Wednesday, February 19
Northridge, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
11-2,0-0Big West
3
vs
1
Grand Canyon
9-2,0-0MPSF
1
2
3
4
F
Grand Canyon
23
16
25
22
1
CSUN
25
25
21
25
3
Photo by: Bella A Enriquez
12th-Ranked Matadors Knock Off No. 8 GCU for Sixth Straight Win
2/19/2025 9:51:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Jalen Phillips and Lorenzo Bertozzi combined for 31 kills to lead the 12th-ranked CSUN men's volleyball team a 3-1 upset win over No. 8 Grand Canyon in a non-conference match on Wednesday at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
With the 25-23, 25-16, 21-25, 25-22 victory, CSUN wins its sixth straight while improving to 11-2 on the season. The win also gives the Matadors their second win over an AVCA top-10 team in the past 11 days.
Phillips led all hitters in the match with 19 kills, hitting .275 on 40 swings to go with three aces, three digs, and four blocks. Bertozzi also reached double figures with 12 kills, hitting .233 on 30 attacks. He also added three aces in addition to seven digs and three blocks. Bertozzi, Joao Avila, and libero Chris Karnezis each had a team-high seven digs as CSUN posted 32 digs as a team.
Behind 37 assists, two aces, five digs, and four blocks from senior setter Donovan Constable, the Matadors hit .240 (46-21-104) while limited Grand Canyon to a .218 (42-20-101) clip. CSUN also posted a sizable 12-5 edge in team blocks and served eight aces while the Lopes did not record an ace on 87 attempts.
S1 - CSUN 25, GCU 23 – CSUN held a pair of four-point leads at the midpoint of set one, the last at 14-10 following a Phillips kill. CSUN still led by two at 17-15 after an Avila kill when the Lopes claimed four the next five points to take a 19-18 lead while forcing a Matador timeout. Another Phillips kill evened the score at 19-19 and the score remained tied at 22-22 when a GCU service error and a pair of Phillips kills sent CSUN to the 25-23 win.
S2 - CSUN 25, GCU 16 – The Matadors would out-hit GCU .400 to .000 in the second set as CSUN opened up a two-set lead. After Phillips won a joust at net giving the Matadors an early 5-2 lead, a Constable ace forced a GCU timeout at 11-8. A co-block by Phillips and Stilian Delibosov extended the CSUN lead to 16-10 before a Bertozzi kill gave the Matadors their largest lead of nine at 22-13.
S3 – GCU 25, CSUN 21 - The visitors would get one back in the third set as a 9-7 GCU lead swelled to 15-11 following a CSUN hitting error. The Lopes led 18-13 when Bertozzi served three consecutive aces to pull the Matadors within one aty 18-17. The Lopes would answer with three straight points out of a timeout to push the lead back to four. Trailing by six at 24-18, CSUN saved three set points before a Matador service error ended the set.
S4 – CSUN 25, GCU 22 - In the final set, a pair of Phillips kills opened up a 12-8 CSUN lead. The Matadors still led by four at 13-9 when GCU scored twice to cut the lead in half. CSUN would push the lead back to three at 18-15 when another 2-0 run by the Lopes trimmed the deficit to one. After another Delibosov-Phillips block gave the Matadors a 22-19 lead, each team would score three points down the stretch as CSUN closed out a 25-22 win when Phillips powered his 19th kill through the GCU block.
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"It was a heck of a match, lots of back-and-forth and a really great battle. There were times when GCU made some great plays and put us on the ropes a little bit but the guys fought incredibly hard, just a really great win. I thought all three of our passers, Chris, Joao, and Lorenzo did a fantastic job in serve-receive and kept us in system a ton. That enabled us to keep the middles active, and anytime you can set Jalen 40 times, he typically does a great job for us."
UP NEXT
CSUN resumes its season-long, six-match homestand on Friday, Feb. 28, as the Matadors host Cal Lutheran at 6 p.m.
#GoMatadors
With the 25-23, 25-16, 21-25, 25-22 victory, CSUN wins its sixth straight while improving to 11-2 on the season. The win also gives the Matadors their second win over an AVCA top-10 team in the past 11 days.
Phillips led all hitters in the match with 19 kills, hitting .275 on 40 swings to go with three aces, three digs, and four blocks. Bertozzi also reached double figures with 12 kills, hitting .233 on 30 attacks. He also added three aces in addition to seven digs and three blocks. Bertozzi, Joao Avila, and libero Chris Karnezis each had a team-high seven digs as CSUN posted 32 digs as a team.
Behind 37 assists, two aces, five digs, and four blocks from senior setter Donovan Constable, the Matadors hit .240 (46-21-104) while limited Grand Canyon to a .218 (42-20-101) clip. CSUN also posted a sizable 12-5 edge in team blocks and served eight aces while the Lopes did not record an ace on 87 attempts.
S1 - CSUN 25, GCU 23 – CSUN held a pair of four-point leads at the midpoint of set one, the last at 14-10 following a Phillips kill. CSUN still led by two at 17-15 after an Avila kill when the Lopes claimed four the next five points to take a 19-18 lead while forcing a Matador timeout. Another Phillips kill evened the score at 19-19 and the score remained tied at 22-22 when a GCU service error and a pair of Phillips kills sent CSUN to the 25-23 win.
S2 - CSUN 25, GCU 16 – The Matadors would out-hit GCU .400 to .000 in the second set as CSUN opened up a two-set lead. After Phillips won a joust at net giving the Matadors an early 5-2 lead, a Constable ace forced a GCU timeout at 11-8. A co-block by Phillips and Stilian Delibosov extended the CSUN lead to 16-10 before a Bertozzi kill gave the Matadors their largest lead of nine at 22-13.
S3 – GCU 25, CSUN 21 - The visitors would get one back in the third set as a 9-7 GCU lead swelled to 15-11 following a CSUN hitting error. The Lopes led 18-13 when Bertozzi served three consecutive aces to pull the Matadors within one aty 18-17. The Lopes would answer with three straight points out of a timeout to push the lead back to four. Trailing by six at 24-18, CSUN saved three set points before a Matador service error ended the set.
S4 – CSUN 25, GCU 22 - In the final set, a pair of Phillips kills opened up a 12-8 CSUN lead. The Matadors still led by four at 13-9 when GCU scored twice to cut the lead in half. CSUN would push the lead back to three at 18-15 when another 2-0 run by the Lopes trimmed the deficit to one. After another Delibosov-Phillips block gave the Matadors a 22-19 lead, each team would score three points down the stretch as CSUN closed out a 25-22 win when Phillips powered his 19th kill through the GCU block.
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"It was a heck of a match, lots of back-and-forth and a really great battle. There were times when GCU made some great plays and put us on the ropes a little bit but the guys fought incredibly hard, just a really great win. I thought all three of our passers, Chris, Joao, and Lorenzo did a fantastic job in serve-receive and kept us in system a ton. That enabled us to keep the middles active, and anytime you can set Jalen 40 times, he typically does a great job for us."
UP NEXT
CSUN resumes its season-long, six-match homestand on Friday, Feb. 28, as the Matadors host Cal Lutheran at 6 p.m.
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
GCU
CSUN
Kills
42
46
Errors
20
21
Attempts
101
104
Hitting %
.218
.240
Points
47.0
66.0
Assists
41
43
Aces
0
8
Blocks
5
12
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
3
Blocks
4
Kills
12
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
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