12th-Ranked Matadors Travel to No. 11 UCSB, No. 1 UCLA This Week
1/26/2016 1:35:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK:
MATCH #8 (MPSF #3):
No. 12 CSUN Matadors (7-0, 2-0 MPSF) at No. 11 UCSB Gauchos (7-2, 3-1 MPSF)
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016 - 7:00 p.m. PST
Rob Gym - Santa Barbara, CA
Live Stats
Live Stream
In-game Twitter updates: @CSUNMensVB
MATCH #9 (MPSF #4):
No. 12 CSUN Matadors (7-0, 2-0 MPSF) at No. 1 UCLA Bruins (8-0, 4-0 MPSF)
Friday, Jan. 29, 2016 - 7:00 p.m. PST
Pauley Pavilion - Los Angeles, CA
Live Stats
Live Audio
Live Stream
In-game Twitter updates: @CSUNMensVB
Weekly Match Notes (PDF)
FOR STARTERS
After a brief one-match break in the MPSF schedule, the 12th-ranked CSUN Matadors (7-0, 2-0 MPSF) open up a challenging four-match stretch Wednesday at No. 11 UC Santa Barbara (7-2, 3-1). The two-match road trip concludes Friday at top-ranked UCLA (8-0, 4-0) before the Matadors return home to host No. 8 Pepperdine and No. 6 Stanford next week. Last week, CSUN swept Cal Lutheran in a non-conference match.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
Follow CSUN Matadors volleyball online at the official home of CSUN athletics, www.GoMatadors.com. All home matches will feature live stats and will be streamed live by the CSUN Sports Network via Big West TV while select road matches will feature an additional live audio broadcast. For road matches, related links to the match, including for any live stats, audio and video, will be posted before the match on the men's volleyball schedule page of GoMatadors.com. Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Athletics Department's official Twitter feed (@GoMatadors) and the volleyball-specific feed (@CSUNMensVB) for news and notes throughout the week as well as updates of matches in progress.
MATADORS REMAIN 12TH IN WEEK THREE AVCA COACHES TOP-15 POLL
After sweeping a non-conference match from Cal Lutheran in its only match last week, CSUN remained 12 in the top-15 in the AVCA Division I-II Top-15 Poll (released Jan. 25). The Matadors (7-0) received a season-high 83 points heading into matches at No. 11 UCSB and top-ranked UCLA this week. CSUN, which was also 12th last week with 80 points, has now been ranked among the AVCA Top-15 in three of four polls this season and in 207 of the last 233 weekly polls dating back to the 2002 season.
UCLA (7-0) remained in the top spot in the AVCA poll for the second straight week as the Bruins earned all 20 first place votes and 300 total points. Long Beach State (6-1) remained second followed in the top five by BYU (4-2), Loyola-Chicago (5-2) and Hawai'i (6-1). Stanford (5-1) is sixth this week followed by Ohio State (5-2), Pepperdine (4-1), Penn State (4-2) and UC Irvine (2-4). Rounding out the top-15 are UC Santa Barbara (7-2), the Matadors, Lewis (5-3), Saint Francis (3-3) and Ball State (3-3).
CSUN also received seven points and remains 12th in the Off The Block/Springbak, Inc. National Media Poll in week three.
SCOUTING REPORTS
UC Santa Barbara (7-2, 3-1 MPSF): The 11th-ranked Gauchos will play at home for the first time since Jan. 9 when they host CSUN on Wednesday. UCSB, whose only conference loss came on the road at No. 4 UC Irvine, won road matches at No. 15 USC (3-1) and Cal Baptist (3-2) last week. Junior opposite Matt Marsh won MPSF Player of the Week honors after averaging 4.00 kps on .363 hitting in two wins. Marsh leads the Gauchos averaging 3.64 kps while Jacob Delson adds 3.24.
UCLA (8-0, 4-0 MPSF): The top-ranked Bruins remained unbeaten after opening the week with Monday's 3-0 non-conference win over Princeton. UCLA, which hosts No. 2 Long Beach State on Wednesday, leads the conference in serving with 60 team aces. Micah Ma'a has a team-best 64 kills while Dylan Missry averages a team-high 2.91 kps. The Bruins are hitting .319 as a team after eight matches.
