Saturday, April 19
Northridge, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
18-10,3-7Big West
2
vs
3
UC Irvine
20-6,6-4Big West
1
2
3
4
5
F
UC Irvine
25
20
22
25
15
3
CSUN
21
25
25
18
13
2
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Falls in Five Sets to No. 4 UC Irvine on Senior Night
4/19/2025 10:12:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Lorenzo Bertozzi matched his career-high with 17 kills on senior night but the fourth-ranked UC Irvine Anteaters came back to win the final two sets in five-set win in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
With the 25-21, 20-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-13 win, the Anteaters improve to 20-6 overall and 6-4 in the Big West. The Matadors slip to 18-10 overall and 3-7 in conference. CSUN finishes in a three-way tie for fourth place with UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara at 3-7 but will be the No. 6 seed in next week's Outrigger Big West Men's Volleyball Championship.
Bertozzi led the Matadors with 17 kills, hitting .448 on 29 swings in his final home appearance. Joao Avila and Jalen Phillps each added 14 kills with Avila connecting at a .448 clip on 23 attacks. Fellow senior Donovan Constable also had a solid home finale with 53 assists, eight digs, four kills, and a pair of aces which moved him into sole possession of fifth place on the CSUN career aces list.
Both teams hit well throughout as the visitors hit .402 (67-18-122) to the Matadors' .390 (64-18-118). CSUN had a slight edge in aces (6-4) while UCI had a slight edge in blocks (10.5-7.5). Each team had 32 digs in the match, the Matadors getting nine each from Bertozzi and Phillips.
S1 - UCI 25, CSUN 21 – The visitors took an early 3-1 lead before the Matadors scored four straight, two coming on Constable aces, to lead 5-3. CSUN maintained a two-point lead at 10-8 when a Bertozzi kill and a Stilian Delibosov ace boosted the lead to four. The Matadors still led by four at 13-9 when the Anteaters rallied behind a 9-5 run to knot the score at 18-18. A kill by Constable kept CSUN in front by one and the Matadors still led by one at 20-19 when UCI claimed six of the final seven points in a 25-21 win.
S2 - CSUN 25, UCI 20 – After trailing 4-3 early on, CSUN snapped a 9-9 tie by using a 4-1 run to take a 13-11 lead. A UCI hitting error opened up the Matadors' largest lead at 17-13 before a Phillips kill extended the lead to five at 19-14. The Anteaters would only get within four the rest of the way before a kill by Delibosov closed out a 25-20 CSUN win.
S3 – CSUN 25, UCI 22 - With the score tied 8-8, CSUN took advantage of a 7-2 run to open up a 15-10 lead capped by a Phillips ace. An ensuing 6-3 run by the visitors trimmed the deficit to 18-16 forcing a Matador timeout. CSUN pushed the lead back to three at 20-17 when UCI rallied back to tie the score at 21-21. But a Phillips kill, along with some strong serving by Avila closed out a 25-22 win.
S4 - UCI 25, CSUN 18 - The Matadors trailed early by four at 10-6 before UCI extended the lead to five at 15-10. The Anteater lead swelled to as many as six at 19-13 and CSUN would only get within five the rest of the way as UCI forced a fifth and deciding set.
S5 - UCI 15, CSUN 13 - The Matadors jumped out to a 3-0 lead before a 4-1 UCI run tied the score. The Anteaters took their first lead at 6-5 before CSUN rallied back to claim three of the next four points to take an 8-7 lead into the changeover. A co-block from Bertozzi and Delibosov gave the Matadors a 10-8 lead before a 3-1 UCI run tied the score again at 11-11. Another Bertozzi kill gave CSUN its final lead at 12-11 when UCI would outscore the Matadors 4-1 the rest of the way in a 15-13 win.
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"Tonight was just another great Big West matchup, two great teams just duking it out. I thought the match could have gone either way, Irvine did a great job down the stretch and found a way to get it. It was a little emotional seeing Donovan, Lorenzo, and Matteo playing here for the last time. Each guy has been such a instrumental part of helping our culture get to where it is and building this program, just so grateful and proud of what they accomplished."
