Looking for a shot at redemption, CSUN (18-10, 3-7) took on UC Irvine in a thriller five set match up. The Anteaters (20-6, 6-4) defeated the Matadors on senior night, 3-2, at the Premier America Credit Union Arena.

Although the Matadors lost, it was clear that the team improved compared to the match prior vs. UCI, where the Matadors were swept.

“They played a really clean match and made it tough for us. This team, all year, has been about their resilience and their ability to respond. Tonight was exactly what you saw, what we’ve been doing all year,” said CSUN coach Theo Edwards. “If a couple of points bounce our way, I think we walk away with the victory, but Irvine is a fantastic team. We got better tonight.”

CSUN came out early and applied the pressure on UCI in the first set, taking an early 5-3 lead before the fans settled into their seats.

As the set progressed, the Anteaters rallied and eventually overcame CSUN’s lead. UCI took the first set 25-21.

Both teams started on equal footing to open up the second set and were tied 8-8.

Each team fought tooth and nail for each point, putting on an electric performance as the match continued to be a neck-and-neck affair. With the game up for grabs, the Matadors turned up the intensity, going on a 14-7 run and began dominating UCI late in the set to tie the match.

Edwards talked about precise adjustments between the first and second sets.

“Adaptation. We put in some adjustments and changes that we were gonna make this week, or, I should say tonight, in response to Thursday. It took us a little bit of time to kind of get comfortable with it and really get them in trouble and force them into some tough situations, and then work to capitalize,” said Edwards.

Much like the second set, the third set started 8-8.

CSUN began to overwhelm the Anteaters, pushing their lead to five points. Although UCI was down, they rallied for a comeback, forcing two timeouts, taking a 22-21 lead. CSUN finished the set on a 4-0 run, sealing the game with an ace as the arena erupted.

Looking to finish off UCI, the Matadors opened up the fourth set with multiple mistakes, allowing the Anteaters to jump out to a quick 7-1 lead. Unable to overcome the early deficit, the Matadors dropped the set 25-18 to force a decisive final set.

Both teams could not get a comfortable lead with the game on the line. However, UCI played the better set, ultimately taking the match 15-13, and completing the season sweep.

The key to CSUN’s offensive production today came from outside hitter Lorenzo Bertozzi’s team-high 17 kills and setter Donovan Constable’s 95 total assists.

With this loss, the Matadors now drop to 1-6 against top-five teams in the country.

Constable spoke on the upcoming conference tournament, hoping to shock everyone.

“Play without some fear, and I love being the underdog, I don’t want to be the one seed ever, you know I want to go in and you know shock some people, so that’s what we plan on doing,” said Constable.

CSUN will line it up for a third consecutive match vs. UCI on Thursday, April 24, at 10 p.m. in the first round of the Big West Championship at Simplifi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.