California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
Loyola Marymount
CSUN Continues Homestand vs. No. 7 Loyola Marymount, Boise State
3/16/2021 2:07:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK:
Thursday, Mar. 18, 2021
CSUN Beach Volleyball Complex - Northridge, Calif.
CSUN vs. No. 7 Loyola Marymount - 11 a.m.
CSUN vs. No. 7 Loyola Marymount - 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, Mar. 20, 2021
CSUN Beach Volleyball Complex - Northridge, Calif.
CSUNÂ vs. Boise State - 11 a.m.
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNBeach
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN Matadors continue their season-opening homestand this week as the Matadors host No. 7 Loyola Marymount on Thursday (Mar. 18) and Boise State on Saturday (Mar. 20), CSUN and LMU will play a pair of dual matches Thursday while the Matadors and Broncos will play a single dual Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
All matches this season at the CSUN Beach Volleyball Complex will be held without fans in attendance. The campus remains closed to all but essential personnel and for the health and safety of the student-athletes and staff, and to maximize their opportunity to compete, we must discourage fans from attempting to watch games from outside the venue.
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
No. 7 Loyola Marymount (8-2) saw its season-long, seven-match win streak snapped in a 5-0 loss at top-ranked USC last Saturday. The Lions opened the tri-dual at USC with a 3-2 win over No. 17 Long Beach State. LMU is 6-2 in road duals this season, including a 5-0 record in neutral site matches and 1-2 record in road duals.
Series: The Matadors and Lions have met nine times in beach volleyball with LMU claiming eight of the previous nine meetings. The two teams last met in 2019 with the Lions taking 5-0 and 4-1 decisions. Taylor Brydon and Lauren McMurray picked up the CSUN win in the 4-1 loss. The Matadors' lone win in the series came during the 2016 season when CSUN claimed a 3-2 victory in Northridge.
Boise State (2-2) opens the week with a Friday tri-dual against Long Beach State and Utah in Long Beach before coming to Northridge on Saturday. The Broncos opened the season with a split against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (L, 5-0) and No. 20 Arizona State (L, 3-2). Boise State also split a pair of Sunday duals against No. 15 Arizona (L, 5-0) and Stephen F. Austin (W, 4-1).
Series: The Matadors and Broncos have met once previously, with CSUN taking a 3-2 decision in Tucson, Ariz. in 2015.
TO RECAP
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. 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.
The Matadors then came up short against Concordia-Irvine in a tight 3-2 decision to cap the tri-dual. The Eagles 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.
The Matadors then won a pair of dual matches against Vanguard and Hope International Saturday to improve to 3-1.CSUN and Vanguard opened the day with the Matadors claiming the opening four matches before Vanguard notched a 2-0 win in the No. 1 match, the final pair of the dual. McMurray and Klein got the Matadors on the board first in the No. 4 match, defeating Allyson Scharrer and Emilee Hall, 21-16, 21-18. McLeod and Waggoner made it 2-0 CSUN with a 21-16, 21-14 in the No. 2 pair over Kayla Tinker and Carly McKinney.Â
Rogers and Sweeting gave the Matadors the dual victory, opening the second flight with a 21-9, 21-10 victory over Hally Herder and Kenzie Bouse in the No. 5 match. Honeycutt and Maughan gave CSUN a 4-0 lead after defeating Vashti Elias Romero and Sydney Irwin, 21-10, 21-12 in the No. 3 match. Looking for its first sweep of the young season, CSUN came up short in the No. 1 pair, as Harris Conley and Natalie Escher topped the Matador pair of Carter and Eknoian, 21-15, 21-13.
In the nightcap, the visiting Royals forfeited the No. 3 and No. 4 matches before the dual got underway with contests at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5. Freshman Emily Sparks made her CSUN debut with fellow freshman True McCullough in the No. 5 pair and the Matadors posted a 21-3, 21-12 victory over Anna Stevenson and Everlyn Alferez. Carter and Eknoian bounced back to sweep Candice Palmer and Mara Sanchez, 21-15, 21-13 in the No. 1 pair before Honeycutt teamed up with freshman Annika Stevens to claim the No. 2 pair, 21-16, 21-12 over HIU's Corey Davis and Stephanie Perez.
BIG WEST BEACH VOLLEYBALL
The 2021 season marks CSUN's sixth as a member of the Big West Conference in beach volleyball. The Matadors are 4-8 all-time in the Big West Tournament which was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19.
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 State 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
The Matadors are 58-65 (.472) all-time in their eighth season of beach volleyball, including a 33-16 (.673) record on their home sand. 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 in 2019.
#UniteTheValley
