The 2026 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's volleyball team is the varsity intercollegiate volleyball program of the California State University, Northridge (CSUN). The Matadors, led by Coach Theo Edwards, play their home games in the Matadome located on the campus in Northridge, California. Cal State Northridge has been a member of the Big West Conference since 2001. CSUN began the season ranked No. 11 in the AVCA preseason coaches poll. The 2026 season marks the first year in which the NCAA men's volleyball tournament will feature twelve teams, expanded to reflect the sport's continued growth.

Previous season The Matadors finished the 2025 season 18-11, going 3-7 in Big West play and finished sixth in the conference. In the 2025 Big West Tournament, the Matadors ended their season with a five set loss to the UC Irvine Anteaters.

Preseason Source:

Both the preseason All-Big West team and the Big West Coaches' Poll were released on December 29, 2025. Cal State Northridge was picked to finish tied for fourth along with UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara, and had one player make the preseason team.

Big West Coaches' Poll 1 24 (4) 2 22 (2) 3 17T-4 9

Jallin Philips 18 Opposite Redshirt Junior

Roster Source: 1Stilian DelibosovMB6'6"So.Rozlog, Bulgaria2Jordan LucasOH6'3"R-Jr.Haciendo Height, Calif.3Benjamin CohenL5'9"R-So.Rosevile, Calif.4Malcon KingMB6'5"R-Jr.Long Beach, Calif.5Joao AvilaOH6'1"So.Rio de Janeiro, Brazil6Hank KaufmanOH6'5"R-So.Santa Clarita, Calif.7Logan SpencerS6'0"R-Fr.Colorado Springs, Colo.8Chris KarnezisL6'1"R-Jr.Park Ridge, Ill.9Shan NhemMB6'4"Sr.Union City, Calif.10Owen DouphnerS6'7"R-So.Stevenson Ranch, Calif.11Kingston JeromeS6'6"Fr.Los Vegas, Nev.12Boaz SersonOH6'4"So.Kfar Saba, Israel13Santiago MendozaOH6'4"R-Jr.Asuncian, Paraguay14Nial FinneganMB6'6"R-Jr.San Mateo, Calif.15Nir EitanMB6'6"Jr.Tel-Mond, Israel17Joel EanesOPP6'9"Fr.Virginia Beach, Va.18Jalen PhilipsOPP6'5"R-Jr.Anaheim, Calif.20Joao FavarimMB6'7"So.Curitiba, Brazil21Noah DouphnerOH6'7"Fr.Stevenson Ranch, Calif.22Braden Pool-HarrisL5'11"So.Long Beach, Calif.23Grayson AlbersOH6'7"OHSacramento, Calif. Coaches Head CoachTheo Edwards4thAssistant coach 1Ryan Mason4thAssistant coach 2Michael Arone22ndAssistant coach 3Bryan Bran2nd

