CSUN Takes Down 10th Ranked Pepperdine
Number 16th ranked Cal State Northridge headed to Malibu for KP’S NCAA Division I Match Of The Week to take on 10th ranked Pepperdine. The match did not disappoint with high flying athletic plays, powerful serves and massive blocks. CSUN came away with a historic win in four sets (25-22, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23). The last time the Matadors beat the Waves in Malibu was in 2011, it is their first top ten win of the season and this is their best start in 15 years with a 9-2 record!
CSUN Head Coach Theo Edwards was interviewed that was posted on the CSUN men’s volleyball Instagram account, “It was an exciting match, anytime you can get a road win is nice and Pepperdine did a fantastic job. We were excited to come in here and play well.”
In the middle of set one Pepperdine found themselves up 18-14. After a CSUN side out redshirt sophomore Jalen Phillips out of Anaheim scored on three straight service aces. The Matadors used that momentum to win the set 25-22. The CSUN offense came alive in set two, they hit .440 and had full control to win the second set.
It appeared the CSUN was going to complete the sweep for the match with a 15-10 lead in the third set. However, Pepperdine used an 8-0 run and held on to the lead to win the set.
For the final set the Waves and Matadors battled. CSUN found themselves up three points early, but Pepperdine found ways to claw their way back into the match. At one point Pepperdine cut the lead to one and forced a CSUN timeout at 19-18. After the break in action the Matadors used a three-point run to gain some gain some separation. The Waves answered with three straight points to only trail 22-21. Phillips had a timely kill and CSUN block regained their momentum with a 24-21 lead. Pepperdine continued to fight, but the Matadors ended the match on a block to win 25-23.
After the match Pepperdine Head Coach Jonathan Winder gave his thoughts, “We played poorly and didn’t take care of the simple situations, so it became very complicated match.” For the season and this match 6’10 freshman outside Cole Hartke has made great contributions for the Waves. “Cole is doing fantastic, we should have set him more balls tonight. He’s a mature guy that can play the game at a very physical level. His consistency has been tremendous for us.”
The Matadors were led by Jalen Phillips with 19 kills, freshman middle blocker Stilian Delibosov had eight kills and hit .614 for the match. The senior Donovan Constable earned 44 assists and was part of some timely blocks. “This was truly a team win in many facets. I don’t think we do it without Donovan, Chris (Karnezis), Boaz (Serson), and Joa (Avila), lots of guys contributed,” said Coach Edwards.
The Waves fall to (4-3) and were led by Ryan Barnett who had 18 kills, Cole Hartke totaled 16 on a .444 hitting percentage and Gabe Dyer had 43 assists.
During the week I was able to learn a lot about both programs. Thanks to the SID’S and both coaching staffs for providing Volleyball Magazine with great information about these two historic programs out in California.
History of Pepperdine Volleyball:
5 NCAA championships (1978, 1985, 1986, 1992, 2005) second-most of any Division I men’s program.
Been in the MPSF for 32 seasons with a 396-206 overall record.
18 NCAA Championship appearances and 16 Final Fours.
63 Waves have earned All-American honors a total of 114 times.
Former Head Coach Marv Dunphy was just one of three coaches in any sport to win an NCAA title in four different decades. He is believed to be just the fifth head coach in NCAA men’s volleyball history to reach the 500-wins milestone. He maintains his old office as the program’s head coach emeritus.
Eleven different Waves have competed at the Olympics and were part of the U.S. gold-medal winning teams in 1984, 1988 and 2008. Dunphy, who was head coach of the 1988 team, has coached at eight different Olympics with the U.S. men or women.
Pepperdine Head Coaches:
Marv Dunphy: 1982-2017
David Hunt: 2018-2022
Jonathan Winder: 2023-present
Pepperdine Notable Alumni:
Kevin Barnett (USA Men’s National Team Member)
John Mayer (Former Pepperdine Champ, Played on the AVP and current LMU Beach Volleyball Head Coach)
Matthew Pollock (Current Assistant Coach)
Sean Rooney (NCAA Champ and USA Men’s National Team Member)
Tom Sorenson (NCAA Champ and USA Men’s National Team Member)
Lance Walker (Former Pierce College men’s volleyball coach)
Jonathan Winder (NCAA Champ and Current Head Coach)
Pierce College Connection: Kevin Barnett, John Mayer, Lance Walker, Beau Daniels and Lance Walker were some of the few that transferred from Pierce to play for the Waves.
The Dyer Bunch: Noah Dyer and his sisters’ have played for the Pepperdine programs. Currently Gabe and George Dyer are graduate students playing for the Waves.
2025 Summer Camps:
Pepperdine runs an historic camp on the Malibu campus. They sent up some courts in the Fieldhouse gym and put up some grass courts that overlook the Pacific Ocean. Coach Winder recently announced his camp dates for July 22nd to July 25th. Head to the Pepperdine site to sign up!
Academics:
3,629 undergraduate students and offers 46 majors
History of CSUN:
CSUN Notable Alumni:
Billy Allen (AVP Tour)
Theo Edwards (Current CSUN Head Coach)
Coley Kyman (CSUN Hall of Famer, Program’s All-Time Leader in Kills)
Chris McGee (Longtime voice of the AVP, current LA Lakers pre/post game TV host)
Bob Samuelson (USA Olympian)
Ty Tramblie (AVP Tour)
Daniel Wetter (plays professionally for Paris Volley, VNL)
What Conference Has CSUN played in:
CSUN has sponsored men’s volleyball since 1977. Played its first 15 seasons (1977-92) in the CCVC, WCVC Division I conferences even though CSUN was still at the time an NCAA Div. II school. Played in the MPSF from 1993-2017 and have been in the Big West ever since.
CSUN Head coaches:
Walt Ker (1977-85) Southern California Volleyball Hall of Fame inductee
John Price (1986-97)
Jeff Campbell (1998-2022)
Theo Edwards (2023-present)
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