California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
UCLA
No. 17 CSUN Heads to Pauley Pavilion to Meet No. 1 UCLA
2/12/2026 8:57:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
CSUN THIS WEEK:
MATCH #11
#17 CSUN Matadors (7-3) @ #1 UCLA Bruins (10-0)
Friday, Feb. 13, 2026Â - 7:00Â p.m. PT
Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial - Los Angeles, Calif.
BIG10+
Live Stats
In-game XÂ updates:Â @CSUNMensVB
CSUNÂ Men's Volleyball Media Notes
FORÂ STARTERS
No. 17 CSUN (7-3) takes on its third consecutive ranked team this week as the Matadors travel to top-ranked UCLA (10-0) on Friday at 7 p.m. CSUN saw its season-high four-match win streak snapped in a 3-2 loss at No. 4 USC last Wednesday, before returning home on Friday, falling in straight sets to No. 6 Pepperdine.Â
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
Friday's match at UCLA will stream live on Big10+. Live stats will also be available (links at GoMatadors.com). Darren Preston, who handles a majority of the play-by-play for CSUN home matches, will be at the call for Friday's match. Preston will be joined by Aquiles Montoya, CSUN Women's Volleyball head coach and former player at Grand Canyon, for select home broadcasts.
Fans can also follow CSUN Matador men's volleyball online at the official home of CSUN athletics, www. GoMatadors.com for related links to the match, including any live stats, audio and video. Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Athletics Department's official X feed (@ GoMatadors) and the volleyball-specific feed (@CSUNMensVB) for news and notes throughout the week as well as updates of matches in progress.
CSUN RANKED 17TH IN LATEST AVCA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL POLL
After opening the season ranked 11th in the AVCA preseason poll, the Matadors (7-3) slipped one spot to 17th in the sixth National Collegiate Poll of the 2026 season. CSUN, which earned 238 points to rank 11th in the initial poll, earned 118 points this week after falling in five sets at No. 4 USC and dropping a 3-0 decision to No. 6 Pepperdine last week. The Matadors have now been ranked in all six polls in 2026. CSUN, which was ranked in all 18 polls last season, finished in the top 10 in the final poll of the 2025 season, the Matadors' first top 10 final ranking since 2018.Â
Since reclaiming a spot in the AVCA national poll in 2023, CSUN has been ranked in the top 20 for 41 consecutive polls and 51 of the last 54 AVCA national polls since the 2023 season. CSUN has been a fixture in the national polls historically, having previously been ranked in the AVCA Top-15 for 62 consecutive weeks and 262 of the last 289 weekly polls dating back to the 2002 season.Â
UCLA (10-0), which hosts CSUN on Friday, remained the top-ranked team for the sixth straight week, collecting 23 of 24 first-place votes and 498 total points. Long Beach State (8-1) remained second after receiving one first-place vote and 471 points, followed by Hawai'i (10-1), USC (7-0), and UC Irvine (11-0). The Trojans earned the final first-place vote this week. The remainder of this week's top 10 includes Pepperdine (5-2), Loyola Chicago (6-4), BYU (8-2), Ball State (10-1), and UC San Diego (4-4). The second half of this week's top-20 poll includes Ohio State (6-3), McKendree (6-4), Lindenwood (8-1), Lewis (6-5), Penn State (6-4), UC Santa Barbara (6-4), the Matadors (7-3), Stanford (3-6), Lincoln Memorial (5-3), and NJIT (6-5).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
#1 UCLA (10-0) improved to 10-0 on the season (3-0 in MPSF play). after a three-set sweep of Vanguard University on Saturday in Costa Mesa. The Bruins hit .421 on the night, as David Decker and Zach Rama both finished with double-digit kills. UCLA tallied nine total blocks, as Kelly recorded six block assists to lead the Bruin defense. Previously, the Bruins topped No. 2 Long Beach State on the road in five sets on Friday. UCLA, 5-0 at home this season, has started a season 10-0 for the second time in the last four seasons.
All-time series: Friday's match is the 92nd meeting all-time between CSUN and UCLA, dating back to 1978. The Bruins, who hold a commanding 76-15 lead in the all-time series, have won six straight, dating back to the Matadors' last win in Northridge in January 2019. UCLA won in four sets in the last meeting between the two teams on Jan. 24, 2025, in Northridge.
LUCAS NAMED BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
CSUN junior outside hitter Jordan Lucas was named Big West Men's Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week after turning in strong performances across a pair of matches against No. 4 USC and No. 6 Pepperdine last week. Lucas becomes the third different Matador this season to earn Big West Player of the Week honors. Sophomore Owen Douphner earned Setter of the Week on Jan. 26, followed by Grayson Albers, who was named Big West Freshman of the Week on Feb. 2.
