Friday, January 12
Northridge, CA
6:00 P.M.
California State University at Northridge
2-2,0-0Big West
3
vs
1
Harvard
0-2,0-0EIVA
1
2
3
4
F
Harvard
20
25
14
27
1
CSUN
25
19
25
29
3
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
No. 18 CSUN Tops Visiting Harvard in Four Sets
1/12/2024 8:09:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The 18th-ranked CSUN men's volleyball team captured its 2024 home opener, defeating Harvard in four sets in a non-conference match Friday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
CSUN (2-2) had three players with double digits in kills led by redshirt freshman Jalen Phillips who put down a season-high 18. Phillips hit .394 on a match-high 33 swings. Redshirt senior Kyle Hobus added 17 kills (.379) and a team-high six digs and senior Griffin Walters chipped in 15 kills on a season-high .545 hitting clip. Hobus (4) and Walters (3) combined for seven of the Matadors' nine aces in the win.
As a team, CSUN hit a season-high .404 (63-17-114) behind a season-high 48 assists from junior Donovan Constable. In addition to out-acing the Crimson, the Matadors also out-blocked Harvard 8-5 while the Crimson posted a slight 27-25 edge in team digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
NOTES
ACCORDING TO COACH THEO EDWARDS
"Tonight was a good match, the team played incredibly hard. We hit .407 as a team, so offensively I thought we did some really nice things. In general, the key for us right now is consistency. From the service line, there were moments when we were really inconsistent and didn't continually put pressure on Harvard. That's something we need to work on moving forward but it was a nice win and we're moving on to next week."
UP NEXT
CSUN continues its three-match homestand next week as the Matadors welcome Cal Lutheran (Jan. 16) and Princeton (Jan. 19) to Premier America Credit Union Arena in Northridge.
#GoMatadors
CSUN (2-2) had three players with double digits in kills led by redshirt freshman Jalen Phillips who put down a season-high 18. Phillips hit .394 on a match-high 33 swings. Redshirt senior Kyle Hobus added 17 kills (.379) and a team-high six digs and senior Griffin Walters chipped in 15 kills on a season-high .545 hitting clip. Hobus (4) and Walters (3) combined for seven of the Matadors' nine aces in the win.
As a team, CSUN hit a season-high .404 (63-17-114) behind a season-high 48 assists from junior Donovan Constable. In addition to out-acing the Crimson, the Matadors also out-blocked Harvard 8-5 while the Crimson posted a slight 27-25 edge in team digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After the visitors scored the first point of the night, CSUN scored four straight capped by a co-block from Hobus and Malcolm King. After Harvard trimmed the lead to two at 10-8, the Matadors claimed five of the next six points to take a 15-9 lead into the media timeout. CSUN would lead by as many as eight before ultimately claiming a 25-20 win in the opening set.
- After being out-hit .323 to .280 in set one, the Crimson bounced back to out-hit CSUN .391 to .154 to claim set two (25-19) and even the match. A Matador hitting error opened up a 10-4 Crimson lead and Harvard would go on to lead by as many as seven (14-7). Still down seven (17-10), the Matadors used a 6-2 run to trim the margin to 19-16 following a Phillips kill. But Harvard would close close the set on a 6-3 run to seal the set.
- Undeterred, CSUN raced out to a 7-1 lead in the third set and never looked back. After Harvard rallied back to within 13-9, the Matadors engineered a 6-2 run to extend the lead to eight at 19-11. The Crimson would only get as close as seven down the stretch as a kill by Walters gave CSUN the 25-14 win.
- The final set was the tightest of the match as the two teams played to 15 ties and four lead changes. Neither team led by more than one until a Harvard block gave the visitors a 12-10 lead. The Crimson still led 15-13 at the media timeout before extending the margin to four (18-14), forcing a CSUN timeout. A 9-5 run by the Matadors tied the score at 23-23 before a CSUN hitting error gave Harvard set point. The Matadors would save a pair of set points before cashing in their second swing at the match as Phillips connected for his 18th kill on match point.
CLUTCH.
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) January 13, 2024
After trailing 20-16 in the fourth set, CSUN storms all the way back to win 29-27.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/oqBm3RwV1Y
NOTES
- In addition to 48 assists, Constable had four kills, four digs, three blocks, and one ace.
- Middle blockers King and Jackson Payne combined for nine kills while King led all players in the match with six blocks.
- With the win, CSUN improves to 5-1 all-time against Harvard.
ACCORDING TO COACH THEO EDWARDS
"Tonight was a good match, the team played incredibly hard. We hit .407 as a team, so offensively I thought we did some really nice things. In general, the key for us right now is consistency. From the service line, there were moments when we were really inconsistent and didn't continually put pressure on Harvard. That's something we need to work on moving forward but it was a nice win and we're moving on to next week."
Let's hear from head coach Theo Edwards following 18th-ranked #CSUN's 3-1 win over visiting Harvard#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/s14bQBzGmW
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) January 13, 2024
UP NEXT
CSUN continues its three-match homestand next week as the Matadors welcome Cal Lutheran (Jan. 16) and Princeton (Jan. 19) to Premier America Credit Union Arena in Northridge.
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
HU
CSUN
Kills
41
63
Errors
17
17
Attempts
89
114
Hitting %
.270
.404
Points
50.5
81.0
Assists
39
56
Aces
4
9
Blocks
5.5
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
17
Aces
4
Blocks
4
Kills
15
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's VolleyballCalHOPE Award Nathan Merren
Thursday, March 02
MVB vs. Stanford Highlights
Monday, February 20
A Conversation With Jeff Campbell
Thursday, May 28
National Student-Athlete Day 2019 - Ryan DeWeese
Friday, April 05