Thursday, January 5
Goleta, CA
5:30 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
0-1,0-0Big West
0
vs
3
UCLA
1-0,0-0MPSF
1
2
3
F
UCLA
25
25
25
3
CSUN
18
21
18
0
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
Matadors Drop Season Opener to No. 2 UCLA in Santa Barbara
1/5/2023 9:36:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Junior Griffin Walters put down a team-high 10 kills but the CSUN men's volleyball team dropped its 2023 season opener in straight sets to No. 2 UCLA Thursday evening at the UCSB Asics Invitational at Robertson Gym.
Set scores were 25-18, 25-21, 25-18 as the Bruins win their season opener while defeating the Matadors for the fourth straight time.
KEY STATISTICS
• Walters led the Matadors with 10 kills, hitting .286 on 21 swings to go with one ace and one dig.
• Kyle Hobus added seven kills (.087), three digs and one ace while Jano Tello chipped in four kills on a team-high .375 hitting clip. Tello also had one of CSUN's three blocks in the match. Luke Krzmarzick served a career-high three aces to lead all players in the match.
• Donovan Constable and Lance Krenik shared the setting duties with Constable posting 12 assists, one ace, one dig and one solo block while Krenik had 10 assists and three digs in his one set of action.
• UCLA, which hit .484 (35-5-62) to CSUN's .086 (25-19-70), had eight aces to the Matadors' seven while also posting an 8-3 edge in team blocks.
• Ethan Champlin led all hitters in the match with 12 kills, hitting .706 on an errorless 17 attacks.
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"It was disappointing in terms of winning and losing. But the stats don't tell the entire story, I felt like the match was a lot closer than the stats showed. There were stretches where we played very well and stretches where we didn't but UCLA is very good team and they put a lot of pressure on us and forced us into some situations where we didn't respond very well. We're still building and we've got to put this one behind us and get ready for USC tomorrow night."
SET 1
The Matadors claimed four of the first five points of the match following a Hobus kill. The Bruins would answer with a 7-1 run, capped by a UCLA ace, to open up an 8-5 lead. A Bruin service error and another Hobus kill pulled CSUN within 9-8 but three straight UCLA points pushed the lead back to four at 12-8. A kill by Jackson Payne and a Hobus' ace kept the Matadors within two (12-10) when the Bruins answered with two straight to maintain a four-point edge. CSUN would get back within two at 17-15 when Jano Tello served an ace but the Matadors were outscored 8-3 the rest of the way as UCLA took the opening set 25-18.Â
SET 2
After hitting .000 in the opening set, the Matadors hit .154 in set two. CSUN dug an early hole when the Bruins claimed the first five points. CSUN trailed 7-1 when a UCLA service error sent the Matadors on a 5-1 run that closed the gap to 8-6.  Still down three at 10-7, the Matadors rallied behind a 6-1 run, capped by a Luke Krzmarzick ace, to open up a 13-11 lead. The lead was short-lived however as the Bruins scored three straight to reclaim the lead. A Bruin service pull the Matadors even at 15-15 but CSUN could not grab the lead despite keeping the deficit within two until the final stages.Â
 Â
SET 3
After Tello opened the set with a kill, UCLA scored six straight to force an early CSUN timeout. A Hobus kill brought CSUN back to within three at 10-7 but the Bruins quickly built the lead back to five at 13-8. Hobus' seventh kill of the night brought the Matadors back within 13-9 and CSUN still trailed by four at 20-16 when UCLA closed the match on a 5-2 run to win going away, 25-18.
UP NEXT
The Matadors take on USC (0-1) Friday at 8 p.m. in their second match of the UCSB Asics Invitational. CSUN then concludes the tournament Saturday afternoon against Lincoln Memorial.
#UniteTheValley
Set scores were 25-18, 25-21, 25-18 as the Bruins win their season opener while defeating the Matadors for the fourth straight time.
KEY STATISTICS
• Walters led the Matadors with 10 kills, hitting .286 on 21 swings to go with one ace and one dig.
• Kyle Hobus added seven kills (.087), three digs and one ace while Jano Tello chipped in four kills on a team-high .375 hitting clip. Tello also had one of CSUN's three blocks in the match. Luke Krzmarzick served a career-high three aces to lead all players in the match.
• Donovan Constable and Lance Krenik shared the setting duties with Constable posting 12 assists, one ace, one dig and one solo block while Krenik had 10 assists and three digs in his one set of action.
• UCLA, which hit .484 (35-5-62) to CSUN's .086 (25-19-70), had eight aces to the Matadors' seven while also posting an 8-3 edge in team blocks.
• Ethan Champlin led all hitters in the match with 12 kills, hitting .706 on an errorless 17 attacks.
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"It was disappointing in terms of winning and losing. But the stats don't tell the entire story, I felt like the match was a lot closer than the stats showed. There were stretches where we played very well and stretches where we didn't but UCLA is very good team and they put a lot of pressure on us and forced us into some situations where we didn't respond very well. We're still building and we've got to put this one behind us and get ready for USC tomorrow night."
SET 1
The Matadors claimed four of the first five points of the match following a Hobus kill. The Bruins would answer with a 7-1 run, capped by a UCLA ace, to open up an 8-5 lead. A Bruin service error and another Hobus kill pulled CSUN within 9-8 but three straight UCLA points pushed the lead back to four at 12-8. A kill by Jackson Payne and a Hobus' ace kept the Matadors within two (12-10) when the Bruins answered with two straight to maintain a four-point edge. CSUN would get back within two at 17-15 when Jano Tello served an ace but the Matadors were outscored 8-3 the rest of the way as UCLA took the opening set 25-18.Â
SET 2
After hitting .000 in the opening set, the Matadors hit .154 in set two. CSUN dug an early hole when the Bruins claimed the first five points. CSUN trailed 7-1 when a UCLA service error sent the Matadors on a 5-1 run that closed the gap to 8-6.  Still down three at 10-7, the Matadors rallied behind a 6-1 run, capped by a Luke Krzmarzick ace, to open up a 13-11 lead. The lead was short-lived however as the Bruins scored three straight to reclaim the lead. A Bruin service pull the Matadors even at 15-15 but CSUN could not grab the lead despite keeping the deficit within two until the final stages.Â
 Â
SET 3
After Tello opened the set with a kill, UCLA scored six straight to force an early CSUN timeout. A Hobus kill brought CSUN back to within three at 10-7 but the Bruins quickly built the lead back to five at 13-8. Hobus' seventh kill of the night brought the Matadors back within 13-9 and CSUN still trailed by four at 20-16 when UCLA closed the match on a 5-2 run to win going away, 25-18.
UP NEXT
The Matadors take on USC (0-1) Friday at 8 p.m. in their second match of the UCSB Asics Invitational. CSUN then concludes the tournament Saturday afternoon against Lincoln Memorial.
#UniteTheValley
Team Stats
UCLA
CSUN
Kills
35
25
Errors
5
19
Attempts
62
70
Hitting %
.484
.086
Points
51
35
Assists
34
24
Aces
8
7
Blocks
8
3
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
2
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
S
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's VolleyballCalHOPE Award Nathan Merren
Thursday, March 02
MVB vs. Stanford Highlights
Monday, February 20
A Conversation With Jeff Campbell
Thursday, May 28
National Student-Athlete Day 2019 - Ryan DeWeese
Friday, April 05