California State University at Northridge
CSU Bakersfield
CSUN Opens Home Season This Weekend vs. CSU Bakersfield, Cal Poly
9/29/2022 12:28:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CSUNÂ THIS WEEK:
MATCH #15Â (BIG WEST MATCH #3)
CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (3-11, 0-2) @Â CSUN Matadors (5-9, 0-2)
Friday, Sept. 30, 2022Â - 5:00 p.m. PDT
Premier America Credit Union Arena - Northridge, Calif.
Live Stats // ESPN+
MATCH #16 (BIG WEST MATCH #4)
Cal Poly Mustangs (5-7, 2-0) @Â CSUN Matadors (5-9, 0-2)
Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022Â - 5:00Â p.m. PDT
Premier America Credit Union Arena - Northridge, Calif.
Live Stats // ESPN+
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNWVB
FORÂ STARTERS
After completing a stretch of 14 straight "road" matches to open the season, the CSUN women's volleyball team (5-9, 0-2 Big West) plays its first home match of the season Friday against CSU Bakersfield (3-11, 0-2). The Matadors welcome Cal Poly (5-7, 2-0) to Premier America Credit Union Arena on Saturday with both matches scheduled for a 5 p.m. first serve.
CSUN opened conference play on the road last weekend, falling to UC Irvine in straight sets before dropping a four-set decision at UC San Diego.
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.
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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 OPPOSITION
CSU Bakersfield (3-11, 0-2 Big West) has lost five straight overall after dropping its first two conference matches last weekend, falling in straight sets to both Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State at home. Hayley McCluskey leads the Runners averaging 3.02 kills per set while Ava Palm posted five kills, four digs, and six blocks against the Beach.
Series: Friday's match is the 42nd meeting all-time between CSUN and CSU Bakersfield with the Matadors holding a 32-9 lead in the series. The Matadors are 15-3 all-time against CSUB in Northridge. The teams split two matches last season with the Matadors winning in straight sets in Bakersfield before the Roadrunners posted a four-set win in Northridge.
Cal Poly (5-7, 2-0 Big West) has won five straight heading into a Friday match at UC Santa Barbara. The Mustangs opened conference play at home last weekend, defeating Long Beach State (3-1) and Cal State Fullerton (3-0). R-sophomore Tommi Stockham averaged 4.86 kills per set on .347 hitting .347 to go with 3.00 digs per set while senior right side hitter Maia Dvoracek averaged 4.43 kills per set, hitting .313, and 3.57 digs per set in the two wins.
Series: Saturday's match is the 67th meeting all-time between CSUN and Cal Poly with the Mustangs leading the series, 37-29. The teams split two matches last season with the Matadors winning in four sets in Northridge which snapped an 11-match Mustang win streak dating back to 2014.
NEVAREZ ON THE CSUN CAREER CHARTS
Nicole Nevarez, in her fourth season at CSUN, is closing in on several career milestones in 2022. With a team-high 153 kills this season, Nevarez is now 86 kills away from becoming the 14th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. She heads into the week having appeared in 366 career sets while posting 914 career kills on 2,754 career attempts to go with 679 career digs, 165 career blocks and 65 career aces. Her best season offensively was in 2019 when she connected for 285 kills while she set a season-high for digs with 245 in 2021. This season, Nevarez is hitting a season-high .214 on a team-high 440 swings.
ANDERSON SURPASSES 300 CAREER KILLS, CONTINUES TORRID HITTINGÂ
Junior Lauryn Anderson continued to build on her impressive start to the 2022 season. Anderson, who surpassed 300 career kills with 11 kills on .375 hitting at UC San Diego on Saturday, the fourth time this season she's reached double figures in kills. After hitting .130 on 23 swings against UTEP on Sept. 16, Anderson has hit .407 on 81 swings over her last four matches. She has now hit .375 or better in 10 of the Matadors' 14 matches this season, In addition to averaging a career-high 2.21 kills per set through 14 matches, Anderson is connecting at a .360 hitting clip which leads the Matadors and ranks third in the Big West. A career .293 hitter over two-plus seasons, Anderson is also the Matadors' chief blocker this season, averaging 0.98 blocks per set with 11 solo and 41 assisted blocks this season.
MATADOR QUICK SETS
CSUN will be the final Big West school to play a home match this season when CSU Bakersfield comes to Premier America Credit Union Arena on Friday. Entering the week, CSUN is one of two Big West schools (UC Riverside ) yet to play a home match, the Highlanders will host UC San Diego on Thursday ... Taylor Hunter hit a season-high .429 with seven kills and one error on 14 swings at UC San Diego ... In addition to her offensive exploits, Nevarez has moved into second on the team in blocking of late. With five blocks in three of CSUN's last five matches, Nevarez now has 36 total blocks and is quickly closing in on her career season-high of 46. With 17 solo blocks, this season (eight in the last five matches), Nevarez is the team leader with Anderson second with 11.
CSUN IN CONFERENCE/HOME OPENERS
Despite Friday's loss in its Big West opener at UC Irvine, CSUN remains 24-13 (.649) all-time in 37 previous conference season openers dating back to 1985. Since joining the Big West in 2001, the Matadors are now 11-10 (.524) in conference openers, which included six straight wins from 2013-2019 ... CSUN is 24-12 (.667) in 36 previous conference home openers heading into Friday's match against CSU Bakersfield. The Matadors are 20-22 (.476) all-time in 42 previous home openers.
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 a brief two-match homestand, the Matadors will head back on the road next week (Oct. 7-8) for matches at Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State before returning home Oct. 14 to begin a stretch where CSUN will play five of its next six inside Premier America Credit Union Arena.Â
#UniteTheValley
