Matadors Fall to UCSB 3-1 in Home Opener

By Kiley Arce
CSUN Media Relations

NORTHRIDGE, CA - The CSUN women's volleyball team dropped its 2016 home opener Friday night as UC Santa Barbara handed the Matadors a 25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22 Big West Conference loss.

After a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Gauchos, the Matadors fell to 6-9 overall and 2-1 in Big West play. CSUN, which had its season-long three-match winning streak snapped, also slipped to 22-10 all-time in home openers.

Sets were played in suspense as the two teams played to a total of 25 ties throughout the match, but the visitors were able to take advantage of their at-the-net presence and minimize the Matadors' offensive opportunities.

Despite such defensive pressure put on by UCSB, the Matadors were led by sophomore Aeryn Owens who put away 16 of 54 CSUN kills. Freshman Melissa Eaglin added a career-high 10 on .429 hitting for the Matadors. CSUN dominated the second and third sets, but fell just short of capitalizing on the plays necessary to claim the match.

"The middle of the match was going our way," said CSUN coach Jeff Stork. "We were in control in set two and let it slip away. There are adjustments that players can pick up and my hope is that through the season we can work on this and get better on them."

UCSB freshman Rowan Ennis was a force that the Matadors had no answer to with a total of 17 kills, eight of which were delivered in the final set. Service errors were another deciding factor for CSUN with only three aces for the night in comparison to UCSB's 10.

Junior Lauren Conati played a crucial role for the Matadors with 43 assists throughout the night. Eaglin also added a match-high eight blocks to the 18 combined that the Matadors earned at the net.

Though there are both individual and systematic adjustments that will be made by the CSUN coaching staff, the Matadors are ready to perform in Big West play and will face Cal Poly on their home court Saturday at 7 p.m.

"You don't need motivation when you come in front of a home crowd," expressed Stork. "We have good competitors. Our standards are high and they know they have to execute at a high standard to win matches, that's the Big West."

#GoMatadors

Matadors Fall to UCSB 3-1 in Home Opener

Next Event

Team Stats

Aeryn Owens

Melissa Eaglin

Julie Haake

Nickeisha Williams

Players Mentioned

Lauren Conati

Melissa Eaglin

Aeryn Owens