California State University at Northridge
Vanguard
Matadors Host Vanguard, Cal State LA in Saturday Tri-Dual
3/9/2022 9:06:00 AM | Beach Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK:
Saturday, Mar. 12, 2022
CSUN Beach Volleyball Complex - Northridge, Calif.
Vanguard vs. CSUN - 11 a.m.
Cal State LA vs. CSUN - 3:00 p.m.
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNBeach
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN Matadors (2-4) host their second tri-dual of the season Saturday, welcoming Vanguard University and Cal State Los Angeles to the CSUN Beach Volleyball Complex. CSUN hosts Vanguard (8-2) at 11 a.m. and Cal State LA (2-2) at 3 p.m. while the Lions and Golden Eagles play the middle dual match at 1 p.m.
The Matadors, 2-0 on their home sand this season, will play 12 straight dual matches at home beginning Saturday and running through Mar. 23. Spectators are welcome to attend CSUN Beach Volleyball matches in 2022 but must adhere to the CSUN spectator policy.
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
Vanguard (8-2), which plays at Concordia on Wednesday, has won three straight and four of its last five, the only loss coming against No. 14 Pepperdine in Bakersfield. The Lions defeated Life Pacific (5-0) and The Master's University (3-2) in their most recent matches last Saturday in Huntington Beach.
Series:Â Saturday's match is the eighth meeting all-time between CSUN and Vanguard with the Matadors unbeaten in seven previous matches. CSUN has swept five of the seven meetings with the Lions winning in the No. 1 pair in both 2019 and 2020.
Cal State LA (2-2)Â has split its first four dual matches on the 2022 season. The Golden Eagles opened the season with wins over Marymount (5-0) and Hope International (3-2) before falling in 5-0 decisions to both Concordia-Irvine and No. 15 Pepperdine last Saturday (Mar. 5).
Series: Saturday's match is the seventh meeting all-time between CSUN and Cal State LA. The Matadors are 6-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles dating back to 2017 with CSUN winning 5-0 in 2017, twice in 2018 and 2020. The Matadors took a pair of 4-1 decisions in 2019.
MATADOR NOTES
CSUN has three pairs that are an even 3-3 start to open the 2022 season. Lauren Eknoian and Emily Sparks have won three of their first six (1-0 at No. 1, 2-3 at No. 2), Abbey Sweeting and Victoria Rogers are 3-3 overall (3-2 at No. 3, 0-1 at No. 4) and True McCullough and Seyvion Waggoner are also 3-3 overall (1-0 at No. 3, 2-3 at No. 4). Also for the Matadors, Kailey Klein and Jadin Williams are 2-4 in the No. 5 pair while Darbi Honeycutt and Mikaela Maughan are 1-5 overall (1-4 at No. 1, 0-1 at No. 2) to open the season ... All four CSUN team losses this season have come against teams ranked in the AVCA Top-20 poll. The Matadors fell to No. 4 Loyola Marymount and No. 11 California in the season opening tri-dual before falling twice at No. 20 CSU Bakersfield last Friday.
SCHEDULE UPDATES
Interim head coach John Price has announced a pair of updates to CSUN's 2022 schedule. CSUN was originally scheduled to play a tri-dual against Southern Mississippi and Westcliff on Mar. 15 which has now turned into two dual matches against Westcliff at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Matadors have also added a pair of dual matches against Colorado Mesa on Wednesday, Mar. 23 also at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
BIG WEST BEACH VOLLEYBALL
2022 marks CSUN's seventh season as a member of the Big West Conference in beach volleyball. The Matadors are 5-10 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.
Last season in the tournament held at Rosie's Dog Beach in Long Beach, the Matadors were swept (5-0) by Hawai'i before sweeping Sacramento State (5-0). CSUN was then knocked off by CSU Bakersfield (3-2) in an elimination match.
CSUN BEACH VOLLEYBALL HISTORY
The Matadors have an all-time record of 68-83 (.450) in their ninth season of beach volleyball, including a 42-23 (.646) 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. After posting 16 wins in 2019, the 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the Matadors off to a 4-1 start. CSUN won 11 times in 2021, finishing with an overall record of 11-15.
#UniteTheValley
