SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. – The Maryville men's volleyball team opened the 2026 slate against No. 11 Cal State University Northridge and took a set but dropped a 23-25, 20-25, 25-23, 21-25 decision. The match was the first of three at the ASICS Invitational hosted by UC Santa Barbara.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Saints fell behind early in set one but chipped away at the deficit. A CSUN error followed by a kill by Tristan Benbow pulled the Saints to within 21-19. Down three, Makai Scott put down consecutive kills to cut the gap to just 22-21. CSUN had two set points and Jake Usher's kill saved one but the Matadors held on for the 25-23 win.
 
The Saints stormed out to an 8-1 lead early in set two as four early kills sparked the run. The Matadors scored three straight points but an Usher kill built a 15-11 lead. CSUN eventually tied the score at 18-18. The teams traded points and an Aidan Whitemountain kill tied the set at 20-20. However, CSUN scored the final five points to grab a 2-1 lead.
 
Set three was close throughout as neither team scored more than three straight points. Maryville took a 15-13 lead on a Benbow kill. CSUN edged back ahead before committing back-to-back errors. The score was tied six more times, the last at 23-all. Maryville's defense forced a hitting error before Makai Nzioki and Benbow's block at set point gave the Saints the 25-23 win.
 
A 4-1 run helped the Saints take a 7-4 lead in the fourth. Maryville's edge stood at 10-7 after a kill by AJ Robateau and ace. CSUN tied the score at 10-10 before committing a service error. The Matadors scored three straight points and stayed up at 21-18. Whitemountain and Nzioki had back-to-back kills to draw to within 21-20 but the Saints never tied the set as CSUN closed out the match.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kills: Makai Scott and Aidan Whitemountain - 10
Hitting Percentage: Jake Usher - .600
Assists: Jake Usher - 35
Service Aces: Aidan Whitemountain - 3
Digs: Aidan Whitemountain - 11
Blocks: Tristan Benbow - 4
 
RECORDS
Maryville: 0-1
No. 11 CSUN: 1-0
 
What's Next?
The Saints stay in California and take on host No. 17 UC Santa Barbara Friday in a 6:30 pm CT first serve.