California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
Loyola-Chicago
11th-Ranked Matadors Host Two Top-10 Teams This Week
1/23/2019 11:55:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK
MATCH #8:
No. 5 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers (5-1) @Â No. 11Â CSUN Matadors (5-2)
Friday, Jan. 25, 2019Â - 7:00 p.m. PT
The Matadome (2,000) - Northridge, Calif.
Live Stats
Big West TV
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNMensVB
MATCH #9:
No. 9Â Lewis Flyers (5-2) @Â No. 11Â CSUN Matadors (5-2)
Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019Â - 7:00 p.m. PT
The Matadome (2,000) - Northridge, Calif.
Live Stats
Big West TV
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNMensVB
FORÂ STARTERS
After splitting a two-match trip to the Midwest last week, 11th-ranked CSUN men's volleyball (5-2, 0-0 Big West) returns to The Matadome to welcome two teams from the Midwest this week. The Matadors host fifth-ranked Loyola-Chicago (5-1) on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday match against No. 9 Lewis (5-2) also at 7 p.m.
Last week, CSUN played a pair of five-set thrillers, coming back from a two-set deficit to defeat No. 13 Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday before falling in the fifth set at No. 14 Ball State.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
Follow CSUN Matadors volleyball on-line at the official home of CSUN athletics, www.GoMatadors.com. All home matches will feature live stats and will be streamed live by the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health via Big West TV. 11Â Matador home matches will feature a webcast with Darren Preston handling the play-by-play. For road matches, related links to the match, including for any live stats, audio and video, will be posted before the match on the men's volleyball schedule page of GoMatadors.com.Â
Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Athletics Department's official Twitter feed (@GoMatadors) and the volleyball-specific feed (@CSUNMensVB) for news and notes throughout the week as well as updates of matches in progress.
MATADORS RANKED 11THÂ IN JAN. 21Â AVCAÂ COACHES TOP-15 POLL
After splitting matches at No. 13 Purdue Fort Wayne and No. 14 Ball State last week, CSUN slipped one spot to 11th in this week's AVCA Div. I Coaches Top-15 Poll released Jan. 21. The Matadors earned 80 points this week, down 18 points from the season-high 98 points they received last week. CSUN has now been ranked in the AVCA Top-15 for 50 consecutive weeks and 250 of the last 276 weekly polls dating back to the 2002 season.
Long Beach State (6-0) received all 16 first place votes this week and are ranked number one for the fourth straight poll. Hawai'i (3-0) moved up to second this week followed in the top five by UC Irvine (6-1), BYU (4-0) and Loyola-Chicago (5-1). Pepperdine (5-1) is sixth this week followed in the top 10 by UCLA (5-2), Stanford (5-1), Lewis (5-2) and UC Santa Barbara (5-3). The Matadors (5-2), Ohio State (3-3), Ball State (3-4), George Mason (5-1) and Purdue Fort Wayne (4-2) round out this week's top-15.
SCOUTING REPORTS
Loyola-Chicago: The fifth-ranked Ramblers (5-1) have won five straight after dropping their season opener to No. 4 UC Irvine. Last week, Loyola knocked off No. 5 Pepperdine (3-2) and UC San Diego (3-0) at home. The Ramblers have played just one match on the road this season, sweeping King in straight sets. Senior outside hitter Collin Mahan leads Loyola, averaging 3.21 kills per set through six matches. As a team, the Ramblers are hitting .363 which ranks fourth in the NCAA. Head coach Mark Hulse is in his fourth season at Loyola and owns a career record of 64-29.Â
Lewis: The ninth-ranked Flyers (5-2) had their four-match winning streak snapped in a 3-1 loss to No. 5 Pepperdine at home last week. Prior to that. Lewis had won four straight since a 3-1 loss to No. 4 UC Irvine on Jan. 5. Junior outside hitter Ryan Coenen leads the Flyers averaging 3.47 kills per set on .299 hitting. As a team, Lewis is hitting .299 while averaging 12.21 kills per set. Head coach Dan Friend is in his 15th season and sports a career record of 287-147.
SERIES STORIESÂ
Friday's match is the eighth meeting all-time between CSUN and Loyola-Chicago with the Matadors holding a slim 4-3 lead in the series. The two teams met last season in Chicago with the Ramblers winning in four sets. CSUN is 2-0 all-time against Loyola in The Matadome.