SERIES STORIES
Wednesday's match is the 91st meeting all-time between CSUN and UC Santa Barbara with the Gauchos holding a 50-40 lead in the series. The two teams split two matches last season with each team winning on its home floor. The Matadors last win at Rob Gym came in 2010 when CSUN beat UCSB twice. Friday's match is the 82nd meeting between the Matadors and UCLA with the Bruins holding a commanding 67-13-1 lead in the series.
CSUN VS. NUMBER ONE
The Matadors will get their first opportunity since 2014 to knock off the top-ranke team in the AVCA Coaches Poll when CSUN visits UCLA Friday. The Matadors have dropped their last eight matches against top-ranked squads losing to Pepperdine in 2014. During that span, the Matadors fell to BYU in 2013, USC twice, UC Irvine and UCLA in 2012 and USC twice again in 2011. Prior to that, CSUN had won two of its last three over number ones defeating Stanford in 2010 and Pepperdine in 2009. The Matadors are 4-28 in matches against teams ranked number one in the AVCA Top-15 poll dating back to the 2000 season. Prior to defeating Stanford in 2010, CSUN had hosted three top-ranked teams since 2005, falling three times to UC Irvine (2006, 2007, 2012), twice to UCLA (2005, 2012) and twice to USC (2011, 2012).
KALCHEV IS NATIONAL LEADER IN ACES
Freshman Dimitar Kalchev continues to be a force from the service line early in the season. The freshman outside hitter added nine aces in matches against Cal Baptist and USC to up his NCAA-leading total of 18. At 0.86 aces per set, Kalchev is on pace to shatter the CSUN single season record of 57 set by Eric Vance in 2009. Raphael Tulino holds the sideout scoring record with 54 in 1991. With six aces against Cal Baptist, Kalchev ranks third in CSUN history for a single match with six former Matadors. Eckhard Walter holds the single match record with eight aces against UCLA in 2001 and against Pacific in 1999. As a team, CSUN matched its season-high with nine aces against Cal Lutheran. The Matadors currently rank third in the MPSF and seventh nationally in aces with 49 (2.04 saps).
MATADORS OFF TO BEST START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
At 7-0, CSUN is off to the best start ever in the 39-year history of the men's volleyball program. The 2016 Matadors snapped the record of the 1985, 2009 and 2010 CSUN squads that each won six consecutive at the start of the season.
MATADORS: THIS & THAT
The Matador middles continue to rank in the upper echelon of the MPSF in hitting as redshirt freshman Eric Vance ranks third at .571 and sophomore Josiah Byers is 11th at .418 ... Sophomore Arvis Greene, Jr., redshirt freshmen and Justin Toth and Emerson Waumans each made his first collegiate start Wednesday vs. Cal Lutheran as head coach Jeff Campbell rested his starting lineup. Greene matched his career-high with 12 kills while Toth put down a career-best seven kills on .545 hitting ... CSUN is now 5-0 in non-conference matches this season with Penn State and Mount Olive still to play in early March ... Junior Chance Earnest was back on the court against Cal Lutheran, his first appearance since the 2014 season.
CAMPBELL IN 19TH SEASON AS MATADOR HEAD COACH
Having become CSUN men's volleyball's all-time winningest coach during the 2010 season, Campbell picked up the most recent milestone win of his remarkable 19-year Matador career in CSUN's 3-2 win over 15th-ranked Ohio State on Mar. 15, 2014. The victory gave the Matador boss his 250th career victory. Campbell, who now has a career record of 269-257 (.511), reached the 150, 200 and 225 career milestones over the last eight seasons. Currently, the second-longest tenured head coach at CSUN (men's golf coach Jim Bracken is in his 30th season) Campbell has posted double figure win totals in 16 of his 18 seasons on the bench and notched a career-best 24 wins in 2009.
LOOKING AHEAD
CSUN hosts Pepperdine on Feb. 3 which opens a stretch where the Matadors will play four of their next six matches at home. Following home matches against Pepperdine and Stanford, CSUN travels to USC and Cal Baptist before returning home to take on UC Irvine (Feb. 17) and UC San Diego (Feb. 19)
#GoMatadors
