California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
Hawai'i
#18 CSUN Concludes Regular Season With a Pair at No. 2 Hawai'i
4/15/2026 8:44:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
CSUN THIS WEEK:
MATCH #25Â (BIG WEST #9)
#18 CSUN Matadors (12-12, 0-8 Big West) @ #2 Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors (24-4, 7-1 Big West)
Friday, Apr. 17, 2026Â - 10:00Â p.m. PT
Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center - Honolulu, Hawai'i
ESPN+
Live Stats
MATCH #26Â (BIG WEST #10)
#18Â CSUN Matadors @Â #2Â Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors
Saturday, Apr. 18, 2026Â - 10:00Â p.m. PT
Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center - Honolulu, Hawai'i
ESPN+
Live Stats
In-game XÂ updates:Â @CSUNMensVB
CSUNÂ Men's Volleyball Media Notes
FORÂ STARTERS
No. 18 CSUN (12-12, 0-8 Big West) closes out the 2026 regular season this week as the Matadors travel to Honolulu for a two-match set at second-ranked Hawai'i (24-4, 7-1 Big West). The two teams open the series at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Friday at 10 p.m. (7 p.m. local time). Saturday's regular season finale for both teams is also scheduled for a 10 p.m./7 p.m. first serve. CSUN is coming off an 0-2 week that saw the Matadors drop a 3-1 road decision at No. 6 UC Irvine before falling in straight sets to the Anteaters on Saturday in Northridge.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
Both matches in Honolulu will stream live on ESPN+ and will have live stats (links at GoMatadors.com).
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.
CSUNÂ REMAINS 18TH IN LATESTÂ AVCAÂ MEN'S VOLLEYBALL POLL
After opening the season ranked 11th in the AVCA preseason poll, the Matadors (12-12) remained 18th in this week's National Collegiate Poll. CSUN, which earned 238 points to rank 11th in the initial poll of the season, earned 85 points this week after dropping a pair of Big West matches to No. 6 UC Irvine last week. The Matadors have now been ranked in all 15 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 now been ranked in the top 20 for 50 consecutive polls and 60 of the last 63 AVCA national polls. 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 (24-1) remained the top-ranked team for the 15th straight week, collecting all 25 first-place votes and 500 total points. Hawai'i (24-4) remained second after receiving 460 points, followed by Long Beach State (20-4), Pepperdine (20-5), and UC Irvine (17-5). The remainder of this week's top 10 features USC (17-4), Ball State (22-4), BYU (20-9), UC Santa Barbara (13-11), and Loyola Chicago (18-7). The second half of this week's top-20 poll includes UC San Diego (12-12), Lindenwood (20-6), McKendree (17-10), Stanford (9-14), Penn State (18-7), Lewis (16-13), Ohio State (14-11), the Matadors (12-12), Purdue Fort Wayne (12-11), and NJIT (16-8).
SCOUTING HAWAI'I
#2 Hawai'i (24-4, 7-1 Big West) can capture the Big West regular season title with at least one win this weekend. The Rainbow Warriors need one win to claim a share of the Big West regular season title or two wins to secure the outright title. UH is coming off a series split with UC San Diego last week in La Jolla. The Warriors won the opener in straight sets before dropping the finale in four sets. Hawai'i, leading the Big West in five team statistical categories, is seeking its third Big West regular season title, after winning an outright title in 2021 and a shared title in 2023.
All-time series: The two matches in Honolulu this week mark the 88th and 89th meetings all-time between the Matadors and Warriors. In the series that dates back to 1979, Hawai'i has won 65 of the previous 87 meetings which includes a 34-8 mark against CSUN in Honolulu. The two teams split the season series in Northridge last season, CSUN taking match one (3-0) before the Warriors swept match two. The Matadors snapped a nine-match skid in Hawai'i with a 3-1 win at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Mar. 23, 2024.
BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE HORIZON
Following its two-match trip to Hawai'i, CSUN will return home to prepare for the The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2026 OUTRIGGER Big West Men's Volleyball Championship. The annual championship runs from April 23-25 and will be held at UC Irvine's Bren Events Center for the second time in the past four years. The Matadors took on the host Anteaters the last time the championship was held in Irvine and fell in straight sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-18). CSUN's last win at the Big West Championship came in 2024, when the Matadors defeated UC San Diego (25-20, 28-26, 25-22) in the Quarterfinals in Honolulu before falling to top-seeded Long Beach State in four sets in the Semifinals.
PHILLIPS REACHES 1,000 CAREER KILLS
With his 13th kill in a 19-kill effort against Jessup on Mar. 19, junior opposite Jalen Phillips became the 16th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. Now with 1,062 career kills, Phillips has moved into eighth place on the CSUN Rally Scoring era kills list, passing Isaac Kneubuhl (2005-08). Phillips now has his sights set on Brian Waite who had 1,068 kills in 404 from 2003-06.
After missing the UCSB series (Apr. 2-4), Phillips was back in the lineup against UC Irvine and put down 26 kills in two matches. He remains second in the Big West in kills per set this week at 3.91. Phillips, who held the conference lead for six weeks, has a team-high 266 kills over 68 sets this season. At 3.91 kps, Phillips opens the week ranked second to Hawai'i's Kristian Titriyski who averages 3.98 kills per set. Phillips, who is also second the Big West points per set at 4.44, ranks sixth this week in hitting percentage (.332). In the national statistics, he ranks seventh in kills (3.91), 11th in points (4.44), 25th in hitting percentage (.332), and 22nd in attacks per set (8.01).
CSUN QUICK SETS
Since moving from outside hitter to libero one at Long Beach State on Mar. 28, Avila has racked up 29 digs over four matches, averaging 2.07 digs per set over the stretch. Avila had a season-high 11 digs against both UC Santa Barbara (4/4) and UC Irvine (4/9), one off his career-high 12 digs he set against UC San Diego in 2025. For the season, Avila has double figures in digs four times this season ... CSUN needs at least one win in Hawai'i this weekend to avoid going winless in the Big West for the first time. The Matadors finished 1-9 in both 2022 and 2023 ... CSUN is also looking for its first true road win of the season, the Matadors are 0-7 so far on the road in 2026.
CSUN IN THE BIG WEST STATS RANKINGS
In this week's Big West statistical rankings, the Matadors remained second in kills per set at 12.55 and remained third in hitting percentage (.325). CSUN slipped to fourth this week in assists per set at 11.66, while also staying fourth in digs per set (7.53). The Matadors are fifth in points per set (15.58) and sixth in aces per set (1.06), blocks per set (1.97) and opponent hitting percentage (.263). Individually, in addition to Phillips, Jordan Lucas ranks 13th in hitting percentage (.296), 12th in kills per set (2.54), and 16th in points per set (2.81). Owen Douphner remains second in assists per set (9.76), and is also 17th in blocks per set (0.66) and 19th in digs per set (1.21). Grayson Albers, who ranks 19th in blocks per set (0.65), is hitting .549 this season, which would lead the nation with enough attempts to qualify. Tusculum's Morgan Makovec is currently leading the nation at .531.
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 55-55 (.500) in his fourth season. 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 its two-match trip to Hawai'i, CSUN will return home to prepare for the The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2026 OUTRIGGER Big West Men's Volleyball Championship. The annual championship runs from April 23-25 and will be held at UC Irvine's Bren Events Center for the second time in the past four years.
#GoMatadors
