Saturday, March 23
Manoa, HI
10:00 P.M.
California State University at Northridge
10-11,1-3Big West
3
at
1
Hawai'i
18-4,1-3Big West
1
2
3
4
F
CSUN
25
25
22
25
3
Hawaii
23
16
25
21
1
#18 CSUN Upsets Second-Ranked Hawai'i in Four Sets
3/23/2024 10:50:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
HONOLULU, Hawai'i – Redshirt freshman Jalen Phillips had a team-high 17 kills while senior Griffin Walters matched his season-high with 15 as the 18th-ranked CSUN men's volleyball team knocked off No. 2 Hawai'i in four sets in a Big West match on Saturday night at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Matadors (10-11, 1-3 Big West) picked up their first conference win of the season while winning in Honolulu for the first time since 2013. CSUN has now knocked off a pair of top-four teams this season after also upsetting No. 4 Stanford on the road on Feb. 3. The Matadors' last win over a team ranked as high as No. 2 in the AVCA Top-15 Poll came on Jan. 9, 2019 when CSUN upset No. 2 UCLA in straight sets at home.
CSUN's pin hitters were effective all match long as Phillips, Walters, and Kyle Hobus combined for 43 kills while hitting a combined .360. Phillips hit .355 on a team-high 31 swings while Walters hit .379 on 29 attacks, and Hobus had 11 kills on .346 hitting to go with a pair of aces. Middle Jano Tello chipped in seven kills on 10 errorless attacks to hit .700.
Behind setter's Donovan Constable 46 assists, CSUN had 54 kills while hitting .387 to the Rainbow Warriors' .240. The Matadors also had an 11.5 to 10.5 edge in blocks while Hawai'i had slight advantages in aces (6-5) and digs (32-26).
HOW IT HAPPENED
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"It was a big win tonight. I was trying to rack my brain for the last time we won in the Stan Sheriff Center but we had some incredible performances tonight. Kyle (Hobus) was absolutely terrific and Donovan (Constable) played probably the best match of his short career, we hit almost .400 as a team. Almost all of his hitters were fantastic; Jalen (Phillips) was on fire, Jano (Tello) was absolutely electric, and Griffin (Walters) played great.
"If you look at this match top-to-bottom, we controlled the service line and that was really the difference. But it was also our ball-control, Chris (Karnezis), Kyle, and Griffin did a fantastic job in terms of passing and keeping us in system while allowing Donovan to do what he does. Nir (Eitan) was also great, we were able to slow down their middles for the first time. Overall, we're really excited, now we'll travel home and get back to work next week."
CSUN returns to Northridge next week to begin a home-and-home series with No. 4 UC Irvine. The Matadors and Anteaters meet in Northridge on Friday (Mar. 29) before traveling to UCI's Bren Center on Saturday.
#GoMatadors
The Matadors (10-11, 1-3 Big West) picked up their first conference win of the season while winning in Honolulu for the first time since 2013. CSUN has now knocked off a pair of top-four teams this season after also upsetting No. 4 Stanford on the road on Feb. 3. The Matadors' last win over a team ranked as high as No. 2 in the AVCA Top-15 Poll came on Jan. 9, 2019 when CSUN upset No. 2 UCLA in straight sets at home.
CSUN's pin hitters were effective all match long as Phillips, Walters, and Kyle Hobus combined for 43 kills while hitting a combined .360. Phillips hit .355 on a team-high 31 swings while Walters hit .379 on 29 attacks, and Hobus had 11 kills on .346 hitting to go with a pair of aces. Middle Jano Tello chipped in seven kills on 10 errorless attacks to hit .700.
Behind setter's Donovan Constable 46 assists, CSUN had 54 kills while hitting .387 to the Rainbow Warriors' .240. The Matadors also had an 11.5 to 10.5 edge in blocks while Hawai'i had slight advantages in aces (6-5) and digs (32-26).
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Matadors hit .560 in the opening set but had to hold off a late Hawai'i run to seal the win. The teams played to six early ties, the last at 11-11, when CSUN claimed six of the next 10 points to lead 17-14. The hosts would rally back to within one on seven occasions down the stretch but could never re-take the lead before Hobus' fifth kill of the set sent the Matadors to the 25-23 win.
#CSUN hits .560 in the opening set and takes it 25-23 on the 5th kill of the set from Hobus#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/4V2pNX01rK
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) March 24, 2024
- CSUN's hitting dipped slightly to .480 in set two but the Matadors used a sizable run midway through the set to pull away. Holding a 10-8 lead, a Phillips kill fueled a 6-1 CSUN run that opened up a 16-9 lead. Consecutive kills by Phillips and Walters gave the Matadors their largest lead of the set at 18-10 and CSUN would take a two-set lead after winning 25-16.
S2 l Phillips connects for his match-high 12th kill of the night to send #CSUN to a 25-16 set 2 win ... Matadors up 2 sets over Hawai'i in Honolulu#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/lwvrROAvLP
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) March 24, 2024
- Neither team hit particularly well in the third set but Hawai'i had just enough to pull out a 25-22 win. Neither team led by more than three points until a Rainbow Warrior kill opened up an 18-14 cushion. Three straight CSUN points, capped by a Phillips ace, cut the lead to one. The Matadors were still within one at 23-22 when a Hawai'i kill and a CSUN hitting error gave the hosts the 25-22 win.
- The final set also featured as many as six times, as the two teams were tied as late as 11-11. A mini 4-1 CSUN run sent the set to the media timeout with the Matadors leading 15-12 following a Hobus ace. CSUN would extend the lead to 19-14 and seemingly looked to be in control when the Warriors rallied back to within two at 22-20. But a pair of service errors by each team, followed by kills from Phillips and Walters sealed the 25-21 CSUN win.
Walters with the kill on match point as the Matadors win in Honolulu for the first time since 2013!#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/Vl6xetMul1
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) March 24, 2024
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"It was a big win tonight. I was trying to rack my brain for the last time we won in the Stan Sheriff Center but we had some incredible performances tonight. Kyle (Hobus) was absolutely terrific and Donovan (Constable) played probably the best match of his short career, we hit almost .400 as a team. Almost all of his hitters were fantastic; Jalen (Phillips) was on fire, Jano (Tello) was absolutely electric, and Griffin (Walters) played great.
"If you look at this match top-to-bottom, we controlled the service line and that was really the difference. But it was also our ball-control, Chris (Karnezis), Kyle, and Griffin did a fantastic job in terms of passing and keeping us in system while allowing Donovan to do what he does. Nir (Eitan) was also great, we were able to slow down their middles for the first time. Overall, we're really excited, now we'll travel home and get back to work next week."
UP NEXTHear from head coach Theo Edwards following No. 18 #CSUN's 3-1 upset win at No. 2 Hawai'i on Saturday in Honolulu#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/oPgUWnKgbP
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) March 24, 2024
CSUN returns to Northridge next week to begin a home-and-home series with No. 4 UC Irvine. The Matadors and Anteaters meet in Northridge on Friday (Mar. 29) before traveling to UCI's Bren Center on Saturday.
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
CSUN
Hawaii
Kills
54
47
Errors
13
23
Attempts
106
100
Hitting %
.387
.240
Points
70.5
63.5
Assists
51
46
Aces
5
6
Blocks
11.5
10.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
2
Blocks
6
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballCalHOPE Award Nathan Merren
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