California State University at Northridge
Stanford
CSUN Travels to Stanford to Take on No. 12 Cardinal
2/16/2022 1:32:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
MATCH #6
CSUN Matadors (3-2) at No. 12 Stanford Cardinal (7-3)
Friday, Feb. 18, 2022Â - 2:00Â p.m. PST
Maples Pavilion - Stanford, Calif.
TV: Pac-12 Bay Area
Live Stream
Live Stats
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNMensVB
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN Men's Volleyball team (3-2, 0-0 Big West) concludes a brief two-match road trip Friday (Feb. 18) with an afternoon matinee at No. 12 Stanford. The Matadors and Cardinal meet at Maples Pavilion at 2 p.m. CSUN split two matches last week, sweeping Vanguard (25-16, 25-18, 25-13) on Wednesday before falling 25-20, 25-18, 25-23 at seventh-ranked USC on Thursday.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
All CSUN home matches will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform with Darren Preston handling the play-by-play. Fans can also follow CSUN Matador men's volleyball on-line at the official home of CSUN athletics, www.GoMatadors.com for related links to the match, including for any live stats, audio and video. 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.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Stanford (7-3) has won four of its last five matches after opening the season 3-2. The 12th-ranked Cardinal swept previously undefeated Menlo College on Feb. 11 to remain undefeated at home this season. Will Rottman, who leads Stanford averaging 4.37 kps, had 17 kills on .536 hitting and two aces) in the win over Menlo. Rottman and libero Justin Lui were named MPSF Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively. The Cardinal is hitting .293 as a team though 10 matches.
Series: Friday's match is the 74th meeting all-time between the Matadors and Cardinal with Stanford holding a 43-30 edge in the series. CSUN has claimed the last three matches between the two teams including a pair of 3-0 wins in 2018. Each members of the MPSF (1993-2017), CSUN and Stanford met at least twice each season from 2001-17. The Matadors are 10-21 all-time at Stanford which includes a 3-0 Cardinal win in the MPSF Championship match in 2010.
NVA/AVCAÂ TOP-15 NATIONAL COACHES POLL - WEEK SIXÂ (FEB. 14)
After receiving votes in the first three national polls of the 2022 season, CSUN (3-2) did not receive any votes this week in the NVA/AVCA Top-15 (Feb. 14). The Matadors received a season-high 12 points in the preseason poll before receiving nine points in week one (Jan. 10) and seven points in week two (Jan. 17). CSUN was last ranked among the top-15 on Jan. 13, 2020 when the Matadors were 13th in the 2020 preseason coaches poll. Prior to that, 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.
Long Beach State (7-1) received all19 first-place votes and 285 points this week to remain number one spot for the second straight week. UCLA (7-2) remains second this week followed in the top-five by Hawai'i (10-2), Penn State (9-3) and USC (10-2). UC Santa Barbara (7-4) moved up to sixth this week followed in the top-10 by Ball State (8-1), Pepperdine (5-3). Lewis (7-3) and Grand Canyon (6-3). The remainder of this week's top-15 includes UC San Diego (5-5), Stanford (7-3), BYU (5-5), Ohio State (4-5) and Lincoln Memorial (8-0).
MATADOR MIDDLES CARRY ON TRADITIONÂ
Always a team strength in Jeff Campbell's 25 years as head coach, the CSUN middles have continued to excel in 2022. Despite All-American Daniel Wetter being sidelined due to an injury, freshman Olumide Allen and redshirt sophomore Jano Tello have more than held their own both offensively and defensively. Allen has started all five matches this season and is hitting .688 with 25 kills and just three hitting errors on 32 swings. Allen has also been effective at the net as he shares the team lead in blocks with Kyle Hobus (12) while ranking 11th in the Big West averaging 0.80 blocks per set. Allen also ranks 14th in the Big West in aces per set at 0.21. Tello, who has started CSUN's last three matches in Wetter's absence, is hitting .455 (14-4-22) along with six blocks. Tello matched his career-high with five kills in the Matadors' 3-0 win over UC Merced and also posted his first career ace and dig this season.
