Saturday, August 27
USAFA, Colo.
11:30 am
California State University at Northridge
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Air Force
2-0,0-0Mountain West
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CSUN
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25
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Air Force
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Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
CSUN Falls in Five-Set Thriller at Air Force
8/27/2022 2:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
USAF, Colo. – Junior Lauryn Anderson put down a career-high 18 kills while senior Nicole Nevarez added 15 but the CSUN women's volleyball team came up just short in a five-set decision to Air Force Saturday at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic at Cadet East Gym.
The Matadors (0-2) had 57 kills on a .179 team hitting clip while the Falcons (2-0) had 55 kills on .279 hitting in the 25-16, 23-25, 26-24, 23-25, 15-10 victory.
KEY STATISTICS
• Anderson, who's previous career-high in kills was 13 against UNLV in 2019, was impressive offensively hitting .500 with just two errors on a career-high 28 attempts. She also tied for team-high honors with three blocks for the Matadors.
• Nevarez reached double figures for the first time in 2022 and 40th time in her career as she added 15 kills on 33 swings to hit .364. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Hunter and junior Taylor Orshoff each added eight kills while Carisa Barron had a team-high 22 assists to go with a career-high six kills.
• Emily Sparks notched her first career double-double by posting 20 assists and 10 digs along with a CSUN season-high five aces. Libero Breanna Mitchell led all players with 21 digs, her second straight match with double figures in digs.
• Behind Mitchell, the Matadors wound up with a 50-44 edge in team digs but were out-blocked by the margin of 18-7 while the Falcons also had 10 aces to CSUN's six.
• Joi Harvey led Air Force with 15 kills (.520) while Brookelyn Messenger added 12 kills on .391 hitting.
COACH JOHN PRICE SAID
"We fought much better today and it felt like we were really trying to win at the end rather than hoping to win like we did yesterday. We just weren't able to close out sets similar to the Drake match. Our serving kept us in the game and allowed us to stay in it. For us to be successful it's going to be about serving and defense."
FIRST SET
The Matadors claimed the first two points of the match on a Nevarez kill and Macias block but CSUN would not hold another lead in the frame. With the score tied at 2-2, the Falcons outscored the Matadors 6-1 over the next seven points to take an 8-3 lead. The margin grew to six (12-6) forcing CSUN into a timeout. Air Force would eventually lead by as many as eight on a pair of occasions before pulling away for the nine-point (25-16) win.
SECOND SET
Set two was the tightest of the match as neither team led by more than two points until a Hunter kill forced an Air Force timeout with CSUN up 13-10. The Matadors led until four straight Falcon points erased a 16-14 CSUN lead, forcing a Matador timeout. CSUN battled back behind a 4-0 run of its own as Mitchell's ace put the Matadors back in front 20-18. Two straight Air Force points forged a 20-20 tie and the teams would trade sideouts until 22-22 when Nevarez put down a kill followed by an Anderson solo block giving CSUN set point at 24-22. The Falcons saved one set point before Anderson connected again giving the Matadors the 25-23 win.
THIRD SET
Looking to build on the momentum of their first set win of the season, the Matadors instead dropped seven of the first nine points of set three. CSUN still trailed by five (10-5) and then by six (12-6) before a 6-0 run behind Barron's serving pulled the Matadors even. CSUN soon built a three-point lead at 19-16 following an Orshoff kill and were seemingly in control at 24-20 when Anderson put down a Falcon overpass. But an Air Force kill on the ensuing point would fuel an improbable 6-0 run that closed the set in the hosts favor 26-24.
FOURTH SET
Behind consecutive aces from Sparks, the Matadors opened up an 7-4 lead and would hold the lead until consecutive Air Force blocks evened the score at 9-9. A Macias kill forced a Falcon timeout at 18-14 and CSUN would soon lead by five when an Air Force hitting error gave the Matadors a 20-15 cushion. But a 7-2 run by the hosts knotted the score at 22-22 when CSUN was called for a rotation error. The Matadors responded with consecutive kills from Hunter and a set-clinching kill from Anderson to force a fifth set.
FIFTH SET
Anderson opened the decisive fifth set with a kill but the Falcons answered with a kill and the Matadors would not lead again. Air Force built a 4-1 lead and would eventually open up a seven-point cushion at 10-3. A pair of Falcon hitting errors pulled CSUN within 10-5 but after two more Air Force points, the Matadors were forced to call timeout trailing 12-5. CSUN would get within four at 12-8, 13-9 and 14-10 but could not get any closer in falling 15-10.
