Box Score
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The No. 8 University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team dropped a thrilling five-setter to third-ranked Cal State Northridge, 30-27, 28-30, 26-30, 30-28, 15-12 Friday at the Matadome.
The Warriors (10-6, 6-5 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) led two sets to one before the Matadors rallied to win the finals two sets, 30-28 and 15-12. CSUN middle blocker Jacek Ratajczak was nearly unstoppable with 30 kills and zero errors on 41 swings for an amazing 73.2 hitting percentage.
As a team, the Matadors (13-5, 10-5) hit .440 compared to .327 for Hawai'i. The Warriors were led by their trio of hitters –
Jonas Umlauft (27 kills),
Joshua Walker (23), and
Steven Hunt (19). Walker posted his fourth career double-double with 13 digs and hit .405. CSUN out-blocked UH, 15-7.5.
In a tightly contested Set 1, the Matadors used a Kevin McKniff service ace and capitalized on a
Matthew Rawson hitting error for a 29-26 lead. CSUN finished off the game with a kill by Theo Edwards.
Set 2 was much like the first with 15 ties and three lead changes. With the score tied at 25, the Warriors took a 27-25 lead following a CSUN service error and Umlauft kill. After a kill by Ratajczak pulled the Matadors to within 29-28, UH ended it with Umlauft's seventh kill of the set.
In Set 3, the Warriors jumped out to a 20-15 lead with a 6-2 spurt. Later in the set, UH reeled off three straight for a 29-23 advantage before allowing the Matadors to close to 29-26 following a pair of hitting errors by Hunt. A Drew Staker service error gave Hawai'i a one set lead.
The pivotal fourth set saw 12 ties, the final one at 22-22. The Matadors then scored three straight after a pair of John Baker kills and a hitting error by Walker. A kill by Umlauft and a
Nejc Zemljak service ace pulled UH to within 26-25 but the Matadors managed to side-out the rest of the way, including stuffing Umlauft on set point.
CSUN got off to a great start in the fifth set, leading 6-2. That was all the cushion they would need as the Warriors could only get closer than two the rest of the way. Ratajczak ended it with his 30th kill.
The two teams go at it again on Saturday. First serve is 2:00 p.m. PT (12:00 p.m. HT) at the Matadome.
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