CSUN Opens Big West Play vs. UC Irvine, UC Davis
9/22/2015 5:13:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK:
MATCH #13 (Big West Match #1):
UC Irvine Anteaters (6-6, 0-0 Big West) at CSUN Matadors (1-11, 0-0 Big West)
Friday, Sept. 25, 2015 - 7:00 p.m. PDT
The Matadome - Northridge, CA
Live Stats
Live Video
In-game Twitter updates: @CSUNWVB
MATCH #14 (Big West Match #2):
UC Davis Aggies (5-9, 0-0 Big West) at CSUN Matadors (1-11, 0-0 Big West)
Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015 - 7:00 p.m. PDT
The Matadome - Northridge, CA
Live Stats
Live Video
In-game Twitter updates: @CSUNWVB
Weekly Match Notes (PDF)
FOR STARTERS
After playing the first month of the season on the road, the CSUN women's volleyball team (1-11) finally plays a home match as the Matadors host UC Irvine and UC Davis to open Big West Conference action. CSUN and UC Irvine square off in the home opener Friday at 7 p.m. The Matadors then welcome in UC Davis on Saturday at 7 p.m. to complete the brief two-match homestand. Last weekend, CSUN concluded the non-conference portion of the 2015 schedule in Albuquerque, NM. The Matadors fell to New Mexico (3-1), LSU (3-0) and LIU Brooklyn (3-1).
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
Both matches this week will be streamed by the CSUN Sports Network through BigWest.TV. Both matches will also have live stat links at GoMatadors.com. All Matador home matches and conference road matches this season will be streamed live through the CSUN Sports Network at BigWest.TV. All home matches this season will include live stats coverage at GoMatadors.com. For road matches, related links to the match, including for any live stats, audio and video, will be posted before the match on the women's volleyball schedule page of GoMatadors.com. Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Athletics Department's official Twitter feed (@GoMatadors) and the volleyball-specific feed (@CSUNWVB) for news and notes throughout the week as well as updates of matches in progress.
STORYLINES
• Friday marks the beginning of CSUN's 15th season as a member of the Big West Conference. The Matadors have never opened the conference season against UC Irvine in 14 previous seasons. CSUN's most common opponent in conference openers is UC Santa Barbara. The Matadors and Gauchos have opened Big West play four times. CSUN has also opened with Cal Poly, UC Davis, UC Riverside and Utah State twice each.
• Scouting UC Irvine: The Anteaters completed the non-conference schedule at 6-6 after falling to No. 14 UCLA (0-3) and defeating both Oregon State (3-1) and No. 21 San Diego (3-1) at home last week. Junior outside hitter Victoria Dennis leads the Anteaters averaging 3.33 kps while freshman opposite Harlee Kekauoha adds 3.22 kps on .340 hitting. Kekauoha was named Big West Freshman of the Week after averaging 4.27 kps in matches last week ... Scouting UC Davis: The Aggies are 5-9 overall after dropping two of three matches in Fresno last weekend. UC Davis opened with a 3-0 win over Southern Utah before falling to Portland (1-3) and Fresno State (0-3). Senior outside hitter Kaylin Squyres ranks second in the Big West averaging a team-best 4.38 kps. As a team, the Aggies are hitting .196 through 14 matches.
CSUN WRAPS UP TOURNAMENT PLAY
The Matadors concluded what might be considered a disappointing non-conference schedule with a trio of losses at the Days Inn and Suites Lobo Invitational in New Mexico. CSUN finished 0-3 at the season-opening Utah Classic before picking up one win in three matches at the Arizona Invitational. The Matadors, however, faced at least one ranked team over the first four weeks of the season, including No. 23 Utah, No. 16 Arizona and No. 8 Washington.
SATO EARNS SECOND ALL-TOURNAMENT NOD
Sophomore libero Katie Sato was named to the Days Inn and Suites Lobo Invitational All-Tournament Team, the second time this season Sato has been named to an all-tournament team. The sophomore from Calabasas was also named to the Arizona Invitational All-Tournament Team in early September. In three matches in Albuquerque, Sato scooped up 58 digs for an average of 5.27 digs per set. For the season, Sato has moved up to third in the Big West averaging 4.09 digs per set (176 digs in 43 sets).
COACHES CORNER
Matador head coach Jeff Stork shares his thoughts each week on the team, this week's matches and other topics.
"We know we have a lot of areas to work on but we do know that we're 0-0 in conference. We knew our non-conference schedule was a difficult one, we could have gone anywhere from .500 to where we are now which is certainly disappointing for the entire group. We're looking for any number of players to step up and hopefully we can get a couple of wins this weekend."
STINSON CLOSES IN ON 1,000 CAREER KILLS
Senior Cieana Stinson continues to inch closer to adding her name to the CSUN history books in 2015. Stinson began her final season with 836 career kills and has added 143 kills through nine matches. Sitting at 979 career kills, Stinson needs 21 more kills to become the 12th player in Matador history to reach the career milestone. Both Casey Hinger and Natalie Allen reached 1,000 kills in 2014 with Mahina Haina accomplishing the feat in 2013.
MATADORS: THIS & THAT
Heading into conference play, Stinson leads the team in kills (143) and kills per set (3.33). Junior Julie Haake ranks second in kills (90) and is third in kills per set (2.25) while freshman Aeryn Owens is third in kills (82) and second in kills per set (2.28). As a team, the Matadors are hitting .139 led by freshman Jess Hess' .211 clip. Sato and senior Alia Casino each have a team-high seven aces ... The Matadors have dropped the opening set in all 12 matches this season. CSUN came back to win the final three sets against Florida A&M and nearly came back against Lipscomb and Saint Mary's before falling in five sets .. As a team, CSUN ranks as high as third in the Big West in digs per set (14.77) led by Sato's 4.09 average. The Matadors are either eighth or ninth in the remaining statistical categories with the exception of opponent hitting percentage where CSUN ranks seventh.
CSUN FEATURED IN A TRIO OF BROADCASTS
The Big West Conference announced the schedule of games to be broadcast on FOX Sports Prime Ticket and ESPN3. The Matadors will meet Long Beach State at the Walter Pyramid on Oct. 17 in one of three FOX Sports Prime Ticket telecasts. The conference also announced that CSUN's home matches against Cal Poly (Oct. 23) and UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 24) would be streamed through ESPN3.com. All six other home matches will also be available through the CSUN Sports Network on BigWest.TV.