Schedule Source: Jan. 8 7:00 pmESPN+MaryvilleNo. 11Rob Gym Santa Barbara, CAW, 3-125-23 25-20 23-25 25-21801-0—Jan. 9 2:00 pmESPN+HarvardNo. 11Rob Gym Santa Barbara, CAW, 3-125-16 25-19 26-28 25-1802-0—Jan 10 4:30 pmESPN+Kentucky StateNo. 11Rob Gym Santa Barbara, CAW, 3-025-10 25-10 25-21403-0— Jan 16 5:00 pmESPN+@ LindenwoodNo. 12Robert Hyland Arena St. Charles, MOL, 1-325-23 28-30 26-28 20-252613-1—Jan. 17 2:00 pmNot TelevisedPurdue For WayneNo. 12Robert Hyland Arena St. Charles, MOW, 3-135-33 25-17 24-26 25-16714-1—Jan. 21 6:00 pmESPN+Long IslandNo. 16The Matadome Northridge, CAW, 3-025-22 25-17 25-203525-1—Jan 26 6:00 pmESPN+Fort Valley StateNo. 17The Matadome Northridge, CAW, 3-025-16 25-22 25-143026-1—Jan. 30 6:00 pmESPN+Edward WatersNo. 17The Matadome Northridge, CAW, 3-025-14 25-17 25-193087-1—Feb. 4 7:00 pmB1G+@ No. 4 USCNo. 16Galen Center Los Angeles, CAL, 2-319-25 20-25 25-19 25-17 13-156497-2—Feb. 6 6:00 pmESPN+No. 6 PepperdineNo. 16The Matadome Northridge, CAL, 0-322-25 18-25 10-254807-3—Feb. 13 7:00 pmB1G+@ No. 1 UCLANo. 17Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CAL, 0-318-25 20-25 22-2510577-4—Feb. 18 6:00 pmESPN+No. 19 LMUNo. 17The Matadome Northridge, CAW, 3-025-8 25-18 25-202658-4—Feb. 20 6:00 pmNot TelevisedUC MercedNo. 17The Matadome Northridge, CAW, 3-025-17 25-18 25-153359-4—Feb. 27 6:00 pmNot TelevisedCal LutheranNo. 17The Matadome Northridge, CAW, 3-025-21 25-21 25-1321910-4—Mar. 3 7:00 pmESPN+@ No. 11 UC San Diego Big WestNo. 17LionTree Arena La Jolla, CAL, 0-319-25 17-25 24-2640010-50-1Mar. 11 6:00 pmESPN+PrincetonNo. 17The Matadome Northridge, CAW, 3-125-19 21-25 25-19 25-2123011-50-1Mar. 13 6:00 pmESPN+No. 12 UC San Diego Big WestNo. 17The Matadome Northridge, CAL, 2-325-18 19-25 22-25 25-21 13-1520311-60-2Mar. 19 6:00 pmESPN+JessupNo. 17The Matadome Northridge, CAW, 3-123-25 25-20 25-16 25-2324512-60-2 Mar. 27 6:00 pmESPN+No. 3 Long Beach StateNo. 18The Matadome Northridge, CAL, 2-320-25 25-20 25-21 18-25 11-1538812-70-3Mar. 28 7:00ESPN+@ No. 3 Long Beach StateNo. 18Walter Pyramid Long Beach, CAL, 0-321-25 16-25 14-25157112-80-4Apr. 2 7:00 pmESPN+@ No. 8 UC Santa BarbaraNo. 18The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, CAL, 0-319-25 19-25 22-2551912-90-5Apr. 4 6:00 pmESPN+No. 8 UC Santa BarbaraNo. 18The Matadome Northridge, CAL, 1-319-25 25-17 18-25 26-2843512-100-6Apr. 9 6:00 pmESPN+@ No. 6 UC IrvineNo. 18Bren Events Center Irvine, CAL, 1-317-25 25-23 25-27 19-25113212-110-7Apr. 11 6:00 pmESPN+No. 6 UC IrvineNo. 18The Matadome Northridge, CAL, 0-323-25 18-25 18-2541712-120-8Apr. 17 10:00 pmSPEC/ESPN+@ No. 2 HawaiiNo. 18Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HIL, 0-320-25 16-25 16-25806912-130-9Apr. 18 10:00 pmSPEC/ESPN+@ No. 2 HawaiiNo. 18Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HIL, 1-315-25 25-21 14-25 16-25936012-14 0-10 Apr 23 5:00 pmSPEC/ESPN+(3) No. 5 UC Irvine (Quarterfinals)(6) No. 18Bren Events Center Irvine, CAL, 1-320-25 25-20 16-25 23-252964 12-15 —

Time: Pacific Standard Time

Awards

Regular Season Awards Jan. 26Setter of the WeekOwen Douphner10SetterRS Sophomore Feb. 2Freshman of the WeekGrayson Albers23Outside HitterRS FreshmanFeb. 9Offensive Player of the WeekJordan Lucas2Outside HitterRS JuniorFeb. 23Freshman of the WeekGrayson Albers23Outside HitterRS FreshmanFeb. 23Offensive Player of the WeekJalen Phillips18OppositeRS Junior

Post Season Awards The postseason All-Big West team was released on April 22, 2026, a day prior to the beginning of the Big West tournament. The Big West All-Freshman team was released at the same time.

First TeamJalen Phillips18OppositeRS JuniorHonorable MentionOwen Douphner10SetterRS Sophomore Grayson Albers18Outside HitterNoah Douphner21Outside Hitter

Rankings Source: +WeeksPollPre12345678910111213141516FinalAVCA11121617161717171717171818181818

References