Wednesday, February 22
Northridge, CA
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
10-5,0-0Big West
3
vs
0
Westcliff University
0-3
1
2
3
F
Westcliff
21
23
13
0
CSUN
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
14th-Ranked CSUN Wins Sixth Straight, 3-0 Over Westcliff
2/22/2023 9:03:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Redshirt junior Jano Tello put down a career-high 10 kills on 10 errorless swings to lead the 14th-ranked CSUN men's volleyball team to a straight-set win over visiting Westcliff University in a non-conference match Wednesday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
With the 25-21, 25-23, 25-13 victory, the Matadors win their season-high sixth straight which is the longest winning streak for a CSUN team since 2016. The loss drops the visiting Warriors to 2-8 on the season.
KEY STATISTICS
• Tello's 10 kills on 10 swings sets a single-match CSUN record for hitting percentage (1.000), edging four Matadors who held the record at .929. Daniel Wetter's 13 kills on 14 swings in 2021 was the latest to reach the mark. Tello also added one ace and three blocks for CSUN in the win.
• Griffin Walters added nine kills on .412 hitting and Kyle Hobus chipped in eight kills (.400), three digs and two blocks.
• Lorenzo Bertozzi had seven kills (.333) and three of CSUN's four aces while Malcolm King added a season-high five kills (.222) and one block.
• Setter Donovan Constable recorded 38 assists and a team-high five digs as the Matadors hit a near season-high .464 in the win.
• CSUN limited Westcliff to a .134 hitting clip (26-17-67) while out-digging the Warriors (17-13) and winning the net battle (4-2 in blocks).
• Gabriel Pizza led the Warriors with nine kills (.120) while four other Westcliff hitters added four kills.
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"I thought this match would be a good opportunity for us to get back on track. The guys really put forth a great effort and I was really happy with the win. We gave them a lot of points with our serving in the second set but we re-grouped and finished the set really strong. Our ability to figure out a team and play to level that we're capable of playing to is something we've been searching for all year. I thought tonight we did what it took to win and hopefully we can carry the effort into Friday night's match at UC San Diego."
SET 1
Neither team led by more than two points until a co-block by Hobus and Tello gave the Matadors 13-10 advantage. After a King service error pulled the visitors back within two at 13-11, CSUN took a 15-11 into the media timeout following a Tello kill and a Warrior hitting error. Another Tello kill opened up the Matadors' largest lead at 17-12 while forcing a Westcliff timeout. CSUN still led by five at 22-17 when Westcliff would rally behind a 3-1 run to close to within 23-20. CSUN held on to its three-point advantage (24-21) when Tello connected again out of the middle to send the Matadors to the 25-21 win.
SET 2
CSUN would be forced to rally in the second set after forging an early five-point lead. Leading 10-5 following a King kill, Westcliff claimed seven of the next 10 points to close to within 13-12 following a Matador hitting error. Still leading 17-15, CSUN surrendered a 5-1 run that put the visitors in front for the first time at 20-18. The Matadors still trailed by two at 21-19 when a Westcliff service error followed by a Hobus kill tied the score. A Pizza kill kept the Warriors in front before a Walters kill and a Tello ace gave CSUN a 23-22 edge. A Westcliff kill tied the score for the final time before Walters connected for a kill and the Warriors hit long on their next attack giving the Matadors the 25-23 win.
SET 3
After hitting a combined .500 over the first two sets, CSUN would hit .381 in the final set while limiting Westcliff to a -.130 clip. The Warriors scored the first three points of the set before the Matadors claimed five of the next seven to knot the score. The CSUN would grow to 11-3 as the Matadors forced a Warrior timeout leading 11-6. The visitors would pull within four on three occasions, the last at 13-9, when CSUN engineered a 7-1 run to open up an insurmountable 20-10 advantage. A Cody Bowker kill gave the Matadors their largest lead at 23-11 and CSUN would pull away to win by the same 12-point margin (25-13).
