Daemen Knocks Off 12th-Ranked Matadors in Five Sets

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Three CSUN hitters reached double figures in kills, led by Griffin Walters' career-high 20, but visiting Daemen University held on for a five-set win over the 12th-ranked Matadors in a non-conference match Saturday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena.

The visiting Wildcats improve to 12-3 on the season while CSUN drops its second straight to slip to 12-7.

KEY STATISTICS
• Walters hit a team-high .417 on 36 swings and came within one dig of notching a double-double, finishing the night with 20 kills and nine digs. The junior from Sacramento also had three blocks and one dig on the night.
• Kyle Hobus overcame a slow start to add 17 kills and a team-high 11 digs for his third career double-double. Hobus wound up hitting .343 on 35 attacks which included a .571 over the final three sets.
• Lorenzo Bertozzi also bounced back after a rough start to chip in 12 kills (.333), seven digs and two blocks. Jano Tello added eight kills (.333) while libero Taylan Cook posted four digs and four assists.
• Sophomore setter Donovan Constable came within one assist of his career-high as he posted 55 assists along with seven digs, five blocks and three kills.
• After being out-hit .362 to .153 over the first two sets, CSUN hit .438 over the final three sets to hit .311 (63-22-132) for the match. Daemen wound up hitting .297 while the Matadors also had a 10.5-6.0 advantage in blocks and a slight 41-40 edge in team digs. The Wildcats had four aces to the Matadors' two, one each from Walters and Malcolm King.
• Zach Schneider led all hitters in the match with 26 kills, hitting .488 on a match-high 43 swings to lead Daemen.

COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"The biggest thing for me is that what I teach these guys is that progress is a journey. Prior to this week's matches, we took a week off which I think hurt us. We lost a little bit of our understanding of what it takes to compete at a high level and take care of our side of the net. Tonight, we found it for a good portion of the last three sets and that's a bright spot I'm hoping we can carry into next weekend's matches against Hawai'i."

SET 1
The Matadors never led in the opening set as the visitors used a 3-0 run to break open a 7-5 lead. Daemen maintained a five-point lead on four occasions, the last at 14-9 when CSUN used a 6-1 run to close to within one at 15-14. Two straight kills by Daemen boosted the lead back to three (17-14) before the Matadors rallied late to pull within two at 20-18 following consecutive Hobus kills. But two straight points by the visitors forced a CSUN timeout at 22-18 and the Matadors surrendered three of the final four points in a 25-19 loss.

SET 2
Daemen would also lead a majority of the second set as CSUN held just a pair of one-point leads throughout the set. A co-block from King and Constable put the Matadors in front 6-5 and a Hobus ace kept CSUN in front 14-13. Four straight points from that point on opened up a 17-14 lead for the Wildcats before a Constable kill fueled a a 4-1 Matador run that tied the score at 18-18. With the score still tied at 20-20, Daemen would score four straight points to set up set point at 24-20. A Wildcat service error saved on set point before Schneider connected for a kill on the next point to send the visitors to the 25-21 win.

SET 3
The Matadors used a triple block to open up an early 3-1 lead in the third set. Leading by one (5-4), consecutive Hobus kills opened up a 7-4 lead and the Matadors would maintain a three-point edge at 13-10 following a Walters kill. A Bertozzi kill sent CSUN to the media timeout with a 15-13 lead when the Wildcats answered with a 3-1 run out of the break to knot the score at 16-16. The two teams traded sideouts until 18-18 when another Constable/King block sent CSUN on a decisive 5-0 run that opened up a 23-18 cushion. Kills from Hobus and Bertozzi would seal a 25-19 win as the Matadors extended the match to a fourth set.

SET 4
CSUN couldn't capitalize on the momentum in the early going as Daemen scored the first two points of the frame and would still lead by two at 6-4. Three straight Matador points erased the lead as a Wildcat hitting error gave CSUN a 7-6 lead. A host of sideouts ensued as the Matadors hung on to an 11-10 lead when two straight Daemen points put the visitors back in front 12-11. CSUN took the lead back at 15-14 following a Walters ace and the Matadors eventually opened up a three-point edge (20-17) after a Daemen hitting error. The visitors would rally back to within one at 22-21 and 23-22 before kills from Walters and Tello sealed a 25-22 CSUN win.

SET 5
The Matadors held host of one-point leads in the final set, the last at 4-3 when a Daemen block followed by a Wildcat ace gave the visitors a 5-4 lead. CSUN would re-take one-point leads at 7-6 and 8-7 when four straight points by Daemen gave an 11-8 cushion. Back-to-back kills by Walters trimmed the deficit to one (11-10) before a kill by Daemen pushed the lead back to two. Kills from Walters and Bertozzi would tie the score at 12-12 when the visitors rallied for the final three points to take a 15-12 win.

UP NEXT
CSUN resumes Big West play next weekend, welcoming No. 1 Hawai'i to Premier America Credit Union Arena for matches on Friday and Saturday (Mar. 24-25).

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Daemen Knocks Off 12th-Ranked Matadors in Five Sets

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Team Stats

Griffin Walters

Kyle Hobus

Lorenzo Bertozzi

Jano Tello

Players Mentioned

Lorenzo Bertozzi

Donovan Constable

Taylan Cook

Kyle Hobus

Malcolm King

Jano Tello

Griffin Walters

Players Mentioned

Lorenzo Bertozzi

Donovan Constable

Taylan Cook

Kyle Hobus

Malcolm King

Jano Tello

Griffin Walters