UP NEXT
The Matadors conclude the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic later this afternoon against Texas A&M University-Commerce at 4 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
The Matadors (0-2) had 57 kills on a .179 team hitting clip while the Falcons (2-0) had 55 kills on .279 hitting in the 25-16, 23-25, 26-24, 23-25, 15-10 victory.
KEY STATISTICS
• Anderson, who's previous career-high in kills was 13 against UNLV in 2019, was impressive offensively hitting .500 with just two errors on a career-high 28 attempts. She also tied for team-high honors with three blocks for the Matadors.
• Nevarez reached double figures for the first time in 2022 and 40th time in her career as she added 15 kills on 33 swings to hit .364. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Hunter and junior Taylor Orshoff each added eight kills while Carisa Barron had a team-high 22 assists to go with a career-high six kills.
• Emily Sparks notched her first career double-double by posting 20 assists and 10 digs along with a CSUN season-high five aces. Libero Breanna Mitchell led all players with 21 digs, her second straight match with double figures in digs.
• Behind Mitchell, the Matadors wound up with a 50-44 edge in team digs but were out-blocked by the margin of 18-7 while the Falcons also had 10 aces to CSUN's six.
• Joi Harvey led Air Force with 15 kills (.520) while Brookelyn Messenger added 12 kills on .391 hitting.
COACH JOHN PRICE SAID
"We fought much better today and it felt like we were really trying to win at the end rather than hoping to win like we did yesterday. We just weren't able to close out sets similar to the Drake match. Our serving kept us in the game and allowed us to stay in it. For us to be successful it's going to be about serving and defense."
FIRST SET
The Matadors claimed the first two points of the match on a Nevarez kill and Macias block but CSUN would not hold another lead in the frame. With the score tied at 2-2, the Falcons outscored the Matadors 6-1 over the next seven points to take an 8-3 lead. The margin grew to six (12-6) forcing CSUN into a timeout. Air Force would eventually lead by as many as eight on a pair of occasions before pulling away for the nine-point (25-16) win.
SECOND SET
Set two was the tightest of the match as neither team led by more than two points until a Hunter kill forced an Air Force timeout with CSUN up 13-10. The Matadors led until four straight Falcon points erased a 16-14 CSUN lead, forcing a Matador timeout. CSUN battled back behind a 4-0 run of its own as Mitchell's ace put the Matadors back in front 20-18. Two straight Air Force points forged a 20-20 tie and the teams would trade sideouts until 22-22 when Nevarez put down a kill followed by an Anderson solo block giving CSUN set point at 24-22. The Falcons saved one set point before Anderson connected again giving the Matadors the 25-23 win.
THIRD SET
Looking to build on the momentum of their first set win of the season, the Matadors instead dropped seven of the first nine points of set three. CSUN still trailed by five (10-5) and then by six (12-6) before a 6-0 run behind Barron's serving pulled the Matadors even. CSUN soon built a three-point lead at 19-16 following an Orshoff kill and were seemingly in control at 24-20 when Anderson put down a Falcon overpass. But an Air Force kill on the ensuing point would fuel an improbable 6-0 run that closed the set in the hosts favor 26-24.
FOURTH SET
Behind consecutive aces from Sparks, the Matadors opened up an 7-4 lead and would hold the lead until consecutive Air Force blocks evened the score at 9-9. A Macias kill forced a Falcon timeout at 18-14 and CSUN would soon lead by five when an Air Force hitting error gave the Matadors a 20-15 cushion. But a 7-2 run by the hosts knotted the score at 22-22 when CSUN was called for a rotation error. The Matadors responded with consecutive kills from Hunter and a set-clinching kill from Anderson to force a fifth set.
FIFTH SET
Anderson opened the decisive fifth set with a kill but the Falcons answered with a kill and the Matadors would not lead again. Air Force built a 4-1 lead and would eventually open up a seven-point cushion at 10-3. A pair of Falcon hitting errors pulled CSUN within 10-5 but after two more Air Force points, the Matadors were forced to call timeout trailing 12-5. CSUN would get within four at 12-8, 13-9 and 14-10 but could not get any closer in falling 15-10.
UP NEXT
The Matadors conclude the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic later this afternoon against Texas A&M University-Commerce at 4 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
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Team Stats
CSUN
USAFA
Kills
57
55
Errors
31
19
Attempts
145
129
Hitting %
.179
.279
Points
70
83
Assists
49
53
Aces
6
10
Blocks
7
18
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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