USC Tops Matadors in Five-Set Thriller

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Junior Maciej Ptaszynski matched his career-high with 18 kills but visiting USC rallied to take the final two sets to defeat the CSUN Matadors in a five-set non-conference thriller Friday night at The Matadome.

Both teams come out of the match with identical 2-6 records as the Trojans snap a six-match skid with the 25-20, 20-25, 20-25, 25-21, 18-16 win.

KEY STATISTICS
• Ptaszynski was one of four Matador hitters in double figures as the junior outside hitter hit .394 on a season-high 33 swings. He also chipped in four digs, two blocks and one ace.
• Freshman Griffin Walters added 15 kills (.481) and a season-high eight digs while fellow freshman Kyle Hobus chipped in 13 kills (.286), two aces and a team-high four blocks.
• Sophomore Daniel Wetter made it four Matador hitters in double figures as the nation's leader in hitting percentage notched 12 kills on a career-high 28 attacks to hit .357. Wetter also matched Hobus with four blocks while serving a pair of aces.
• Both teams were efficient on offense as USC connected at a .387 (72-17-142) clip while the Matadors hit a season-high .360 (61-12-136) in the loss.
• Billy Fauntleroy came off the bench to lead the Trojans with 16 kills, hitting .407 on 27 attacks.

COACH JEFF CAMPBELL SAID
"USC is a good team and I thought we played the best we've played all season. Was it good enough to win tonight, no but you have to go through moments like this with a young team. I thought things changed when we got a little tight in the fifth set, but again I thought that's the best we've played all year. We're getting better every day and we'll be ready for Princeton tomorrow."

SET 1
CSUN used kills from Hobus and Ptaszynski and a USC hitting error to open up an early 7-3 lead. The Matadors still led by four at 10-6 when the visitors began mounting a comeback. An 8-4 run by the Trojans knotted the score at 14-14 before a Hobus kill kept CSUN in front 15-14. A Ptaszynksi service error and a Sam Lewis ace gave USC the lead for good at 16-15. The Matadors would tie the score at 17-all before the Trojans scored four straight to fuel a set-clinching 8-3 run.

SET 2
After hitting .429 in the opening set, the Matadors upped their hitting to .438 in set two to win by the identical 25-20 score. A Walters kill forced an early USC timeout at 11-6 and after the Trojans whittled the CSUN lead down to two (15-13), kills from Ptaszynski and Paul Rzepniewski pushed the margin back to five at 18-13. A Trojan hitting error out of a USC timeout gave the Matadors their largest lead at 19-13 and CSUN held off a late rally to win by the score of 25-20.

SET 3
The Matadors claimed nine of the first 10 points of the third set and would never trail. Down 18-11, USC made things interesting with a 4-1 run that cut the CSUN lead down to four at 19-15 but the Matadors held on down the stretch for the 25-20 win.

SET 4
The Trojans jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the fourth, forcing CSUN into an early timeout. A Walters kill kept the Matadors within four (9-5) and CSUN was still within four at 12-8 when the visitors scored on three of the next four points to extend the lead back to six at 15-9. The Trojans maintained a six-point cushion at 19-13 before a late 5-2 run by the Matadors trimmed the lead down to three at 21-18. CSUN was still down three at 23-20 when USC claimed two of the final three points to send the match to a five set.

SET 5
Neither team could gain much separation until a Hobus ace gave the Matadors a 6-4 lead. The Trojans quickly tied the score with two quick points before a Walters kill sent the Matadors to the  changeover with an 8-7 lead. A Ryan DeWeese ace followed and CSUN again had a two-point lead (9-7) forcing a USC timeout. The Matadors maintained their two-point edge when Walters connected for his 15th kill of the match giving CSUN a 10-8 lead. But a kill from Fauntleroy and an ace from Vecas Lewis evened the score at 10 before Wetter's kill kept the Matadors in front 11-10. After USC claimed four of the next six points to take match point at 14-13, Ptaszynski's kill saved one match point. CSUN saved another at 15-14 on a Trojan service error and an ensuing hitting error by the Trojans gave CSUN match point at 16-15. Fauntleroy answered with a kill out of the USC timeout and after a Matador hitting error, Fauntleroy came though on the Trojans' third swing at the match.

UP NEXT
The Matadors conclude their season-long, six-match homestand Saturday night as CSUN hosts No. 13 Princeton in The Matadome at 7:30 p.m.

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Team Stats

Maciej Ptaszynski

Griffin Walters

Kyle Hobus

Daniel Wetter

Players Mentioned

Ryan DeWeese

Kyle Hobus

Maciej Ptaszynski

Paul Rzepniewski

Griffin Walters

Daniel Wetter