Thursday, February 16
Northridge, CA
7:00 PM
California State University at Northridge
9-5,0-0Big West
3
vs
0
Benedictine University
4-4,0-0NACC
1
2
3
F
Benedictine (IL)
14
24
23
0
CSUN
25
26
25
3
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
No. 14 Matadors Sweep Benedictine for Fifth Straight Win
2/16/2023 8:55:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Kyle Hobus put down a match-high 11 kills as the 14th-ranked CSUN men's volleyball team won its season-high fifth straight match, sweeping visiting Benedictine University, 3-0 in a non-conference match Thursday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
The 25-14, 26-24, 25-23 win gives the Matadors their longest winning streak since 2018 when CSUN also won five straight. The match was an exhibition for the NCAA Div. III Eagles who are 4-3 on the season.
KEY STATISTICS
• Hobus wound up hitting .562 on 16 swings to go with one dig and one block in just over two sets of action.
• Griffin Walters added eight kills (.125) and matched his season-high with four aces and a match-high four digs.
• A trio of Matadors added four kills as Jackson Payne hit .667 on six errorless swings and Cody Bowker came off the bench to hit a season-high .429 on seven attacks to go with an ace and a pair of blocks.
• Setter Donovan Constable posted 29 assists, two digs and two blocks in leading the Matador hitters to a .284 (38-17-74) hitting clip.
• CSUN limited Benedictine to a .156 hitting clip (26-16-64) while out-digging the Eagles (16-12) and serving five aces to two for BU.
• Brannen Almarales led Benedictine with nine kills (.400) while Cooper Armstrong added seven kills (.150) and three blocks.
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"From a be prepared to play our best volleyball night in and night out, we're not there yet. The consistency isn't there, but I don't think it's a clear picture of who we are as a team. I think we're definitely a better team than we showed tonight but we'll take the win. We just came off a couple of five-set matches and right now we're doing just enough to win and it would be nice to see us turn the corner and be a more consistent team."
SET 1
The Matadors got off to an impressive start, hitting .444 to Benedictine's -.045 in taking the opening set, 25-14. Holding a slim 5-4 lead, the Matadors put together a 7-1 run, capped by an Eagle hitting error, to open up a 12-5 lead. CSUN would push the lead to eight at 14-6 following one of Walters' four aces when the visitors scored twice to trim the Matador lead to six. CSUN maintained a six-point lead at 17-11 when consecutive Hobus kills and a co-block by Constable and Payne extended the lead to 20-11. The Eagles pulled within seven at 21-14 late before the Matadors closed the set on a 4-0 run to take the set 25-14.Â
SET 2
After hitting .444 in the opening set, the Matadors struggled offensively in set two, hitting .222 while committing eight errors. Benedictine jumped out to a 6-4 lead before a kill by Jano Tello kept the margin at one. Another Walters kill kept CSUN within one (7-6) when the visitors rolled three straight to open up a 10-6 lead. The Eagles would hold five four-point leads, the last at 18-14 when a Hobus kill was followed by a block and a kill by Bowker as CSUN cut the lead to one. Benedictine would answer with a kill pushing the lead back to two where it would remain at 20-18. Three straight Matador points would force an Eagles timeout at 21-20 before the visitors rallied behind a 3-1 run to take a 23-22 lead. A Walters kill tied the score before a CSUN service error set up Benedictine with set point at 24-23. But a service error followed by a Payne solo block and a Walters kill capped the comeback as the Matadors pulled out the 26-24 win. Â Â
SET 3
The final set was close until the Matadors expanded an 8-7 lead by outscoring the Eagles 9-3 over the next 12 points to lead by as many as seven (17-10). Still up by seven at 18-11, Â the Matadors surrendered three of the next four points as Benedictine closed to within five at 19-14. A Tello-Bowker block and Walters' fourth ace pushed the lead back to seven when CSUN would hold off a late rally by the Eagles, who pulled within one at 24-23 when Hobus put down a kill on match point.
