Saturday, April 6
Northridge, CA
6:00 P.M.
California State University at Northridge
11-14,2-6Big West
0
vs
3
Long Beach State
22-1,8-0Big West
1
2
3
F
Long Beach St.
25
25
25
3
CSUN
23
21
21
0
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
No. 15 CSUN Drops Season Series to Top-Ranked Long Beach State
4/6/2024 7:50:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – One night after attacking at a season-low percentage in Long Beach, the 15th-ranked CSUN men's volleyball team hit almost .300 on Saturday but was swept for the second straight night as top-ranked Long Beach State defeated the Matadors in three close sets, 25-23, 25-21, 25-21 in a Big West match at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
"Thought we battled tonight, each set could have gone either way. Long Beach showed us why they are number 1, they scored when it mattered and did what it took to win. We got back on track offensively, hitting just under .300. I thought Jalen (Philips) had a great match, he was unstoppable as an attacker. Was also really happy with Owen (Doughner), he came in when Donovan (Constable) was injured in the second set, and steadied out the group, and gave us opportunities to win. We will learn from the loss and turn our attention towards UCSB in our final Big West regular season matches."
UP NEXT
The Matadors will next host UC Santa Barbara in their final series of the regular season. CSUN travels to Goleta next Friday (Apr. 12) before hosting the Gauchos on Saturday (Apr. 13) at 6 p.m.
#GoMatadors
Redshirt freshman Jalen Phillips reached double figures in kills for the second night in a row, leading CSUN (11-14, 2-6 Big West) with 11 kills. Phillips hit am impressive .526 while senior Kyle Hobus added nine kills (.227) and four digs. Jano Tello and Griffin Walters each chipped in five kills with Tello hitting .625 on eight errorless attacks.
Long Beach State out-hit CSUN .359 (43-15-78) to .297 (34-12-74) while also winning the battle at the service line with seven aces to the Matadors' one. Behind four digs apiece from Hobus, Tello, and Chris Karnezis, CSUN had 19 team digs.
- The opening set saw nine ties as neither team held more than a three-point lead throughout. Holding a 6-5 lead, the Matadors used a Phillips kill and a Beach hitting error to take their largest lead at 8-5. CSUN still led by three at 9-6 when the visitors claimed five of the next seven points to tie the score at 11-11. After three more ties, another Hobus kill put the Matadors back up two at 18-16. Still down two at 19-17, Long Beach rallied behind a 6-2 run to open up a 23-21 lead. CSUN would pull within one at 23-22 and 24-23 but a Skyler Varga kill sent the Beach to the 25-23 win.
- The final two sets featured just a pair of ties as Long Beach would lead a majority of the time with CSUN keeping it close throughout. The Beach raced out to a 6-2 lead in the second set before a Phillips kill capped an 8-4 CSUN run that pulled the Matadors within 10-8. But an ensuing 7-4 Long Beach run opened up a 17-12 lead for the Beach. Still trailing by five at 20-15, CSUN put together a late rally to pull within three (21-18) on a Griffin Walters kill. But that was as close as the Matadors got as Long Beach closed out a 25-21 win.
- In the final set, kills by Phillips and Hobus pulled the Matadors within one at 9-8 before the Beach went on a 5-1 run to lead by five at 14-9. A kill by Owen Douphner out of a Matador timeout trimmed the deficit to four, but Long Beach would extend the lead to six with a 4-2 run. Still down six at 21-15, CSUN put together a late 6-2 run to get within 23-23, following Phillips' 11th kill of the night but the Beach would use a kill and a Matador hitting error to close the match.
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAIDWhat a play by freshman Owen Douphner!
— CSUN Men's Volleyball (@CSUNMensVB) April 7, 2024
CSUN climbing back in set three.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/eU88LfO7lR
"Thought we battled tonight, each set could have gone either way. Long Beach showed us why they are number 1, they scored when it mattered and did what it took to win. We got back on track offensively, hitting just under .300. I thought Jalen (Philips) had a great match, he was unstoppable as an attacker. Was also really happy with Owen (Doughner), he came in when Donovan (Constable) was injured in the second set, and steadied out the group, and gave us opportunities to win. We will learn from the loss and turn our attention towards UCSB in our final Big West regular season matches."
UP NEXT
The Matadors will next host UC Santa Barbara in their final series of the regular season. CSUN travels to Goleta next Friday (Apr. 12) before hosting the Gauchos on Saturday (Apr. 13) at 6 p.m.
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
LBSU
CSUN
Kills
43
34
Errors
15
12
Attempts
78
74
Hitting %
.359
.297
Points
56.0
39.5
Assists
39
33
Aces
7
1
Blocks
6
4.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
/ 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