Matadors Earn First Win After Sweeping Benedictine Mesa

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Junior Steven Rotter had a team-high nine kills as the 13th-ranked CSUN Matadors picked up their first victory of the season by sweeping Benedictine Mesa in the finale for both teams Saturday afternoon at the UCSB Asics Invitational at Rob Gym.

Set scores were 25-15, 26-24, 25-23 as CSUN improves to 1-2 while the Redhawks slip to 0-3.

KEY STATISTICS
• Rotter finished the match with nine kills, hitting .316 on 19 attacks to go with three digs, three blocks and one ace.
• Redshirt freshman Kyle Hobus, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, added seven kills (.150), two digs and two blocks. Hobus finished the weekend with 60 kills in his first three collegiate matches. Junior Maciej Ptaszynski chipped in six kills (.400) and eight digs while the middle duo of Daniel Wetter and Paul Rzepniewski combined for nine kills on .571 hitting (9-1-14).
• Sophomore setter Taylor Ittner posted 28 assists in leading the CSUN hitters to a .324 hitting clip (33-11-68).
• The Matadors limited Benedictine to a .170 team hitting clip and also out-blocked the Redhawks 10.5 to 5.5.
• Charles Pollnow led all hitters in the match with 11 kills (.269) to lead Benedictine.

COACH JEFF CAMPBELL SAID
"We're happy with the result today. We committed far fewer service errors which wound up resulting in points for us. Overall, we played a lot better than we did the previous two nights but those two losses are going to help us in the long run. We're going to continue to work on finding a lineup and then develop it. We'll get back to work on Monday and get ready for Purdue Fort Wayne and Ball State next week."

SET 1
After the Redhawks claimed the first two points of the match, CSUN answered with a 3-0 run - capped by a Ptaszynski ace - to take the lead for good. A Rotter kill followed by a Hobus ace and a Benedictine hitting error extended the lead to three at 7-4. Still leading by three at 10-7, the Matador scored four straight to open up their largest lead of the set at 14-7. Another Hobus kill pushed the lead to double digits at 22-10 and CSUN cruised to the 25-15 win.

SET 2
The final two sets were tightly contested as the Redhawks jumped out to a 10-7 to open the second set. A Pollnow gave Benedictine a 12-8 cushion before the Matadors used a pair of blocks in a 3-0 to cut the deficit to 12-11. A Redhawk hitting error pulled CSUN even at 13-13 before a 3-1 Benedictine run kept the visitors on top 16-14. Two straight Matador points tied the score before the Redhawks claimed two of the next three points to hang on to an 18-17 lead. A Wetter kill then fueled a 4-0 CSUN run that erased the lead while putting the Matadors up 21-18. Benedictine would pull within a point on three occasions before a Rotter attack error pulled the Redhawks even at 24-all. But a Rzepniewski kill followed by a Benedictine hitting error on set point sent the Matadors to the 26-24 win.

SET 3
The final set was equally tight as the Redhawks overcame a 16-14 CSUN lead when a 4-0 run put Benedictine on top 18-16. A Ptaszynski kill and a Ptaszynski-Rzepniewski block tied the score which would remain even until 22-22. A John Dawson kill forced a CSUN timeout with the Matadors down 23-22 but kills from Wetter and Hobus set CSUN up with match point at 24-23. Wetter and Ptaszynski then teamed up for the Matadors' final block on the ensuing point sending CSUN to the 25-23 win.

UP NEXT
The Matadors open the home season Wednesday (Jan. 15) as they host Purdue Fort Wayne to open up a six-match homestand.

#UniteTheValley

Next Event

Team Stats

Steven Rotter

Kyle Hobus

Maciej Ptaszynski

Daniel Wetter

Players Mentioned

Kyle Hobus

Taylor Ittner

Maciej Ptaszynski

Steven Rotter

Paul Rzepniewski

Daniel Wetter