The CSUN men’s volleyball team was reeling after suffering their first loss of the season to No. 6 USC at home but had to quickly put it behind them as they hosted the defending national champions, UCLA on Friday night.
Instead, UCLA handed the Matadors their second loss of the season, defeating CSUN in four sets to win the match 3-1.
The Matadors were on a mission to return to the winning column after suffering a loss to USC on Wednesday, Jan. 22.
CSUN head coach Theo Edwards said the team’s inexperience and nervousness showed throughout the match.

“The way we started the match, it looked like we were a little nervous. I felt like our inexperience showed through [the] times in this match. And I feel like that was really the main difference as a team. When we figure out how to compete the way we did at certain moments of this match, I think we can beat anybody in the country,” said Edwards.
In the first set, UCLA quickly took control with a 6-0 lead after a couple of Matadors’ mistakes. CSUN tried mixing things up on the offensive end, but the UCLA defense kept them at bay. The Bruins held opposite Jalen Phillips under his average for kills per set as UCLA ended up comfortably taking the first set, 25-15.
CSUN setter Donovan Constable said that the team’s comfort level felt off in the first set.
“I think that first set, we were really tight, and the guys were afraid to make mistakes. And then we kind of had a huddle after the first set, and we said, ‘Hey guys, let’s just play Matador volleyball, right? Let’s just have some fun,’” said Constable.
The Bruins started strong again in the second set, taking an early 5-1 lead. The excitement from the home crowd grew as CSUN started to rally a comeback in this set when Constable hit back-to-back aces. The momentum was key for CSUN as they ended up coming back and winning the set 25-23 in nail-biting fashion.

The home crowd started to heat up with CSUN starting strong early in the next two sets, but the team could not keep the energy on the court going as UCLA continued to halt their offense and out-hit the Matadors. The Bruins ultimately dominated both sets 25-12 and 25-15.
Throughout the match, CSUN relied on their reigning Big West Offensive Player of the Week and Setter of the Week, Phillips and Constable.Phillips was the only hitter to reach double digits in hits, recording 12 kills and four blocks. Constable had three aces, 23 assists, six digs and four kills.
The Matadors hope to learn from this early-season matchup.
“We’re definitely going to learn from this. We’re going to watch a lot of film. Figure out how to contain teams like this, because this is a great team full of great guys. So we’re just going to keep pushing through this and just continue to be better,” said Phillips.
CSUN will travel to George Mason to participate in the Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Tournament to face off against St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday, Feb. 1 at noon at the Recreation Athletic Complex. The game will be broadcast on ESPN +.