#5 UC Irvine Sweeps #15 CSUN in Series Opener

IRVINE, Calif. - Sophomore Lorenzo Bertozzi put down a team-high 10 kills but 15th-ranked CSUN was limited to .205 hitting in a 3-0 loss to No. 5 UC Irvine Friday night at the Bren Events Center.

With the win, the Anteaters remain undefeated in Big West play at 5-0 while improving to 15-6 overall. The loss, the Matadors fifth straight, drops CSUN to 12-10 overall and 1-4 in conference play.

KEY STATISTICS
• Bertozzi overcame a rough last couple of matches to hit .300 on 20 swings. He also added two digs and three blocks.
• Kyle Hobus also reached double digits in points with 11 after posting nine kills (.211), a team-high seven digs and four blocks. Griffin Walters, who came in hitting .400 over his last three matches, also had nine kills but was held to .167 on a team-high 24 attacks.
• Setter Lance Krenik, making his third start of the season, had 24 assists and four digs in the loss.
• The Anteaters would out-hit the Matadors (.250-.205) and would serve nine aces to none for CSUN. The Matadors had a slight advantage in digs (25-20) while UCI owned an 18-13 edge in blocks.
• Francesco Sani led all hitters in the match with 11 kills (.286) to lead UCI while Hilir Henno added 10 kills and six aces.

COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"Their serving was the absolute difference tonight. They out-aced us 9-0 and went on some runs and we were forced to call timeout to stop the bleeding. The good news is, after tonight's loss the guys are poised to get after it tomorrow night at home."

SET 1
The Matadors surrendered four of the first five points of the match before outscoring UCI 4-2 over the next six points to close to within 6-5. An ensuing 5-1 run by the hosts pushed the lead to five, forcing a CSUN timeout at 11-6. UCI would maintain a five-point cushion at 17-12 when a Matador service error and a CSUN setting error gave UCI its largest lead of the set at 19-12. A late 4-0 run by the Matadors pulled CSUN within 24-19 but the Anteaters connected for a kill on the next point for a 25-19 win.

SET 2
The second set was the tightest of the match as the teams battled to 12 ties while the lead changed hands four times. Neither team led by more than two until a 3-0 UCI snapped an 8-8 tie. The Matadors would score three straight out of a timeout to knot the score before the Anteaters answered with a 4-1 run to lead 15-12. Still trailing by three at 17-14, a Hobus kill would fuel a 3-0 CSUN run that tied the score again at 17-17. The two teams would play even until 20-20 when the hosts would rally to close the set on a 5-1 run to take a 25-21 win.

SET 3
Neither team hit well in the final set but UCI hit slightly better (.152-.143) in a 25-19 victory. With CSUN down by one at 6-5, the Matadors surrendered a 5-2 run to trail by four at 11-7. CSUN was forced to call timeout as the UCI lead grew to five at 15-10 before the hosts won three of the next five to open up an insurmountable 18-12 lead. A late rally by the Matadors trimmed the UCI lead to two at 20-18 before the Anteaters closed the match on a 5-1 run to seal the 3-0 win.

UP NEXT
The Matadors complete the home-and-home series with UC Irvine in Northridge on Saturday. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve.

#GoMatadors

#5 UC Irvine Sweeps #15 CSUN in Series Opener

Next Event

Team Stats

Lorenzo Bertozzi

Kyle Hobus

Griffin Walters

Jano Tello

Players Mentioned

Lorenzo Bertozzi

Kyle Hobus

Lance Krenik

Griffin Walters

Players Mentioned

Lorenzo Bertozzi

Kyle Hobus

Lance Krenik

Griffin Walters