April 24, 2008

Final Stats

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Junior Eric Vance knocked down a match-high 16 kills but No. 3 seed Cal State Northridge was eliminated from the MPSF Tournament after a 30-22, 30-28, 30-26 semifinal loss to No. 2 seed BYU on Thursday at the Walter Pyramid.

The loss ends the Matadors' season at 23-7, while the Cougars improve to 25-4 and advance to the MPSF finals against No. 5 seed Pepperdine on Saturday. In addition to one of the finest seasons in recent memory, Northridge equals the season record for wins in one season with 23.

Vance, Northridge's leading attacker all season, hit .294 with 16 kills and six errors in 34 swings. Senior Isaac Kneubuhl added nine kills (.174) and freshman Cody Loe chipped in five kills (.273). Sophomore Kevin McKniff had four kills, two aces and two blocks while senior setter Travis Bluemling posted 35 assists and a team-high seven digs in the loss.

For BYU, Ivan Perez matched Vance with 16 kills and also had six errors but took five less swings which left him with a .345 hitting clip. Jonathan Cherette also reached double figures in kills with 11 (.333) and Russell Holmes chipped in nine (.800).

"We did not play as well as we have played all year and I think you have to give BYU credit they played very well," said Matador head coach Jeff Campbell. "We are disappointed but I think BYU just outplayed us and did a very nice job against us tonight."

The Matadors struggled on offense in game one as they wound up hitting .000 in the frame. BYU jumped out to a 5-1 lead after a Perez ace resulting in a Northridge timeout. A Vance kill out of the timeout briefly cut the lead to 5-2 but the Cougars got three straight kills from Stewart to open up a 8-2 cushion. The Cougars eventually led 12-5 forcing the Matadors to use their second timeout. BYU opened its biggest lead at 17-9 after a Trent Sorenson-Stewart block on McKniff's attack. Northridge claimed four of the next five points to close to within 18-13 after Stewart hit out. The Matadors pulled within four twice down the stretch (19-15 and 20-16) but could get no closer falling 30-22. Northridge had just seven kills as a team in game one and scored 10 points off BYU service errors.

The same story opened game two as the Matadors fell behind 5-1 and were forced to play catch-up the rest of the game. Northridge came within one five times but each time the Cougars had an answer. The Matadors attempted to tie the score at 8-7, 9-8, 14-13 and 26-25 but a Perez kill followed by a Sorenson block on McKniff put BYU up 28-25.A Vance kill, a Soreson service error and a Stewart attack error pulled the Matadors to within 29-28 before BYU claimed the game when Vance and Bluemling collided trying to set the ball. After a rough hitting effort in game one, the Matadors bounced back to hit a solid .424 in game two compared to .231 for the Cougars.

"Every time we made a run we would make some kind of mistake and lose all the momentum," said Vance. "We would play well then we would play bad, we were very hot and cold today and could do nothing steady all match."

Down two games, the Matadors battled but again could not gain a lead in game three. Northridge tied the score three times early in the game, the last time at 3-3 before BYU scored three straight to open up a 6-3 lead. Trailing 14-10, the Matadors put together a 5-1 run to tie the score again at 15-15. It turned out that would be as close as the Matadors would get and despite pulling within one at 25-24, a kill from Charette and a Vance attack error gave the Cougars the cushion they needed to wrap up the game 30-26.

"We were a little chaotic at times and I think the pressure got to us a little bit," added Campbell. "We had some uncharacteristic plays that we haven't made all season."

- GO MATADORS -