Three days after seeing its 14-match winning streak snapped, the second-ranked CSUN men’s volleyball team faced a tough task of getting back on track against the seventh-ranked UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion.
?”We knew we could’ve done a lot better (Tuesday night),” sophomore libero Ali’i Keohouhou said. “Everyone was excited to come back and prove ourselves.”
?Prove themselves they did. In fact, CSUN made it look relatively easy, as it was in full control of its match against the Bruins, and the end result was a convincing three-game sweep by scores of 30-25, 30-28 and 30-24 to sweep the season series from UCLA for the first time in five years.
?”We feel great about the win,” head coach Jeff Campbell said. “We played much more inspired volleyball.”
?The Matadors were led by the usual suspects, as senior outside hitter Isaac Kneubuhl swung for 11 kills, junior outside hitter Eric Vance swung for 10 kills, and senior setter Travis Bluemling had 30 set assists. CSUN also received a huge boost from redshirt freshman middle blocker Cody Loe, who returned to action after missing four matches and swung for eight kills and a .667 hitting percentage.
?”My shin (still) hurts a little bit, but on the court, I couldn’t feel it at all,” Loe said.
UCLA was carried by a pair of juniors, as opposite Sean O’Malley swung for 14 kills and outside hitter Ryan Patelle swung for 12 kills. Sophomore setter Kevin Ker had 25 assists.
In game one, CSUN (21-6, 16-4) jumped out to a 4-1 lead. UCLA (16-12, 11-9) came back to win four of the next five sets to tie at five. CSUN won the next two sets, UCLA answered with consecutive points to tie the game, but CSUN won four of the next five sets to take an 11-8 lead. UCLA won the next set, but CSUN again won four of five points to take a 15-10 lead. The Matadors kept their lead around five, the last time at 19-14 when UCLA won three straight sets to cut the lead to two and force a CSUN timeout. The Matadors won the next two sets to force a Bruin timeout and Northridge soon got its lead back to five at 25-20 on a kill by Vance. CSUN kept its lead around five the rest of the first game.
Northridge held a 5-3 lead in game two until UCLA won the next four sets to take the lead. The Matadors won the next two sets to tie at seven, and after splitting the next eight sets, the Matadors made their move with a four-point run that gave them an 15-11 lead. The Matadors again led 19-14 when the Bruins won the next three sets to get within two points and continued to chip away at the lead, getting the score to 23-22, but Northridge responded by winning three of the next four sets to force a UCLA timeout. CSUN led 28-25 when a Matador service error and attack error allowed UCLA to close the lead to one. A Bruin service error put the Matadors at game point, but CSUN returned the favor with its own service error, then eventually wrapped up game two on a Loe kill.
?UCLA held a 4-2 lead in game three when Loe brought CSUN to within one and Bruins’ sophomore Jeff Woodley was called for a back door attack violation on the next set tying the game at four. Ratelle went off a pair of CSUN blockers to put UCLA back in front, but on the next set, Ratelle thought he had dug out a Matador attack, but instead was called for a lift violation. UCLA seemed to be a bit rattled by the call, as the Matadors won the next three sets after that, and cruised from there, leading by as many as 10 points.
?”It was the best team performance we’ve had all year,” Vance said. “Everyone played well and it felt great out there.”
?Northridge’s defense was also a factor, as the Matadors had 11.5 team blocks and held UCLA to a .000 hitting percentage in game three. Kneubuhl had a team-high six digs and four different Matadors had four digs apiece.
?CSUN finishes its regular season with two home games this coming weekend, starting with a Friday match against a lowly, but dangerous UC San Diego team that has beaten UCLA and swept the season series from UC Irvine.
