Saturday, February 11
Hackensack, NJ
9:00 a.m.
California State University at Northridge
8-5,0-0Big West
3
at
0
Fairleigh Dickinson
3-4,0-1NEC
1
2
3
F
CSUN
25
25
25
3
Fairleigh Dickinson
11
15
23
0
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
15th-Ranked CSUN Sweeps FDU to Complete Three-Win Road Trip
2/11/2023 1:03:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
HACKENSACK, NJ - Kyle Hobus hit a career-high .889 with eight kills as the 15th-ranked CSUN Matadors capped a 3-0 East Coast road trip by sweeping Fairleigh Dickinson in a non-conference match Saturday afternoon at the Stratis Arena inside the Rothman Center.
With the straight-set (25-11, 25-15, 25-23) victory, the Matadors have their second four-match win streak of the season while improving to 8-5 on the season. The loss drops the Knights to 3-4.
KEY STATISTICS
• Playing just two sets, Hobus led the Matadors with eight kills on nine errorless attacks to hit .889. Hobus also had three blocks and one dig.
• Lorenzo Bertozzi added six kills with just one error on 10 swings to hit .500 to go with a career-high two aces and three digs. Griffin Walters (.333) and Jano Tello (.222) each chipped in five kills with Walters also adding a pair of aces and three digs. Tello had a match-high four blocks and CSUN posted a 7.0 to 3.0 advantage in team blocks.
• Donovan Constable handed out 24 assists to go with one dig and one block in leading the Matador hitters to a .411 hitting clip.
• CSUN limited FDU to a -.015 hitting clip (24-25-68) while serving six aces to one for the Knights.
• For FDU, Dylan McFadden had a team-high nine kills (.136).
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"These were our first true road matches of the season and I could not be more proud of the guys and the way they handled themselves. All three of these matches will give us the confidence we will need in Big West road matches later in the season. Donovan (Constable) had to play all three matches and did a great job and consistently put us in positions to win. Kyle (Hobus) and Griffin (Walters) were steady all three matches offensively and Griffin's passing gave us a huge lift. All three of our middles, although somewhat inexperienced, got to a place where they could sustain and did a really nice job."Â
SET 1
The Matadors got off to a blazing start offensively in each of the first two sets, committing just four hitting errors while hitting a combined .528. CSUN claimed eight of the first nine points of the match and would never trail in the set. After a Matador service error pulled the hosts with six (8-2), CSUN would outscore FDU 5-2 over the next seven points to lead by nine at 13-4. Still leading by nine at 16-7, a Bertozzi kill extended the lead to double digits where it would remain the remainder of the set as Tello's kill on set point sent CSUN to the 25-11 win.Â
SET 2
After hitting .429 in the opening set, the Matadors improved their hitting to .667 in winning the second set by 10. CSUN scored the first two points before the Knights answered with two straight for the only tie of the set. A 6-2 Matador run, highlighted by a pair of Hobus kills, opened up an 8-4 lead before three straight FDU hitting errors extended the lead to six (12-6). An ensuing 3-1 run by the Knights trimmed the Matador lead to 13-9 before CSUN engineered a 10-3 run, capped by a Hobus kill, to open up a 23-12 cushion. FDU would get within nine on a pair of occasions down the stretch before a co-block by Constable and Jackson Payne on set point sent the Matadors to the 25-15 win.Â
SET 3
The final set was the tightest of the match featuring 14 ties and three lead changes. A 5-1 run to start the set gave the Knights their largest lead of the match. Nathan Merren came off the bench to put down a kill, sending CSUN on 9-4 run that erased the FDU lead while giving the Matadors their first lead at 10-9. CSUN maintained a one-point lead at 11-10 when the Knights scored twice to re-take the lead 12-11. The Matadors would not wrestle back the lead until a Walters kill gave CSUN a 21-20 lead which then grew to two following a Bertozzi kill. FDU would close to within one on a pair of occasions in the final stages, the last at 24-23 when Walters' kill ended the match, 25-23.Â
UP NEXT
CSUN returns to Northridge next week to host Benedictine (Ill.) in a nonconference match on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.Â
#GoMatadors
With the straight-set (25-11, 25-15, 25-23) victory, the Matadors have their second four-match win streak of the season while improving to 8-5 on the season. The loss drops the Knights to 3-4.
KEY STATISTICS
• Playing just two sets, Hobus led the Matadors with eight kills on nine errorless attacks to hit .889. Hobus also had three blocks and one dig.
• Lorenzo Bertozzi added six kills with just one error on 10 swings to hit .500 to go with a career-high two aces and three digs. Griffin Walters (.333) and Jano Tello (.222) each chipped in five kills with Walters also adding a pair of aces and three digs. Tello had a match-high four blocks and CSUN posted a 7.0 to 3.0 advantage in team blocks.
• Donovan Constable handed out 24 assists to go with one dig and one block in leading the Matador hitters to a .411 hitting clip.
• CSUN limited FDU to a -.015 hitting clip (24-25-68) while serving six aces to one for the Knights.
• For FDU, Dylan McFadden had a team-high nine kills (.136).
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"These were our first true road matches of the season and I could not be more proud of the guys and the way they handled themselves. All three of these matches will give us the confidence we will need in Big West road matches later in the season. Donovan (Constable) had to play all three matches and did a great job and consistently put us in positions to win. Kyle (Hobus) and Griffin (Walters) were steady all three matches offensively and Griffin's passing gave us a huge lift. All three of our middles, although somewhat inexperienced, got to a place where they could sustain and did a really nice job."Â
SET 1
The Matadors got off to a blazing start offensively in each of the first two sets, committing just four hitting errors while hitting a combined .528. CSUN claimed eight of the first nine points of the match and would never trail in the set. After a Matador service error pulled the hosts with six (8-2), CSUN would outscore FDU 5-2 over the next seven points to lead by nine at 13-4. Still leading by nine at 16-7, a Bertozzi kill extended the lead to double digits where it would remain the remainder of the set as Tello's kill on set point sent CSUN to the 25-11 win.Â
SET 2
After hitting .429 in the opening set, the Matadors improved their hitting to .667 in winning the second set by 10. CSUN scored the first two points before the Knights answered with two straight for the only tie of the set. A 6-2 Matador run, highlighted by a pair of Hobus kills, opened up an 8-4 lead before three straight FDU hitting errors extended the lead to six (12-6). An ensuing 3-1 run by the Knights trimmed the Matador lead to 13-9 before CSUN engineered a 10-3 run, capped by a Hobus kill, to open up a 23-12 cushion. FDU would get within nine on a pair of occasions down the stretch before a co-block by Constable and Jackson Payne on set point sent the Matadors to the 25-15 win.Â
SET 3
The final set was the tightest of the match featuring 14 ties and three lead changes. A 5-1 run to start the set gave the Knights their largest lead of the match. Nathan Merren came off the bench to put down a kill, sending CSUN on 9-4 run that erased the FDU lead while giving the Matadors their first lead at 10-9. CSUN maintained a one-point lead at 11-10 when the Knights scored twice to re-take the lead 12-11. The Matadors would not wrestle back the lead until a Walters kill gave CSUN a 21-20 lead which then grew to two following a Bertozzi kill. FDU would close to within one on a pair of occasions in the final stages, the last at 24-23 when Walters' kill ended the match, 25-23.Â
UP NEXT
CSUN returns to Northridge next week to host Benedictine (Ill.) in a nonconference match on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.Â
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
CSUN
FDU
Kills
32
24
Errors
9
25
Attempts
56
68
Hitting %
.411
-.015
Points
45
28
Assists
29
21
Aces
6
1
Blocks
7
3
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
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