Friday, March 28
Northridge, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
2
vs
3
UC Santa Barbara
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
#18 UCSB Knocks Off No. 8 CSUN in Five Sets
3/28/2025 10:37:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Playing its third consecutive five-set match, the 8th-ranked CSUN Men's Volleyball team fell to visiting No. 18 UC Santa Barbara in a Big West match on Friday at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
The loss drops the Matadors to 15-6 overall and 0-3 in the Big West, while the Gauchos improve to 10-10 overall and 1-2 in conference.
Senior Lorenzo Bertozzi led CSUN with 16 kills, hitting .412 on 34 attacks. Bertozzi, who also added five digs, four blocks and one ace, committed just a pair of hitting errors in the match. Junior Shane Nhem made his second start of the season, first at middle blocker, and put down a season-high 10 kills while hitting .600 on 15 swings. Nhem also had one ace, two blocks, and tied for match-high honors with six blocks (two solo). Joao Avila came off the bench to also record 10 kills on .421 hitting while also posting a season-high three aces and seven digs. Jalen Phillips also added 10 kills but hit just -.057 on 35 swings in the loss.
Donovan Constable had 47 assists and eight digs in leading CSUN to a .239 hitting clip. The Matadors wound up out-hitting the Gauchos (.234) while each team had eight aces and 13.5 team blocks.
S1 - UCSB 25, CSUN 23 – The visitors led by three at 7-4 early in the match when a CSUN overpass resulted in a Gaucho kill. A Matador hitting error opened up a 9-5 UCSB lead before the Gauchos extended the lead as many as seven at 16-9. Three straight Matador points trimmed the deficit to 16-12 before the visitors quickly pushed the lead back to nine at 21-12. CSUN then scored four straight to close within 21-16 and would get as a close as two at 23-21 following the second of two Avila aces. Down 24-21, the Matadors saved a pair of set points before the Gauchos used a kill to close out a 25-23 win.
S2 - CSUN 25, UCSB 21 – A Bertozzi kill gave CSUN a 12-9 lead in the second set before UCSB battled back behind a 5-2 run to knot the score at 14-14. A Gaucho ace put the visitors in front 16-15 when a triple block by Bertozzi, Nhem and Phillips capped a 4-1 run that put CSUN back on top 19-17. An Avila kill extended the lead to 22-18 before CSUN closed out a four-point lead, 25-21.
S3 – CSUN 25, UCSB 20 - The Matadors forced an early UCSB timeout at 4-3 when a Stilian Delibosov ace put CSUN up by five at 12-7. The Matadors maintained a five-point edge at 14-9 when the Gauchos answered with a 4-2 run to pull within 16-13. A Phillips kill and a Bertozzi/Delibosov block matched CSUN's largest lead at 18-13 before the Matadors took a two sets to one lead following the 25-20 win.
S4 - UCSB 31, CSUN 29 - CSUN overcame an early 7-2 Gaucho lead by putting together a 10-2 run to lead 12-9 following a Constable ace. The Matadors would then lead by as many as four at 14-10 when Delibosov put up a solo block. CSUN still led by three at 18-15 when UCSB claimed four of the next five to tie the score at 19-19. Nine ties would ensue down the stretch, with the Matadors holding a pair of match points at 26-25 and 28-27. UCSB would save both match points before tying the score for the final time at 29-29. The Gauchos then took advantage of a Matador service error and a team block to seal the 31-29 win.
S5 - UCSB 15, CSUN 11 - After the two teams played to a 2-2 tie, the Gauchos used a 4-1 run to force a Matador timeout at 6-3. UCSB would lead by four (8-4) after a CSUN hitting error before the Matadors used a 4-2 run to close to within 10-8 after a Gaucho hitting error. A Constable ace got the Matadors as close as they would get at 12-11 when the visitors claimed the final three points in a 15-12 win.
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"Big West volleyball is not for the faint of heart. We had Santa Barbara on the ropes tonight and couldn't finish. But tomorrow is a new day, and we get a shot to even the score."