FRESHMEN STEER THE OFFENSE
CSUN has turned to true freshman Donovan Constable and redshirt freshman Lance Krenik to run the offense in 2022. After Krenik started the 2022 season-opener at UCLA, Constable has started the last four matches where the Matadors are 3-1. With a team-high 106 assists, Constable is currently sixth in the Big West averaging 8.15 assists per set. He also ranks eighth in the conference in digs (1.62 dps) and 10th in aces (0.31 saps). The freshman from Clovis notched a season-high 28 assists and seven digs in CSUN's 3-0 victory over Vanguard before adding 24 assists and seven digs Friday at USC. In two matches this season, Krenik has notched 28 assists while averaging 9.33 assists per set. The redshirt freshman from Foothill Ranch posted a season-high 17 assists in his collegiate debut at No. 2 UCLA on Jan. 27.
MATADOR NOTES
After leading the Big West in opponent hitting percentage over the first two weeks of the 2022 season, CSUN slipped to second this week limiting its opponents to a .187 hitting clip in five matches. The Matadors also rank second in aces at 1.75 aces per set and are third in both hitting percentage (.320) and kills per set (11.81) ... Individually, Griffin Walters ranks second in the conference in aces per set at 0.63 while Luke Krzmarzick ranks eighth in both kills per set (3.17) and hitting percentage (.329) ... Friday's match at 12th-ranked Stanford marks CSUN's third match this season against a ranked opponent. The Matadors fell in their delayed season-opener at No. 2 UCLA on Jan. 27 before dropping a 3-0 decision at No. 7 USC last Friday. Last season, the Matadors played 11 straight opponents that were ranked in the NVA/AVCA Top-15 National Coaches Poll. Beginning the season with 12th-ranked UC Irvine, the Matadors faced No. 3 UC Santa Barbara, No. 13 UC San Diego, No. 1 Hawai'i ans No. 7 Long Beach State in succession. CSUN capped the season with a 3-1 loss to No. 13 UCSD in the first round of the Outrigger Big West Men's Volleyball Championship in Hawai'i.
CAMPBELL PICKS UP 325TH CAREER WIN
CSUN's 3-0 win over Cal Lutheran on Jan. 28 was the 325th career win for CSUN head coach Jeff Campbell. In his 25th season at the helm of the program, Campbell now boasts a career record of 326-335 and has been the most successful coach at CSUN over the past 17 years. Campbell has posted 273 wins (nearly 14 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 heads into his 25th season as the all-time winningest coach in CSUN men's volleyball history with 326 career victories.Â
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 36th 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.
MATADORS IN THE BIG WEST Â
The 2022 season marks CSUN's fifth as a member of the Big West Conference in men's volleyball. The Matadors will bring are a record of 10-20 (.333) into their Big West opener Mar. 10 at UC Santa Barbara. CSUN finished 5-5 in the inaugural Big West season in 2018 before finishing 3-7 in 2019 and 2-8 in 2021. The 2020 conference season was not contested due to COVID-19. The Matadors reached the semifinals of the Big West Tournament in 2018 in Long Beach before falling in both the 2019 and 2021 quarterfinals in Hawai'i. Prior to 2018, CSUN played 25 seasons as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) from 1993-2017 and 16 seasons in the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (WIVA) from 1977-92.
LOOKING AHEAD
Friday's matinee at Stanford marks the end of CSUN's brief two-match road trip. The Matadors will return home Feb. 23 to open up a three-match homestand against Saint Katherine at 7 p.m. CSUN will also host a rematch with Stanford (Feb. 26) and take on NJIT (Mar. 3) on the homestand before opening the Big West Conference season on Mar. 10 at UC Santa Barbara. Â
#UniteTheValley
