In the volleyball version of “The Hunger Games,” No. 14 Cal State Northridge strengthened its hold on a playoff spot Saturday by turning back No. 12 Hawaii in four for a second straight night at the Matadome in Northridge, Calif.
Freshman opposite Julius Hoefer followed his career-high 27 kills from Friday with 19 Saturday to lead CSUN to a 25-22, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21 victory over the Warriors. The win kept the Matadors (10-13, 6-10 MPSF) tied for seventh place with Long Beach State, Hawaii’s opponent next week.
The 49ers added another blow to the Warriors’ slim playoff hopes by knocking off Brigham Young in five sets Saturday. The top eight teams advance to the MPSF tournament, with five spots already clinched.
Hawaii, getting 17 kills from senior hitter Steven Hunt, dropped to 11th place in the 12-team league. Even if the Warriors win out — two matches with Long Beach State this coming week and two at last-place UC Santa Barbara the following weekend, it might not be enough to make the conference tournament.
UH coach Charlie Wade isn’t counting his team out.
“We win the rest of our games and I think we still have a shot,” said Wade, whose team has a bye week during the final week of the regular season. “Our guys are playing hard, and Northridge has always been a hard place to play.
“We haven’t had the consistency that we’ve needed. There haven’t been enough nights with enough guys stepping up. We were running eight, nine guys in and out tonight who have never played in this league. It’s growing pains for sure.”
For a second straight night, Hawaii played well enough to win but not well enough at key parts of sets.
The Warriors never led in Set 1, tying it three times, the last at 7-7. They closed to 23-22 when Nick West and JP Marks teamed to stuff Hoefer, but freshman Taylor Averill had a service error and a hitting error to give the Matadors the set.
CSUN dominated early in Set 2, outscoring Hawaii
10-2 to jump out 15-7. It was 24-14 when the Warriors held off four set points but not a fifth, falling behind 0-2.
Hawaii avoided the sweep, starting off Set 3 with two aces by Hunt, and a switch in setters from sophomore Sam Biscaro to freshman Dominic Lile. CSUN caught Hawaii at 9 and again at 18 but never took the lead, with a kill by West giving the Warriors set point at 24-22. One play later, Hunt finished it.
Set 4 was tied 11 times, the last at 17 on a service error by Hoefer. The Matadors came out of a timeout 21-20, Brandon Lebrock put down three straight kills to give CSUN match point.
A service error by senior setter and Kapaa High product Danny Rodrick kept the Warriors alive for one point. Hoefer’s final kill ended it after 2 hours and 5 minutes.
Wade said he switched setters in Set 3 as well as subbing in freshman Brook Sedore and junior transfer Harrison Carroll.
“They had fresher legs, Northridge didn’t have much information on them,” Wade said. “They gave us some energy. And we had a chance to win (Set 4). It’s the little stuff here and there that adds up.”
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