Matadors Back Home to Host UC Davis, UC Irvine
10/26/2016 3:33:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
THE WEEK AHEAD:
MATCH #21 (Big West #9):
UC Davis Aggies (11-10, 4-4 Big West) at CSUN Matadors (6-14, 2-6 Big West)
Friday, Oct. 28, 2016Â - 7:00 p.m. PDT
The Matadome (2,000) - Northridge, CA
Live Stats
Live Video
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNWVB
MATCH #22 (Big West #10):
UC Irvine Anteaters (9-14, 4-5 Big West) at CSUN Matadors (6-14, 2-6 Big West)
Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016Â - 7:00 p.m. PDT
The Matadome (2,000) - Northridge, CA
Live Stats
Live Video
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNWVB
Weekly Match Notes (PDF)             Â
FORÂ STARTERS
After enduring a stretch of 17 road contests in its first 20 matches, the CSUN women's volleyball team (6-14, 2-6 Big West) returns to The Matadome for an extended stay beginning this week against UC Davis (11-10, 4-4 Big West) and UC Irvine (9-14, 4-5 Big West). The Matadors will play three matches in a five-day span as they host UC Riverside in a rare Tuesday match.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
Friday's match against UC Davis will be streamed live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Saturday's match against UC Irvine will be streamed live on BigWest.TV. Both matches will also feature live stats (link on the women's volleyball schedule page at GoMatadors.com). All remaining Matador home matches this season will be streamed live on Big West.TV via the CSUN Sports Network.
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.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
UC Davis (11-10, 4-4) has won four of its last six matches heading into Friday's match in The Matadome. The Aggies, 4-5 on the road this season, defeated UC Riverside (3-1) and Cal State Fullerton (3-1) at home last week. Sophomore Emily Allen leads UC Davis and ranks ninth in the Big West averaging 3.29 kills per set. Big West Defensive Player of the Week Malia Blko had 47 digs in two wins last week and averages 3.50 digs per set this season. CSUN holds a 16-11 lead in the all-time series and defeated the Aggies in five sets on Sept. 24 in Davis.
UC Irvine (9-14, 4-5), which plays at Long Beach State on Friday, has won two straight and three of its last four matches. Last week, the Anteaters swept home matches against Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine behind Big West Player of the Week Harlee Kekauoha's 22 kills on .583 hitting. For the season, Victoria Dennis leads UCI averaging 3.75 kps which ranks fourth in the conference. CSUN, which won in five sets in Irvine on Sept. 23, holds a slight 27-25 edge in the all-time series. The Matadors are 14-8 all-time against the Anteaters in Northridge.
ROAD WARRIORS SEEK FIRST HOME WIN
CSUN heads into the homestretch of the regular season looking to break into the win column for the first time at home. The Matadors have played only three of its 20 matches at home this season, falling to No. 12 Hawai'i (3-0), UC Santa Barbara (3-1) and Cal Poly (3-2). But with a home-friendly final month of the regular season, CSUN hopes to avoid a sub .500 home record. Only four times in the last 16 seasons has a Matador team finished with a losing record at home; 5-6 in 2010, 4-7 in 2009, 2-8 in 2008 and 2-9 in 2009.Â
CONATI SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER ASSISTSÂ
Junior Lauren Conati became the sixth player in CSUN's Rally Scoring era to reach 1,000 career assists. Last week, Conati added 91 assists at Cal Poly and UCSB to reach 1,299 assists for her career. This season, Conati has passed Annie Shrieve (2000-01) and Steffi Miller (2012-14) to take over sixth place on the CSUN rally scoring era assists list. Nadine Nickel (4,798) is first on the list followed by Sydney Gedryn (3,532), Sam Orlandini (2,761), Kayla Wright (2,434) and Angela Hupp (1,718). Nickel is CSUN's all-time leader as well with Alison Wool (3,608) second. With a team-high 699 assists this season, Conati has set a new career-high for a single season. She had 291 assists as a sophomore last season and 309 assists in 11 matches as a true freshman in 2014.
OWENS DOUBLES UP IN KILLS, DIGSÂ
With a team-leading average of 3.49 kills per set, sophomore Aeryn Owens continues to ranks among the top 10 in the Big West. Owens, who took over the CSUN lead in double-doubles with five this season, has truly become a two-way threat. Since she started playing all six rotations in the Big West opener at UC Irvine on Sept. 22, Owens has posted five double-doubles in eight matches while averaging 4.03 kills and 2.64 digs per set. At 3.49 kills per set, she is on pace to have the second-best average in the last 10 seasons of CSUN volleyball.
"Aeryn is a very good all-around volleyball player," said Jeff Stork. "She hasn't had all that much match competition as a back row player but we know she's capable of making that adjustment and being comfortable with it. She's becoming more comfortable with it; she ranks second on the team in digs and is one of our better passers."
COACHES CORNER
Matador head coach Jeff Stork shares his thoughts each week on the team, this week's matches and other topics.
On playing three matches in five days: "It's not ideal, but in a nine-team conference you have weeks like that. It's a quick turnaround but both teams have the same issue. Thankfully they're all at home so we don't have t do any traveling which is good."Â
On hosting UC Davis and UC Irvine this weekend: "We're fine tuning some of the changes we're making with the team but I think the team is playing very well right now. We need to focus in on a couple things including our serve receive and challenging the block a little more. I want our players to play aggressively."Â
MATADORS: THIS & THAT
Freshman Morgan Salone has had her top two statistical matches against Cal Poly this season. In CSUN's 3-2 loss to the Mustangs on Oct. 1, Salone put down five kills on .308 hitting to go with a season-high eight blocks (two solo). In Friday's match in San Luis Obispo, the middle from Eastvale, killed a season-high eight balls while hitting a season-high .333 on 18 attacks ... Saturday's loss in Santa Barbara was the Matadors' first this season when they out-hit their opponent. It was also the first when CSUN hit .250 or better, the Matadors hit .268 against the Gauchos ... CSUN's first eight conference opponents had a winning percentage of .654 (34-18) while the final eight have a winning percentage of .537 (22-19) ... Saturday's loss dropped the Matadors to 0-5 in October after finishing 5-7 in September.
UP NEXT
CSUN will complete a three-match homestand next Tuesday against UC Riverside before heading to Hawai'i on Nov. 5 and Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 8. The Matadors then close the regular season with home matches against Long Beach State (Nov. 11) and Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 19) sandwiched around a road match at UC Riverside (Nov. 18).
#GoMatadors