UP NEXT
CSUN concludes the two-match Big West series with the Gauchos on Saturday in Santa Barbara. First serve at the Thunderdome is set for 7 p.m.
#GoMatadors
The loss drops the Matadors to 15-6 overall and 0-3 in the Big West, while the Gauchos improve to 10-10 overall and 1-2 in conference.
Senior Lorenzo Bertozzi led CSUN with 16 kills, hitting .412 on 34 attacks. Bertozzi, who also added five digs, four blocks and one ace, committed just a pair of hitting errors in the match. Junior Shane Nhem made his second start of the season, first at middle blocker, and put down a season-high 10 kills while hitting .600 on 15 swings. Nhem also had one ace, two blocks, and tied for match-high honors with six blocks (two solo). Joao Avila came off the bench to also record 10 kills on .421 hitting while also posting a season-high three aces and seven digs. Jalen Phillips also added 10 kills but hit just -.057 on 35 swings in the loss.
Donovan Constable had 47 assists and eight digs in leading CSUN to a .239 hitting clip. The Matadors wound up out-hitting the Gauchos (.234) while each team had eight aces and 13.5 team blocks.
S1 - UCSB 25, CSUN 23 – The visitors led by three at 7-4 early in the match when a CSUN overpass resulted in a Gaucho kill. A Matador hitting error opened up a 9-5 UCSB lead before the Gauchos extended the lead as many as seven at 16-9. Three straight Matador points trimmed the deficit to 16-12 before the visitors quickly pushed the lead back to nine at 21-12. CSUN then scored four straight to close within 21-16 and would get as a close as two at 23-21 following the second of two Avila aces. Down 24-21, the Matadors saved a pair of set points before the Gauchos used a kill to close out a 25-23 win.
S2 - CSUN 25, UCSB 21 – A Bertozzi kill gave CSUN a 12-9 lead in the second set before UCSB battled back behind a 5-2 run to knot the score at 14-14. A Gaucho ace put the visitors in front 16-15 when a triple block by Bertozzi, Nhem and Phillips capped a 4-1 run that put CSUN back on top 19-17. An Avila kill extended the lead to 22-18 before CSUN closed out a four-point lead, 25-21.
S3 – CSUN 25, UCSB 20 - The Matadors forced an early UCSB timeout at 4-3 when a Stilian Delibosov ace put CSUN up by five at 12-7. The Matadors maintained a five-point edge at 14-9 when the Gauchos answered with a 4-2 run to pull within 16-13. A Phillips kill and a Bertozzi/Delibosov block matched CSUN's largest lead at 18-13 before the Matadors took a two sets to one lead following the 25-20 win.
S4 - UCSB 31, CSUN 29 - CSUN overcame an early 7-2 Gaucho lead by putting together a 10-2 run to lead 12-9 following a Constable ace. The Matadors would then lead by as many as four at 14-10 when Delibosov put up a solo block. CSUN still led by three at 18-15 when UCSB claimed four of the next five to tie the score at 19-19. Nine ties would ensue down the stretch, with the Matadors holding a pair of match points at 26-25 and 28-27. UCSB would save both match points before tying the score for the final time at 29-29. The Gauchos then took advantage of a Matador service error and a team block to seal the 31-29 win.
S5 - UCSB 15, CSUN 11 - After the two teams played to a 2-2 tie, the Gauchos used a 4-1 run to force a Matador timeout at 6-3. UCSB would lead by four (8-4) after a CSUN hitting error before the Matadors used a 4-2 run to close to within 10-8 after a Gaucho hitting error. A Constable ace got the Matadors as close as they would get at 12-11 when the visitors claimed the final three points in a 15-12 win.
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"Big West volleyball is not for the faint of heart. We had Santa Barbara on the ropes tonight and couldn't finish. But tomorrow is a new day, and we get a shot to even the score."
UP NEXT
CSUN concludes the two-match Big West series with the Gauchos on Saturday in Santa Barbara. First serve at the Thunderdome is set for 7 p.m.
#GoMatadors
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ 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