CSUN Tops Concordia, 3-2 to Split Season-Opening Tri-Dual

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - The CSUN beach volleyball team (1-1) split its season-opening tri-dual on Thursday as the Matadors held off Concordia, 3-2 after falling to No. 6 Grand Canyon earlier in the day.

NO. 6 GRAND CANYON 5, CSUN 0
The Matadors opened the season against the preseason sixth-ranked Lopes and came up empty in all five matches. GCU's Anaya Evans and Cami Sanchez opened the scoring in the No. 4 pair, sweeping CSUN's Mac McCarthy and Abigail Alvarez, 21-11, 21-10. Samaya Morin and Abbie Hughes made it 2-0 Lopes with a 21-11, 21-12 victory over Emily Sparks and Mikaela Maughan in the No. 2 pair. The teams also played an exhibition No. 6 match with Sarah Dickson/Kamilah Checani of GCU defeating the Matadors' Abbey Sweeting and Gabriela Griego by the score of 21-12, 21-13.

The Lopes would clinch the dual as the second flight opened when Allison Hanson and Allanis Navas swept Lauren Eknoian and Tasha Mae in the No. 1 pair, 21-12, 21-13. The final two matches also went to GCU in straight sets as Jessica Drake and Mackenzie Harris topped Seyvion Waggoner and Kinley Lindhardt, 21-15, 21-12 and Dana Roskic and Krista Rowan defeated True McCullough and Victoria Rogers, 21-12, 24-22.

CSUN 3, CONCORDIA 2
After GCU defeated Concordia 5-0 in the middle dual, the Matadors and Golden Eagles battled through steady rain in a tight 3-2 CSUN win. The Matadors took the opening point as Sparks and Maughan swept Sara Ostojic and Hailee Ryan in the No. 2 pair, 21-19, 27-25. The win gave Maughan her 50th career individual win and puts her within two of Kailey Klein's program record. CUI pulled even with a win in the No. 4 pair as Eva Prewitt and Kelissa Lemoine pulled out a three-set win (18-21, 21-16, 15-12) decision over McCarthy and Alvarez. In the exhibition match, CSUN picked up a win as Sweeting and Griego won the first time as a pair, sweeping Lauren Clifton and Ashleigh Souza, 21-15, 21-15.

Eknoian and Mae opened the second flight with a 21-19, 21-13 win over Olivia Highstreet and Hannah Phair that put the Matadors up 2-1. But the Golden Eagles answered right back as the No. 5 pair of Lily Dyer and Carly Moreno won a tight 28-26, 21-19 decision over Waggoner and Lindhardt to even the score at 2-2. That turned all the attention on the No. 3 pair as McCullough and Rogers came back after dropping the first set to beat Tatum Smith and Kella Giusta in three sets, 19-21, 21-16, 15-12.

COACH ARI HOMAYUN SAID
"I knew we were going to face two tough teams today, they're both incredibly well-coached. For us, it was important to play a high-level team like Grand Canyon early in the season and today the team got their feet wet on opening day against a really good team; now there's so much room for improvement. We lost to Concordia twice last season so this was a good win for us. We've got to serve tougher and pass better than we did today. To hang with a top-level team like GCU, you have to be able to sideout and we got out-served and out-passed so we'll work on that next week."

UP NEXT
With this weekend's Barnes Beach Complex `Runner Invite in Bakersfield canceled due to weather, CSUN will now return to action next Friday (Mar. 3) as the Matadors will host a four-team event with Cal State LA, CSU Bakersfield and Westcliff. CSUN will face Cal State LA at 9 a.m. and Westcliff at 1 p.m.

#6 GRAND CANYON 5, CSUN 0
#1 - Germann/Pratesi (GCU) def. Eknoian/Sparks (CSUN) – 21-12, 21-13
#2 - Kennedy/Stevens (GCU) def. Sparks/Maughan (CSUN) – 21-11, 21-12
#3 - Jackson/Holtz (GCU) def. McCullough/Rogers (CSUN) – 21-12, 24-22
#4 - Newlander/Reinking (GCU) def. McCarthy/Alvarez (CSUN) – 21-11, 21-10
#5 - Lyons/Major (GCU) def. Waggoner/Lindhardt (CSUN) – 21-15, 21-12
Exh. - Dickson/Checani (GCU) def. Sweeting/Griego (CSUN) - 21-12, 21-13

CSUN 3, CONCORDIA 2
#1 - Eknoian/Mae (CSUN) def. Highstreet/Phair (CUI) – 21-19, 21-13
#2 - Sparks/Maughan (CSUN) def. Ostojic/Ryan (CUI) – 21-19, 27-25
#3 - McCullough/Rogers (CSUN) def. Smith/Giusta (CUI) – 19-21, 21-16, 15-12
#4 - Prewitt/Lemoine (CUI) def. McCarthy/Alvarez (CSUN) – 18-21, 21-16, 15-12
#5 - Dyer/Moreno (CUI) def. Waggoner/Lindhardt (CSUN) – 28-26, 21-19
Exh. - Sweeting/Griego (CSUN) def. Clifton/Souza (CUI) - 21-15, 21-15

#GoMatadors

CSUN Tops Concordia, 3-2 to Split Season-Opening Tri-Dual

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Players Mentioned

Abigail Alvarez

Lauren Eknoian

Gabriela Griego

Kailey Klein

Kinley Lindhardt

Tasha Mae

Mikaela Maughan

Mac McCarthy

True McCullough

Victoria Rogers

Emily Sparks

Abbey Sweeting

Seyvion Waggoner