California State University at Northridge
Fresno State
CSUN Travels to Central Valley to Take on Fresno State, LMU
9/1/2021 1:34:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CSUNÂ THIS WEEK - FRESNO STATEÂ INVITATIONAL
MATCH #1 (SEASON MATCH #4)
CSUN Matadors (1-2) at Fresno State Bulldogs (0-0)
Friday, Sept. 3, 2021 - 7:00 p.m. PDT
Save Mart Center - Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats // Watch
MATCH #2 (SEASON MATCH #5)
CSUN Matadors (1-2) vs. Loyola Marymount Lions (1-1)
Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021Â - 4:00 p.m. PDT
Save Mart Center - Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNWVB
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN women's volleyball team (1-2, 0-0 Big West) continues tournament play this week as the Matadors travel to the Central Valley for two matches at the Fresno State Invitational. CSUN opens the tournament Friday against the host Bulldogs (0-0) at 7 p.m. and will take on Loyola Marymount Saturday at 4 p.m. The Matadors opened the 2021 with three matches at USC's Trojan Invitational last weekend with CSUN defeating Campbell (3-2) and falling to Denver (3-0) and host USC (3-0).
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+ with Ghizal Hasan handling the play-by-play. Darren Preston will handle the internet radio call for all home matches. 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.Â
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 TOURNAMENT FIELD
Fresno State (0-0) opens its season this weekend as the Bulldogs will meet Loyola Marymount, CSUN and UC Riverside at the Save Mart Center. Redshirt senior outside hitter Desiree Sukhov, who averaged 3.00 kps in the spring, was named to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team. After finishing fourth in the Mountain West (8-6) in the spring, the conference coaches picked the Bulldogs to finish fifth this season, the highest for Fresno State since 2012.Â
Series:Â Saturday's match is the 25th meeting between the Matadors and Bulldogs with CSUN leading the all-time series 15-9. Fresno State claimed the last match between the two teams, winning in straight sets in 2019.
Loyola Marymount (1-1) split two matches at the Purdue Tournament last weekend, falling in four sets to the No. 8 Boilermakers before topping Kansas in four. Freshman OH Kari Geissberger, who averages a team-high 4.63 kps, put down a team-high 20 kills against the Jayhawks while senior Megan Rice added 16 kills.Â
Series:Â Saturday's match is the 35th meeting between the Matadors and Lions with each team winning 17 times in the series which dates back to 1979. LMU has won five straight in the series including a 3-2 win the last time the two teams met in 2012 in Northridge.
HUNTER NAMED TO TROJAN INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Redshirt freshman Taylor Hunter was named to the Trojan Invitational All-Tournament team after putting down 25 kills on .404 hitting in three matches. Hunter had eight kills on 10 attacks to hit .700 in her collegiate debut against Denver before reaching double figures with 10 kills (.208) in CSUN's 3-2 win over Campbell. The freshman from Simi Valley (Oak Park HS) completed the weekend with seven kills on 13 errorless swings to hit .538 against USC. Hunter also added 14 total blocks, including a pair of solo stuffs as the Matadors finished 1-2.
MATADOR DEBUTS
In addition to Hunter, several CSUN players made their Matador debut last weekend. CSUN utilized two first-year setters during the USC tournament as freshmen Carisa Barron and Madison Klungel each saw their first collegiate action. Klungel averaged 4.09 assists per set (45 assists in 11 sets) while Barron averaged 3.55 aps with 39 assists in 11 sets. Klungel also served three aces which ranked second to Lexi McLeod's four while Barron had one. Barron posted the Matadors' first double-double of the season with 17 assists and 10 digs in the win over Campbell. Layla Cederlind and Elizabeth Gannon also debuted at the Trojan Invitational with Cederlind picking up three digs against Campbell before serving her first collegiate ace against USC.
ORSHOFF NEARS CAREER-HIGH VS. CAMPBELL
Sophomore Taylor Orshoff had her best match of the young season in the Matadors' 3-2 win over Campbell. Orshoff, who put down a career-high 15 kills against Portland State in 2019, came within one with 14 kills on a career-high 47 swings against the Camels. The sophomore from Riverside also matched her career-high with four blocks against Denver and had a single assist against USC. Orshoff is averaging 2.36 kills per set over the season's first three matches after averaging 2.18 as a true freshman in 2019.Â
BIG WEST RANKS
After one week of play, the Matadors rank in the top-10 in the Big West in four statistical categories. As a team, CSUN ranks as high as sixth in both blocks (2.00 bps) and opponent hitting percentage (.204). The Matadors also rank eighth in service aces (1.18 saps) and are ninth in digs (12.91 dps). CSUN ranks 11th in hitting (.110), kills (9.55 kps) and assists (8.82 aps) through the first weekend of play. Individually, Hunter is the only Matador player to appear in the top-10. She currently ranks third in hitting percentage at .404 and is currently fifth in blocking at 1.27 blocks per set.
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
After two matches at this week's Fresno State Invitational, the Matadors will play three matches in the State Capitol next weekend (Sept. 10-11). CSUN opens the Sacramento State Invitational against the host Hornets on Sept. 10 at noon before taking on Boise State later in the day at 5 p.m. The Matadors complete the tournament Saturday (Sept. 11) against Pacific at 11 a.m. CSUN's final tournament of the pre-Big West season gets underway Sept. 17 as the Matadors play twice at the Nevada Invitational.
#UniteTheValley
