Friday, February 10
Newark, NJ
4:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
7-5,0-0Big West
3
at
2
NJIT
5-5,1-0EIVA
1
2
3
4
5
F
CSUN
25
22
22
28
17
3
NJIT
19
25
25
26
15
2
Photo by: Connor Clark
No. 15 Matadors Top NJIT for Third Straight Five-Set Win
2/10/2023 6:56:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
NEWARK, NJ - Three Matador hitters reached double figures in kills, led by Kyle Hobus' team-high 17 as 15th-ranked CSUN defeated the host NJIT Highlanders for its third consecutive five-set win on Friday night at the NJIT Wellness and Events Center.
With the come-from-behind 25-19, 22-25, 22-25, 28-26, 17-15 victory, the Matadors (7-5) win their third straight while the loss drops the Highlanders to 5-5.
KEY STATISTICS
• Hobus led all hitters in the match with 17 kills on 46 swings (.196) while also adding six digs, three blocks and one ace.
• Griffin Walters, the reigning Big West Player of the Week, added 14 kills on 29 attacks (.207) with five digs and one ace while sophomore Lorenzo Bertozzi chipped in 10 kills (.316), two digs and two blocks.
• The CSUN middles, Jano Tello and Jackson Payne, were effective all match as the two combined for 17 kills while hitting .600 on 25 swings. Tello connected for a career-high nine kills (.615) while Payne added a season-high eight on .583 hitting.
• Setter Donovan Constable came within one dig of his second double-double of the season, posting 53 assists, nine digs and one ace while libero Taylan Cook led all players with 16 digs as the Matadors posted 39 team digs to NJIT's 34.
• The visiting Matadors hit .303 (59-22-122) as a team, their highest percentage since hitting .358 against UCLA on Jan. 27. NJIT wound up hitting .240 (53-24-121) but did out-block CSUN 9.0 to 5.5. Each team served five aces.
• Alessandro Negri and Jens Feldthus each had 12 kills to lead the Highlanders.
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"There are those nights when we just aren't playing our best volleyball and again tonight we just found a way. It was another gritty win by the guys and especially one of the better matches out of our middles, they really carried us. We'll enjoy the win and do our best to get some sleep but looking ahead to tomorrow, this might be the most difficult turn-around we'll face all season."
SET 1
CSUN got off to a blistering start, hitting .480 in the opening set. With the score tied 4-4, a Walters kill fueled a 4-0 Matador run that opened up an 8-4 lead. A Bertozzi kill extended the CSUN lead to five (11-6) before the sophomore struck again with a kill opening up a 13-7 advantage. The Matador lead would not dip below four points the remainder of the set as CSUN clinched the 25-19 win following a Tello kill.
SET 2
The Matadors then struggled offensively for much of the next two sets as they would hit a combined .183 in dropping both sets by the score of 25-22. Trailing by one ay 6-5, CSUN surrendered three straight points as NJIT opened up a 9-5 while forcing a Matador timeout. CSUN remained in a four-point hole on three occasions, the last at 18-14 before rallying back behind a pair of Walters kills to pull within one at 19-18. The Matadors still trailed by one (20-19) when two straight points by the Highlanders forced the final CSUN timeout. Kills by Walters and a co-block by Hobus and Tello pulled the Matadors within two at 22-20, 23-21 and 24-22 but NJIT would get a kill to seal the 25-22 win. Â
SET 3
The third set followed much of the same formula as CSUN led early (2-1) but would not lead again from that point. With the score tied at 5-5, the hosts rolled off an 8-2 run to open up what appeared an insurmountable 13-7 cushion. NJIT would extend the lead to seven at 16-9 when the Matadors rallied back behind a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to 20-18. A Walters service error out of a Highlander timeout pushed the lead to 21-18 when CSUN used an NJIT service error followed by kills from Hobus and Walters to pull even at 21-21. But two straight Highlander points, on a kill and a block, pushed the lead back to two at 23-21 when CSUN called timeout. A Hobus kill out of the break temporarily cut the lead to 23-22 but a CSUN hitting error and another NJIT block on set point sent the hosts to the 25-22 win.
SET 4
Facing a similar situation as they did against Princeton on Wednesday, the Matadors were forced to pull out a win in extra points in the fourth set to remain in the match. CSUN would hold a trio of two-point leads early on before a Walters kill and a Constable ace extended the lead to four at 10-6. After Payne's kill gave the Matadors a 12-9 lead, NJIT would engineer a 5-0 run to erase the CSUN lead, going up 13-11. The Matadors would trail by as many as three at 18-15 when a Highlander service error sent CSUNÂ on a 4-1 run that would knot the score at 19-19. The two teams would remain tied at 24-24, 25-25Â and 26-26 when Hobus connected for back-to-back kills as the Matadors completed the comeback to win 28-26.
SET 5
CSUN used a Walters kill and an NJIT hitting error to take an early 3-1 lead in the fifth set when two straight points by the hosts evened the score. The Matadors held one-point leads at 4-3 and 5-4 when two straight kills by the Highlanders gave NJIT its first lead since 1-0. The hosts continued to lead by one before a CSUN hitting error gave NJIT a 10-8 advantage. Another Matador hitting error opened up a 12-9 lead for the Highlanders before a 4-1 CSUN run, capped by a Hobus ace, tied the score at 13-13. A Hobus service error on the ensuing point gave NJIT match point at 14-13 when Hobus connected for kill saving one match point. A Feldthus kill gave the hosts their second match point at 15-14 when an NJIT service error tied the score for the final time. CSUN then closed the improbable win when Tello served an ace followed by a co-block by Constable and Malcolm King.
