No. 15 CSUN Takes Care of Hope International in Straight Sets

NORTHRIDGE, CA - Sophomore Dimitar Kalchev had a match-high 16 kills to lead the 15th-ranked CSUN Matadors to a straight-set sweep (25-15, 25-21, 25-21) over Hope International in a non-conference match Friday at The Matdaome.

Kalchev, who came in hitting .498 this season, hit .609 against the Royals on 23 swings to up his season figure to .508. The sophomore from Bulgaria also added three aces, five digs and three blocks, all team-highs.

"Dimitar hit over .600 again tonight, those are pretty ridiculous numbers," said CSUN head coach Jeff Campbell. "He's hitting the ball high, he's hitting the ball hard and his passing was better tonight. He was also a little more consistent from the service line, he's just putting a lot of pressure on the other team."

Fellow sophomore Eric Chance had his best offensive match in nearly a month as he put down nine kills on 11 errorless swings to hit a season-high .818. Junior Arvis Greene added seven kills (.188) and three other Matador hitters chipped in four kills.

As a team, CSUN hit .444 (45-9-81) behind Sam Porter's 41 assists.

As was the case in Thursday's 3-0 win over Cal Lutheran, HIU didn't make it easy for the Matadors. The Royals kept the score close in set one after a Zach Greene kill pulled HIU within 12-10. Kills from Greene and Kalchev sandwiched a Matador block which boosted the lead back to 15-10. The CSUN lead swelled to eight (18-12) following another Kalchev kill and the Matadors closed the set out 25-15.

A pair of HIU miscues extended CSUN's lead to three points (15-12) in set two. The Matadors maintained a three-point cushion at 20-17 when the visitors rallied to cut the lead to one at 20-19. Undeterred, CSUN answered with a 3-0 run which propelled the Matadors on a set-closing 5-2 run.

Set three was tight with CSUN holding a 12-11 lead after Greene's kill. But an ensuing 5-1 run extended the Matador lead to 17-12 and CSUN never trailed in taking the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.

Greene had a team-high seven kills on .357 hitting to lead the Royals who dropped to 4-3 on the season.

CSUN concludes a five-match homestand next Friday (Feb. 3) as the Matadors return to MPSF play in hosting Stanford at 7 p.m.

#GoMatadors

No. 15 CSUN Takes Care of Hope International in Straight Sets

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Team Stats

Dimitar Kalchev

Eric Chance

Arvis Greene

Jakub Ciesla

Players Mentioned

Eric Chance

Dimitar Kalchev

Sam Porter