Friday, January 6
Goleta, CA
8:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
0-2,0-0Big West
0
vs
3
USC
1-1,0-0MPSF
1
2
3
F
Southern California
25
28
25
3
CSUN
22
26
20
0
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
No. 10 USC Tops Matadors at UCSB Asics Invitational
1/6/2023 10:32:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Junior Kyle Hobus led all hitters with 11 kills but the CSUN men's volleyball team dropped its second straight to open the season as No. 10 USC swept the Matadors Friday night at the UCSB Asics Invitational at Robertson Gym.
Set scores were 25-22, 28-26, 25-20 as the Trojans even their season record at 1-1. The loss drops CSUN to 0-2 heading into its final match of the tournament Saturday against Lincoln Memorial.
KEY STATISTICS
• Hobus led all hitters in the match with 11 kills, but .192 on a match-high 26 swings. He also added CSUN's two aces in the match along with three digs and a pair of blocks.
• Griffin Walters added seven kills (.091) and four digs and Cody Bowker chipped in five kills (.083), three blocks and two digs in his first collegiate start.
• Donovan Constable and Lance Krenik shared the setting duties for the second straight match with Constable posting 18 assists, one dig and one block while Krenik had eight assists and one dig in the third set. Libero Taylan Cook tied for match-high honors with eight digs, one off his CSUN career-high.
• Neither team hit at a high percentage as the Trojans connected at a .150 clip (32-20-80) compared to .111 (31-22-81) for the Matadors. USC also had slight edges in aces (3-2). digs (22-21) and blocks (10-9). Each team posted 30 assists.Â
• Simon Gallas and Kevin Kobrine each had nine kills to lead USC.
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"I thought TC (Taylan Cook) was good tonight and we passed pretty well as a team. Our serving took USC out of system quite a bit, we just didn't convert some of those opportunities but It's still early in the season and we'll figure those things out. The good thing about this tournament is that a lot of guys are getting time on the court which will help us throughout the season."
SET 1
The Matadors out-hit the Trojans .207 to .182 in the opening set but could not overcame an early deficit. After CSUN got a block on the first point of the match, USC would claim nine of the next 12 points to lead 9-4. A kill from Walters followed by a co-block from Constable and Jano Tello pulled the Matadors within three at 9-6. CSUN still trailed by three at 13-10 when a Hobus kill and another CSUN block trimmed the deficit to one. The Matadors would draw even at 14-14 following kills from Bowker and Walters but CSUN could never reclaim the lead. Down 21-20 following Hobus' sixth kill of the set, the Matadors surrendered four of the final six points in a 25-22 USC win.Â
SET 2
Set two would see the Matadors claim the first two points before building a five-point lead (11-6) when Jackson Payne put up a solo block. Following a USC timeout, the Trojans claimed seven of the next 10 points to trim the CSUN lead to 14-13, forcing a Matador timeout in the process. USC would score two more points out of the timeout to take its first lead of the set at 15-14. The Trojans pushed the lead to three at 19-16 when a CSUN hitting error forced the Matadors into a timeout. After kills from Walters and Hobus cut the lead to one (19-18), the Trojans answered with a 4-1 run to extend the lead to 23-19. Two straight Matador points would force a timeout before CSUN would score three more to set up set point at 24-23 on a Bowker kill. In a set that featured eight ties and five lead changes, USC scored twice to re-take the lead before Walters and Hobus connected again giving the Matadors another set point at 26-25. But a Matador service error and consecutive Trojan kills sent USC to the two-set lead following the 28-26 win.Â
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SET 3
The Matadors surrendered the first four points of the final frame and would never lead in the set. Lorenzo Bertozzi's attack was stuffed by USC forcing a Matador timeout with CSUN trailing 12-7. The Trojans lead grew to as many as six at 14-8 following a Matador hitting error. The USC lead remained six at 21-15 when a pair of Trojan hitting errors and a Hobus ace cut the deficit to 22-19. But CSUN would get no closer as a USC block on match point sealed the 25-20 win.
