California State University at Northridge
Florida
CSUN Travels to Flagstaff for NAU's Lumberjack Classic
9/5/2018 12:13:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK - LUMBERJACK CLASSIC:
MATCH #1 (SEASON MATCH #7):
CSUNÂ Matadors (2-4) vs. No. 8 Florida Gators (3-2)
Friday, Sept. 7, 2018 - 9:30 a.m. PDT
Rolle Activity Center - Flagstaff, Ariz.
Live Stats
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNWVB
MATCH #2 (SEASON MATCH #8):
Southern Illinois Salukis (3-4) vs. CSUN Matadors (2-4)
Friday, Sept. 7, 2018 - 5 p.m. PDT
Rolle Activity Center - Flagstaff, Ariz.
Live Stats
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNWVB
MATCH #3 (SEASON MATCH #9):
CSUN Matadors (2-4) at Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (5-2)
Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018 - 12 p.m. PDT
Rolle Activity Center - Flagstaff, Ariz.
Live Stats
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNWVB
FORÂ STARTERS
Following a 1-2 home tournament, the CSUN women's volleyball team (2-4, 0-0 Big West) travels to Flagstaff, Ariz. this weekend for the Lumberjack Classic. The Matadors open the tournament Friday morning against No. 8 Florida (3-2) before taking on Southern Illinois (3-4) at 5 p.m. CSUN concludes the Lumberjack Classic Saturday at noon against tournament hosts Northern Arizona (5-2). Â
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
All Lumberjack Classic matches this weekend will have live stats (links available above and on the women's volleyball schedule page at GoMatadors.com). No video webcasts will be available for the three CSUN matches.
All non-televised home matches this season will streamed live by the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health via Big West TV and will also 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 LUMBERJACK CLASSICÂ FIELD
Florida (3-2) is ranked eighth in this week's AVCA Top-25 poll after taking two of three matches at the Bubly Invitational in Gainesville last weekend. The Gators dropped their opener to No. 7 USC (3-1) before defeating both Louisville and UCF by 3-1 scores. Florida opened the season with a 3-1 upset victory over No. 2 Nebraska before falling in five sets to No. 3 Texas. Freshman OH Thayer Hall is averaging a team-high 4.14 kills per set through five matches while sophomore OPP Holly Carlton adds 2.57 kps. The Gators are hitting .207 as a team. Series: Friday marks the first ever meeting between the Matadors and Florida.
Southern Illinois (3-4) has dropped three straight after falling in straight sets at Southeast Missouri on Tuesday. SIU went 1-2 at their own Saluki Invitational last weekend, sweeping Alabama A&M before falling to Miami (3-1) and Murray State (3-0). Sophomore OPP Maggie Nedoma leads SIU averaging 4.04 kps while senior MB Patience Brown adds 2.36 kps for the Salukis who are hitting .168 through seven matches. Series:Â Friday marks the first ever meeting between the Matadors and Southern Illinois.
Northern Arizona (5-2) has won five of its last six matches, including two of three at the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational last weekend. The Lumberjacks defeated SIU-Edwardsville (3-1) and IUPUI (3-0) and dropped a five-setter to Western Michigan. Redshirt senior OH Kaylie Jorgenson averages a team-leading 3.45 kps to lead NAU which is hitting .248 as a team. Series: The Matadors and Lumberjacks, former rivals in the Big Sky Conference, have met 20 times with each team winning 10 matches. The two teams last met at the 2013 Fiesta Bowl Tournament in Flagstaff with CSUN taking a 20-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-10 victory. The Matadors have now won four straight over the Lumberjacks dating back to the 2000 season. Â
RECAPPING THE CSUN/PEPPERDINEÂ CHALLENGE
After winning the inaugural CSUN/Pepperdine Challenge in 2017 with a perfect 3-0 record, the Matadors swept North Texas in their 2018 home opener for their only win this year. A tight 3-2 loss to Idaho, also in The Matadome, was followed by a 3-1 loss at Pepperdine. CSUN is now 4-2 all-time in the two-year old tournament, the first Northridge-hosted tournament since 2006 when the Matadors hosted the Fremont Investment & Loan Invitational.Â
OWENS, SALONE EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Senior Aeryn Owens and junior Morgan Salone were both named to the CSUN/Pepperdine Challenge All-Tournament team. Owens was the Matador kill leader in all three matches, averaging 4.08 kills per set. She had 15 kills and came within one dig of her career-high with 18 against Idaho. Salone hit a combined .439 over the three matches, committing just a pair of hitting errors. In earning her first career all-tournament honor, she connected for 20 kills on 41 attacks including a 10-kill effort against Idaho and a had five blocks (three solo) in the win over North Texas. Owens was also named to the Hornet Invitational All-Tournament Team (Aug. 24-25).
COACHES CORNER
Matador head coach Jeff Stork shares his thoughts each week on the team, this week's matches and other topics.
On the upcoming Lumberjack Classic: "Obviously Florida was in the national championship last season and is a perennial power, so what I hope to see there is what kind of fight we have from start to finish. It's a tall order to beat a team like that but if things go well for us, it can happen. What I'm most concerned about is how we present ourselves as competitors against a top-ranked team. We will need to execute a certain way to be successful against all three teams in Florida, Southern Illinois and Northern Arizona. We haven't been as good as we need to be in certain areas."
MATADOR QUICK SETS
Redshirt junior Brianna Johnson made her CSUN debut against Idaho and had six kills on seven swings. She then made her first collegiate start at Pepperdine and had three kills along with a pair of blocks ... Sophomore Daniella Molinari had career-highs in kills (9) and attacks (24) against Idaho while posting two digs and two blocks ... Florida represents the first ranked team CSUN will meet in 2018. Next week, the Matadors will take on Washington, which is ranked 12th this week. The last time CSUN faced a team ranked as high as eighth was 2015 when the Matadors were swept by No. 8 Hawai'i in a Big West match in Honolulu.
OWENS MOVES UP TO NINTH IN CAREER KILLS
With 49 kills over three matches last weekend, senior Aeryn Owens moved into ninth-place in CSUN history with 1,191 career kills. Owens, who was 11th with 1,109 kills heading into the season, has now moved past Angela Hupp and Mahina Haina on the Matador career kills list. Owens now trails Alexis Cormier (1998-01) and eighth place by just five kills.
| 1. | Laura Walter (1998-01) | 1,694 |
| 2. | Missy Clements (1991-94) | 1,484 |
| 3. | Kathleen Dixon (1987-90) | 1,326 |
| 4. | Nancy Nicholls (1989-92) | 1,251 |
| 5. | Natalie Allen (2010-14) | 1,215 |
| 5. | Casey Hinger (2011-14) | 1,215 |
| 7. | Cieana Stinson (2012-15) | 1,213 |
| 8. | Alexis Cormier (1998-01) | 1,196 |
| 9. | Aeryn Owens (2015-) | 1,191 |
| 10. | Mahina Haina (2010-13) | 1,181 |
| 11. | Angela Hupp (2006-09) | 1,122 |
| 12. | Nancy Ma (1996-98) | 1,030 |
| 13 | Ana Kristich (1991-94) | 1,004 |
UP NEXT
Following this weekend's Lumberjack Classic, the Matadors remain on the road for their final tournament of the non-conference portion of the 2018 schedule. CSUN next heads to Boise, Idaho (Sept. 14-15) to take on No. 12 Washington, Boise State and Portland at the Boise State Classic.
#GoMatadors
