California State University at Northridge
Cal Poly
CSUN Looks for Home Success vs. Cal Poly, CSU Bakersfield
11/4/2021 9:03:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
CSUNÂ THIS WEEK:
MATCH #23 (BIG WEST #13)
Cal Poly (10-13, 8-4 Big West) at CSUN Matadors (4-18, 3-9 Big West)
Friday, Nov. 5, 2021Â - 7:00Â p.m. PDT
The Matadome - Northridge, Calif.
ESPN+Â //Â Live Stats
MATCH #24 (BIG WESTÂ #14)
CSU Bakersfield (14-6, 7-5 Big West) at CSUN Matadors (4-18, 3-9 Big West)
Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021 - 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 (4-18, 3-9 Big West) returns to The Matadome this week to host Cal Poly (10-13, 8-4 Big West) and CSU Bakersfield (14-6, 7-5 Big West). The Matadors, seeking their first home win of the season, take on the Mustangs Friday at 7 p.m. before hosting the Roadrunners Saturday at 5 p.m. CSUN dropped a pair of road matches last week, falling in four sets at UC San Diego before dropping a five-set heartbreaker at UC Irvine on Saturday.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
Cal Poly (10-13, 8-4 Big West) split a pair of home matches last week, falling in five-sets to Cal State Fullerton on Friday before sweeping Long Beach State on Saturday. Redshirt freshman OH Tommi Stockham averaged 4.63 kills per set while hitting .308 and 2.63 digs per set in the two matches which included a season-high 23 kills and 14 digs against Fullerton. Stockham ranks fourth amongst Big West players averaging 3.68 kills per set.
Series: Friday's match is the 66th meeting all-time between CSUN and Cal Poly with the Mustangs holding a 37-28 edge in the series. In the first match between the two teams on Oct. 2, Cal Poly swept the Matadors (25-12, 25-23, 25-14) in San Luis Obispo. CSUN is 15-17 all-time against the Mustangs in Northridge.
CSU Bakersfield (14-6, 7-5 Big West) has won four straight and six of its last eight matches after sweeping both Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton last weekend. Junior libero Paige Calvin earned Big West Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 4.67 digs per set while helping CSUB extend its current win streak to four. Against Long Beach State, Calvin tallied 11 digs while chipping in four assists before posting 17 digs in just three sets against Cal State Fullerton.
Series: Saturday's match is the 41st meeting all-time between the Matadors and Roadrunners with CSUN holding a 32-8 lead in the series. The Matadors, who swept CSUB (25-23, 25-20, 25-19) to pick up thei first Big West win of the season on Oct. 1, are 15-2 all-time against the Runners in The Matadome.Â
BIG WEST STANDINGS
After dropping their first two matches to open the second half of the Big West season, the Matadors remain tied for ninth in the conference standings at 3-9. CSUN is currently tied with Long Beach State, two games ahead of 10th-place UC Riverside (1-11). Eighth-place UC Davis (4-8) is one game in front of the Matadors while UC San Diego (5-7) is two games ahead of CSUN. Hawai'i (11-1) and UC Santa Barbara (11-1) continue to lead the conference with Cal Poly (8-4) currently third. CSU Bakersfield (7-5) and UC Irvine (7-7) are tied for fourth, followed by Cal State Fullerton at 6-6.
SENIOR MILESTONES
Seniors Nicole Nevarez and Lexi McLeod are closing in on additional milestones as they head into the homestretch of their CSUN careers. With 25 kills in two matches last week, Nevarez is now within 15 kills of reaching 700 as a Matador. She also added 23 digs last week to move her career total to 465. McLeod, who passed 700 career digs against Hawai'i on Oct. 23, is within eight kills of 500 after putting down 25 kills in two matches last week. The senior from Bakersfield had one of the best matches of her CSUN career at UC Irvine last Saturday, putting down a career-high 18 kills while hitting .359 on 39 swings to go with 20 digs. With 66 career aces, McLeod is also within 13 aces from entering the Matadors' rally scoring era top-10. Sydney Gedryn currently ranks 10th with 79 career aces. Senior Makayla Bradford added 53 digs in two matches last week, including matching her career-high with 30 at UC San Diego, to bump her career total to 726 digs, an average of 3.84 digs per set over 189 career sets.
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 ranks as high as fifth in aces (1.22 per set) and seventh in blocking (1.95 per set). The Matadors are also ninth in digs per set (12.70) and 10th in all other categories; hitting percentage (.161), opponent hitting percentage (.233), assists per set (10.34), kills per set (11.32).
Individually, seven Matador players rank in the conference's top-20 this week. Bradford is the highest-ranked CSUN player this week, ranking sixth in digs per set at 4.10 and 18th in aces at 0.23 per set. McLeod is 14th this week in digs, averaging 3.15 per set. Redshirt freshman Taylor Hunter, who has ranked as high as fourth in blocking this season, remains 12th this week averaging 0.86 blocks per set followed by sophomore Lauryn Anderson who remains 15th at 0.77 bps. Anderson also remains 15th in hitting percentage at .268 while Taylor Orshoff is 19th in kills per set at 2.52 and Carisa Barron moved into the top-20 this week, ranking 13th in assists at 5.03 per set.
MATADOR QUICK SETS
With 10 kills Saturday at UC Irvine, redshirt freshman Taylor Hunter had her best offensive match since also knocking down 10 kills against Campbell in the second match of the season (Aug. 27) ... McLeod's 18 kills at UCI was the most by a CSUN players in a match this season.
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
Following a brief two-match homestand against Cal Poly and CSU Bakersfield this week, the Matadors split their final six matches of the season with three home and three road beginning Nov. 12 at Long Beach State.
#UniteTheValley
