California State University at Northridge
Drake
Matadors Open 2022 Season at Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic
8/23/2022 12:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CSUNÂ THIS WEEK - AMY SVOBODA MEMORIAL CLASSIC
MATCH #1
CSUN Matadors (0-0) vs. Drake Bulldogs (0-0)
Friday, Aug. 26, 2022Â - 1:30 p.m. PDT
Cadet East Gym - USAFA, Colo.
Live Stats // Watch
MATCH #2
CSUN Matadors (0-0) at Air Force Falcons (0-0)
Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022Â - 11:30 a.m. PDT
Cadet East Gym - USAFA, Colo.
Live Stats // Watch
MATCH #3
CSUN Matadors (0-0) vs. Texas A&M-Commerce (0-0)
Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022Â - 3:30Â p.m. PDT
Cadet East Gym - USAFA, Colo.
Live Stats // Watch
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNWVB
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN women's volleyball team (0-0, 0-0 Big West) opens the 2022 season this Friday (Aug. 26) as the Matadors will play the first of three matches in Colorado at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic hosted by the Air Force Academy.
CSUN meets Drake (0-0) in its season-opener on Friday at 1:30 p.m. which will also be the opening match of the four-team tournament. The Matadors then take on the host Falcons (0-0) Saturday at 11:30 a.m., before wrapping up the tournament against Texas A&M University-Commerce (0-0) Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. The Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic is the first of three tournaments on CSUN's 2022 schedule.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS
Follow CSUN Matador women's volleyball online at the official home of CSUN athletics, www.GoMatadors.com. All home matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ (Darren Preston PBP) and feature live stats at 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 women's volleyball schedule page of GoMatadors.com. 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
Drake finished 11-15 overall and 6-12 in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2021. The Bulldogs' Haley Bush was named to the preseason All-MVC Team as the senior led the team with 290 kills while also adding 195 digs and 40 blocks last season. Head coach Darrin McBroom is in his 10th season. Series: Saturday's match is the first ever meeting between the Matadors and Bulldogs.
Air Force finished 7-21 overall and 4-14 in the Mountain West Conference in 2021. Junior middle blocker Joi Harvey returns as the Falcon's offensive leader after averaging 2.20 kills per set on .381 hitting in 2021. Fellow middle Mac Russ also returns after averaging 1.83 kps while hitting .256 last season. Head coach Keith Barnett is in his fourth season. Series: Saturday's match is the sixth meeting all-time between the Matadors and Falcons with CSUN holding a 4-1 lead in the series. In the most recent meeting between the two teams, the Matadors claimed a straight-set decision (25-19, 25-16, 27-25) in Northridge in 2011.
Texas A&M-Commerce was picked seventh in the Southland Conference preseason poll in making the transition to NCAA Div. I this season. The Lions finished 14-10 overall and 12-5 in the in 2021. Junior outside hitter Maddy Rashford returns after leading TAMUC averaging a team-high 3.33 kills per set last season. Head coach Craig Case is his 13th season and is the all-time wins leaders and longest tenured coach in program history. Series: Saturday's match is the first ever meeting between the Matadors and Lions.
MATADORS RETURN 75% of OFFENSE IN 2022
CSUN returns a majority of its offensive firepower from the 2021 campaign. With the return of All-Big West honoree Taylor Orshoff (314) and senior Nicole Nevarez (294), the Matadors return their two kills leaders from last season. In total, CSUN returns nearly 75% of its offensive output in 2022. Middles Taylor Hunter (143) and Lauryn Anderson (135) also surpassed 100 kills in 2021 while Abigail Macias hit a team-high .275 with 35 kills and Nieko Thomas added 37 kills in limited action as a freshman.
CSUN IN SEASON OPENERS
CSUN comes into Friday's match against Drake with a 20-21 record in season-openers dating back to 1978. The Matadors will look to snap a five-match losing streak in season-openers as CSUN has dropped its last five season-openers; Denver (2021), Arizona (2018), Portland State (2017), Lipscomb (2016, 2015). CSUN's last season-opening win came over UNLV at the USD Invitational in San Diego in 2014.
TOURNAMENT TIME
CSUN's 32-match regular-season schedule features 12 non-conference matches (three tournaments) against teams from eight different conferences before the Big West season gets underway Sept. 23 at UC Irvine. After the tournament at Air Force this weekend, CSUN opens September in the Pacific Northwest as the Matadors will meet Nevada, Idaho State and host Gonzaga over two days (Sept. 2-3) at the Gonzaga Invitational in Spokane, Wash. The following weekend, CSUN travels to the Bay Area to take on Penn in Moraga and the USF Dons in San Francisco (Sept. 9). The Matadors return to Moraga on Sept. 10 to take on Saint Mary's for the first time since 2017. The Matadors conclude the non-conference slate with three matches at the Wildcat Classic in Tucson, Ariz. as the Matadors face UTEP and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sept. 16 followed by their final non-conference match against host Arizona on Sept. 17. The 20-match Big West Conference schedule opens with a two-match road trip (Sept. 23-24) as CSUN travels to UC Irvine and UC San Diego during the conference-opening weekend.
MATADOR QUICK SETS
Along with Price, the 2022 CSUN coaching staff will also feature new assisant coaches Ari Homayun and Kylie Miller along with volunteer assistant Jon Corpeno ... The Matadors were tabbed 10th by the conference's coaches in the annual Big West Preseason Poll released Aug. 22. Coming off a 7-23 season (6-14 in the Big West) in 2018, CSUN received 24 points to finish 10th in the 11-team poll. Hawai'i is the slight favorite to repeat as conference champions after receiving six first-place votes and 96 total points. UC Santa Barbara received five first-place and 94 points to finish second in the poll followed by Cal Poly (79 points), Long Beach State (75), UC Irvine (61), CSU Bakersfield (47), UC Davis (46), UC San San Diego (37), Cal State Fullerton (36), the Matadors (24) and UC Riverside (10).
PRICE NAMED CSUN'SÂ DIRECTOR OF WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
John Price was named Director of Women's Volleyball at CSUN in June of 2022. He will oversee both the indoor and beach volleyball programs. Price returned to the CSUN indoor program in 2021 where he served as an assistant on interim head coach Susie Terrusa's staff. Price previously as an assistant coach on Jeff Stork's women's volleyball coaching staff from 2012-2015. He also served one season as the head coach of the CSUN women's volleyball team in 1993, compiling a record of 12-17 as an NCAA Independent.
Price's CSUN resume also includes 12 seasons as the head coach of the nationally-ranked Matador men's volleyball team (1986-1997) where he amassed an overall record of 194-158 (.551) leading CSUN to a 23-10 record and a berth in the 1993 NCAA Championship match where the Matadors fell to UCLA. Price then moved on to CSU Bakersfield women's volleyball and remains the winningest coach in program history. He posted a career record of 232-169 (.579) over 14 seasons, leading the Roadrunners to a 28-4 overall record in his first season. Price was also at the helm of the CSUB program when the school made the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I status. Price's 2008 squad was the first Roadrunner team in any sport to post a winning record (18-15) in the school's Division I era.
LOOKING AHEAD
After opening the season with three matches at Air Force's Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic, the Matadors will continue tournament play next week in Spokane, Wash. CSUN will play three matches at the Gonzaga Invitational, taking on Nevada and Idaho State on Friday (Sept. 2) before playing the host Bulldogs on Saturday (Sept. 3).
#UniteTheValley