UP NEXT
CSUN is off from match action until next Wednesday (Feb. 22) when the Matadors host Westcliff University at 7 p.m. to wrap up a brief two-match homestand.Â
#GoMatadors
The 25-14, 26-24, 25-23 win gives the Matadors their longest winning streak since 2018 when CSUN also won five straight. The match was an exhibition for the NCAA Div. III Eagles who are 4-3 on the season.
KEY STATISTICS
• Hobus wound up hitting .562 on 16 swings to go with one dig and one block in just over two sets of action.
• Griffin Walters added eight kills (.125) and matched his season-high with four aces and a match-high four digs.
• A trio of Matadors added four kills as Jackson Payne hit .667 on six errorless swings and Cody Bowker came off the bench to hit a season-high .429 on seven attacks to go with an ace and a pair of blocks.
• Setter Donovan Constable posted 29 assists, two digs and two blocks in leading the Matador hitters to a .284 (38-17-74) hitting clip.
• CSUN limited Benedictine to a .156 hitting clip (26-16-64) while out-digging the Eagles (16-12) and serving five aces to two for BU.
• Brannen Almarales led Benedictine with nine kills (.400) while Cooper Armstrong added seven kills (.150) and three blocks.
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"From a be prepared to play our best volleyball night in and night out, we're not there yet. The consistency isn't there, but I don't think it's a clear picture of who we are as a team. I think we're definitely a better team than we showed tonight but we'll take the win. We just came off a couple of five-set matches and right now we're doing just enough to win and it would be nice to see us turn the corner and be a more consistent team."
SET 1
The Matadors got off to an impressive start, hitting .444 to Benedictine's -.045 in taking the opening set, 25-14. Holding a slim 5-4 lead, the Matadors put together a 7-1 run, capped by an Eagle hitting error, to open up a 12-5 lead. CSUN would push the lead to eight at 14-6 following one of Walters' four aces when the visitors scored twice to trim the Matador lead to six. CSUN maintained a six-point lead at 17-11 when consecutive Hobus kills and a co-block by Constable and Payne extended the lead to 20-11. The Eagles pulled within seven at 21-14 late before the Matadors closed the set on a 4-0 run to take the set 25-14.Â
SET 2
After hitting .444 in the opening set, the Matadors struggled offensively in set two, hitting .222 while committing eight errors. Benedictine jumped out to a 6-4 lead before a kill by Jano Tello kept the margin at one. Another Walters kill kept CSUN within one (7-6) when the visitors rolled three straight to open up a 10-6 lead. The Eagles would hold five four-point leads, the last at 18-14 when a Hobus kill was followed by a block and a kill by Bowker as CSUN cut the lead to one. Benedictine would answer with a kill pushing the lead back to two where it would remain at 20-18. Three straight Matador points would force an Eagles timeout at 21-20 before the visitors rallied behind a 3-1 run to take a 23-22 lead. A Walters kill tied the score before a CSUN service error set up Benedictine with set point at 24-23. But a service error followed by a Payne solo block and a Walters kill capped the comeback as the Matadors pulled out the 26-24 win. Â Â
SET 3
The final set was close until the Matadors expanded an 8-7 lead by outscoring the Eagles 9-3 over the next 12 points to lead by as many as seven (17-10). Still up by seven at 18-11, Â the Matadors surrendered three of the next four points as Benedictine closed to within five at 19-14. A Tello-Bowker block and Walters' fourth ace pushed the lead back to seven when CSUN would hold off a late rally by the Eagles, who pulled within one at 24-23 when Hobus put down a kill on match point.
UP NEXT
CSUN is off from match action until next Wednesday (Feb. 22) when the Matadors host Westcliff University at 7 p.m. to wrap up a brief two-match homestand.Â
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
BenU
CSUN
Kills
26
38
Errors
16
17
Attempts
64
74
Hitting %
.156
.284
Points
34.5
49.5
Assists
25
35
Aces
2
5
Blocks
6.5
6.5
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
4
Blocks
0
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
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