California State University at Northridge
UC Riverside
CSUN Opens Three-Match Homestand Friday vs. UC Riverside
11/17/2021 1:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CSUNÂ THIS WEEK:
MATCH #27Â (BIG WEST #17)
UC Riverside Highlanders (6-20, 2-14 Big West)Â at CSUN Matadors (5-21, 4-12Â Big West)
Friday, Nov. 19, 2021Â - 7:00Â p.m. PDT
The Matadome - Northridge, Calif.
ESPN+Â //Â Live Stats
MATCH #28Â (BIG WESTÂ #18)
UC Davis Aggies (11-16, 7-9 Big West) at CSUN Matadors (5-21, 4-12 Big West)
Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021Â -Â 5:00 p.m. PDT
The Matadome - Northridge, Calif.
ESPN+Â //Â Live Stats
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNWVB
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN Women's Volleyball team (5-21, 4-12 Big West) returns The Matadome this week to open a three-match homestand Friday against UC Riverside (6-20, 2-14 Big West). The Matadors will also host UC Davis (11-16, 7-9 Big West) on Saturday before closing the 2021 home schedule next Tuesday (Nov. 23) against UC Santa Barbara. CSUN, 1-6 on its home court this season, dropped identical 3-1 matches at Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton last week.Â
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS
Follow CSUN Matador women's volleyball online at the official home of CSUN athletics, www.GoMatadors.com. All home matches will feature live stats and will be streamed live on ESPN+. 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 OPPONENTS
UC Riverside (6-20, 2-14 Big West) has lost three straight since knocking off UC Irvine in five sets at home on Nov. 4. The Highlanders fell to Cal Poly in four sets last Saturday despite 13 kills, 17 digs and three aces from Amarachi Osuji. Following Friday's match at CSUN, UCR plays at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.
Series: Friday's match is the 83rd meeting all-time between CSUN and UC Riverside with the Matadors holding a commanding 60-21 lead in the series. In the first match between the two teams on Oct. 16 in Riverside, CSUN posted a 25-23, 29-27, 25-20 sweep as Taylor Orshoff and Nicole Nevarez combined for 24 kills on .417 hitting as the Matadors hit .292 collectively at SRC Arena.
UC Davis (11-16, 7-9 Big West) has won three of its last four after rallying to win on the road at CSU Bakersfield last Saturday. Freshmen Olivia Utterback and Amara Aimufua each posted 15 kills, while junior Josephine Ough finished with 14 kills while hitting .542 on the night.
Series: Saturday's match is the 36th meeting all-time between the Matadors and Aggies with CSUN holding a 20-15 edge in the series. The Matadors claimed their second straight over UC Davis, defeating the Aggies in five sets in Davis on Oct. 14 as Three Matadors reached double figures in kills led by Nevarez and Orshoff who had 14 kills apiece. CSUN is 8-7 all-time against UC Davis in The Matadome. Â
BRADFORD MOVES UP TO THIRD IN DIGS
With 46 digs in two matches last week, senior Makayla Bradford not only moved up to third in the Big West, averaging 4.23 digs per set, but also surpassed 800 career digs. Bradford has averaged 5.24 digs per set over her last seven matches which included a season-high 30 digs at UC San Diego on Oct. 19. That total matched her previous career-best she set in the Matadors' five-set win at Portland State in 2019. For the season, Bradford leads CSUN with 415 digs which has bumped her career total to 805 digs, an average of 3.93 digs per set over 205 career sets.
SENIOR MILESTONES
All four Matador seniors continue to reach milestones during the 2021 season. In addition to Bradford, Nevarez, Lexi McLeod and Seyvion Waggoner head into the homestretch of their CSUN careers this week. McLeod, who passed 700 career digs against Hawai'i on Oct. 23, reached 500 career kills against CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 6 and now has 786 digs and 510 kills in 313 career sets along with 71 career aces. McLeod is now within eight aces from entering the Matadors' rally scoring era top-10. With 23 digs at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Nevarez surpassed 500 career digs as a Matador. With her fifth kill against CSUB on Nov. 6, she passed 700 career kills and now has 732 kills and 511 digs in 305 career sets. Waggoner, who has played in 158 sets in nearly two seasons, reached 300 career kills with her second kill at Cal State Fullerton last Saturday.Â
BIG WEST RANKS
The Matadors remain in the top-10 in the Big West in all seven statistical categories this week. As a team, CSUN remains as high as fifth in aces (1.18 per set) and seventh in blocking (1.88 per set). The Matadors are 10th in the remaining five categories; hitting percentage (.158), opponent hitting percentage (.229), assists per set (10.49), kills per set (11.47) and digs per set (14.11).
Individually, six Matador players continue to rank in the conference's top-20. Bradford is the highest-ranked CSUN player this week, placing third in digs per set at 4.23 and 16th in aces at 0.24 per set. McLeod is 15th this week in digs at 3.13 per set. Redshirt freshman Taylor Hunter, who has ranked as high as fourth in blocking this season, is 13th this week averaging 0.82 blocks per set followed by sophomore Lauryn Anderson who is 16th at 0.78 bps. Anderson is also 20th in hitting percentage at .252 while Taylor Orshoff is 17th in kills per set at 2.69 Freshman Carisa Barron remains in the top-15 this week, ranking 12th in assists at a season-high 5.32 per set.
MATADOR QUICK SETS
After picking up its first 3-1 win of the season over Cal Poly on Nov. 5, CSUN dropped 3-1 decisions at Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton last week and are now 1-13 in four-set matches this season ... After sharing ninth-place for two weeks, the Matadors slipped into 10th place in the conference standings at 4-12. CSUN remains two games ahead of 11th-place UC Riverside (2-14) while Long Beach State and UC San Diego share eighth-place at 6-10, two games in front of the Matadors. Saturday's opponent, UC Davis (7-9) is now three games ahead of CSUN. Hawai'i (15-1) has opened up a two-game lead over UC Santa Barbara (13-3) in leading the Big West.
TERRUSA NAMED CSUN'S INTERIM HEAD COACH
Long-time Matador assistant coach Susie Terrusa became just the seventh head coach in the program's 45-year history when she was named interim head coach on Sept. 18, 2020. She follows in the footsteps of former colleague Jeff Stork, who announced his retirement the day before. Terrusa and Stork worked side-by-side for 18 years guiding the Matadors on the volleyball court.
Terrusa, who was promoted to associate head coach in 2018, completed her 21st season as the program's top assistant coach in 2019. She was instrumental in the Matadors advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2013 while posting 24 wins, the most by a Matador team since 1996. This marks Terrusa's second stint as CSUN's interim head coach. She was also appointed to the role on Dec. 18, 2001, after the resignation of Dr. Lian Lu, and served in that capacity until March 15, 2002. As the interim head coach, she continued the Matadors' recruiting efforts and served as the scheduling coordinator. Under Stork, she has served as recruiting coordinator and has also assisted with the daily practice routine, fundraising, community outreach and game coaching.Â
LOOKING AHEAD
This week's matches against UC Riverside and UC Davis open a three-match homestand which caps the 2021 home schedule for the Matadors. CSUN hosts UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday (Nov. 23) in its home finale before concluding the season Nov. 26 at Hawai'i.
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