2023 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's volleyball team

2023 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's volleyball
2023 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's volleyball
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	12–16 (1-9 Big West)
Head coach	Theo Edwards (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Ryan Mason (1st season); Greg Faulkner (5th season);
Home arena	Premier America Credit Union Arena
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

The 2023 CSUN Matadors men's volleyball team represented California State University, Northridge in the 2023 NCAA Division I & II men's volleyball season. The Matadors, led by first year head coach Theo Edwards,^[1] played their home games at Premier America Credit Union Arena (formerly the Matadome).^[2] The Matadors competed as members of the Big West Conference and were picked the finish sixth in the Big West preseason poll.^[3]

2023 Big West Conference men's volleyball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 Hawai'i ‍†‍‡‍^y	9	–	1	.900	29	–	3	.906
No. 4 Long Beach State ‍†‍‍^y	9	–	1	.900	21	–	5	.808
No. 5 UC Irvine ‍‍‍	6	–	4	.600	18	–	11	.621
UC Santa Barbara ‍‍‍	3	–	7	.300	8	–	17	.320
UC San Diego ‍‍‍	2	–	8	.200	8	–	17	.320
CSUN ‍‍‍	1	–	9	.100	12	–	16	.429

† – Conference champion ‡ – 2023 Big West Tournament champion y- Invited to the NCAA volleyball tournament As of November 23, 2024 Rankings from AVCA

Preseason

Coaches poll

The preseason poll was released on December 21, 2022. CSUN was picked to finish fifth in the Big West Conference standings.^[4]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Hawai'i	25 (5)
2	Long Beach State	19
3	UC Irvine	17 (1)
4	UC Santa Barbara	13
5	CSUN	10
6	UC San Diego	6

Roster

2023 CSUN Roster^[5]

Defensive Specialist/Libero

6 Chris Karnezis - Freshman
10 Ben Martinez - Freshman
22 Taylan Cook - Senior

Middle Blockers

4 Logan Pohl - Freshman
5 Emmanuel Wandji - Freshman
11 Jackson Payne - Sophomore
13 Olumide Allen - Sophomore
16 Jano Tello - Junior

Outside Hitters

2 Lorenzo Bertozzi - Sophomore
7 Kyle Hobus - Junior
8 Inaki Bustamante - Senior
12 Griffin Walters - Junior
17 Matteo Salvador - Sophomore
21 Cody Bowker - Freshman
24 Trevor Lau - Freshman

Opposite Hitters

1 Nathan Merren - Sophomore
3 Luke Krzmarzick - Senior
15 Malcolm King - Freshman
18 Jalen Phillips - Freshman

Setters

9 Lance Krenik - Freshman
19 Jeff Hanmer - Freshman
23 Donovan Constable - Sophomorer

Schedule

TV/Internet Streaming/Radio information:

ESPN+ will carry most home and all conference road games. All other road broadcasts will be carried by the schools respective streaming partner.

