California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
UC Santa Barbara
CSUN Hosts No. 3 UCSB Friday Before Traveling to Santa Barbara Saturday
3/25/2021 2:34:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK:
MATCH #3Â (BIG WEST #3)
No. 3 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (5-4, 1-3 Big West) at CSUN Matadors (1-1, 1-1 Big West)
Friday, Mar. 26, 2021Â - 4Â p.m.
The Matadome - Northridge, Calif.
Watch
Live Stats
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNMensVB
MATCH #4Â (BIG WEST #4)
CSUN Matadors (1-1, 1-1 Big West) at No. 3 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (5-4, 1-3 Big West)
Saturday, Mar. 27, 2021Â - 4Â p.m.
Rob Gym - Santa Barbara, Calif.
Watch
Live Stats
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNMensVB
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN men's volleyball team (1-1, 1-1 Big West), receiving votes in the AVCA Top-15 poll, continues Big West Conference play this week, taking on third-ranked UC Santa Barbara (5-4, 1-3 Big West)Â in a home-and-home weekend series. The Matadors and Gauchos meet Friday in in The Matadome at 4 p.m. before traveling to Santa Barbara for a second 4 p.m. match Saturday at Rob Gym on the UCSB campus.Â
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
Follow CSUN Matadors volleyball on-line at the official home of CSUN athletics, www.GoMatadors.com. All regular-season home matches will feature live stats and will be streamed live by the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health via Big West TV 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.Â
All CSUN athletics events on campus this Spring will be held without spectators. Our campus remains closed to all but essential personnel.
CSUN Athletics understands and recognizes the disappointment felt by fans, particularly the families of our student-athletes and coaches, who are unable to show their support in person and appreciates everyone's effort in creating the safest possible environment for student-athletes, coaches and team staff. CSUN thanks everyone for their understanding, cooperation and continued support of CSUN Athletics and our student-athletes, coaches and staff.
SCOUTING REPORT
No. 3 UC Santa Barbara (5-4, 1-3 Big West) split a two-match set with No. 10 Long Beach State last weekend after opening the conference schedule with a pair of home losses to top-ranked Hawai'i. The Gauchos are limiting opponents to a .280 hitting clip which ranks third in the Big West. They also rank second in digs p/set (10.41) and total blocks (63). Senior outside hitter Randy DeWeese currently leads the Big West with 132 total kills and ranks second averaging 4.13 KPS. Ryan Wilcox was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week after leading UCSB in digs over its two matches with the Beach.
Series:Â The two matches this week mark the 100th and 101st meetings all-time between the Matadors and UCSB with the Gauchos holding a 57-42 edge in the series. UCSB has won three straight and eight of the last 10 between the two teams who last met in the opening round of the 2019 Big West Tournament in Honolulu. CSUN is 22-18 all-time against the Gauchos in Northridge and 14-36 all-time in Santa Barbara.
NVA/AVCAÂ TOP-15 NATIONAL COACHES POLL - WEEK 10
The Matadors (1-1) received four points from the nation's coaches after splitting two matches with No. 12 UC Irvine last week. CSUN, which last received votes in the national poll on Jan. 13, 2020, was last ranked in the top-15 in the 2020 preseason coaches poll when the Matadors were No. 13. Prior to the Jan. 13, 2020 poll, CSUN had been ranked in the AVCA Top-15 for 62 consecutive weeks and 262 of the last 289 weekly polls dating back to the 2002 season.
Hawai'i (7-0) received 15 of 16 first-place votes this week and is ranked number one for the fourth straight week. BYU (12-2), which picked up one first-place vote, remains second this week followed in the top-five by UC Santa Barbara (5-4), Lewis (13-2) and Pepperdine (8-5). UCLA (9-4) remains sixth this week followed in the top-10 by Long Beach State (1-1), Penn State (14-2), Grand Canyon (4-5) and McKendree (8-3). NJIT (11-5) is 11th this week followed by UC San Diego (1-5), UC Irvine (2-6), Loyola Chicago (11-3) and George Mason (8-5) rounds out this week's Top-15.
