Tuesday, January 16
Northridge, CA
6:00 P.M.
California State University at Northridge
3-2,0-0Big West
3
vs
0
Cal Lutheran
3-1,0-0DIII Independent
1
2
3
F
Cal Lutheran
15
15
23
0
CSUN
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
No. 18 CSUN Sweeps Cal Lutheran in Non-Conference Action
1/16/2024 7:48:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The 18th-ranked CSUN men's volleyball team improved to 2-0 at home with a straight-set (25-15, 25-15, 25-23) win over visiting Cal Lutheran in a non-conference match Tuesday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
CSUN (3-2) went deep into its roster, playing 15 players in the match. Junior Lorenzo Bertozzi came off the bench to lead the Matadors with nine kills on .429 hitting in two sets of action. Senior Griffin Walters added six kills (.500) while Kyle Hobus and Jalen Phillips each had five kills in limited action.
Several Matadors received their first extended playing time of the season as redshirt freshman Trevor Lau also had five kills (.444) and Cody Bowker chipped in four kills (.100). Setter Donovan Constable had 20 assists before giving way to freshman Owen Douphner who finished the night with 14 assists, two kills, two blocks, and one ace.
As a team, CSUN hit .395 (42-12-76) while limiting the Kingsmen to an -.056 clip. The Matadors also out-blocked CLU, 8.5-5 while also serving four aces, two from Hobus.
HOW IT HAPPENED
NOTES
ACCORDING TO COACH THEO EDWARDS
"We don't get a whole lot of opportunities to see everybody enter the game and we had a lot of guys enter in, especially a lot of guys in their first match and first collegiate points, blocks and serves. It's always really cool to see that happen. I thought we had a bunch of guys that played pretty well, we hit .395 as a team with that many guys and dual setters in there. Overall it was a good match for us and good prep for Friday."
UP NEXT
CSUN caps a three-match homestand on Friday as the Matadors host No. 16 Princeton at Premier America Credit Union Arena. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
#GoMatadors
CSUN (3-2) went deep into its roster, playing 15 players in the match. Junior Lorenzo Bertozzi came off the bench to lead the Matadors with nine kills on .429 hitting in two sets of action. Senior Griffin Walters added six kills (.500) while Kyle Hobus and Jalen Phillips each had five kills in limited action.
Several Matadors received their first extended playing time of the season as redshirt freshman Trevor Lau also had five kills (.444) and Cody Bowker chipped in four kills (.100). Setter Donovan Constable had 20 assists before giving way to freshman Owen Douphner who finished the night with 14 assists, two kills, two blocks, and one ace.
As a team, CSUN hit .395 (42-12-76) while limiting the Kingsmen to an -.056 clip. The Matadors also out-blocked CLU, 8.5-5 while also serving four aces, two from Hobus.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The opening set featured five ties, the last at 5-5, when the Matadors used a 9-3 run to open up a 14-8 advantage. A Phillips ace gave CSUN its largest lead at 19-12 forcing a CLU timeout. After the visiting Kingsmen scored three straight to cut the lead to four (19-15), the Matadors claimed the final six points to win 25-15.
- After hitting .409 in set one, CSUN ramped up its hitting to .522 and would never trail in the second set. An ace by Hobus gave the Matadors a 9-3 lead and the CSUN lead never dipped below five points the remainder of the set.
- Turning to his bench, head coach Theo Edwards saw the Matadors claim five of the first six points of the final set. A Kingsmen block capped a 10-7 run that cut the CSUN lead to one at 12-11. The Matadors pushed the lead back to three (16-13) following a solo block by Jano Tello before CLU again rallied back to within one at 16-15. The Kingsmen would eventually forge a 19-19 tie and the score remained tied at 22-22 when a Lau kill fueled a set-clinching 3-1 run for CSUN that closed out a 3-0 win.
Everyone contributing tonight!
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) January 17, 2024
Freshman Owen Douphner picks up his second career block to extend our lead to 22-12.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/Gcl3qXj7In
NOTES
- Freshman libero Chris Karnezis led the Matadors with five digs.
- With the win, CSUN improves to 8-0 all-time against Cal Lutheran, including a 7-0 mark at home.
ACCORDING TO COACH THEO EDWARDS
"We don't get a whole lot of opportunities to see everybody enter the game and we had a lot of guys enter in, especially a lot of guys in their first match and first collegiate points, blocks and serves. It's always really cool to see that happen. I thought we had a bunch of guys that played pretty well, we hit .395 as a team with that many guys and dual setters in there. Overall it was a good match for us and good prep for Friday."
Thoughts from head coach Theo Edwards following No. 18 #CSUN's 3-0 non-conference win over Cal Lutheran#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/LDp5FgpalL
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) January 17, 2024
UP NEXT
CSUN caps a three-match homestand on Friday as the Matadors host No. 16 Princeton at Premier America Credit Union Arena. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
CLU
CSUN
Kills
17
42
Errors
20
12
Attempts
54
76
Hitting %
-.056
.395
Points
22.0
54.5
Assists
17
38
Aces
0
4
Blocks
5
8.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
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/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
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