California State University at Northridge
1-0,0-0Big West
Maryville University
0-1,0-0GLVC
No. 11 CSUN Defeats Maryville in Season-Opening Four-Set Win
1/8/2026 9:36:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
GOLETA, Calif. — Junior Jalen Phillips led all hitters with 15 kills and sophomore Hank Kaufman added a career-high 14 as CSUN opened the 2026 season with a four-set victory over Maryville (Mo.) at the Asics Invitational on Thursday night at UCSB's Rob Gym.
The Matadors pulled away late to win 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21, hitting an efficient .318 (50-16-107) as a team. Sophomore Owen Douphner made his first career start at setter and posted 39 assists, three kills, four digs, one ace, and one block.
CSUN was out-aced (5-3) and out-blocked (6-5) by the Saints, but wound up posting 37 team digs to 34 for Maryville. The Matadors, who totaled 50 kills to the Saints' 49, also forced Maryville into 22 hitting errors as the Saints hit .235 (49-22-115) as a team.
Phillips, who finished with a match-high 18.0 points, hit .300 on 30 swings and was effective from the service line with one ace. Kaufman hit .429 on 28 swings to go with four digs and a pair of assists. Sophomore Joao Avila added nine kills (.250), and Shane Nhem chipped in seven kills on 14 errorless swings to hit .500.
CSUN controlled the first two sets behind a balanced offense and steady sideout play, then responded after Maryville extended the match with a strong third set. The Matadors hit .217 in the fourth set while limiting the Saints to a .000 clip in the fourth to seal the win.
Maryville was led by Aiden Whitemountain and Makai Scott, who each had 10 kills to lead the Saints.
CSUN improves to 1-0 on the season, while Maryville dropped its opener to fall to 0-1.
HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID
"It's nice to get the first one out of the way. Maryville is a fantastic team; they did some really nice things and challenged us. Hank (Kaufman) was fantastic, hitting over .400 and Shane (Nhem) was really efficient and at times had some really nice blocks at the net. I felt that Jalen (Phillips) was good too, especially coming off an injury, he hit .300 and looked at times like himself, which was nice to see."
UP NEXT
CSUN plays its second match of the 2026 Asics Invitational on Friday, taking on Harvard at 2 p.m. at Rob Gym on the UCSB campus.
#GoMatadors
