Matadors Split Season-Opening Tri-Dual

Friday, March 12

Northridge, Calif. / CSUN Beach Volleyball Complex

11:00 a.m.

California State University at Northridge

The Master's University

Photo by: Matt Monroe

Matadors Split Season-Opening Tri-Dual

3/12/2021 6:04:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

Master's-CSUN Box Score (PDF) // Concordia-CSUN Box Score (PDF)

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - The CSUN Beach Volleyball team opened the 2021 season Friday, splitting a tri-dual against The Master's University and Concordia-Irvine at the Matador Beach Volleyball Complex.

CSUN 4, THE MASTER'S 1
The tri-dual began with the Matadors winning four of the five matches against the Mustangs. Lauren McMurray and Kailey Klein picked up CSUN's first win on the day with a dominating 21-8, 21-6 victory over Kylie Clouse and Alicia Castillo in the No. 4 pair. Lexi McLeod and Seyvion Waggoner made quick work of Kasie Spencer and Hannah Douglas in the No. 2 pair, winning by the score of 21-7, 21-14 to complete the first flight of matches.

In the second flight, Darbi Honeycutt and Mikaela Maughan gave CSUN the dual match win as the Matador pair defeated Hannah Wood and Tara Delk, 21-10, 21-6 in the No. 3 contest. Victoria Rogers, making her CSUN debut, teamed up with Abbey Sweeting in the No. 5 pair as the Matador pair claimed a 21-7, 21-5 victory over Anna Poole and Gwen Garate to make it 4-0 CSUN. The Master's picked up the No. 1 pair as Desi Brown and Katie Emmerling held off CSUN's Meagan Carter and Lauren Eknoian, 21-17, 26-24.

CONCORDIA-IRVINE 3, CSUN 2
After Concordia swept The Master's in the middle dual, the Matadors came up short against the Eagles in a tight 3-2 decision to cap the tri-dual. Concordia picked up the first two wins in the opening flight as Nickie Hughes and Sara Ostolic topped McMurray and Klein, 21-19, 21-10 at No. 4. The Eagles made it 2-0 when Avery Keathley and Hailee Ryan won a tightly contested three-set decision, 21-16, 22-24, 15-10 over McLeod and Waggoner in the No. 2 pair. Rogers and Sweeting capped a 2-0 day with a 21-18, 21-17 win over Kya Bock and Marina Pilkington in the exhibition match.

The Matadors cut the lead in half to open the second flight as the pair of True McCullough and Emily Sparks debuted with 21-11, 18-21, 15-11 win over Alex Omaszta and Shannon Evans at No. 5. Needing wins in the final two matches, the Matadors saw the dual slip away when Mia Corippo and Alexis Dirige swept Honeycutt and Maughan by the score of 21-17, 21-17. Carter and Eknoian picked up their first win of the season in the No.1 pair, defeating Ellie Cary and Vanessa Bernzen in straight sets (21-15, 21-18) to make the final 3-2.

COACH NOELLE ROOKE SAID
"Do I think we should have come out of the day 2-0 rather than 1-1, absolutely. I think the biggest difference in us being 1-1 vs. 2-0 is that we're not a seasoned team yet. I can tell that we missed the weight room for an entire year and that we missed training in the Fall. We've had the Spring but it's going to take some time for us to get the experience we need."

UP NEXT
The Matadors (1-1) continue their season-opening homestand Saturday welcoming Vanguard and Hope International to the CSUN Beach Volleyball Complex. The Matadors take on Vanguard in a single dual at 11 a.m. before completing the day against Hope at 1:30 p.m.

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