No. 18 CSUN Falls in Straight Sets at No. 3 Long Beach State

Saturday, March 28

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

California State University at Northridge

12-8,0-4Big West

Long Beach State

16-4,2-2Big West

CSUN

Long Beach St.

Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald

No. 18 CSUN Falls in Straight Sets at No. 3 Long Beach State

3/28/2026 8:48:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

LONG BEACH, Calif. - One night after dropping a five-set heartbreaker at home, 18th-ranked CSUN fell in straight sets on Saturday as No. 3 Long Beach State claimed a 25-21, 25-16, 25-14 Big West win at LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid.

Jalen Phillips led the Matadors (12-8, 0-4 Big West) with nine kills, hitting .182 on 22 swings. Freshman Noah Douphner came off the bench to put down six kills on 10 attacks to hit .500. Setter Owen Douphner dished out 25 assists to go with two digs and two blocks, but the Matadors were held to a .209 hitting percentage as a team and managed just 3.0 total blocks.

The Matadors were competitive early but were ultimately undone by Long Beach State's .561 hitting percentage on the night.

CSUN stayed within striking distance in the opening set, using a 3-0 run, capped by a Phillips ace, to tie the score at 14. The Beach would answer with five straight points to force a CSUN timeout at 19-14. The Matadors rallied back to within two at 22-20 following a Phillips kill, but the hosts used a late service run to take a 25-21 win. Phillips led the Matadors with seven kills, providing much of the offense as CSUN hit .217 in the frame.

The second set proved decisive. A Malcolm King kill kept CSUN even at 7-7 in the early going, but an ensuing 8-1 run by the Beach proved decisive. Trailing 18-10, the Matadors would only get within seven points the reminder of the set as the Beach hit .737 in the frame and sided out at a 93% clip.

In the third set, the Beach hit .647 to the Matadors' .160 as Long Beach State built an early lead and never relinquished control.

UP NEXT
CSUN will next open up a home-and-home series against No. 8 UC Santa Barbara. The Matadors travel to Goleta on Thursday (Apr. 2) at 7 p.m. before returning to Northridge on Saturday (Apr. 4) for a 6 p.m. first serve.

#GoMatadors