Wednesday, February 14
Northridge, CA
6:00 P.M.
California State University at Northridge
8-5,0-0Big West
3
vs
0
Hope International
0-1
1
2
3
F
Hope Int'l
19
18
18
0
CSUN
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
CSUN Sweeps Hope International for Eighth Win
2/14/2024 7:38:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The 16th-ranked CSUN men's volleyball team improved to 8-5 on the season and 2-1 on its current seven-match homestand after sweeping a non-conference match from visiting Hope International Wednesday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
Junior Lorenzo Bertozzi made the most of his first start of the season, connecting for a career-high 14 kills while hitting .462 on 26 swings. Senior Kyle Hobus only took 10 swings on the night but put down eight kills with one error to hit .700. Fellow senior Griffin Walters chipped in seven kills (.583), three digs, and a pair of blocks in the Matadors' 25-19, 25-18, 25-18 win.
CSUN hit .453 (41-7-75) as a team behind 32 assists from setter Donovan Constable. The Matadors limited the Royals to 21 team kills as HIU hit .088 on 57 attacks. CSUN had six aces, two from senior Jano Tello, while posting a 5-0 advantage in team blocks. Senior libero Taylan Cook led the Matadors with four digs, but CSUN was out-dug by the visitors 22-14.
HOW IT HAPPENED
NOTES
ACCORDING TO COACH THEO EDWARDS
"Nice match for the Matadors tonight. We had a couple of guys with some big performances. Lorenzo (Bertozzi) played great, hit over .400 in his first start of the season. He's been working incredibly hard and it's really paid off. Donovan (Constable) set a really nice offense again tonight. Owen (Douphner) came in and gave us a bit of a change-up and played well too. Cody (Bowker) came off the bench and played well, Kyle (Hobus) only had 10 swings but had eight kills and one error.
"This was a really good team win, nice match for us to get back on track. We now have a 10-day break before we have Lewis here at home, the guys are excited for that match."
CSUN is off from match action for the next 10 days before resuming its current homestand Feb. 24 against No. 13 Lewis. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m., the match will stream on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
Junior Lorenzo Bertozzi made the most of his first start of the season, connecting for a career-high 14 kills while hitting .462 on 26 swings. Senior Kyle Hobus only took 10 swings on the night but put down eight kills with one error to hit .700. Fellow senior Griffin Walters chipped in seven kills (.583), three digs, and a pair of blocks in the Matadors' 25-19, 25-18, 25-18 win.
CSUN hit .453 (41-7-75) as a team behind 32 assists from setter Donovan Constable. The Matadors limited the Royals to 21 team kills as HIU hit .088 on 57 attacks. CSUN had six aces, two from senior Jano Tello, while posting a 5-0 advantage in team blocks. Senior libero Taylan Cook led the Matadors with four digs, but CSUN was out-dug by the visitors 22-14.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Matadors scored the first three points of the match and would never trail in the opening set. A CSUN hitting error pulled the Royals within two at 9-7 before a Bertozzi kill sent the Matadors on a 6-4 run as CSUN took a 15-11 lead into the media timeout. The Matadors would lead by as many as six on a host of occasions down the stretch before a Walters kill clinched the 25-19 win.
- CSUN trailed by as many as two (5-3) early in the second set before Constable served six straight points giving the Matadors a 9-6 advantage. A Walters kill opened up a six-point lead (12-6) before another Walters kill extended the lead to seven at 15-8. The second of Tello's two aces opened up a 19-10 lead before the Matadors closed out a 25-18 win on a Constable/Tello stuff block.
- Holding a slim 10-8 lead in the final set, CSUN put together a 5-2 run to open up a 15-10 lead on a Cody Bowker kill. An Owen Douphner ace and a pair of HIU hitting errors put the Matadors up 10 at 22-12 and CSUN's lead wouldn't dip below six the rest of the way.
Quick work!
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) February 15, 2024
CSUN wins 25-19, 25-18, 25-18 over Hope International.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/Q0vB1UAqCB
NOTES
- With the win, CSUN improves to 5-0 all-time against Hope International, all five wins coming at at home.
ACCORDING TO COACH THEO EDWARDS
"Nice match for the Matadors tonight. We had a couple of guys with some big performances. Lorenzo (Bertozzi) played great, hit over .400 in his first start of the season. He's been working incredibly hard and it's really paid off. Donovan (Constable) set a really nice offense again tonight. Owen (Douphner) came in and gave us a bit of a change-up and played well too. Cody (Bowker) came off the bench and played well, Kyle (Hobus) only had 10 swings but had eight kills and one error.
"This was a really good team win, nice match for us to get back on track. We now have a 10-day break before we have Lewis here at home, the guys are excited for that match."
UP NEXTThoughts from Theo Edwards following #CSUN's 3-0 non-conference win over Hope International#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/GEuf4aNVyZ
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) February 15, 2024
CSUN is off from match action for the next 10 days before resuming its current homestand Feb. 24 against No. 13 Lewis. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m., the match will stream on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
Hope
CSUN
Kills
21
41
Errors
16
7
Attempts
57
75
Hitting %
.088
.453
Points
25.0
52.0
Assists
21
37
Aces
4
6
Blocks
0
5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
3
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ 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