UP NEXT
The Matadors conclude their three-match trip to the East Coast on Saturday as they take on Fairleigh Dickinson at 9 a.m. PT
#GoMatadors
With the come-from-behind 25-19, 22-25, 22-25, 28-26, 17-15 victory, the Matadors (7-5) win their third straight while the loss drops the Highlanders to 5-5.
KEY STATISTICS
• Hobus led all hitters in the match with 17 kills on 46 swings (.196) while also adding six digs, three blocks and one ace.
• Griffin Walters, the reigning Big West Player of the Week, added 14 kills on 29 attacks (.207) with five digs and one ace while sophomore Lorenzo Bertozzi chipped in 10 kills (.316), two digs and two blocks.
• The CSUN middles, Jano Tello and Jackson Payne, were effective all match as the two combined for 17 kills while hitting .600 on 25 swings. Tello connected for a career-high nine kills (.615) while Payne added a season-high eight on .583 hitting.
• Setter Donovan Constable came within one dig of his second double-double of the season, posting 53 assists, nine digs and one ace while libero Taylan Cook led all players with 16 digs as the Matadors posted 39 team digs to NJIT's 34.
• The visiting Matadors hit .303 (59-22-122) as a team, their highest percentage since hitting .358 against UCLA on Jan. 27. NJIT wound up hitting .240 (53-24-121) but did out-block CSUN 9.0 to 5.5. Each team served five aces.
• Alessandro Negri and Jens Feldthus each had 12 kills to lead the Highlanders.
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"There are those nights when we just aren't playing our best volleyball and again tonight we just found a way. It was another gritty win by the guys and especially one of the better matches out of our middles, they really carried us. We'll enjoy the win and do our best to get some sleep but looking ahead to tomorrow, this might be the most difficult turn-around we'll face all season."
SET 1
CSUN got off to a blistering start, hitting .480 in the opening set. With the score tied 4-4, a Walters kill fueled a 4-0 Matador run that opened up an 8-4 lead. A Bertozzi kill extended the CSUN lead to five (11-6) before the sophomore struck again with a kill opening up a 13-7 advantage. The Matador lead would not dip below four points the remainder of the set as CSUN clinched the 25-19 win following a Tello kill.
SET 2
The Matadors then struggled offensively for much of the next two sets as they would hit a combined .183 in dropping both sets by the score of 25-22. Trailing by one ay 6-5, CSUN surrendered three straight points as NJIT opened up a 9-5 while forcing a Matador timeout. CSUN remained in a four-point hole on three occasions, the last at 18-14 before rallying back behind a pair of Walters kills to pull within one at 19-18. The Matadors still trailed by one (20-19) when two straight points by the Highlanders forced the final CSUN timeout. Kills by Walters and a co-block by Hobus and Tello pulled the Matadors within two at 22-20, 23-21 and 24-22 but NJIT would get a kill to seal the 25-22 win. Â
SET 3
The third set followed much of the same formula as CSUN led early (2-1) but would not lead again from that point. With the score tied at 5-5, the hosts rolled off an 8-2 run to open up what appeared an insurmountable 13-7 cushion. NJIT would extend the lead to seven at 16-9 when the Matadors rallied back behind a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to 20-18. A Walters service error out of a Highlander timeout pushed the lead to 21-18 when CSUN used an NJIT service error followed by kills from Hobus and Walters to pull even at 21-21. But two straight Highlander points, on a kill and a block, pushed the lead back to two at 23-21 when CSUN called timeout. A Hobus kill out of the break temporarily cut the lead to 23-22 but a CSUN hitting error and another NJIT block on set point sent the hosts to the 25-22 win.
SET 4
Facing a similar situation as they did against Princeton on Wednesday, the Matadors were forced to pull out a win in extra points in the fourth set to remain in the match. CSUN would hold a trio of two-point leads early on before a Walters kill and a Constable ace extended the lead to four at 10-6. After Payne's kill gave the Matadors a 12-9 lead, NJIT would engineer a 5-0 run to erase the CSUN lead, going up 13-11. The Matadors would trail by as many as three at 18-15 when a Highlander service error sent CSUNÂ on a 4-1 run that would knot the score at 19-19. The two teams would remain tied at 24-24, 25-25Â and 26-26 when Hobus connected for back-to-back kills as the Matadors completed the comeback to win 28-26.
SET 5
CSUN used a Walters kill and an NJIT hitting error to take an early 3-1 lead in the fifth set when two straight points by the hosts evened the score. The Matadors held one-point leads at 4-3 and 5-4 when two straight kills by the Highlanders gave NJIT its first lead since 1-0. The hosts continued to lead by one before a CSUN hitting error gave NJIT a 10-8 advantage. Another Matador hitting error opened up a 12-9 lead for the Highlanders before a 4-1 CSUN run, capped by a Hobus ace, tied the score at 13-13. A Hobus service error on the ensuing point gave NJIT match point at 14-13 when Hobus connected for kill saving one match point. A Feldthus kill gave the hosts their second match point at 15-14 when an NJIT service error tied the score for the final time. CSUN then closed the improbable win when Tello served an ace followed by a co-block by Constable and Malcolm King.
UP NEXT
The Matadors conclude their three-match trip to the East Coast on Saturday as they take on Fairleigh Dickinson at 9 a.m. PT
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
CSUN
NJIT
Kills
59
53
Errors
22
24
Attempts
122
121
Hitting %
.303
.240
Points
69.5
67
Assists
57
50
Aces
5
5
Blocks
5.5
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
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S
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L
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OPP
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MB
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
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