The hot streak continues for No. 13 CSUN (10-2) after recent wins against Jessup University (4-3) and No. 11 Pepperdine (9-3). The Matadors have proven in these last few games that they have the ability to put together more than one consistent winning stretch in a season.
The two main factors in CSUN’s success this season are discipline and team camaraderie. CSUN coach Theo Edwards spoke about the team’s focus after its recent win against Jessup.
“We’re not looking at the record, and we’re not looking at the results. We’re just trying to progress,” Edwards said. “That’s really one of the things we talk about is getting distracted, getting distracted by the rankings, getting distracted by our record, but we really don’t care. We’re just trying to improve and get better every day.”
Under Edwards, the team has flourished on both sides of the net this season. Offensively, CSUN leads the entire Big West in kills and assists and ranks in the top three in points, points per set and hitting percentage. On the defensive end, the Matadors lead the conference in blocks and are third in digs.
A large part of CSUN’s offensive production comes from the connection between redshirt sophomore Jalen Phillips and senior Donovan Constable. Phillips ranks second in the conference in kills and his counterpart Constable, who just won Big West Player of the Week, leads the conference in assists.
Phillips explained more about his on-court partnership with Constable.
“We work on our attacking every day, and it’s a big part of the game. Building that connection has been super important, and it’s just been getting better week by week,” Phillips said.
During this winning streak, CSUN’s first-year Stilian Delibosov and redshirt sophomore Chris Karnezis have also been showing off their defensive prowess. Delibosov leads the entire Big West in total blocks with 52, averaging 1.45 blocks per set. Karnezis ranks third in the conference in digs, averaging 2.03 per set and has provided a lot of defensive production for the Matadors this season.
Aside from their skill and discipline, a large part of this team’s success comes from the chemistry between the players and coaches. Edwards described the culture in the locker room.
“Family. I mean, it’s pretty simple, these guys are really close, and their roles change constantly. One thing that’s been really impressive about this group has been their support for one another,” Edwards said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re on the floor or on the bench. They support each other.”
Phillips noted that the team’s unity has yielded real results on the court.
“I think just how close our team is has made us take these strides and get some of the difficult wins we’ve been able to get this year,” Phillips said.
The Matadors’ next game is Wednesday, March 3, when they host No. 1 Long Beach State. This game is CSUN’s first conference game of the season and their fifth against a ranked team. Currently, they have a record of 2-2 against ranked teams.
The Matadors’ next game is against Grand Canyon on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. at the Premier America Credit Union Arena.
