CSUN Splits Final Regular Season Tri-Dual at Long Beach State

LONG BEACH, Calif. - CSUN Beach Volleyball split its final regular season tri-dual Saturday as the Matadors fell 5-0 to No. 12 Long Beach State before bouncing back to take a 4-1 win over Cal State LA at the LBSU Sand Courts.

With Saturday's win over Cal State LA, CSUN (16-15) is now within one team win of matching the program's best win total of 17 set in 2018. Saturday's tri-dual marked the end of the regular season for the Matadors who will open the Big West Beach Volleyball Championship in San Luis Obispo next Friday.

CSUN's No. 4 pair of Kailey Klein and Victoria Rogers split their two matches on Saturday. With a straight-set win over Cal State LA, Klein and Rogers won for the 17th time this season which leads the team but also ties for the third-most single-season pairs wins in program history. With 20 individual wins this season, Rogers already has the single-season record followed by Klein with 19. Already the program record holder, Klein picked up career individual win No. 51 with Saturday's victory over Cal State LA.

LONG BEACH STATE 5, CSUN 0
The Matadors opened the day against the No. 12 Beach, the ninth ranked team CSUN has faced this season. Long Beach State's Claire Newlander and Nicci Reinking picked up the Beach's first win (21-13, 21-8) over Klein and Rogers in the No. 4 pair. Long Beach made it 2-0 when its No. 2 pair of Katie Kennedy and Sydney Stevens topped True McCullough and Seyvion Waggoner, 21-19, 21-16. The Beach clinched the team win when their No. 3 pair of Holland Jackson and Kenzie Holtz swept Darbi Honeycutt and Mikaela Maughan by the score of 21-15, 21-12. Savannah Lyons and Sophie Major then topped Abbey Sweeting and Madison Klungel at No. 5, 21-19, 21-10 before CSUN's No. 1 pair of Lauren Eknoian and Emily Sparks claimed the first set before falling to Skyler Germann and Alice Pratesi in a tight three-setter, 17-21, 21-18, 15-10.

CSUN 4, CAL STATE LA 1
The Matadors would bounce back to defeat the Golden Eagles for the third time this season by the same 4-1 score. McCullough and Waggoner picked up CSUN's first win, claiming the No. 2 pair over Eliza Cannon and Emilty Elliot, 21-18, 21-4. Klein and Rogers then won for the 17th time, earning a straight-set win (21-19, 21-15) over Jaden Grova and Haley Roundtree in the No. 4 pair. Sweeting and Klungel claimed the No. 5 pair over Ayjah Landers and Adriana Santiago, 21-9, 21-10 to clinch the Matadors' 16th team win of the season. CSLA's Iane Henke and Ashley Dittman topped Eknoian and Sparks in the No. 1 pair 21-16, 21-14 for the Golden Eagles' first point before Honeycutt and Maughan won for the 41st time as a pair to close out the dual with a 21-11, 21-11 victory over Allison Linder and Shelby Grubbs.

COACH JOHN PRICE SAID
"Today went kind of how I expected. Long Beach has had a great second half of the season, but I felt like we were much more competitive against them today that we were the last time we played. Now it's just about fine tuning and getting ready for next weekend's Big West Championship."

UP NEXT
CSUN will be either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed at next week's Big West Beach Volleyball Championship at Cal Poly. The opening match of the tournament is scheduled for Friday at 9 a.m.

LONG BEACH STATE 5, CSUN 0
#1 - Germann/Pratesi (LBSU) def. Eknoian/Sparks (CSUN) – 17-21, 21-18, 15-10
#2 - Kennedy/Stevens (LBSU) def. Waggoner/Maughan (CSUN) – 21-19, 21-16
#3 - Jackson/Holtz (LBSU) def. Honeycutt/Cederlind (CSUN) – 21-15, 21-12
#4 - Newlander/Reinking (LBSU) def. Klein/Rogers (CSUN) – 21-13, 21-8
#5 - Lyons/Major (LBSU) def. Sweeting/Klungel (CSUN) – 21-19, 21-10

CSUN 4 CAL STATE LA 1
#1 - Henke/Dittman (CSLA) def. Eknoian/Sparks (CSUN) – 21-16, 21-14
#2 - Waggoner/Maughan (CSUN) def. Cannon/Elliot (CSLA) – 21-18, 21-4
#3 - Honeycutt/Cederlind (CSUN) def. Linder/Grubbs (CSLA) – 21-11, 21-12
#4 - Klein/Rogers (CSUN) def. Grova/Roundtree (CSLA) – 21-19, 21-15
#5 - Sweeting/Klungel (CSUN) def. Landers/Santiago (CSLA) – 21-9, 21-10

#UniteTheValley

CSUN Splits Final Regular Season Tri-Dual at Long Beach State

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Players Mentioned

Lauren Eknoian

Darbi Honeycutt

Kailey Klein

Madison Klungel

Mikaela Maughan

True McCullough

Victoria Rogers

Emily Sparks

Abbey Sweeting

Seyvion Waggoner