California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
San Francisco
Matadors Win Three in Santa Cruz, Improve to 7-1
3/10/2018 6:08:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
At 7-1, the Matadors are off to their best start in school history after sweeping both San Francisco and Portland before posting a 4-1 win over Pacific.
"I'm really proud of the way all of our teams played today," said CSUN head coach Noelle Rooke. "We were very steady and handled our game well in the rain. It was a great venue and atmosphere and we really jumped at the opportunity to make the best of a long day at the beach."
The Matadors opened the tournament early Saturday morning, taking a 5-0 victory over San Francisco, which co-hosted the tournament with CSUN. The Matadors won in straight sets in four of the five pairs with only Katie Sato and Aeryn dropping a set at No. 1. Sato and Owens lost the opening set 21-19 before rebounding the win set two 21-12 and the deciding set 15-11.
All eight remaining sets went to the Matadors as Kristey Markle and Nickeisha Williams won 21-16, 21-18 at No. 2, Lauren McMurray and Autumn Russell won 21-18, 21-13 at No. 3, Erin Indermill and Daniella Molinari won 21-14, 21-17 at No. 4 and Nicolette Pinkney and Lauren Conati winning handily in the No. 5 match, 21-7, 21-11.
CSUNÂ then took on Portland in the middle dual and although three of the matches went the distance, the Matadors came out on top 5-0.
Sato and Owens pulled out a 23-21 in the set one of the No. 1 match before dropping the second 21-12. The CSUN pair then picked up its second straight three-set win after taking the third 15-11. The Pilots grabbed the first set at No. 2 (21-14) before Markle and Williams battled back to take the next two sets 24-22, 17-15.
McMurray and Russell had to battled back in the third set after the pairs split the first two sets at No, 3. The CSUN duo won 15-9 in the third to give CSUN a third win. Indermill and Molinari (21-19, 21-13) and Pinkney and Conati (21-13, 21-11) then swept at No. 4 and No. 5 to give the Matadors their second sweep of the day.
Against Pacific, Sato and Owens went the distance for the third time, defeating the Tigers 15-21, 21-14, 15-10. Markle and Williams swept the No. 2 pair, 21-19, 21-15 before Pacific defeated McMurray and Russell in the No. 3 match 21-13, 21-17.
The final two pairs both went to the Matadors who clinched the dual with a 22-20, 21-18 win by Indermill and Molinari and a 21-18, 21-15 sweep by Pinkney and Conati.
"We talked about how crucial it was to go 3-0 today and I'm super proud of us for accomplishing our goal," added Rooke.
CSUN, receiving votes in this week's AVCA Top-20 poll for the first time, returns home next week to host Colorado-Mesa and Missouri State in a tri-dual on Wednesday, Mar. 14 at the Matador Beach Volleyball Facility.Â
#GoMatadors
