California State University at Northridge
13-7, 3-2BWC
UC Santa Barbara
9-8, 2-3BWC
Eighth-Ranked Matadors Overpower No. 11 UC Santa Barbara
3/30/2018 11:20:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
By Zach Rome, CSUNÂ Sports Communications
NORTHRIDGE,Calif. --The eighth-ranked CSUN Matadors took down another ranked opponent Friday, as they downed No. 11 UC Santa Barbara in four sets (16-25 25-21 25-16 25-23) in a Big West Conference match at The Matadome.
The Matadors won for the fifth time in a row, improving to 13-7 overall and 3-2 in the Big West.
Senior Arvis Greene once again led the way with a match-high 17 kills on .333 hitting. Last week's AVCA National Player of the Week, Greene leads the team with 280 kills on the campaign.
"In the first set I didn't play well overall, but I knew I had to bring it for us to win." said Greene. "I am happy that we bounced back and we were able to get the win as a team."
Junior Dimitar Kalchev added seven kills, three digs and one ace, while freshman Maciej Ptaszynski tallied six kills with five digs in the win.
CSUN looked rusty at the start, playing its first match since a 3-0 home win vs Hawai'i on March 16th. UCSB capitalized on several Matador miscues in the first set as they jumped out to a large lead and didn't look back. CSUN trimmed the Gauchos lead down to 9-6 early on, but the visitors went on a 6-0 run and the deficit became too large for the Matadors to overcome as UCSB went on to take the set, 25-16.
The Matadors shook off the rust, however, and were able to bounce back and play a much better second set. The set went back and forth as no team gave an edge for the first 30 points. A 3-0 CSUN run, fueled by the serving of Schylar Lillethorup, opened up a 19-16 lead and forced the Gauchos to take their first timeout. CSUN was able to hold on to the lead as a Matt Ujkic service error evened the match at one set apiece.
CSUN took control of the match in the third set. The Matadors took a 6-3 lead early with back-to-back kills from Josiah Byers and Greene. They would later increase their lead to 8-4 following a solo stuff by Kalchev. Kills by UCSB's Corey Chavers and Roy Mcfarland cut the Matador lead to 8-7, but CSUN weathered the storm and were able to pull away and claim the set 25-16.
The fourth and final set was the most tightly contested of the match. An early attack error by Chance gave the Gauchos a four-point lead at 10-6. CSUN would then rally to claim five out of the next six points to tie the set at 11. The match proceeded to go back and forth with no team letting up. A pair of attack errors by Kalchev evened the match at 20, but then two consecutive errors by the Gauchos gave the Matadors the upper hand in the late stages.
A kill by Gaucho setter Randy DeWeese cut the lead to 23-22 but a kill by Greene awarded CSUN set point, and a kill by Greene finished the match as well giving CSUN a 25-23 victory.
"I think UC Santa Barbara is a really good team, they played well and the match could have gone either way." said CSUN head coach Jeff Campbell. "I felt like UCSB was ready to go and we weren't, but the first set didn't define us. We were able to snap back and play well, and I am really proud of the guys for doing that."
 A quick turnaround is in store for the Matadors as they will look for consecutive wins over UCSB. They face off again tomorrow night, 7:00 p.m. at Rob Gym in Santa Barbara.#GoMatadors
