California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
11-6,0-2Big West
UC San Diego
11-7,2-1Big West
No. 17 CSUN Falls in Five Sets to No. 12 UC San Diego
3/13/2026 8:59:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Junior Jalen Phillips put down a season-high 23 kills, and Grayson Albers added a career-high 12, but No. 12 UC San Diego pulled out a five-set win over No. 17 CSUN in a Big West match on Friday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
The Tritons outlasted the Matadors 18-25, 25-19, 25-22, 21-25, 15-13 in a tightly contested Big West men's volleyball match that featured 24 tie scores and eight lead changes.
CSUN (11-6, 0-2 Big West) jumped out early, taking the opening set behind efficient attacking and strong play from Hank Kaufman and Phillips. The Matadors hit .500 in the first set and built a comfortable margin before closing it out 25-18.
UC San Diego (11-7, 2-1 Big West) responded by winning the next two sets, including a 25-22 third set that featured 10 tie scores as the teams traded points down the stretch.
The Matadors forced a deciding fifth set after a dominant fourth-set performance, hitting .682 as Phillips and Albers combined for nine kills to secure a 25-21 win.
In the final set, CSUN held a brief lead at 6-5 following a Triton service error. UCSD answered with a 3-0 run to take the lead for good at 8-6. The Matadors trimmed the lead to one six times down the stretch, the last at 13-12, pushed the Tritons to when the visitors closed the match by claiming two of the final three points.
Phillips finished with 23 kills on .450 hitting to lead all players, while Albers hit .786 with 12 kills and four blocks for the Matadors. Kaufman added 10 kills (.450), six digs, and two blocks.
UC San Diego hit .430 as a team and totaled 60 kills, compared with CSUN's 64 kills on .448 hitting.
UP NEXT
The Matadors have one final non-conference match coming up next week when CSUN hosts Jessup University on Thursday (Mar. 19) at 6 p.m.
#GoMatadors
