more NIL deals in the off-season.
Her only recorded four starts last year at Utah and explained her decision to join Long Beach State, “Obviously everyone wants to play, but the biggest thing that I was excited about in coming here was just getting to play for Tyler [Hildebrand] […] he’s the best.”
The chance to play under LBSU Head Coach Tyler Hildebrand was not only a big role in Karich’s transfer, but also a huge part of Elise Agi’s. “I wanted to be in a competitive program with amazing coaches… and obviously playing under Tyler,” Agi said.
Agi has been off to a hot start at The Beach leading the team in both kills with 2.90 and points per set with 3.25 in the preseason.
The way Agi got to LBSU was a little different than the other two transfers.
LBSU alum Tayyiba Haneef-Park is the three-time Olympian, two-time silver medalist and current assistant coach at Oregon who contacted Coach Hildebrand and when Agi was looking for a home. Hildebrand pulled the trigger thereafter.
“She was a blessing that she was available,” Hildebrand said.
For Hanna Lesiak, the financial side of college played a huge role in her decision to transfer. “I just didn’t have a financial opportunity at Northwestern anymore,” Lesiak said.
Along with this, Lesiak wanted another opportunity to make the NCAA tournament. With Northwestern experiencing a major roster turnover at the moment, that includes the loss of the majority of their starters. The Beach was the right decision for her.
With the departure of Morgan Chacon, whom Hildebrand described as the best outside hitter on last year’s team, there was a void that needed to be filled. The transfer portal allowed Hildebrand to do so.
“The portal’s been a great thing for us, I think it’s a great thing for college volleyball,” Hildebrand said.
These three transfers look to help lead The Beach to an NCAA tournament berth after what has been a hopeful preseason.