Matadors Remain Unbeaten in Big West After 3-1 Win at UCSB

Friday, October 2

Santa Barbara, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

4-11, 3-0BWC

UC Santa Barbara

4-9, 0-2BWC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
CSUN	25	25	25	25	3
UC Santa Barbara	27	14	20	20	1

Photo by: Juan Ocampo

Matadors Remain Unbeaten in Big West After 3-1 Win at UCSB

10/2/2015 9:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

En Español

NORTHRIDGE, CA - The CSUN Matadors remained unbeaten in Big West play after taking the final three sets of a 25-27, 25-14, 25-20, 25-20 decision at UC Santa Barbara on Friday.

The Matadors improve to 4-11 overall and have now won three consecutive conference matches.

Senior Cieana Stinson and junior Julie Haake combined for 30 of CSUN's 53 kills in the win. Stinson, the reigning Big West Player of the Week, connected for a match-high 19 kills on 49 attacks (.245). Haake added 11 kills on .357 hitting to go with a pair of solo blocks. Aeryn Owens added seven kills (.263) while Stephanie Serna Arreola chipped in six kills on six errorless swings.

After hitting .139 as a team in 12 non-conference matches, the Matadors are hitting an impressive .360 as a team in three conference wins. Asked what he attributes the offensive turn-around to, head coach Jeff Stork said:

"The players are getting used to playing with each other and we've had some stability in the lineup. We've been running this offense for two weeks now and our outsides have done an oustanding job. Our setters have also done a nice job doing what they need to do to get our hitters in position to be successful. We're 3-0 in conference so were really happy about that."

Maddie Leiphardt, from nearby Goleta, posted 23 assists and season highs of two aces and two kills. Fellow setter Erin Indermill handed out 16 assists to go with six digs while Nada Dragovic posted a career-high 21 digs followed by Katie Sato with 17.

CSUN out-hit UCSB .323 (53-13-124) to .164 (48-24-146) and had 62 digs to 51 for the Gauchos.

The Matadors looked to be in control of set one when Stinson's kill set CSUN up with set point at 24-21. But three straight UCSB points, two coming on Matador miscues, tied the score at 24 and the Gauchos completed the improbable comeback scoring six of the final seven points.

Undeterred, CSUN took an early 6-4 lead in the second set and extended the lead to 16-9 on a pair of kills from Haake. The lead swelled to as many as 10 (22-12) before the Matadors took the set 25-14 following a Leiphardt kill. CSUN dominated the stat sheet in set two, out-hitting the Gauchos .393-.030.

The Matadors weren't able to sustain the offensive momentum in the third set but had enough to pull out the 25-20 lead. After Owens' crosscourt kill gave CSUN and early 10-5 lead, the Gauchos whittled away at the lead and eventually knotted the score at 15-15. With the score still tied at 18, CSUN used another Leiphardt kill and ace along with a kill and block from Stinson to open up a 22-18 lead. Then Stinson and Serna Arreola stuffed a UCSB attack on set point sending the Matadors to the 25-20 win.

CSUN tallied five of the first six points to open the fourth set only to watch the Gauchos battle back to tie the score at 10. Another 5-1 Matador run boosted the lead back to 15-11. UCSB was able to cut the lead to two on a pair of occasions, the last at 22-20, when kills from Serna Arreola and Owens sandwiched a Haake block and CSUN had its season-high third straight win.

Ali Barbeau had 12 kills to lead the Gauchos who dropped to 4-9 overall and 0-2 in the Big West.

CSUN continues up the coast on Saturday as the Matadors take on Cal Poly in the Mott Athletics Center at 4 p.m.

- GOMATADORS.COM -