WETTERÂ NAMED BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt sophomore Daniel Wetter started the 2021 season much like he ended the 2020 season, as the nation's top hitter. Wetter was honored as Big West Player of the Week on Monday, Mar. 22 after leading the Matadors to a split in their season-opening series with No. 12 UC Irvine. CSUN dropped its opener (3-1) on Saturday before knocking off the Anteaters in four sets Sunday in Northridge. In Saturday's opener, Wetter led the Matadors with 11 kills, hitting .474 on 19 swings while also added four blocks, three digs and a pair of aces. Wetter then matched the CSUN program record for a single match by hitting .929 with 13 kills in 14 errorless attacks the Matadors' 3-1 win on Sunday. He is now tied with Dimitar Kalchev (2017), Jared Moore (2012) and Kevin McKniff (2010) who also hit .929 as a Matador. Wetter also added a pair digs along with one ace and one block in the win.
PTASZYNSKIÂ LEADSÂ BIG WEST INÂ ACES
Senior Maciej Ptaszynski has also picked up where he left off after the abbreviated 2020 season when was the Big West Conference leader in aces per set. Ptaszynski, who averaged 0.50 aces per set in 15 matches last season, is averaging 0.75 aces per set with six aces in eight sets this season. Ptaszynski matched his career-high with four aces in CSUN's 3-1 win over UCI on Sunday after posting a pair in Saturday's season opener. The senior from Gdansk, Poland now has 525 kills, 320 digs and 81 aces in his Matador career. In CSUN's rally scoring era, Ptaszynski has now moved past Isaac Kneubuhl (80 aces) into 10th place and currently trails Nils Nielsen (82) by one for ninth place.
MERCHEN MAKES CSUN DEBUTÂ
The season-opening series against UC Irvine marked the Matador debut of setter Kyle Merchen. After playing at Santa Barbara City College in 2020, Merchen transferred to CSUN immediately made his presence felt in the Matador lineup this past weekend. Merchen started both matches and led the CSUN hitters to a .281 hitting clip as the Matadors split two matches with No 12 UC Irvine. Merchen handed out 35 assists in his debut on Saturday before posting 42 assists as CSUN hit .393 in Sunday's upset win. Redshirt junior Cole Chea also had an immediate impact after a limited role in 2020. Chea hit .412 in the two matches against UCI with 18 kills and four errors on 34 attacks.
MATADORS IN THE BIG WEST
2021 marks CSUN's fourth season of men's volleyball in the Big West Conference. The Matadors are a combined 9-13 (.409) two matches into their fourth Big West season after the 2020 conference season not contested. CSUNÂ finished 5-5 in 2018 and 3-7 in 2019 and is 1-1 in 2021. The Matadors reached the semifinals of the Big West Tournament in 2018 in Long Beach before falling in the 2019 quarterfinals in Hawai'i.Â
CAMPBELL IN HIS 24TH SEASON AS HEAD COACH
In terms of wins and losses, Jeff Campbell has been the most successful coach at CSUN over the past 17 years. Campbell has posted 267 wins (nearly 16 wins per season) since the 2003 season which is quite an accomplishment considering the Matadors have annually played in the toughest men's volleyball conference in the country.
He has a career record of 323-324 (.499) and is the all-time winningest coach in CSUN men's volleyball history. Campbell become the program's all-time winningest coach during the 2010 season, reaching the 150, 200, 225 and 250 career win milestones over the last 10 seasons. Currently, the second-longest tenured head coach at CSUN (men's golf coach Jim Bracken is in his 35th season) Campbell has earned double-figure win totals in 20 of his 22 seasons on the bench, posting a career-best 24 wins in 2009.
LOOKING AHEAD
After this week's home-and-home series with No. 3 UC Santa Barbara, the Matadors open the month of April with a two-match set against No. 13 UC San Diego. CSUN and UCSD meet in the home-and-home series which begins Apr. 2 in Northridge. The same two teams cap the season series Apr. 3 at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla.
#UniteTheValley