Date Time	Opponent	Rank	Arena City (Tournament)	Television	Score	Attendance	Record (Big West Record)
1/05 5:30 p.m.	vs. #2 UCLA		Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA (UCSB Asics Invitational)		L 0–3 (18–25, 21–25, 18–25)	146	0–1
1/06 8 p.m.	vs. #10 USC		Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA (UCSB Asics Invitational)		L 0–3 (22–25, 26–28, 20–25)	92	0–2
1/07 3 p.m.	vs. Lincoln Memorial		Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA		W 3–0 (25–20, 25–21, 25–21)	132	1–2
1/13 7 p.m.	Cal Lutheran		Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25–22, 25–15, 25–12)	201	2-2
1/18 7 p.m.	The Master's		Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	W 3–1 (25–22, 25-19, 18–25, 25-22)	135	3-2
1/20 7 p.m.	Menlo		Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25–22, 25–21, 25–17)	192	4-2
1/25 7 p.m.	#10 USC		Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	L 1-3 (22-25, 25–19, 16-25, 17-25)	422	4-3
1/27 7 p.m.	#2 UCLA		Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (18-25, 16-25, 24-26)	507	4-4
2/01 7 p.m.	Vanguard		Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (22-25, 20-25, 17-25)	205	4-5
2/03 5 p.m.	#6 Stanford		Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	W 3–2 (21-25, 26–24, 22–25, 25-18, 15-13)	425	5-5
2/08 4 p.m.	@ Princeton	#15	Dillon Gymnasium Princeton, NJ	ESPN+	W 3–2 (27-25, 17–25, 15–25, 32-30, 15-11)	0	6-5
2/10 7 p.m.	@ NJIT	#15	Wellness and Events Center Newark, NJ	ESPN+	W 3–2 (25-19, 22-25, 22-25, 28-26, 17-15)	443	7-5
2/11 9 a.m.	@ Fairleigh Dickinson	#15	Rothman Center Teaneck, NJ	NEC Front Row	W 3–0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-23)	118	8-5
2/16 7 p.m.	Benedictine	#14	Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-23)	176	9-5
2/22 7 p.m.	Westcliff	#14	Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-13)	188	10-5
2/24 7 p.m.	@ UC San Diego*	#14	LionTree Arena La Jolla, CA	ESPN+	W 3–1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-21)	556	11-5 (1-0)
3/03 5 p.m.	@ #10 Stanford	#14	Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA	P12+ STAN	W 3–0 (25-20, 25-23, 26-24)	436	12-5
3/16 7 p.m.	UC San Diego*	#12	Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (21-25, 22-25, 20-25)	280	12-6 (1-1)
3/18 7 p.m.	Daemen	#12	Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	L 2-3 (19-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-22, 12-15)	144	12-7
3/24 7 p.m.	#2 Hawai'i*	#14	Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (22-25, 14-25, 18-25)	513	12-8 (1-2)
3/25 7 p.m.	#2 Hawai'i*	#14	Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (17-25, 18-25, 15-25)	522	12-9 (1-3)
3/31 7 p.m.	@ #5 UC Irvine*	#15	Bren Events Center Irvine, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (19-25, 21-25, 19-25)	620	12-10 (1-4)
4/01 7 p.m.	#5 UC Irvine*	#15	Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (22-25, 26-28, 19-25)	186	12-11 (1-5)
4/07 7 p.m.	#4 Long Beach State*	#15	Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	L 2-3 (27-25, 25-22, 17-25, 21-25, 9-15)	696	12-12 (1-6)
4/08 7 p.m.	@ #4 Long Beach State*	#15	Walter Pyramid Long Beach, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (19-25, 18-25, 16-25)	1,634	12-13 (1-7)
4/14 7 p.m.	UC Santa Barbara*	#14	Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (20-25, 22-25, 22-25)	289	12-14 (1-8)
4/15 7 p.m.	@ UC Santa Barbara*	#14	Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA	ESPN+	L 1-3 (18-25, 25-27, 25-21, 21-25)	325	12-15 (1-9)
4/20 7:30 p.m.	@ #5 UC Irvine ⁽³⁾	⁽⁶⁾	Bren Events Center Irvine, CA (Big West Quarterfinal)	ESPN+	L 0-3 (21-25, 22-25, 18-25)	1,008	12-16

*-Indicates conference match.

Times listed are Pacific Time Zone.

Announcers for televised games

Cal Lutheran: Darren Preston
The Master's: Darren Preston
Menlo: Darren Preston
USC:
UCLA:
Vanguard:
Stanford:
Princeton:
NJIT:
Fairleigh Dickinson:
Benedictine:
Westcliff:
UC San Diego:
Stanford:
UC San Diego:
Daemen:
Hawai'i:
Hawai'i:
UC Irvine:
UC Irvine:
Long Beach State:
Long Beach State:
UC Santa Barbara:
UC Santa Barbara:
Big West Tournament:

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AVCA Coaches	RV	RV		RV	RV	15	14	14	14	13	12	14	15	15	14	RV	RV	RV
Off the Block Media	Not released									RV	RV

^The Media did not release a Pre-season poll.

References

^ "Theo Edwards Named Next CSUN Men's Volleyball Head Coach". BVM Sports. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
^ "CSUN to rename Matadome 'Premier America Credit Union Arena' under new deal". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
^ "Hawai'i picked to win 2023 Big West title in preseason poll". Off the Block. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
^ "Preseason Poll and First Preseason Team Released as The Big West Looks for Fifth Straight National Champion in Men's Volleyball". Big West Conference. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
^ "2023 CSUN Men's Volleyball Roster". gomatadors.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.

[1] "Theo Edwards Named Next CSUN Men's Volleyball Head Coach". BVM Sports. Retrieved December 9, 2022.

[2] "CSUN to rename Matadome 'Premier America Credit Union Arena' under new deal". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved March 23, 2022.

[3] "Hawai'i picked to win 2023 Big West title in preseason poll". Off the Block. Retrieved December 22, 2022.

[4] "Preseason Poll and First Preseason Team Released as The Big West Looks for Fifth Straight National Champion in Men's Volleyball". Big West Conference. Retrieved January 16, 2023.

[5] "2023 CSUN Men's Volleyball Roster". gomatadors.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.

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