CSUN Falls in Straight Sets in Opener at No. 2 BYU

Friday, February 26

Provo, Utah

6:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

10-6, 5-6MPSF

BYU

13-2, 9-2MPSF

Team	1	2	3	Final F
CSUN	21	18	15	0
BYU	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Laura Pierson

CSUN Falls in Straight Sets in Opener at No. 2 BYU

2/26/2016 9:15:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, CA - The CSUN men's volleyball team opened a two-match set at second-ranked BYU Friday and the host Cougars swept the 12th-ranked Matadors, 25-21, 25-18, 21-15 at Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah.

CSUN (10-6, 5-6 MPSF) had its best chance to take a set in the opener as the Matadors battled to overcome an 18-13 BYU lead. Dimitar Kalchev's ace capped a 5-3 CSUN run that trimmed the lead to 21-18 but the Matadors could get no closer.

"We had some chances in set one tonight but BYU has some high quality hitters and we had a hard time stopping them tonight," said CSUN head coach Jeff Campbell. "We need to figure out a way to serve tougher tomorrow and get them out of system. Despite the loss, the guys are in good spirits and we'll come back strong tomorrow."

Junior Jakub Ciesla led CSUN with 10 kills (.208) and three digs while Kalchev added nine kills (.136) and had the Matadors' lone ace. Sophomore middle Josiah Byers chipped in eight kills, hitting .462 on 13 swings while senior Brian O'Gorman made his first start since Jan. 20 and added four kills (.333) and had three (two solo) of CSUN's four blocks.

Setter Sam Porter assisted on 33 of the Matadors' 36 kills but CSUN was limited to a .235 team hitting clip as the hosts posted a sizable 11.5 to 3.0 advantage in blocks. CJ Suarez led the Matadors defensively with seven digs.

Set two opened with a 7-2 Cougar run and the hosts never looked back. A Bradley Sakaida service error extended the BYU lead to six at 13-7 before Kalchev's kill kept the Matadors within five at 19-14. CSUN still trailed by five at 22-17 when BYU outscored the Matadors 3-1 to close the set.

The Cougars tallied eight of the first 11 points of the final set and the Matadors rarely threatened from that point and ultimately fell 25-15.

Brendan Sander led BYU (13-2, 9-2 MPSF) with 11 kills on .588 hitting while Jake Langlois (.438) and Ben Patch (.667) each added eight kills. The Cougars hit .536 as a team in defeating the Matadors for the 10th consecutive time.

The two teams close out the two-match set Saturday at 7 p.m. PT.

#GoMatadors