I intended to do a fully-fledged write-up for this match, and I still plan to for the return match Sunday, but for a variety of reasons it's not really feasible tonight. I missed most of the first set watching the end of BYU/UCI (and decompressing from it), and three full-on write-ups in one night is kind of much, both for me and for you.
I joined the match late in the first set, with CSUN holding a small advantage. They held on to win 25-21, but I didn't figure that meant much, as I don't know if Hawaii have won the first set more than once this season (that 3-set sweep against Pepperdine). And sure enough, they came back strong in set 2.
About 2/3 of the way through set 2, Siki Zarkovic was called for an antenna violation, and he audibly protested. Seriously, you could hear him practically shout "What?!" While he's got a reputation for being a little hot-headed at times, he was absolutely in the right to be demonstrative here. Replays showed it was the CSUN player, not Zarkovic, who grasped the antenna and shook it a couple of times in midair. Nonetheless, the Warriors comfortably won set 2, their serving outdoing the Matadors, 25-17.
Oh yeah, serving…at one point about midway through set 2, CSUN's Brandon Lebrock uncorked one of the most impossibly long balls I've ever seen. It was a good 30 feet long. It barely even landed on the court; it nearly made it to the arena floor. Howard Dashefsky claimed to have seen even longer serves this season, but I'm not sure I believe him.
For reasons that were probably explained pre-match (such that I'd have missed them), JP Marks didn't play in this match, being replaced in the starting lineup by Jace Olsen. Johann Timmer also started the match, but he didn't take the court to begin set 3, entering instead in his more usual role of serving sub. His one attempt didn't amount to much.
Lebrock scored one of the more unusual points I've seen late on in this set. He got blocked on his swing, and the ball rebounding off his shoulder and back over the net, with such topspin that it completely befuddled the Hawaii defense. Set 3 was pretty dead even, and it progressed to extra points when CSUN staved off Hawaii's set point at 24-23. At 24-all, Olsen had to deal with a difficult set behind him and his hit was called long, or wide. Don't know, and either way it was wrong — replays showed the ball was in. CSUN took advantage of the opportunity, converting set point on their first opportunity.
The Matadors rattled off 4 straight points to begin the 4th, prompting an early Hawaii timeout. Olsen had a pretty bad night, with almost twice as many errors as kills to this point, and he shanked a service reception on 5-0. Coach Charlie Wade made a substitution at this point, tabbing Max Wechsung to go in for Ramos. Marks must have been battling some sort of injury. A service error finally got the Warriors the sideout, and Brook Sedore rattled off a few on serve. CSUN's John Baker, their leading hitter on the night, had to quite athletically dodge Sedore's long serve on 7-4. CSUN's setter Travis Magorien played this match with a sports hernia, words I don't even like hearing, let alone living.
From that early 7-1 deficit, Hawaii aptly chipped away at it, coming back within a point at 10-9, 11-10, and 13-12 before coming even at 15. Back-to-back Taylor Averill blocks then put the Warriors up 17-15, but CSUN drew it even at 17's, making it look like we were in for a barnburner again. Baker put the Matadors back on top again at 22-21, prompting Hawaii's timeout (sort of impressive that they took one at 4-0 and didn't have to again until 22-21). The Matadors just barely managed to edge ahead again, and took the 4th set (and therefore the match) by the slenderest of margins.
#8 Cal State Northridge d. #11 Hawaii (25-21, 17-25, 26-24, 25-23)
Disappointing match and result, especially with the blown call late in the third set.
JP Marks was noted to be out ill rather than injured — not only did he not dress for the match, he wasn't even in the arena. For as much as he doesn't really light up the scoreboard efficiency-wise (a typical match for him is high .100's, low .200's), it sure would have been miles better than what Hawaii got from Olsen, who finished at 5/9/21 for a gruesome negative .190. Sedore was no doubt the best player on the court for Hawaii tonight, as he is most nights. He hit 17/5/31 for .387 — that's just fine — and also came up with five service aces.
It's no coincidence that Baker and Lebrock's names featured in this mini-report of a team I haven't really had a close look at yet this season. They combined for 36 of the Matadors' 47 kills, with Baker hitting .484 at 19/4/31.
Same two teams Sunday night, and I imagine I'll write a fuller report on that one.
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