Friday, January 13
Northridge, CA
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
2-2,0-0Big West
3
vs
0
Cal Lutheran
0-1,0-0DIII Independent
1
2
3
F
Cal Lutheran
22
15
12
0
CSUN
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
Matadors Sweep Cal Lutheran to Open Home Season
1/13/2023 9:07:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Kyle Hobus and Nathan Merren each had double figures in kills as the CSUN men's volleyball team swept visiting Cal Lutheran in the Matadors' 2023 home opener Friday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
With the 25-22, 25-15, 25-12 win, the Matadors improve to 2-2 on the season while the Div. IIIÂ Kingsmen fall to 0-1.
KEY STATISTICS
• Coming off his best match of the young season in Saturday's win over Lincoln Memorial, Hobus led all hitters in the match on Friday with 12 kills. The junior from San Pedro hit .526 on 19 swings while Merren added 10 kills on 14 errorless attacks to hit .714. In just his second career start, Merren also added a match-high seven digs and three blocks.Â
• Griffin Walters chipped in seven kills (.333), two digs and two blocks while Jackson Payne connected for a season-high five kills (.300) to go with a pair of blocks.
• Donovan Constable recorded a season-high 32 assists while matching his career-high for the second straight match with three aces and a season-high five digs while freshman Malcolm King served his first two collegiate aces in the win.
• After hitting .453 against Lincoln Memorial, the Matadors upped their hitting percentage to a season-high .472 (41-7-72) against the Kingsmen. CSUN also dominated the net with 9.5 team blocks to just one for CLU. The Matadors, who had seven team aces, did not surrender a single ace to the Kingsmen.
• Sean Fitzpatrick had five kills to lead CLU which hit .095 (25-18-74) as a team.
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"It was a good match for us tonight. I thought we definitely got better as the match went on and we had some guys with some pretty impressive numbers. Nathan (Merren) was exceptional with 10 kills and no errors and Kyle (Hobus) was great, hitting .526. Our serving consistency was ok, the first set was a little frustrating, I felt like we missed a ton but got better in sets two and three. Donovan (Constable) was pretty steady and once we found our rhythm offensively, we really got it going and never looked back."
SET 1
After trailing early in the opening set, the Matadors grabbed their first lead of the night at 6-5 following a Walters ace. Neither team could gain much separation until Jano Tello's ace put the Matadors up by three at 9-6. An ensuing 6-2 run by the visitors swung the lead back in CLU's favor at 12-11. The Kingsmen would maintain a one-point cushion at 13-12 following Payne's service error when the Matadors engineered a 4-1 run to open up a 16-14 on a Hobus solo block. CSUN would not trail the remainder of the set, leading by as many as three at 23-20, 24-21 and the final score, 25-22.
SET 2
CLU claimed the opening point of the second set before two straight Matador points gave CSUN a lead it would never relinquish. After a Hobus hitting error evened the score at 7-7, the Matadors put together a 6-0 run to open up a 13-7 cushion. The Kingsmen then scored three straight to trim the deficit to three before another Hobus kill fueled another 6-0 CSUN run that extended the lead to 19-10. CLU would get within eight on four occasions down the stretch before the Matadors closed a 25-15 win on sixth kill of the frame.
 Â
SET 3
The final set was all CSUN as the Matadors jumped out to an early 5-1 lead and never looked back. Leading 8-3 following a Tello kill, the visitors pulled within four at 9-5 when Walters' serve went long. CLU remained within four at 10-6 when a 4-1 CSUN run, capped by Payne's solo block, opened up a 14-7 Matador lead. A Kingmen hitting error pushed the CSUN lead to double digits at 20-10 and the Matadors would pull away late to close the match on Constable's third ace of the night.Â
UP NEXT
The Matadors continue their seven-match homestand next Wednesday (Jan. 18) as they host The Master's University at 7 p.m..
#UniteTheValley
With the 25-22, 25-15, 25-12 win, the Matadors improve to 2-2 on the season while the Div. IIIÂ Kingsmen fall to 0-1.
KEY STATISTICS
• Coming off his best match of the young season in Saturday's win over Lincoln Memorial, Hobus led all hitters in the match on Friday with 12 kills. The junior from San Pedro hit .526 on 19 swings while Merren added 10 kills on 14 errorless attacks to hit .714. In just his second career start, Merren also added a match-high seven digs and three blocks.Â
• Griffin Walters chipped in seven kills (.333), two digs and two blocks while Jackson Payne connected for a season-high five kills (.300) to go with a pair of blocks.
• Donovan Constable recorded a season-high 32 assists while matching his career-high for the second straight match with three aces and a season-high five digs while freshman Malcolm King served his first two collegiate aces in the win.
• After hitting .453 against Lincoln Memorial, the Matadors upped their hitting percentage to a season-high .472 (41-7-72) against the Kingsmen. CSUN also dominated the net with 9.5 team blocks to just one for CLU. The Matadors, who had seven team aces, did not surrender a single ace to the Kingsmen.
• Sean Fitzpatrick had five kills to lead CLU which hit .095 (25-18-74) as a team.
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"It was a good match for us tonight. I thought we definitely got better as the match went on and we had some guys with some pretty impressive numbers. Nathan (Merren) was exceptional with 10 kills and no errors and Kyle (Hobus) was great, hitting .526. Our serving consistency was ok, the first set was a little frustrating, I felt like we missed a ton but got better in sets two and three. Donovan (Constable) was pretty steady and once we found our rhythm offensively, we really got it going and never looked back."
SET 1
After trailing early in the opening set, the Matadors grabbed their first lead of the night at 6-5 following a Walters ace. Neither team could gain much separation until Jano Tello's ace put the Matadors up by three at 9-6. An ensuing 6-2 run by the visitors swung the lead back in CLU's favor at 12-11. The Kingsmen would maintain a one-point cushion at 13-12 following Payne's service error when the Matadors engineered a 4-1 run to open up a 16-14 on a Hobus solo block. CSUN would not trail the remainder of the set, leading by as many as three at 23-20, 24-21 and the final score, 25-22.
SET 2
CLU claimed the opening point of the second set before two straight Matador points gave CSUN a lead it would never relinquish. After a Hobus hitting error evened the score at 7-7, the Matadors put together a 6-0 run to open up a 13-7 cushion. The Kingsmen then scored three straight to trim the deficit to three before another Hobus kill fueled another 6-0 CSUN run that extended the lead to 19-10. CLU would get within eight on four occasions down the stretch before the Matadors closed a 25-15 win on sixth kill of the frame.
 Â
SET 3
The final set was all CSUN as the Matadors jumped out to an early 5-1 lead and never looked back. Leading 8-3 following a Tello kill, the visitors pulled within four at 9-5 when Walters' serve went long. CLU remained within four at 10-6 when a 4-1 CSUN run, capped by Payne's solo block, opened up a 14-7 Matador lead. A Kingmen hitting error pushed the CSUN lead to double digits at 20-10 and the Matadors would pull away late to close the match on Constable's third ace of the night.Â
UP NEXT
The Matadors continue their seven-match homestand next Wednesday (Jan. 18) as they host The Master's University at 7 p.m..
#UniteTheValley
Team Stats
CLU
CSUN
Kills
25
41
Errors
18
7
Attempts
74
72
Hitting %
.095
.472
Points
26
57.5
Assists
24
39
Aces
0
7
Blocks
1
9.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
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