California State University at Northridge
Cal State LA
CSUN Hosts a Pair of Tri-Duals Thursday and Friday
4/9/2019 3:50:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
Thursday, Apr. 11, 2019
Matador Beach Volleyball Complex - Northridge, Calif.
CSUNÂ vs. Cal State LAÂ - 11:00 a.m.
CSUN vs. Marymount University - 3:00 p.m.
Friday, Apr. 12, 2019
Matador Beach Volleyball Complex - Northridge, Calif.
CSUNÂ vs. CSU Bakersfield - 11:00 a.m.
CSUN vs. Concordia-Irvine - 3:00 p.m.
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNBeach
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN Beach Volleyball team (9-10) hosts a pair of tri-duals this week; taking on Cal State LA and Marymount University on Thursday followed by a Friday tri-dual against CSU Bakersfield and Concordia-Irvine. The tri-dual matches get underway at 11 a.m. both days.
The Matadors were off last week, after finishing 3-3 at the Big West Challenge in Pismo Beach on Mar. 29-31.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
Follow CSUN Matadors beach volleyball on-line at the official home of CSUN athletics, www.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 beach volleyball schedule page of GoMatadors.com.Â
Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Athletics Department's official Twitter feed (@GoMatadors) and the beach volleyball-specific feed (@CSUNBeach) for news and notes throughout the week as well as updates of matches in progress.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Cal State LA is 4-7 this season after falling 3-2 to Marymount University on Mar. 29. Prior to that, the Golden Eagles defeated Marymount (5-0) and Westcliff (4-1). Marymount is 3-6 in its first season of beach volleyball. The Mariners picked up their second and third wins of the season over Cal State LA (Mar. 29) and Westcliff (Apr. 5). CSU Bakersfield is 7-12 this season after splitting a home tri-dual against Ottawa University (3-2) and Loyola Marymount (0-5) last weekend. Concordia-Irvine is 4-9 on the season, its last win was a 4-1 victory over Vanguard on Mar. 22. The Eagles last played on Mar. 27 when they dropped 5-0 decisions to No. 9 Long Beach State and Oregon.
Series Histories
The Matadors are unbeaten in four matches all-time against Cal State LA. CSUN defeated the Golden Eagles 4-1 earlier this season (Mar. 5) at home. The Matadors swept Marymount 5-0 in their only previous meeting on Mar. 16. CSUN is 10-6 all-time against CSU Bakersfield and has won two of the three matches between the two teams this season. The Matadors fell to the Roadrunners 4-1 in Malibu on Mar. 2 before defeating the Roadrunners, 3-2 in Bakersfield on Mar. 16 and 4-1 at the Big West Challenge in Pismo Beach (Mar, 29). CSUN is 4-1 all-time against Concordia.
SEASON NUMBERS
The CSUN pair of Taylor Brydon and Lauren McMurray has a team-high 11 wins heading into this week's tri-duals. After a season-high five match winning streak from Mar. 13-20, Brydon and McMurray (11-8) are 3-4 over their last seven matches. The pairs of Darbi Honeycutt and Mikaela Maughan and Lexi McLeod and Nicole Nevarez also have winning records as both pairs are 10-9 through 19 matches.
The CSUN record for most wins in a season is 18 set by Aeryn Owens and Katie Sato in 2018 when they finished with an overall record of 18-7. In addition to Owens/Sato and the three pairs this season, five other CSUN pairs have posted double figure win totals in the six-year history of CSUN Beach Volleyball.
Nicolette Pinkney and Lauren Conati finished 17-7 in 2018 followed by Kristey Markle and Nicki Williams (14-11), McMurray and Autumn Russell (14-10) and Erin Indermill and Daniella Molinari (11-12). Julie Haake and Maddie Leiphardt became the first Matador pair to reach double figures in wins, earning 10 victories in 2016.
TO RECAP
The CSUN Beach Volleyball team finished 3-3 at the third annual Big West Challenge at Pismo Beach (Mar. 29-31). The Matadors opened with a 4-1 win over CSU Bakersfield before falling to No. 7 Cal Poly, 4-1 to earn a split on day one of the tournament. CSUN went 1-1 again Saturday with a win over UC Davis and a loss to No. 6 Hawai'i before splitting the third and final day, falling to No. 9 Long Beach State before pulling out a 3-2 win over Sacramento State.Â
Against CSU Bakersfield, CSUN picked up straight set wins in the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 pairs while winning in three sets at No. 2. Against Cal Poly, Honeycutt and Maughan picked up CSUN's lone win in the dual as the Matadors' No. 2 pair defeated Brayden Grunewald and Vanessa Roscoe 21-9, 21-18.Â
In Saturday's first-ever match between CSUN and UC Davis in beach volleyball, the Matadors got wins from Brydon and McMurray and Nevarez and McLeod before the dual match came down to CSUN's freshmen pair of Honeycutt and Maughan at No. 2. The pair came through with a hard-fought 22-20, 18-21, 15-7 victory over Heather Reed and Savanah Schroeder to give the Matadors their eighth win of the season.
Against Sacramento State on Sunday, Nevarez and McLeod earned a dominating 21-12, 21-10 win over the Hornets' No. 4 pair of Cianna Andrews and Hannah Chase. Cassidy Rosso and Kailey Klein earned CSUN's second point in the No. 5 pair with a quick 21-10, 21-10 victory over Kayla Subbert and Paige Calvin. Brydon and McMurray then clinched the dual in CSUN's favor, sweeping Macey Hayden and McKenna Smith 21-14, 28-26.
BIG WEST BEACH VOLLEYBALL
This season marks CSUN's fourth season as a member of the Big West Conference in beach volleyball. The Matadors, seeded fourth in the six-team field in Hawai'i in 2018, were upset by fifth-seeded CSU Bakersfield in the opening round (3-2) before falling to No. 2 seed Cal Poly in an elimination match (5-0).The Matadors were also seeded fourth at the 2017 Big West Tournament held at Pismo Beach, but fell to Sacramento State (3-2) and Cal Poly (5-0) in their two tournament matches.
In 2016, CSUN was the third seed in the conference tournament before finishing 2-2 including a close 3-2 loss to Cal Poly in a third round elimination match at Huntington Beach. CSUN will host the 2019 Big West Tournament, scheduled for Apr. 26-27, at Zuma Beach in Malibu.
#GoMatadors
