15th-Ranked Matadors Sweep Cal Lutheran in Non-Conference Action

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NORTHRIDGE, CA - The 15th-ranked CSUN men's volleyball team picked up its sixth non-conference win of the season Thursday as the Matadors swept Cal Lutheran 25-22, 25-17, 25-19 at The Matadome.

Sophomore Dimitar Kalchev had another big night offensively for CSUN which improved to 7-3 on the season. Kalchev pounded a match-high 21 kills with just two hitting errors on 28 swings to hit .679. He also added six digs and three aces giving him 28 for the season.

Redshirt freshmen Schylar Lillethorup and Parker Maki also reached double figures with 11 and 10 kills respectively. Lillethorup hit .348 on a season-high 23 attacks and Maki hit .353 in reaching double figures for the first time as a Matador. Lillethorup also had a match-high eight digs in his second start of the season.

"Dimitar, Schylar and Parker all hit well tonight; it was good to get those guys some playing time," said CSUN head coach Jeff Campbell. "Our passing was a little shaky at times but we steadied out as the match went on. The one area I'd like to see some improvement is our serving, we missed way too many serves."

Sophomore setter Sam Porter set the Matador hitters to an impressive .463 clip as CSUN put down 49 kills with 11 errors on 82 swings.

The visiting Kingsmen hung tough in the opening set even after Kalchev's kill gave the hosts a 17-11 lead. An ensuing 4-0 run by Cal Lutheran cut the lead to two and another 3-0 CLU run tied the score at 18-18. Kills by Kalchev and Eric Chance followed a Kingsmen service error and the Matadors again led by three at 21-18. CSUN maintained a two-point edge until Kristian Gallardo's ace cut the lead to 22-21. Lillethorup answered with a kill and the Matadors closed the set on a pair of CLU miscues to take a 25-22 win.

CSUN held a slim 9-7 lead in the second set before outscoring the visitors 4-1 over the next five points to push the lead to 13-8. The Matadors maintained a five-point lead until extending the cushion to seven (22-15) following a Maki kill. Maki then made the final margin eight points when his kill on set point gave CSUN the 25-17 win.

In the final frame, CSUN snapped a 12-12 tie by engineering a 5-1 run, capped by a Kingsmen hitting error. CLU them made a late run, cutting a four-point Matador lead down to one at 18-17. But CSUN would rally to claim seven of the nine points to seal the 25-19 win.

Patrick Rowe had six kills (.000) to lead the Kingsmen who dropped to 0-4 on the season.

CSUN continues non-conference play Friday night as the Matadors welcome Hope International to The Matadome at 7 p.m.

#GoMatadors

15th-Ranked Matadors Sweep Cal Lutheran in Non-Conference Action

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Team Stats

Dimitar Kalchev

Schylar Lillethorup

Parker Maki

Eric Chance

Players Mentioned

Eric Chance

Parker Maki

Sam Porter