Last Stand

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A busy month at home is coming to a close for California Baptist University this week. The Lancers will have played seven of their first 10 matches in the Van Dyne Gym in January, as they wrap up with Cal State Northridge and 11th-ranked Long Beach State Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.

The Matadors give CBU just its fourth match against an unranked team, and second match at home, although they are still receiving votes in the NCAA Division I-II top-15 polls and opened the season ranked 13th. CSUN is coming off losses to Pepperdine and Stanford, while Long Beach State knocked off Stanford but slipped against sixth-ranked Pepperdine. The Lancers are looking to build on the momentum it started with a sweep of UC San Diego last Friday.

One key for CBU will be winning the service battle, as the Lancers are 3-0 when they out ace their opponents and 0-5 when they do not.

SERIES NOTES (CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE)
CSUN owns a 7-3 advantage in the 10-game series that dates back to 1999. The teams have split the past two years, with CBU sweeping both matches with the Matadors in 2013 and Cal State Northridge claiming both wins from CBU last year. The Matadors won four-straight matches against the Lancers from 2007 to 2012, with breaks coming in 2008 or 2011.

SERIES NOTES (LONG BEACH STATE)
Long Beach State owns a 15-1 advantage in this series, and last visited CBU as the No. 1 team in the NCAA in 2014. CBU defeated Long Beach State in 2010 in five sets, and will be hoping for similar success on Saturday.

THE NATIONAL
A big match led to CBU's Enrique de Diego Garcia garnering his first national honor in his young career, as he was named the Off the Block National Freshman of the Week after a historic performance. Garcia averaged 25 blocks in 10 sets (2.50 a set) on the week, with the highlight performance of his young career coming Friday in a 25-21, 25-13, 25-11 sweep of UC San Diego. He logged 16 blocks to tie a program record for blocks in a match, but was a CBU high for blocks in a three-set affair. Artur Kusio logged 16 blocks against UC San Diego in April 2004, but had five sets to do it. Even more impressive, it set the new MPSF standard for blocks in a match since the rally-scoring era began in 2001. Garcia also currently leads the conference in blocks, with 43 on the year and 1.65 a set. He also ranks second in the conference when it comes to overall hitting percentage (.487, 45-7-78).

HISTORIC PERFORMANCE
Winning two of its first three matches, California Baptist University has got off to a great start in 2015, including a sweep of UC Merced, 25-13, 25-17, 25-17, Saturday. The Lancers dispatched the Bobcats in historic fashion, attacking at a .627 percentage (36 kills, four errors in 51 attempts). That hitting percentage ranks second in CBU history -- behind a .662 mark set against Clarke in 2011 -- and fourth in the MPSF since the rally-scoring era began in 2001. The Lancers also had 16 aces against UC Merced, which tied a program high and is two off the MPSF's all-time record. Jonathan Tuttle and Roy Powell are tied with three other players in the conference for most aces in a match, as each had five against UC Merced.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE AT A GLANCE
While CBU gets a crack at an unranked squad tonight, the Matadors are not far removed from being a top-15 team. They opened the year as the 13th-ranked team in the AVCA's NCAA Division I-II polls, but slipped to receiving votes after losses to IPFW, Princeton, Pepperdine and Stanford. If looking to shut down the Matadors' offense, look no further than Sam Holt. The junior outside hitter has 31 more kills and 78 more attempts than the next CSUN player. He has 95 kills (3.52 a set) and a team-high 44 digs (1.63 a set). Travis Magorien is the team's primary setter, with 248 assists (9.19 a set) and 30 digs (1.11 a set) this year.

LONG BEACH STATE AT A GLANCE
At 5-2, the 49ers earned their first signature win of the season against 12th-ranked Stanford, defeating the Cardinal in four sets on the road. Long Beach State still dropped to No. 11 in the AVCA rankings after losing to No. 6 Pepperdine in four on Saturday. LBSU looks to win the match at the service line and on the block. It has committed just 65 service errors, compared to 93 from its opponents, and has tallied 58 blocks, compared to 39, to average 2.5 a set.

MULTIMEDIA
Portal.stretchinternet.com/cbulancers is your one-stop shop for live coverage of CBU athletics. Every home Lancers men's volleyball match will be broadcast live with a video stream and live stat feed, with complimentary access given for home matches. The link will be made available about 15 minutes before the match is scheduled to begin. Fans can also follow along on Twitter at Twitter.com/cbulancers.

MATCH NOTES: Cal State Northridge

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Players Mentioned

Enrique de Diego Garcia

Roy Powell

Jonathan Tuttle

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