Saturday, March 29
Santa Barbara, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
15-7,0-4Big West
1
at
3
UC Santa Barbara
11-10,2-2Big West
1
2
3
4
F
CSUN
21
25
20
15
1
UC Santa Barbara
25
19
25
25
3
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
Eighth-Ranked Matadors Fall in Four Sets at No. 18 UC Santa Barbara
3/29/2025 9:16:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – the 8th-ranked CSUN Men's Volleyball team dropped the season series to No. 18 UC Santa Barbara after the Gauchos claimed a 3-1 win in a Big West match on Saturday at The Thunderdome.
Redshirt sophomore Jalen Phillips led CSUN (15-7, 0-4 Big West) with 10 kills (.091), while junior Shane Nhem added nine kills (.615) and a match-high eight blocks. The Matadors were out-hit .350 to .234 and out-dug 37-23 in the loss. CSUN did have a 4-2 edge in aces and a 10.5-10 advantage in blocks.
S1 - UCSB 25, CSUN 21 – Both teams hit well in the opening set, but the Gauchos had 17 kills to the Matadors' 13 to pull out a 25-21 win. The hosts claimed four of the first five points of the set before CSUN battled back to tie the score at 8-8 on the second of two Stilian Delibosov aces. A Nhem kill gave the Matadors their first lead at 12-11 but the lead was short-lived as UCSB outscored CSUN 8-2 over the next points to open up a 19-14 lead. A late Matador run trimmed the deficit to three at 23-20 and 24-21 before a CSUN service error ended the set.
S2 - CSUN 25, UCSB 19 – After hitting .300 in set one, the Matadors hit slightly better at .304 in set two while limiting UCSB to an .071 clip to even the match. The Matadors led 10-6, forcing a Gaucho timeout before extending the lead to 13-7 following a Nhem kill. The CSUN lead remained at six (17-11) following a Joao Avila kill and UCSB would only get within four the rest of the set.
S3 – UCSB 25, CSUN 20 - The Matadors were out-hit .500 to .146 over the final two sets as the Gauchos closed out the four-set victory. In the third, UCSB led 5-3 early on before outscoring the Matadors 7-4 over the next 11 points to open up a 12-7 advantage. CSUN still trailed by five at 17-12 before a late block by Nhem and Donovan Constable pulled the Matadors as close as three at 23-20. But a pair of CSUN miscues on the ensuing two points sealed a 25-20 UCSB win.
S4 - UCSB 25, CSUN 15 - Trailing by one at 6-5 after a Gaucho service error, the Matadors were outscored 10-4 over the next 14 points to trail 16-9. Three straight CSUN points, capped by a Constable ace, trimmed the deficit to four at 16-12. An ensuing 4-1 run by UCSB boosted the lead back to seven at 20-13 and the Gauchos went on to close out a 10-point win.
UP NEXT
CSUN returns home next weekend to host No. 4 Hawai'i for two matches. First serve both Friday and Saturday is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
#GoMatadors
Redshirt sophomore Jalen Phillips led CSUN (15-7, 0-4 Big West) with 10 kills (.091), while junior Shane Nhem added nine kills (.615) and a match-high eight blocks. The Matadors were out-hit .350 to .234 and out-dug 37-23 in the loss. CSUN did have a 4-2 edge in aces and a 10.5-10 advantage in blocks.
S1 - UCSB 25, CSUN 21 – Both teams hit well in the opening set, but the Gauchos had 17 kills to the Matadors' 13 to pull out a 25-21 win. The hosts claimed four of the first five points of the set before CSUN battled back to tie the score at 8-8 on the second of two Stilian Delibosov aces. A Nhem kill gave the Matadors their first lead at 12-11 but the lead was short-lived as UCSB outscored CSUN 8-2 over the next points to open up a 19-14 lead. A late Matador run trimmed the deficit to three at 23-20 and 24-21 before a CSUN service error ended the set.
S2 - CSUN 25, UCSB 19 – After hitting .300 in set one, the Matadors hit slightly better at .304 in set two while limiting UCSB to an .071 clip to even the match. The Matadors led 10-6, forcing a Gaucho timeout before extending the lead to 13-7 following a Nhem kill. The CSUN lead remained at six (17-11) following a Joao Avila kill and UCSB would only get within four the rest of the set.
S3 – UCSB 25, CSUN 20 - The Matadors were out-hit .500 to .146 over the final two sets as the Gauchos closed out the four-set victory. In the third, UCSB led 5-3 early on before outscoring the Matadors 7-4 over the next 11 points to open up a 12-7 advantage. CSUN still trailed by five at 17-12 before a late block by Nhem and Donovan Constable pulled the Matadors as close as three at 23-20. But a pair of CSUN miscues on the ensuing two points sealed a 25-20 UCSB win.
S4 - UCSB 25, CSUN 15 - Trailing by one at 6-5 after a Gaucho service error, the Matadors were outscored 10-4 over the next 14 points to trail 16-9. Three straight CSUN points, capped by a Constable ace, trimmed the deficit to four at 16-12. An ensuing 4-1 run by UCSB boosted the lead back to seven at 20-13 and the Gauchos went on to close out a 10-point win.
UP NEXT
CSUN returns home next weekend to host No. 4 Hawai'i for two matches. First serve both Friday and Saturday is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
CSUN
UCSB
Kills
38
55
Errors
16
19
Attempts
94
103
Hitting %
.234
.350
Points
52.5
67.0
Assists
36
54
Aces
4
2
Blocks
10.5
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
5
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
/ Men's VolleyballOPP
/ 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