California State University at Northridge
11-13,2-5Big West
Long Beach State
21-1,7-0Big West
CSUN Offense Stymied in 3-0 Loss at No. 1 Long Beach State
4/5/2024 8:44:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
CSUN (11-13, 2-5 Big West) was led by redshirt freshman Jalen Phillips who put down a team-high nine kills in the loss. Phillips hit .250 on 20 swings while also leading the Matadors in digs with seven along with one block. In his first action since Feb. 9, sophomore middle Malcolm King added six kills while hitting a team-high .444 on nine attacks. Setter Donovan Constable also posted 20 assists, four digs, three kills, three blocks, and one ace for CSUN.
The Beach, who hit .321 (38-12-81) as a team, limited CSUN's leading hitter and Big West Player of the Week Kyle Hobus to five kills (-.130) while holding the Matadors to a season-low 28 kills on a .107 team hitting clip (28-20-75). Long Beach also had a slight edge in both blocks (10.5-7) and aces (5-4) while each team had 24 team digs.
- CSUN opened the match on a 4-0 run and still led 5-1 after six points. The Beach then outscored the Matadors 9-5 over the next 14 points to knot the score at 10-10. A co-block by Constable and Jano Tello followed by a Constable kill pushed the lead back to two before a 5-1 run by the Beach gave the hosts a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. A Long Beach service error out of the timeout cut the deficit to 15-14 but the hosts would score four straight to take their largest lead of the set at 19-14. A King kill pulled the Matadors within four at 20-16 but CSUN would get no closer, falling 25-18.
- After hitting -.083 in the opening set, CSUN improved to a .200 clip in set two but Long Beach would connect at a .409 clip to claim a 25-17 win. Neither team led by more than two when the Beach broke open a tight 8-7 set with a 6-2 run that opened up a 14-9 cushion. A co-block by Phillips and Nir Eitan kept the Matadors within three (17-14) before Long Beach would outscore CSUN 8-3 over the final 11 points of the set to seal the 25-17 win.
- Long Beach claimed the first two points of the final set and would never trail in the frame. Kills by Griffin Walters and Phillips tied the score but Long Beach would answer with a 7-2 run and never look back. The Matadors remained within two at 11-9, 12-10, and 15-13 but that was close as CSUN would get as the Beach pulled away late for the 25-20 win.
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAIDS3 l Hobus caps the rally with a kill and #CSUN is within 3 at 14-11 ... Matadors looking to rally to stay in the match#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/goHLUssAb0
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) April 6, 2024
"The biggest thing tonight was they out-served us and we struggled to score but you've got to give credit where credit is due. We did some good things and slowed down a few of their hitters but ultimately our hitting errors hurt us. There's a reason they're the number one team in the country, but the good thing is that we have another chance at home tomorrow night and we're excited for the challenge."
UP NEXT
The Matadors and Beach complete the season series Saturday night in Northridge. First serve from Premier America Credit Union Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m. The match will stream on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
