Matadors Upset No. 12 Stanford in Four Sets

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Behind a balanced attack that saw three hitters reach double figures in kills, the CSUN Men's Volleyball team knocked off 12th-ranked Stanford in four sets in a non-conference match Saturday night at The Matadome.

Set scores were 25-15, 25-27, 25-20, 26-24 as the Matadors improve their season record to 5-3 while remaining unbeaten in five home matches. The loss, Stanford's second straight, drops the Cardinal to 8-5 on the season.

KEY STATISTICS
• Redshirt sophomore Kyle Hobus led the Matadors with 12 kills, hitting .281 on a team-high 32 attacks. Hobus also had a team-high 10 digs for his second career double-double to go with a career-high four aces and four blocks.
• Daniel Wetter and Luke Krzmarzick each added 11 kills with Wetter hitting .360 on a season-high 25 swings to go with a career-high seven blocks. Krzmarzick set a new CSUN career-high with 11 kills, hitting .273 on 22 attacks. Griffin Walters chipped in eight kills (.222), six digs and a pair of blocks.
• Setter Donovan Constable had the best match of his young career with season-highs of 38 assists, three aces and four blocks. The freshman from Clovis also added six digs in a solid all-around match while leading the Matadors to a .292 (46-15-106) team hitting clip.
• In addition to out-hitting Stanford .292 to .167, the Matadors also posted a sizable 13.0 to 3.0 edge in blocks and 10-6 in aces behind Hobus' four.
• The Cardinal was led by Kevin Lamp who posted match-highs of 14 kills (.250) and 12 digs.

COACH JEFF CAMPBELL SAID
"It was a great win tonight. The energy of the team was great and we competed really hard the entire match. Our setting was good and to be able to hit as well as we did against a tough serving team is a real confidence booster. The guys believed in each other and believed they could beat a top-15 team. We'll enjoy this one for a short time and then look forward to hosting NJIT on Thursday."

SET 1
After an early Stanford service error evened the score at 2-2, Hobus stepped to the service line and served seven straight points, including three aces, as CSUN opened up a 9-2 lead. The Matadors still led by seven (12-5) following a Walters kill when Stanford scored twice to trim the lead to five. But consecutive kills from Jano Tello, Hobus and Krzmarzick pushed the CSUN lead back to seven at 15-8. The visitors stayed within five at 18-13 when a Stanford service error sent the Matadors on a set-clinching 7-2 run as CSUN claimed a 25-15 win.

SET 2
The second set featured 11 ties and five lead changes as the Cardinal overcame an early 11-7 CSUN lead to knot the score at 12-12 following a Lamp kill. Neither team would lead by more than two points until Tello's kill gave the Matadors a three-point cushion at 19-16. But another Lamp kill capped a 6-2 Cardinal run that put Stanford in front 22-21. A Cardinal service error followed by a kill from Hobus and a Tello ace set CSUN up with set point at 24-22. Stanford would erase a pair of set points before taking a 25-24 lead on a Lamp ace. Lamp's service error out of a Matador timeout evened the score at 25-25 when a Matador service error and an Ethan Hill kill gave the visitors the 26-24 win.

SET 3
The Matadors bounced back quickly to open the third set as they led 9-5 following a triple block by Krzmarzick, Tello and Walters. Stanford would cut the lead to one at 10-9 before CSUN would put together a 6-1 run to open up a 16-10 advantage. Krzmarzick's kill gave the Matadors their largest lead of seven (21-14) forcing a Cardinal timeout. CSUN's lead remained seven at both 23-16 and 24-17 before a Hobus kill capped a 25-20 win.

SET 4
Stanford looked poised to force a fifth and deciding set after claiming eight of the first 10 points of the fourth set. The Cardinal still led by six at 10-4 when CSUN used a 4-1 run to pull within 11-8 following a Cardinal hitting error. Still trailing by four (17-13) a kill from Wetter and a hitting error cut the lead to two. But an Aiden Peters ace kept the Stanford lead at four (19-15) when a Walters kill capped a 5-1 run by the Matadors that evened the score at 20. The visitors would claim four of the next six points to take set point at 24-22 when kills from Constable and Wetter pulled CSUN even at 24-all. With Hobus again at the service line, a Stanford hitting error was followed by Hobus' fourth ace on match point as the Matadors pulled out the 26-24 victory.

UP NEXT
The Matadors complete a three-match homestand next Thursday (Mar. 3) as CSUN hosts NJIT at 7 p.m.

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Team Stats

Kyle Hobus

Daniel Wetter

Luke Krzmarzick

Griffin Walters

Players Mentioned

Donovan Constable

Kyle Hobus

Luke Krzmarzick

Jano Tello

Griffin Walters

Daniel Wetter