The CSUN men’s volleyball team took on UC San Diego in a top 10 showdown where the No. 9 Matadors came out victorious in a thrilling 3-2 win over the No. 10 Tritons on Thursday night at the Premier America Credit Union Arena.

Apart from the first set, the match was close from nearly start to finish, with the score fluctuating frequently. The game featured nine lead changes, and the two teams were tied 29 times throughout the evening.

The Tritons (17-8, 3-4) jumped out to an early eight-point lead over the Matadors (17-8, 2-5), who weren’t entirely playing like their usual selves. UCSD took advantage of CSUN’s low momentum to win the first set 25-19.

In the second set, the Matadors scored first, but that didn’t stop the Tritons from taking charge and going on a six-point run, eventually leading by as much as five points.

However, UCSD didn’t let up, but the Matadors fought and were on their tails, trailing by only three points at most before tying the set at 19-19.

CSUN outside hitter Joao Avila said the team’s message during timeouts was simple.

“We came to the timeouts and were like ‘guys we gotta do something different, this is not us, this is not what we do,” Avila said.

A point later, the Matadors took their first lead of the night but would quickly squander it before tying the match back up at 24-24. CSUN showed experience and pulled out the nailbiter, 26-25.

CSUN head coach Theo Edwards preached patience with his team.

“I told them [the team] to be patient. I thought we got out a little slow early on, but I think a lot of that had to do with San Diego, too,” Edwards said. “They started hot, they put a lot of pressure on us from the service line and we made some errors and kinda had some misconnects but we stayed patient and found a way.”

The Matadors needed the turning point as they found their rhythm and came out aggressive to begin the third set.

CSUN opposite hitter Shane Nhem highlighted the team’s change in demeanor once the first set wrapped up.

“I think that was really important. After that second set win we saw ourselves, like that first set, that was not us. But that second set brought us to realize that we could win, we have the power to,” Nhem said.

CSUN rode their momentum from the win in the second set and fought off a late UCSD rally to capture the third set 25-22.

The fourth set had more back-and-forth action between the two teams. CSUN jumped out in front to begin the set before the Tritons crept up on them and tied the set at 14 points. The set would be tied three more times before UCSD forced a decisive fifth set with a 25-21 victory.

The final set of the match was quickly the most intense. Both teams traded points back and forth, but CSUN took advantage of an error from the Tritons to secure a 19-17 set win.

CSUN’s next match will be against UCSD again on Saturday, April 17, at 7 p.m. at the Lion Tree Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.