California State University at Northridge
UC Riverside
CSUN Opens Final Homestand Tuesday vs. UC Riverside
10/30/2018 11:18:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK:
MATCH #24Â (BIG WESTÂ MATCH #12):
UC Riverside Highlanders (7-14, 2-7 Big West) at CSUN Matadors (6-17, 2-9 Big West)
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018 - 7 p.m. PDT
The Matadome (2,000) - Northridge, Calif.
Live Stats
Big West TV
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNWVB
MATCH #25 (BIG WESTÂ MATCH #13):
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (14-7, 10-2 Big West) at CSUN Matadors (6-17, 2-9 Big West)
Friday, Nov. 2, 2018 - 7 p.m. PDT
The Matadome (2,000) - Northridge, Calif.
Live Stats
ESPN3
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNWVB
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN Women's Volleyball team (6-17, 2-9 Big West) opens its final homestand of the 2018 season Tuesday against UC Riverside (7-14, 2-7 Big West) at 7 p.m. The Matadors then welcome Hawai'i (14-7, 10-2 Big West) to The Matadome on Friday at 7 p.m. CSUN will honor its 2018 senior class in a postgame ceremony following Friday's match. CSUN dropped a pair of road matches last week, 3-1 at UC Irvine and 3-1 at UC Davis. Â
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
All Big West Conference matches will have live stats (links available on the women's volleyball schedule page at GoMatadors.com) and all non-televised home matches this season will streamed live by the CSUNSportsNetworkpresented by Dignity Health via Big West TV.
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 OPPOSITION
UC Riverside (7-14, 2-7 Big West) snapped a four-match skid with a five-set win over Cal State Fullerton last Saturday. The Highlanders, 2-6 on the road this season, are led by sophomore Yulia Ushakova who is averaging 2.25 kps. Ushakova totaled 33 kills in two matches last week, including 16 in the win over Fullerton. UC Riverside ranks eighth in the Big West, hitting .169 as a team.
Series: Tuesday's match is the 77th all-time between the Matadors and Highlanders with CSUN holding a 56-20 lead in the series. The Matadors have won five straight, including a 3-0 win in The Matadome last season. All-time, CSUN is 28-4 against the Highlanders in Northridge.
Hawai'i (14-7, 10-2 Big West) has won five of its last six matches after splitting a two-match homestand last weekend. The Rainbow Wahine became the first Big West team to knock off Cal Poly this season (3-2) before falling in straight sets to UC Santa Barbara. Hawai'i, which ranks first in the conference in assists, is led by senior McKenna Granato who averages a team-high 3.27 kps, sixth in the Big West.
Series: Friday's match is the 24th all-time between the Matadors and Hawai'i with the Rainbow Wahine holding a 21-2 lead in the series. Hawai'i has won eight straight dating back to CSUN's last win in 2014. The Matadors are 2-4 all-time against the Rainbow Wahine at CSUN.
OWENS NAMED BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEKÂ
CSUN senior outside hitter Aeryn Owens was named Big West Player of the Week (Oct. 29) after averaging 5.13 kills and 3.13 digs per set against UC Irvine and UC Davis last week. The weekly award is the first for a Matador player in 2018 and the first CSUN Player of the Week honoree since Cieana Stinson earned the accolade in 2015. That same week (Sept. 28) in 2015, Owens was named Big West Freshman of the Week.
Despite dropping two road matches last week, Owens had an impressive week with her team-leading eighth and ninth double-doubles of the season. She had 19 kills on .375 hitting to go with 13 digs, three aces and two blocks against UC Irvine on Thursday. Owens then came back with her seventh 20-kill effort this season with 22 at UC Davis on Saturday. She added 12 digs for her ninth double-double of the season, chipping in a block while hitting .263.
SENIOR NIGHT FESTIVITIES
Following Friday's match against Hawai'i, CSUN will honor its 2018 senior class. Seniors Nada Dragovic, Erin Indermill, Kristey Markle and Aeryn Owens, along with junior Cassidy Rosso will be celebrated by their teammates and families in a postmatch ceremony. Dragovic has been in the program for five years after redshirting in 2014 while Indermill, Markle and Owens all debuted in 2015. Rosso, who transferred from Pierce College in 2017, is a junior this season but is a senior in academic standing.
OWENS MOVES INTO SECOND IN CAREER KILLS
With 41 kills in two matches last week, senior Aeryn Owens moved into second place in CSUN history with 1,490 career kills. Owens became just the third player in CSUN history with over 1,400 kills when she knocked down her 11th kill at Hawai'i on Oct. 13. The senior from Rancho Cucamonga passed Missy Clements (1991-94) last week and now ranks second only to Laura Walter.
Walter holds the CSUN record for career kills with 1,694 from 1998-2001. Owens opened the 2018 season ranked 11th in school history and has moved past nine players this season (Angela Hupp, Mahina Haina, Alexis Cormier, Cieana Stinson, Casey Hinger, Natalie Allen, Nancy Nicholls, Kathleen Dixon, Clements) on the Matador career kills list. Â Â Â Â Â Â
COACHES CORNER
Matador head coach Jeff Stork shares his thoughts each week on the team, this week's matches and other topics.
On the 2018 senior class: "We recruit quality people and certainly this group is outstanding academically as well. They're committed to our volleyball program and trying to attain the standards that we're used to. They all have a plan after they're done at CSUN so although we're sad to see them go, that's one of the joys of collegiate coaching is you get to pick the people you go through a period of your life with and these are quality people."
MATADOR QUICK SETS
• With 12 kills in two matches last week, Dragovic surpassed 400 kills in her CSUN career. Dragovic's most productive season to date was 2015 when she posted 158 kills (1.66) and 223 digs (2.35) as a redshirt freshman
• With a 3-5 home record and two matches yet to play, the Matadors can still finish with a .500 record on their home court.
• With six wins overall and five matches remaining, CSUN can reach double figures in wins for the 14th time under Jeff Stork
• The series between the Matadors and UC Riverside is the longest in Matador women's volleyball history. The series dates back to 1980 and the two teams have met a total of 76 times. CSUN and UCR were bitter rivals at the NCAA Division II level, squaring off in the 1982, 1986 and 1987 Div. II National Championship tournament.Â
CSUNÂ ONÂ ESPN3
The Big West Conference announced Tuesday, Sept. 11 its fall ESPN3 streaming schedule and CSUNwill be featured three times, all at home. After earlier matches against UC Davis and Cal Poly, the Matadors will make their third and final ESPN3 appearance of the season against Hawai'i on Oct. 19.
UP NEXT
After closing out the home schedule against UC Riverside and Hawai'i this week, the Matadors cap the 2018 season with road matches at Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 9), UC Riverside (Nov. 10) and Long Beach State (Nov. 17).
#GoMatadors
