NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The Vanguard men's volleyball team dropped a three-set decision at CSUN on Wednesday evening. Set scores went 25-16, 25-18, 25-13 in favor of the Matadors.

The Lions fell to 5-2 on the season, while the Matadors improved to 3-1.

What Happened?: Filippo Meoni (SO/Macerata, Italy) and Christian Nowtash (SR/Vista, CA) led the Lions with six kills apiece. Glen Linden (SO/Newport Beach, CA) added five kills and hit .556 (5-0-9).

Bryce Thompson (SR/Los Alamitos, CA) posted 26 assists and Meoni led the defensive effort with five digs.

Kyle Anema (SR/La Mirada, CA) returned to action for the first time since Jan. 22 against UC Merced. He played one set, finishing with three kills and one block assist.

The Matadors won the battle at the service line with a 9-0 edge in aces. They also held a 5.5-1.0 advantage in blocks.

Kyle Hobus led CSUN with 10 kills in 17 errorless attempts to hit .588. The Matadors hit .433 as a team compared to Vanguard at .194.

Set One

The Lions were even with the Matadors through the first half of the set. Nowtash tied the score at 9-9 on a kill.

But the Matadors used a 5-0 burst to take a 14-9 lead. Vanguard had a service error, a ball handling error and three attack errors as CSUN created a cushion.

The Matadors extended the lead to 19-12 on a VU service error. The Lions had five service errors in the set, and a CSUN ace from Griffin Walters secured the 25-16 set one victory.

Set Two

A late CSUN run led to the set two win, but victory was within Vanguard's grasp. Meoni's kill tied the score at 8-8. The Matadors scored back-to-back points to go up 10-8, and still led by two at 12-10.

Vanguard then went on a 4-0 run to take its first lead at 14-12. Three consecutive kills by Matthew Roussin (SR/Anaheim Hills, CA) did the trick, forcing a CSUN timeout.

The Lions remained in front, 16-14, on a Jacob Van Groningen (SO/Manteca, CA) kill. Meoni put one down to keep VU ahead by two, 17-15, when things began to unravel.

CSUN scored three straight points to take the lead for good. Olumide Allen's ace gave the Matadors an 18-17 advantage.

After Vanguard tied the score at 18-18 on a Matador blocking error, CSUN reeled off seven straight points to close out the set.

Luke Krzmarzick served out the final six points, getting a kill himself to make it 24-18. Hobus put another away to polish off the 25-18 victory.

Set Three

Vanguard never really threatened in set three. CSUN rushed out to a 4-0 lead. The Lions narrowed the gap to 7-5 on a Van Groningen putaway, but a 6-1 CSUN run opened up a 13-6 Matador advantage.

CSUN furthered its lead to 17-8 on a Krzmarzick kill. The Matadors remained ahead by nine, 21-12, on a Walters slam.

Walters ended the match with his fourth ace as CSUN took the third set, 25-13.

Why Is It Important?: Playing its second Division I opponent of the season, the match served as good preparation for a upcoming five-match homestand which features two matches against top-15 opponents and two more against teams receiving votes in the NAIA poll.

What Was Said?: "Tonight we played against a team that was able to put together one of their best matches so far this season," said Head Coach Brad Rostratter. "That's exactly what we are looking for in these matches to continue to push us to be better each day."

What's Next?: The Lions return to the friendly confines of The Pit to face UC Merced on Friday, February 11 at 6:00 p.m. Vanguard won the first meeting between the two teams on January 22 in five sets.