CSUN Drops Straight Set Decision at UC San Diego

LA JOLLA, CA - Looking to build on an upset win over Stanford last week, the 13th-ranked CSUN Matadors had the tables turned Wednesday as they were knocked off by unranked UC San Diego, 27-25, 25-13, 25-14 at RIMAC Arena.

The loss snaps a three match win streak for the Matadors who slip to 9-4 overall and 2-4 in the MPSF.

After hitting .342 in the opening set, CSUN had a swing at the set before the host Tritons pulled out a 27-25 win. The Matadors then struggled in hitting -.087 in set two and .300 in the final set but UC San Diego connected at a .719 clip over the final two frames to take the win.

"I'm certainly disappointed in the loss tonight but you've got to give San Diego credit; they looked fresh and we looked kind of out of it and tired," said CSUN head coach Jeff Campbell. "Statistically-speaking, they beat us in every area but that really doesn't tell the whole story. We just weren't as crisp and sharp as we were last week and we've got to be better for a good UC Irvine team on Saturday."

Sophomore Dimitar Kalchev and junior Arvis Greene each had 10 kills to lead the Matadors with Kalchev hitting a team-high .381 on 21 swings. Kalchev was held without an ace for the first time in 13 matches this season as CSUN was out-aced 8-0 by the Tritons.

Josiah Byers added six kills (.000) and Jakub Ciesla chipped in five kills (.182) in the loss.

In set one, the Matadors overcame a four-point deficit (19-15) when a Kalchev solo block pulled CSUN even at 20-20. The hosts then answered with a 4-2 run to set themselves up with their first set point. But a Greene kill saved one set point and a Triton hitting error saved another and the set was tied for the 10th time at 24-24.

A Tanner Syftestad kill gave the Tritons their third set point when Byers answered from the middle. But Syftestad struck again and miscommunication on the CSUN side of the net on the ensuing serve gave UCSD the set 27-25.

The hosts then opened up a 9-3 lead in the early stages of set two and led by as many as 11 in the final set as the Tritons picked up the straight set win.

Syftestad led all hitters with 14 kills for UC San Diego which won its fifth straight match to improve to 5-5 (2-4 MPSF).

CSUN continues its four-match road trip Saturday as the Matadors travel to the Bren Center to take on No. UC Irvine at 7 p.m.

#GoMatadors

CSUN Drops Straight Set Decision at UC San Diego

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Team Stats

Dimitar Kalchev

Arvis Greene

Josiah Byers

Jakub Ciesla

Players Mentioned

Josiah Byers

Jakub Ciesla

Arvis Greene

Dimitar Kalchev