UP NEXT
CSUN next opens up Big West action this Friday as the Matadors travel to La Jolla to take on UC San Diego at 7 p.m. at LionTree Arena.
#GoMatadors
With the 25-21, 25-23, 25-13 victory, the Matadors win their season-high sixth straight which is the longest winning streak for a CSUN team since 2016. The loss drops the visiting Warriors to 2-8 on the season.
KEY STATISTICS
• Tello's 10 kills on 10 swings sets a single-match CSUN record for hitting percentage (1.000), edging four Matadors who held the record at .929. Daniel Wetter's 13 kills on 14 swings in 2021 was the latest to reach the mark. Tello also added one ace and three blocks for CSUN in the win.
• Griffin Walters added nine kills on .412 hitting and Kyle Hobus chipped in eight kills (.400), three digs and two blocks.
• Lorenzo Bertozzi had seven kills (.333) and three of CSUN's four aces while Malcolm King added a season-high five kills (.222) and one block.
• Setter Donovan Constable recorded 38 assists and a team-high five digs as the Matadors hit a near season-high .464 in the win.
• CSUN limited Westcliff to a .134 hitting clip (26-17-67) while out-digging the Warriors (17-13) and winning the net battle (4-2 in blocks).
• Gabriel Pizza led the Warriors with nine kills (.120) while four other Westcliff hitters added four kills.
COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"I thought this match would be a good opportunity for us to get back on track. The guys really put forth a great effort and I was really happy with the win. We gave them a lot of points with our serving in the second set but we re-grouped and finished the set really strong. Our ability to figure out a team and play to level that we're capable of playing to is something we've been searching for all year. I thought tonight we did what it took to win and hopefully we can carry the effort into Friday night's match at UC San Diego."
SET 1
Neither team led by more than two points until a co-block by Hobus and Tello gave the Matadors 13-10 advantage. After a King service error pulled the visitors back within two at 13-11, CSUN took a 15-11 into the media timeout following a Tello kill and a Warrior hitting error. Another Tello kill opened up the Matadors' largest lead at 17-12 while forcing a Westcliff timeout. CSUN still led by five at 22-17 when Westcliff would rally behind a 3-1 run to close to within 23-20. CSUN held on to its three-point advantage (24-21) when Tello connected again out of the middle to send the Matadors to the 25-21 win.
SET 2
CSUN would be forced to rally in the second set after forging an early five-point lead. Leading 10-5 following a King kill, Westcliff claimed seven of the next 10 points to close to within 13-12 following a Matador hitting error. Still leading 17-15, CSUN surrendered a 5-1 run that put the visitors in front for the first time at 20-18. The Matadors still trailed by two at 21-19 when a Westcliff service error followed by a Hobus kill tied the score. A Pizza kill kept the Warriors in front before a Walters kill and a Tello ace gave CSUN a 23-22 edge. A Westcliff kill tied the score for the final time before Walters connected for a kill and the Warriors hit long on their next attack giving the Matadors the 25-23 win.
SET 3
After hitting a combined .500 over the first two sets, CSUN would hit .381 in the final set while limiting Westcliff to a -.130 clip. The Warriors scored the first three points of the set before the Matadors claimed five of the next seven to knot the score. The CSUN would grow to 11-3 as the Matadors forced a Warrior timeout leading 11-6. The visitors would pull within four on three occasions, the last at 13-9, when CSUN engineered a 7-1 run to open up an insurmountable 20-10 advantage. A Cody Bowker kill gave the Matadors their largest lead at 23-11 and CSUN would pull away to win by the same 12-point margin (25-13).
UP NEXT
CSUN next opens up Big West action this Friday as the Matadors travel to La Jolla to take on UC San Diego at 7 p.m. at LionTree Arena.
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
West
CSUN
Kills
26
42
Errors
17
10
Attempts
67
69
Hitting %
.134
.464
Points
30
50
Assists
26
41
Aces
2
4
Blocks
2
4
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
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