The CSUN Matadors (4-1) took on the Long Island Sharks (1-1) for their home opener on Wednesday at the Premier America Credit Union Arena. The match resulted in the Matadors winning three consecutive sets for the victory.
The first set of the match consisted of back and forth play, with the Matadors eventually getting the better of the Sharks 25-22.
The Matadors started off set two strong, getting on the board first, with the Sharks retaliating by scoring points of their own. CSUN opposite Jalen Phillips was relentless at the net, later spiking a ball through two Long Island defenders and securing a kill.
The Matadors continued to dominate at the net both defensively and offensively. This pressure led Long Island to serve a ball into the net twice, putting the score at 5-3.
Phillips continued to be a threat on the offensive side and spiked yet another ball into a crowd of Sharks, getting another point on the board for the Matadors.
Long Island had a small scoring run, putting the score at 12-9, with the Sharks attempting to catch the Matadors off guard. However, the Matadors went on to spike, block and serve their way to a 15-9 lead.
After taking a timeout, the Sharks came back out on the offensive side. Both teams traded points for a brief moment before the Matadors got back to business with a 17-12 lead.
Phillips, once again an X-factor, got yet another kill on his resume for the night, contributing to the Matadors’ 19-14 lead.
CSUN outside hitter Noah Douphner made sure that Long Island could not get comfortable at the net, showing off his “brick-wall-like” defensive skills. After a dominant showcase, the Matadors won set two 25-17.
The Sharks came into set three with a newfound motivation. After some back and forth, the Matadors were two points behind Long island 6-8. An intense rally led to CSUN outside hitter Joao Avila blocking a spike attempt from the Sharks, putting the score at 7-9.
A potential missed multi-touch call sent both the crowd and the team into an outrage. The Matadors used this as motivation, with CSUN outside hitter Grayson Albers spiking the ball to get their point back.
After trailing behind for a few rallies, the Matadors finally tied the game up and a timeout was taken. Back and forth scoring ensued between the teams, who were constantly gaining the lead and tying the match back up.
After not having his name called for a brief moment, Phillips delivered a strike, putting another kill on his stat sheet.
Douphner made a block, which gave the Matadors their first two-point lead of the third set. CSUN kept hold of this small lead, and Phillips continued to spike kills, putting him at 12 on the night. Teammate outside hitter Jordan Lucas following close behind with 10.
“I feel like once I got to that second and third set I really began to settle in and feel comfortable, especially with it being a home match,” Lucas said. “It’s a next game mentality here. We all want to get to May, where the NCAA tournament is right… We don’t want to peak in January. We want to peak in that late April, early May season.”
The Matadors won set three as outside hitter Boaz Serson served the finishing blow with the final score at 25-20.
Head coach Theo Edwards praised his team for their performance following the game.
“It was awesome to see the guys step up, and although we got off to a slow start, I thought we started to figure things out towards the end,” Edwards said.
CSUN’s next match will be against Fort Valley State at 6 p.m. on Jan. 26 at the Premier America Credit Union Arena.
