California State University at Northridge
Sacramento State
Matadors Advance to Day Two of Big West Championship
4/29/2016 6:41:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
The Matadors (8-13) opened the championship tournament with a dominating win over Sacramento State as CSUN won four of the five matches. In all, the Matadors dropped just two of the 12 sets as the No. 2 pair of Julie Haake/Maddie Leiphardt, the No. 4 pair of Rachel Gam/Kristey Markle and the No. 5 pair of Nicolette Pinkney/Rachel Diaz each recorded sweeps.
At No. 3, Aeryn Owens and Erin Indermill went to a third set before taking a 15-9 win in the decisive set. The No. 1 match also went three sets as the Hornets held off CSUN's Lauren Conati and Katie Sato, 21-15, 22-24, 15-13.
In the middle match, the Matadors ran into Long Beach State for the third time this season and the 49ers won all five matches without dropping a set. Conati and Sato battled Long Beach in the No. 1 pair before falling by the score of 21-19, 21-14. Nada Dragovic and Kamden Maas played in the No. 5 pair and lost to Megan Kruidhof and Morea Wagner, 21-18, 21-10.
Needing a win to stay alive in the tournament, CSUN eliminated CSU Bakersfield by the narrow score of 3-2.Â
The Matadors picked up wins behind Haake and Leiphardt at No. 2 (21-16, 21-14), Gam and Markle at No. 4 (21-11. 21-3) and Dragovic and Maas at No. 5 (21-15, 21-9).
"I thought the girls played pretty well as the elements shifted throughout the day," said CSUN head coach Jeff Stork. "We still didn't have a solution for Long Beach but I think we played better as the day wore on."
CSUN will meet up with Cal Poly in another elimination match Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. The winner will play the loser of the Hawai'i-Long Beach State match which precedes the CSUN-Cal Poly match at 9 a.m.
CSUN 4, Sacramento State 1
No. 1 - Madeline Cannon/Sloan Lovett (SAC) d. Lauren Conati/Katie Sato (CSUN); 21-15, 22-24, 15-13
No. 2 - Julie Haake/Maddie Leiphardt (CSUN) d. Lauren AikelsMorgan Stanley (SAC); 21-18, 21-15
No. 3 - Aeryn Owens/Erin Indermill (CSUN) d. Lana Brown/Lexi Skallbeck (SAC); 22-20, 15-21, 15-9
No. 4 - Rachel Gam/Kristey Markle (CSUN) d. Brie Gathright/Hannah Meadows (SAC); 21-16, 21-14
No. 5 - Nicolette Pinkney/Rachel Diaz (CSUN) d. Kennedy Kurtz/Brigette Murdock (SAC); 21-19, 21-15
Long Beach State 5, CSUN 0
No. 1 - Nele Barber/Rachel Nieto (LBSU) d. Lauren Conati/Katie Sato (CSUN); 21-19, 21-14
No. 2 - Jenelle Hudson/Zoi Konstantopolou (LBSU) d. Julie Haake/Maddie Leiphardt (CSUN); 21-14, 21-17
No. 3 - Kobi Pekich/Sammie Thomas (LBSU) d. Aeryn Owens/Erin Indermill (CSUN); 21-13, 21-14
No. 4 - Ciana Wagner/Mykah Wilson (LBSU) d. Rachel Gam/Kristey Markle (CSUN); 21-12, 21-14
No. 5 - Megan Kruidhof/Morea Wagner (LBSU) d. Nada Dragovic/Kamden Maas (CSUN); 21-18, 21-10
CSUN 3, CSU Bakersfield 2
No. 1 - Carol Grasso/Sydney Haynes (CSUB) d. Lauren Conati/Katie Sato (CSUN); 21-13, 21-17
No. 2 - Julie Haake/Maddie Leiphardt (CSUN) d. Jocelyn Rodriguez/Editha Urias (CSUB); 21-16, 21-14
No. 3 - Sophie Femion/Kelsee Sawyer (CSUB) d. Aeryn Owens/Erin Indermill (CSUN); 21-23, 21-13, 15-12
No. 4 - Rachel Gam/Kristey Markle (CSUN) d. Kortney Freeland/Amanda Schoene (CSUB); 21-11, 21-3
No. 5 - Nada Dragovic/Kamden Maas (CSUN) d. Ally Barber/Kaya Tinker (CSUB); 21-15, 21-9
