Eighth-Ranked CSUN Sweeps UC Merced in Home Opener

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - In his first start as a Matador, junior Lucas Timm put down a match-high 14 kills to lead eighth-ranked CSUN to a 25-15, 25-16, 25-22 sweep over visiting UC Merced in a non-conference match Friday night at The Matadome.

Timm, who tied for match-high honors in kills with the Bobcats' Cole Smith, hit .308 on 26 swings to go with five digs and a pair of blocks. Sophomore Ksawery Tomsia came off the bench to add seven kills on nine errorless attacks to hit .778 while Eric Chance, Dimitar Kalchev and Domanik Stratford each chipped in five kills.

Stratford made his first collegiate start after redshirting in 2017 and hit .500 on 10 attacks to go with a pair of aces. Kalchev, who played just the opening set, hit .833 on six errorless swings and added three aces.

"It was important for us to get some other guys some playing time tonight," said CSUN head coach Jeff Campbell. "Lucas got 26 sets and hit over .300; he made some uncharacteristic errors but overall I was pleased with his play. Domanik was also super steady tonight but to be able to rest Arvis (Greene), Josiah (Byers) and Dimitar for most of the match was really important. Overall I feel good about the win tonight."

Sam Porter and Schylar Lillethorup shared time at setter, combining for 31 assists as CSUN hit a season-high .474 (46-10-76). Porter also scooped up a match-high eight digs as the Matadors out-dug UC Merced 32-18 and out-blocked the Bobcats 10-3.

CSUN (4-0) tallied the first three points of the match before the visitors rallied back to take a 7-5 lead following a Matthew Pelfini kill. Another Pelfini kill kept the Bobcats in front 8-7 before the Matadors engineered a 9-1 run to open up a 14-8 cushion. Kalchev served all three of his aces during the CSUN run.

UC Merced was able to get back within four at 16-12 but the Matadors closed the set on a 9-3 run to win going away 25-15.

After hitting .462 in set one, CSUN committed just a single hitting error in the second set to connect at a .542 clip. Holding a slim 9-7 lead, the Matadors outscored the Bobcats 7-2 over the next nine points to open up a 16-9 advantage. CSUN boosted the lead to nine (19-10) on a Tomsia ace and took a two-set lead following the 25-16 win.

The Matadors led by as many as five points in the final set before the visitors made it interesting late. After a UC Merced service error gave CSUN an 18-14 lead, the visitors rallied to pull within two at 21-19 when Timm's attack landed wide.

A solo block by Jose Leon Gomez again pulled the Bobcats within two at 23-21 but a pair of Maciej Ptsazynski kills sealed the set for the Matadors who claimed the set 25-22 and the match 3-0.

In addition to Smith's 14 kills (.333), Gomez added six kills for UC Merced which dropped to 0-2.

CSUN hits the road for its next match as the Matadors travel to former MPSF rival Stanford to take on the Cardinal Wednesday at 6 p.m.

#GoMatadors

Eighth-Ranked CSUN Sweeps UC Merced in Home Opener

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Team Stats

Lucas Timm

Ksawery Tomsia

Domanik Stratford

Dimitar Kalchev

Players Mentioned

Eric Chance

Dimitar Kalchev

Schylar Lillethorup

Sam Porter

Domanik Stratford

Lucas Timm

Ksawery Tomsia