Lucas opened the week with a standout effort in CSUN's five-set loss at fourth-ranked USC on Wednesday. He led all hitters with 30 kills on a .509 hitting percentage in the five-set battle. Lucas's kills total is the most in a single match in the NCAA so far this season. He also contributed eight digs, three block assists, and one service ace. Against Pepperdine on Friday, Lucas finished with seven kills on 12 swings to hit .333, while adding two digs and one assist, providing steady production in a three-set match.
CSUN VERSUS NUMBER ONE
The Matadors will get their first opportunity this season to knock off the top-ranked team in the AVCA Coaches Poll when CSUN takes on UCLA on Friday. The Matadors have dropped their last 20 matches against teams ranked atop the AVCA poll after falling to No. 1 Long Beach State twice during the 2025 season. During the 20-match span, the Matadors also lost to the Beach three times in 2024, Hawai'i twice in 2021, UCLA (2016, 2011), Pepperdine (2014), BYU twice in 2013, USC (2012, 2011), and UC Irvine (2012). Prior to 2012, CSUN had won two of its last three over number one ranked teams, defeating Stanford in 2010 and Pepperdine in 2009. The Matadors are now 4-40 in matches against teams ranked number one in the AVCA Top-15 poll dating back to the 2000 season.
CSUN IN THE BIG WEST STATS RANKINGS
In this week's Big West statistical rankings, the Matadors remained second in both kills per set (12.89) and assists per set (11.97). In other team rankings, CSUN is third in hitting percentage (.360) and is fifth in digs per set (7.64), aces per set (1.39), opponent hitting percentage (.232), and points per set (16.04).
Individually, several CSUN players are currently in the top five among Big West players. Jalen Phillips is the Big West leader in kills per set (3.76), and is also second in points per set (4.28) and 10th in hitting percentage (.340). Grayson Albers is second this week in hitting (.561), and is 15th in aces per set (0.30) and blocks per set (0.70). Owen Douphner remained second in assists per set (10.11), and also ranks 15th in digs per set (1.29), 16th in blocks per set (0.66), and 19th in aces per set (0.30). Joao Avila is sixth this week in digs per set (1.83). Lucas moved up to third this week in both kills per set (3.45) and hitting percentage (.441), and is seventh in points per set (3.86) and 17th in digs per set (1.27). Joao Avila is sixth in digs per set (1.71) and 18th in aces per set (0.26), while Joao Favarim is 12th in blocks per set (0.81) and Hank Kaufman is 15th in kills per set (2.64).
CSUN QUICK SETS
With his 30 kills at USC, Lucas posted the most by a CSUN hitter since Phillips notched a career-high 34 kills at UC San Diego on Apr. 12, 2025 ... Junior libero Chris Karnezis had his first reception error of the season against Pepperdine. Karnezis had opened the season with 97 consecutive receptions without an error ... With 12 points against Pepperdine, Phillips moved past 1,000 career points in three CSUN seasons ... With six non-conference matches remaining this season, CSUN is 7-3 heading into Friday's match at UCLA. Last season, the Matadors finished the non-conference portion of the season with a 13-5 record. The Matadors' three non-conference losses all came against ranked teams. No. 3 UCLA, No. 6 USC, and No. 8 Loyola Chicago.
MATADORS IN THE BIG WEST Â
The 2026 season marks CSUN's ninth as a member of the Big West in men's volleyball. With a 3-7 regular season record in 2025, the Matadors are 18-52 (.257) in 70 Big West matches over eight seasons since the conference's inaugural campaign in 2018. CSUN finished 5-5 in the first Big West season in 2018 before finishing 3-7 in 2019, 2024, and 2025, 2-8 in 2021 and 1-9 in both 2022 and 2023. Prior to 2018, the Matadors played 25 seasons as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) from 1993-2017 and 16 seasons in the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (WIVA) from 1977-92.
EDWARDS EARNS 50TH WIN AS CSUN HEAD COACH
Theo Edwards earned the 50th win of his CSUN career when the Matadors swept Edward Waters on Jan. 30. Edwards is in his fourth season as head coach in 2026 (16th season at CSUNÂ overall) after leading the Matadors back into the AVCA national rankings in his first three seasons. Named the successor to Jeff Campbell on Dec. 9, 2022, Edwards owns a career record of 50-46 (.521). CSUN finished 12-16 in Edwards's first season (1-9 in the Big West) in 2023, and the Matadors have steadily improved in each of Edwards's three seasons. CSUN finished 13-16 in 2024 and 18-11 in 2025. Under Edwards' leadership, CSUN earned a No. 7 national ranking on Mar. 10 of the 2025 season, its highest national ranking in seven seasons. The Matadors finished the 2025 season with a No. 9 national ranking, also their best since 2018.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following Friday's match at UCLA, CSUN returns home to open its second three-match homestand of the season on Feb. 18 against Lincoln Memorial. The Matadors will also host UC Merced (Feb. 20) and Cal Lutheran (Feb. 27) on the homestand as CSUN nears the end of non-conference play. CSUN opens the Big West season on Mar. 3 at UC San Diego.
#GoMatadors