Saturday's match is also the eighth all-time between CSUN and Lewis with the Flyers holding the edge, 4-3. The Matadors, 3-2 against Lewis at home, fell in a four-set decision at Lewis in 2018.
ITTNER NAMED BIG WEST FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Redshirt freshman setter Taylor Ittner became the second Matador in as many weeks to be named Big West Freshman of the Week. After leading CSUN to a 3-0 upset over No. 2 UCLA and a 3-1 win over UC Merced, Ittner followed up Daniel Wetter as the conference's top newcomer. For the week, Ittner averaged 8.83 assists per set while leading the Matador hitters to a .364 hitting clip. Ittner helped CSUN to season-best .417 hitting clip as the Matadors recorded their first home win over UCLA since 2014.
ITTNER EARNS CONSECUTIVE FRESHMAN HONORS
For the second consecutive week, redshirt freshman setter Taylor Ittner was honored by the Big West as the conference's Freshman of the Week. This week, Ittner was also named National Setter of the Week by Off the Block. Ittner, who was also honored as Big West Freshman of the Week on Jan. 21, led the 10th-ranked Matadors to road split against No. 13 Purdue Fort Wayne and No. 14 Ball State last week.
The setter from Meadow Vista, Calif., posted 96 assists in the two five-set matches. For the week, Ittner averaged 9.60 assists per set while leading the Matador hitters to a .285 clip over 10 sets..
KALCHEV REACHES 1,000 CAREER KILLS; CLIMB CAREER ACES LADDER
With his fifth kill against Ball State on Saturday, Senior outside hitter Dimitar Kalchev became the 15th player in CSUN history to reach 1,000 career kills. Kalchev, who now has 1,011 kills in his Matador career, is this first player since Eric Vance in 2009 to reach the career milestone.
With a pair of aces against Ball State, Kalchev upped his career service aces total to 169. With 17 aces this season, he ranks third in the Big West and ninth nationally in aces per set (0.57). He now sits at 169 career aces and trails Vance and second place by 12 aces and CSUN career leader Eckhard Walter by 14.
WETTER A FORCE IN THE MIDDLE Â
Redshirt freshman Daniel Wetter continues to provide the Matadors with an offensive weapon the middle. Wetter pounded a season-high 13 kills while hitting .522 on a season-high 23 swings at Purdue Fort Wayne. The next night at Ball State, Wetter added 10 kills on .421 hitting and also added eight blocks in the two matches. The freshman from Camarillo leads CSUN with a .465 hitting percentage which ranks fourth in the Big West while also posting a team-leading total of 28 blocks.
CSUN COMES UP ACES
The Matadors have opened the season in impressive fashion from the service line. CSUN has a Big West-leading 55 team aces through seven matches which averages out to 1.77 aces per set which ranks third in the conference. Both Kalchev and Ksawery Tomsia rank in the individual top-10 as Kalchev is currently third at 0.57 per set followed by Tomsia in eighth at 0.40 per set.Â
MATADOR QUICK SETSÂ
• CSUN puts its unblemished 2-0 home record on the line this week against No. 5 Loyola-Chicago and No. 9 Lewis. The Matadors have not lost a home match since last April when CSUN fell to No. 3 UC Irvine. Â
• After splitting matches against No. 13 Purdue Fort Wayne and No. 14 Ball State last week, CSUN is now 3-2 against ranked teams this season. The Matadors have victories over No. 12 Concordia, No. 2 UCLA and No. 13 Purdue Fort Wayne.
• Saturday's 3-2 loss at Ball State snapped CSUN's season-high three match winning streak. It was also the Matadors' first loss when they out-hit their opponent. CSUN hit .324 to Ball State's .299 but came up short in five sets.
• Tomsia set career-highs in attacks, blocks and digs in the two matches in the Midwest. Against Purdue Fort Wayne, the junior opposite had 15 digs while attacking a career-high 46 times. He then matched his career-high with five blocks at Ball State.
• Redshirt freshman Ryan DeWeese tallied a season-high eight kills while hitting a season-high .333 at Ball State.
• CSUN has out-killed five of its first seven opponents this season and are 4-1 when leading in kills.
LOOKING AHEAD
Friday's match against Loyola-Chicago opens up a stretch where the Matadors will play five of their next six at home with the only road match across the Valley at Pepperdine on Jan. 30. CSUN will also host Princeton (Feb. 1), Cal Lutheran (Feb. 8) and the Waves (Feb. 13) over their next six matches.Â
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