Saturday, March 22
Chicago, Ill.
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
15-5,0-2Big West
2
at
3
Loyola Chicago
17-2,8-2MIVA
1
2
3
4
5
F
CSUN
22
25
23
25
16
2
Loyola Chicago
25
23
25
23
18
3
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
#7 CSUN Drops Five-Setter at No. 8 Loyola Chicago
3/22/2025 8:22:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
CHICAGO, Ill. – A trio of CSUN hitters reached double figures in kills but the No. 7th-ranked Matadors came up short in a five-set decision to Loyola Chicago in a non-conference match Saturday night at Gentile Arena.
The match completes the non-conference portion of the 2025 season for CSUN, which drops to 15-5 overall while the host Ramblers improve to 17-2. The Matadors are now 1-1 in five-set matches this season after defeating No. 15 Lewis in five on Thursday to open the trip.
Redshirt sophomore Jalen Phillips led the Matadors with 17 kills, hitting .188 on 48 attacks. Phillips also posted five digs, four blocks, and a pair of aces in the loss. Senior Lorenzo Bertozzi added 11 kills (.148) and redshirt freshman Hank Kaufman came off the bench to put down a season-high 10 kills (.107) along with six digs. Senior setter Donovan Constable narrowly missed his first double-double of the season with 33 assists and nine digs while libero Chris Karnezis had a team-high 11 digs.
Outside of hitting .333 in set two, the Matadors struggled offensively, hitting a combined .165 over the remaining four sets to hit .185 (48-25-124) for the match. Loyola hit a .229 clip (56-26-131) while also outblocking CSUN 20-14.5. The two teams combined for 59 service errors.
S1 - LUC 25, CSUN 22 – Loyola out-hit the Matadors .310 to .160 in the opening frame to win by three. CSUN trailed by three early on before the Ramblers opened up a 10-6 lead on a Matador hitting error. A Rambler hitting error pulled CSUN within one at 15-14 and the Matadors were still within one at 16-15 following a block by Phillips and Stilian Delibosov. Another solo block by Phillips kept the lead at one (21-20) before the hosts outscored the Matadors 4-2 down the stretch.
S2 - CSUN 25, LUC 23 – In the second set, CSUN turned the tables, hitting .333 while holding Loyola to a .136 clip. The set would feature 15 ties, the last at 22-22 when Loyola was whistled for a rotation error ultimately discredited two Rambler points, giving the Matadors the second set by the score of 25-23.
S3 – LUC 25, CSUN 23 - Despite hitting just .077 in the set, CSUN nearly overcame a six-point deficit but ultimately fell by another deuce set. After a Rambler service error put the Matadors up 23-20, Loyola would claim the final five points to seal a 25-23 win.
S4 - CSUN 25, LUC 23 - The Ramblers would out-hit CSUN by the slim margin of .182 to .179 in the fourth, but the Matadors had enough at the end to take a 25-23 win, forcing a decisive fifth set. CSUN trailed 15-11 at the media timeout before putting together a 7-3 run to knot the score at 18-18. The Matadors wouldn't take their first lead until a Joao Favarim kill at 23-22 before a co-block by Kaufman and Favarim gave CSUN the margin it needed.
S5 - LUC 18, CSUN 16 - The Ramblers claimed six of the first nine points of the final set and would lead by as many as four at 9-5. A Bertozzi kill capped a 5-1 CSUN run that tied the score at 10-10. The score remained tied at 11-11, 14-14, 15-15, and 16-16 when a kill and a block by the Ramblers clinched an 18-16 win.
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"I was really proud of the guys, this week on the road has been a good experience for our team. We found ways to deal with the environment and had a number of guys contribute and give us a chance to be successful. We are looking forward to getting back to Big West play next week."
UP NEXT
After its two-match trip to the Midwest, CSUN returns home for a home-and-home series with UC Santa Barbara next Friday and Saturday.
#GoMatadors
The match completes the non-conference portion of the 2025 season for CSUN, which drops to 15-5 overall while the host Ramblers improve to 17-2. The Matadors are now 1-1 in five-set matches this season after defeating No. 15 Lewis in five on Thursday to open the trip.
Redshirt sophomore Jalen Phillips led the Matadors with 17 kills, hitting .188 on 48 attacks. Phillips also posted five digs, four blocks, and a pair of aces in the loss. Senior Lorenzo Bertozzi added 11 kills (.148) and redshirt freshman Hank Kaufman came off the bench to put down a season-high 10 kills (.107) along with six digs. Senior setter Donovan Constable narrowly missed his first double-double of the season with 33 assists and nine digs while libero Chris Karnezis had a team-high 11 digs.
Outside of hitting .333 in set two, the Matadors struggled offensively, hitting a combined .165 over the remaining four sets to hit .185 (48-25-124) for the match. Loyola hit a .229 clip (56-26-131) while also outblocking CSUN 20-14.5. The two teams combined for 59 service errors.
S1 - LUC 25, CSUN 22 – Loyola out-hit the Matadors .310 to .160 in the opening frame to win by three. CSUN trailed by three early on before the Ramblers opened up a 10-6 lead on a Matador hitting error. A Rambler hitting error pulled CSUN within one at 15-14 and the Matadors were still within one at 16-15 following a block by Phillips and Stilian Delibosov. Another solo block by Phillips kept the lead at one (21-20) before the hosts outscored the Matadors 4-2 down the stretch.
S2 - CSUN 25, LUC 23 – In the second set, CSUN turned the tables, hitting .333 while holding Loyola to a .136 clip. The set would feature 15 ties, the last at 22-22 when Loyola was whistled for a rotation error ultimately discredited two Rambler points, giving the Matadors the second set by the score of 25-23.
S3 – LUC 25, CSUN 23 - Despite hitting just .077 in the set, CSUN nearly overcame a six-point deficit but ultimately fell by another deuce set. After a Rambler service error put the Matadors up 23-20, Loyola would claim the final five points to seal a 25-23 win.
S4 - CSUN 25, LUC 23 - The Ramblers would out-hit CSUN by the slim margin of .182 to .179 in the fourth, but the Matadors had enough at the end to take a 25-23 win, forcing a decisive fifth set. CSUN trailed 15-11 at the media timeout before putting together a 7-3 run to knot the score at 18-18. The Matadors wouldn't take their first lead until a Joao Favarim kill at 23-22 before a co-block by Kaufman and Favarim gave CSUN the margin it needed.
S5 - LUC 18, CSUN 16 - The Ramblers claimed six of the first nine points of the final set and would lead by as many as four at 9-5. A Bertozzi kill capped a 5-1 CSUN run that tied the score at 10-10. The score remained tied at 11-11, 14-14, 15-15, and 16-16 when a kill and a block by the Ramblers clinched an 18-16 win.
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"I was really proud of the guys, this week on the road has been a good experience for our team. We found ways to deal with the environment and had a number of guys contribute and give us a chance to be successful. We are looking forward to getting back to Big West play next week."
UP NEXT
After its two-match trip to the Midwest, CSUN returns home for a home-and-home series with UC Santa Barbara next Friday and Saturday.
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
CSUN
Loyola
Kills
48
57
Errors
25
26
Attempts
124
131
Hitting %
.185
.237
Points
66.5
82.0
Assists
45
53
Aces
4
5
Blocks
14.5
20
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
2
Blocks
7
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
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