UP NEXT
The Matadors close the UCSB Asics Invitational Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Lincoln Memorial (1-2).
#UniteTheValley
Set scores were 25-22, 28-26, 25-20 as the Trojans even their season record at 1-1. The loss drops CSUN to 0-2 heading into its final match of the tournament Saturday against Lincoln Memorial.
KEY STATISTICS
• Hobus led all hitters in the match with 11 kills, but .192 on a match-high 26 swings. He also added CSUN's two aces in the match along with three digs and a pair of blocks.
• Griffin Walters added seven kills (.091) and four digs and Cody Bowker chipped in five kills (.083), three blocks and two digs in his first collegiate start.
• Donovan Constable and Lance Krenik shared the setting duties for the second straight match with Constable posting 18 assists, one dig and one block while Krenik had eight assists and one dig in the third set. Libero Taylan Cook tied for match-high honors with eight digs, one off his CSUN career-high.
• Neither team hit at a high percentage as the Trojans connected at a .150 clip (32-20-80) compared to .111 (31-22-81) for the Matadors. USC also had slight edges in aces (3-2). digs (22-21) and blocks (10-9). Each team posted 30 assists.Â
• Simon Gallas and Kevin Kobrine each had nine kills to lead USC.
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"I thought TC (Taylan Cook) was good tonight and we passed pretty well as a team. Our serving took USC out of system quite a bit, we just didn't convert some of those opportunities but It's still early in the season and we'll figure those things out. The good thing about this tournament is that a lot of guys are getting time on the court which will help us throughout the season."
SET 1
The Matadors out-hit the Trojans .207 to .182 in the opening set but could not overcame an early deficit. After CSUN got a block on the first point of the match, USC would claim nine of the next 12 points to lead 9-4. A kill from Walters followed by a co-block from Constable and Jano Tello pulled the Matadors within three at 9-6. CSUN still trailed by three at 13-10 when a Hobus kill and another CSUN block trimmed the deficit to one. The Matadors would draw even at 14-14 following kills from Bowker and Walters but CSUN could never reclaim the lead. Down 21-20 following Hobus' sixth kill of the set, the Matadors surrendered four of the final six points in a 25-22 USC win.Â
SET 2
Set two would see the Matadors claim the first two points before building a five-point lead (11-6) when Jackson Payne put up a solo block. Following a USC timeout, the Trojans claimed seven of the next 10 points to trim the CSUN lead to 14-13, forcing a Matador timeout in the process. USC would score two more points out of the timeout to take its first lead of the set at 15-14. The Trojans pushed the lead to three at 19-16 when a CSUN hitting error forced the Matadors into a timeout. After kills from Walters and Hobus cut the lead to one (19-18), the Trojans answered with a 4-1 run to extend the lead to 23-19. Two straight Matador points would force a timeout before CSUN would score three more to set up set point at 24-23 on a Bowker kill. In a set that featured eight ties and five lead changes, USC scored twice to re-take the lead before Walters and Hobus connected again giving the Matadors another set point at 26-25. But a Matador service error and consecutive Trojan kills sent USC to the two-set lead following the 28-26 win.Â
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SET 3
The Matadors surrendered the first four points of the final frame and would never lead in the set. Lorenzo Bertozzi's attack was stuffed by USC forcing a Matador timeout with CSUN trailing 12-7. The Trojans lead grew to as many as six at 14-8 following a Matador hitting error. The USC lead remained six at 21-15 when a pair of Trojan hitting errors and a Hobus ace cut the deficit to 22-19. But CSUN would get no closer as a USC block on match point sealed the 25-20 win.
UP NEXT
The Matadors close the UCSB Asics Invitational Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Lincoln Memorial (1-2).
#UniteTheValley
Team Stats
USC
CSUN
Kills
32
31
Errors
20
22
Attempts
80
81
Hitting %
.150
.111
Points
45
42
Assists
30
30
Aces
3
2
Blocks
10
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
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