UP NEXT
The Matadors will meet the No. 3 seed Anteaters for the third match in a row to open next week's Big West Championship at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
#GoMatadors
With the 25-21, 20-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-13 win, the Anteaters improve to 20-6 overall and 6-4 in the Big West. The Matadors slip to 18-10 overall and 3-7 in conference. CSUN finishes in a three-way tie for fourth place with UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara at 3-7 but will be the No. 6 seed in next week's Outrigger Big West Men's Volleyball Championship.
Bertozzi led the Matadors with 17 kills, hitting .448 on 29 swings in his final home appearance. Joao Avila and Jalen Phillps each added 14 kills with Avila connecting at a .448 clip on 23 attacks. Fellow senior Donovan Constable also had a solid home finale with 53 assists, eight digs, four kills, and a pair of aces which moved him into sole possession of fifth place on the CSUN career aces list.
Both teams hit well throughout as the visitors hit .402 (67-18-122) to the Matadors' .390 (64-18-118). CSUN had a slight edge in aces (6-4) while UCI had a slight edge in blocks (10.5-7.5). Each team had 32 digs in the match, the Matadors getting nine each from Bertozzi and Phillips.
S1 - UCI 25, CSUN 21 – The visitors took an early 3-1 lead before the Matadors scored four straight, two coming on Constable aces, to lead 5-3. CSUN maintained a two-point lead at 10-8 when a Bertozzi kill and a Stilian Delibosov ace boosted the lead to four. The Matadors still led by four at 13-9 when the Anteaters rallied behind a 9-5 run to knot the score at 18-18. A kill by Constable kept CSUN in front by one and the Matadors still led by one at 20-19 when UCI claimed six of the final seven points in a 25-21 win.
S2 - CSUN 25, UCI 20 – After trailing 4-3 early on, CSUN snapped a 9-9 tie by using a 4-1 run to take a 13-11 lead. A UCI hitting error opened up the Matadors' largest lead at 17-13 before a Phillips kill extended the lead to five at 19-14. The Anteaters would only get within four the rest of the way before a kill by Delibosov closed out a 25-20 CSUN win.
S3 – CSUN 25, UCI 22 - With the score tied 8-8, CSUN took advantage of a 7-2 run to open up a 15-10 lead capped by a Phillips ace. An ensuing 6-3 run by the visitors trimmed the deficit to 18-16 forcing a Matador timeout. CSUN pushed the lead back to three at 20-17 when UCI rallied back to tie the score at 21-21. But a Phillips kill, along with some strong serving by Avila closed out a 25-22 win.
S4 - UCI 25, CSUN 18 - The Matadors trailed early by four at 10-6 before UCI extended the lead to five at 15-10. The Anteater lead swelled to as many as six at 19-13 and CSUN would only get within five the rest of the way as UCI forced a fifth and deciding set.
S5 - UCI 15, CSUN 13 - The Matadors jumped out to a 3-0 lead before a 4-1 UCI run tied the score. The Anteaters took their first lead at 6-5 before CSUN rallied back to claim three of the next four points to take an 8-7 lead into the changeover. A co-block from Bertozzi and Delibosov gave the Matadors a 10-8 lead before a 3-1 UCI run tied the score again at 11-11. Another Bertozzi kill gave CSUN its final lead at 12-11 when UCI would outscore the Matadors 4-1 the rest of the way in a 15-13 win.
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"Tonight was just another great Big West matchup, two great teams just duking it out. I thought the match could have gone either way, Irvine did a great job down the stretch and found a way to get it. It was a little emotional seeing Donovan, Lorenzo, and Matteo playing here for the last time. Each guy has been such a instrumental part of helping our culture get to where it is and building this program, just so grateful and proud of what they accomplished."
UP NEXT
The Matadors will meet the No. 3 seed Anteaters for the third match in a row to open next week's Big West Championship at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
#GoMatadors
Team Stats
Irvine
CSUN
Kills
67
64
Errors
18
18
Attempts
122
118
Hitting %
.402
.390
Points
81.5
77.5
Assists
61
62
Aces
4
6
Blocks
10.5
7.5
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ 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