California State University at Northridge
The Master's University
Beach Volleyball Opens 2020 Season With Saturday Tri-Dual
2/28/2020 2:41:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020
Matador Beach Volleyball Complex - Northridge, Calif.
CSUN vs. The Master's University - 11 a.m.
CSUNÂ vs. Cal State LA - 3 p.m.
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNBeach
FORÂ STARTERS
After sweeping all four exhibition matches at the annual JC/Ramon Calderon Cup last weekend, the CSUN Matadors officially open their seventh season of beach volleyball this Saturday (Feb. 29), hosting The Master's University (11 a.m.) and Cal State Los Angeles (3 p.m.) in the season-opening tri-dual. The Mustangs and Golden Eagles will play in the middle dual at 1 p.m.
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
The Master's University (2-1) opened the season with a 3-2 win over Westcliff (Feb. 8) before splitting dual matches against Cypress College (4-1) and Concordia-Irvine (1-4) last weekend. The Mustangs are scheduled to open GSAC play Friday as they take on Ottawa and Vanguard in a tri-dual at Huntington Beach before heading to Northridge for Saturday's tri-dual.
Cal State LA (1-0) opened the season last week with 3-2Â win over Marymount University in Santa Monica. The Golden Eagles take on Ventura College and Golden West College Friday afternoon at Huntington Beach before traveling to CSUN on Saturday.
TO RECAP
The Matadors completed an unbeaten weekend of exhibition matches as CSUN defeated both El Camino College and Mira Costa College last Saturday to conclude the annual JC/Calderon Cup at the Matador Beach Volleyball Complex. The Matadors, who didn't drop a single set in the four duals, swept both Ventura College and Long Beach City College on Friday.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACHÂ NOELLE ROOKE
"I think last weekend was good prep heading into Saturday's opener. Our team is so strong from top to bottom, we have so much parity which I think makes us better as a program and makes our players better. It's good to get the season started on our home sand, we're just excited to see what we can accomplish this season."Â
2020Â CSUN BEACH VOLLEYBALL SEASONÂ PREVIEW
The Matadors have made tremendous strides under head coach Noelle Rooke, now in her third year. In Rooke's first two seasons the Matadors have won 33 times, including a program-record 17 wins in 2018.
This season, Rooke welcomes back seven players who formed the core of the CSUN squad that won 16 matches in 2019.
The sophomore pair of Darbi Honeycutt and Mikaela Maughan earned second-team All-Big West honors last season after finishing with an overall record of 17-11. The pair finished 17-9 playing in the No. 2 pair. Senior Taylor Brydon is back for her senior season and teaming up with Lauren McMurray last season for a team-high 18 wins. Brydon and McMurray also earned All-Big West accolades, being named honorable mention.
McMurray opens her junior season with a career record of 32-21 and a career winning percentage of .604 which is the highest in CSUN beach volleyball history. McMurray's 32 career wins ranks third in program history behind Nicolette Pinkney (37) and Aeryn Owens (36).
Owens, who posted 36 wins from 2016-18, returns to the beach for her senior campaign after sitting out the 2019 season. Owens figures to team up with sophomore Lexi McLeod who also posted 17 wins in 2019.
Kailey Klein and Daniella Molinari also return from 2019. Klein finished with an overall record of 16-12 playing with Cassidy Rossoin 2019 while Molinari comes into her senior season with 21 career victories.
Rooke welcomes four new players to the squad in 2020, including three freshmen and junior transfer Meagan Carter. Carter played two seasons at Houston Baptist University, finishing 19-4 for the Huskies with a team-leading .826 winning percentage as a sophomore in 2019. The trio of freshmen newcomers include Lauren Eknoian, Tristin Sahlie and Abbey Sweeting.
BIG WEST BEACH VOLLEYBALL
2020 marks CSUN's fifth season as a member of the Big West Conference in beach volleyball. The Matadors were the No. 4 seed in the seven-team field at the 2019 Big West Tournament at Zuma Beach in Malibu. CSUN finished 2-2 in the championship tournament, their best showing since also finishing 2-2 in the inaugural conference tournament in 2016.Â
After winning two of three matches on the opening day, CSUN came up empty against No. 3 seed Long Beach Beach on Saturday and was the fourth squad eliminated from the tournament. Cal Poly, the No. 2 seed, went undefeated in four tournament matches to capture its first conference championship along with the Big West's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Hawai'i, the top seed coming in, finished second.
At the 2018 championship in Hawai'i, the Matadors were seeded fourth in the six-team field in but were upset by fifth-seeded CSU Bakersfield in the opening round (3-2). CSUN then fell 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 inaugural conference tournament before finishing 2-2 including a close 3-2 loss to Cal Poly in a third-round elimination match at Huntington Beach.Â
CSUN BEACH VOLLEYBALL HISTORY
After setting a program record for most wins in one season with 17 in 2018, the Matadors came within one victory of equaling the mark with a 16-12 record in 2019.
The Matadors have steadily improved since the induction of the sport in 2014. Playing 10 matches, all on the road in its inaugural season, CSUN finished 1-9 in 2014. The Matadors picked up their first-ever beach volleyball win on Mar. 27, 2014 when CSUN defeated Oregon (3-2) at USC's Merle Norman Stadium.
The Matadors then debuted their on-campus facility in 2015, playing 11 matches overall and four matches at home. CSUN's first-ever home match was Mar. 5, 2015 against No. 7 UCLA. CSUN won at home for the first time on Mar. 9 of the 2015 season when the Matadors defeated TCU, 4-1. CSUN ultimately upped its season win total to three culminating with a 3-8 overall season record to close the 2015 season.
The 2016 season saw the Matadors finish 8-14 before falling to Cal Poly in the third round of the Big West Tournament. CSUN then posted an overall record of 6-12 in 2017 before winning a program-record with 17 times in 2018 and posting 16 wins last season. All-time, the Matadors have a program record of 51-63 (.447).
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