California State University at Northridge
Nevada
CSUN Continues Tournament Play at Gonzaga Invitational
8/31/2022 3:20:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CSUNÂ THIS WEEK - GONZAGA INVITATIONAL
MATCH #1 (SEASON MATCH #4)
CSUN Matadors (1-2) vs. Nevada Wolfpack (0-3)
Friday, Sept. 2, 2022Â - 10:00 a.m. PDT
Charlotte Y. Martin Centre - Spokane, Wash.
Live Stats
MATCH #2 (SEASON MATCH #5)
CSUN Matadors (1-2) at Idaho State Bengals (2-1)
Friday, Sept. 2, 2022Â - 3:00Â p.m. PDT
Charlotte Y. Martin Centre - Spokane, Wash.
Live Stats
MATCH #3 (SEASON MATCH #6)
CSUN Matadors (1-2) at Gonzaga Bulldogs (1-2)
Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022Â - 1:00Â p.m. PDT
Charlotte Y. Martin Centre - Spokane, Wash.
Live Stats // Watch
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNWVB
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN women's volleyball team (1-2, 0-0 Big West) continues tournament play this weekend as the Matadors travel to the Pacific Northwest for the Gonzaga Invitational.
CSUN meets Nevada (0-3) in its tournament opener Friday at 10 a.m. before taking on Idaho State (2-1) Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Matadors then meet the host Zags (1-2) Saturday at 1 p.m. to wrap up the tournament. CSUN went 1-2 at Air Force's Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic last weekend, falling to Drake (3-0) and the host Falcons (3-2) before sweeping Texas A&M-Commerce for its first win of the 2022 season.
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
Nevada (0-3) dropped all three matches at the Sacramento State Invitational, falling to the host Hornets (3-1), Portland (3-2) and Middle Tennessee State (3-0). Kayla Afoa leads the Wolfpack averaging 4.42 kills per set through the first weekend of play while Nevada is hitting .136 as a team. Head coach Lee Nelson is in his sixth season. Series: Friday's match is the eighth all-time between CSUN and Nevada with the Wolfpack holding a slim 4-3 edge in the series. The two teams met last season in Reno with Nevada taking a four-set win.
Idaho State (2-1) opened the season with wins over Prairie View (3-1) and Lamar (3-0) before falling to Southeastern Louisiana (3-1) at the Katrinka Crawford Invitational in Beaumont, Texas. The Bengals served 16 aces against Prairie View with Dani Devlin and Rachel Driskell each serving five apiece. Head coach Sean Carter is a former CSUN men's volleyball player (2007) and is in his first season. Series: Saturday's match is the 18th meeting all-time between the Matadors and Bengals with CSUN holding a commanding 15-2 series lead over its former Big Sky Conference rivals. In the most recent meeting between the two teams in 2015, Idaho State snapped the Matadors' 13-match series winning streak dating back to 1993.
Gonzaga (1-2) opened the season with losses to Iowa (3-0) and Oklahoma (3-0) before picking up its first win over FIU (3-0) at the OU Invitational. Alisa Kim was named to the all-tournament team after scooping up a team-high 44 digs to go with a team-high four service aces in the Zags' three matches. Kim had 27 digs in the Zags' win over FIU. Head coach Katie Wilson is her first season. Series: Saturday's match is the first ever meeting between the Matadors and Gonzaga.
MITCHELL NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENTÂ AT AIR FORCE
An impressive collegiate opening weekend earned freshman Breanna Mitchell All-Tournament team honors at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic. Mitchell led CSUN on defense in all three matches, collecting a team-high 52 digs. She posted double figures in digs in all three matches, including a CSUN season-high 21 against Air Force. For the season, Mitchell is averaging 4.73 digs per set which ranks third among all Big West players after one week of play.
MATADOR QUICK SETS
In addition to Mitchell, the Matadors got several impressive other individual performances during their stay in Colorado. Lauryn Anderson overcame a tough start against Drake by putting down a career-high 18 kills on a career-high 28 swings to hit .500 against Air Force. Anderson then led all CSUN hitters with 12 kills on .429 hitting in the Matadors' straight-set win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Emily Sparks, a two-year member of the CSUN beach volleyball team (2021-22), served seven aces in two matches (AFA, TAMUC) including a season-high five aces against the Falcons. With her aces average of 0.64 per set over 11 sets, Sparks currently leads the Big West ... Magdalena Juric picked up her first career kill against Air Force ... Nicole Nevarez is closing in on 800 career kills as she enters this weekend with 793 ... The Matadors rank second in the Big West in opponent hitting at .167.
TOURNAMENT TIME
This weekend's Gonzaga Invitational marks the second of three tournaments on CSUN's 32-match regular-season schedule. After taking on teams from the Missouri Valley (Drake), Mountain West (Air Force) Southland (Texas A&M-Commerce) last weekend, the Matadors will take on another Mountain West team (Nevada) this weekend along with teams from the Big Sky Conference (Idaho State) and West Coast Conference (Gonzaga).
Next 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.
CSUN IN SEASON OPENERS
CSUN slipped to 20-22 (.476) all-time in season openers after falling in straight sets to Drake last Friday. The Matadors have now dropped six straight season openers dating back to the 2015 season. CSUN's last season-opening win came over UNLV at the USD Invitational in San Diego in 2014.
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 three matches at this weekend's Gonzaga Invitational, the Matadors will travel 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.
#UniteTheValley
