Matadors Wind Up No. 2 to No. 1 Hawaii in 3 Games

Hawaii was supposed to fly in and blast the Cal State Northridge men’s volleyball team Wednesday night at the Matador Gym.

The powerful and undefeated Rainbows are ranked No. 1 nationally and, with three of the NCAA’s top five hitters on their roster, they have an explosive offense that’s difficult to contain.

But the Matadors were able to control the Rainbows’ attack at times in Wednesday night’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match.

Not enough to beat them, however.

Hawaii walked away with a 15-11, 15-10, 15-10 victory, their seventh consecutive victory over Northridge. The Rainbows hold a 27-7 record against the Matadors.

But that didn’t discourage the sixth-ranked Matadors (4-4, 3-2 in conference play) from putting up a fight and making comebacks in all three games.

“They just wouldn’t go away,” Hawaii Coach Mike Wilton said. “They really played us well. They came at us full force.”

Hawaii started the first game with a 6-0 lead, but Northridge tied it, 8-8, and went on to take an 11-9 lead. The Rainbows (5-0, 2-0) went on a six-point run to seal the victory.

Northridge trailed in the second game, 12-3, before showing signs of life. The Matadors scored six unanswered points and appeared to be on a roll, but at 12-9 Hawaii took a time out and Northridge lost its momentum. The Rainbows picked it up when they returned and put the game away.

“We had so many chances it’s sickening,” Northridge Coach John Price said. “I think it was pure lack of execution on our part. That’s very frustrating.”

Northridge kept up with Hawaii early in the final game, but the Rainbows broke away at 7-4 and never looked back.

At 13-6, the Matadors made a last comeback effort by scoring four points to come within 13-10, but it was too late. Middle blocker Jason Ring, a transfer from Pierce College, put away match point for Hawaii with a powerful cross-court spike.

“They did everything we thought they would,” Price said. “Our game plan was fine, it just didn’t come through in the end.”

Jason Hughes had 21 kills for the Matadors.