California State University at Northridge
Colorado Mesa
Matadors Host Wednesday Tri-Dual Before Playing Six Matches in San Luis Obispo
3/21/2023 12:24:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK:
Wednesday, Mar. 22, 2023
CSUN Beach Volleyball Complex - Northridge, Calif.
CSUNÂ vs. Colorado Mesa - 9:00 a.m.
CSUN vs. Cal State LA - 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, Mar. 25, 2023 (Bigger West Invitational)
Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex - San Luis Obispo, Calif.
CSUNÂ vs. #8Â Hawai'i - 10:00 a.m.
CSUN vs. #12 Long Beach State - 1:00 p.m.
CSUN vs. CSU Bakersfield - 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023Â (Bigger West Invitational)
Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex - San Luis Obispo, Calif.
CSUNÂ vs. UC Davis - 10:00Â a.m.
CSUN vs. Sacramento State - 2:00 p.m.
CSUB vs. Cal Poly - 4:00 p.m.
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNBeach
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN beach volleyball team (9-5) opens another busy week on Wednesday as the Matadors host a four-team event at the CSUN Beach Volleyball Complex. The Matadors take on Colorado Mesa at 9 a.m. and Cal State LA at 1 p.m. The other two dual matches will feature Colorado Mesa taking on Hope International at 11 a.m. and Cal State LA and HIUÂ meeting at 3 p.m.
The Matadors will then head to San Luis Obispo this weekend for the Bigger West Invitational at the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex. CSUN will play three matches on both Saturday and Sunday. The Matadors will take on No. 8 Hawai'i (10 a.m.), No. 12 Long Beach State (1 p.m.) and CSU Bakersfield on Saturday before capping the event on Sunday against UC Davis (10 a.m.), Sacramento State (2 p.m.) and host Cal Poly (4 p.m.).
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
Follow CSUN Matadors beach volleyball on-line at the official home of CSUN athletics, www.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 beach volleyball schedule page of GoMatadors.com.Â
Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Athletics Department's official Twitter feed (@GoMatadors) and the beach volleyball-specific feed (@CSUNBeach) for news and notes throughout the week as well as updates of matches in progress.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Colorado Mesa (6-3) is scheduled to play six matches in Southern California from Tuesday to Thursday. The Mavericks take on No. 13 Long Beach State and Boise State at Rosie's Dog Beach on Tuesday before meeting the Matadors and Hope International in Northridge on Wednesday. CMU closes the week against Golden West College and Irvine Valley College in Irvine on Thursday.
Series:Â Wednesday's match is the eighth meeting all-time between the Matadors and Mavericks with CSUN holding a 6-1 lead in the series. The two teams split two dual matches last season in Northridge with CMU winning 4-1 and the Matadors winning 3-2.
Cal State LA (0-6) slipped to 0-6 on the season after dropping dual matches to Concordia (5-0) and Vanguard  (4-1) in Irvine last Friday. The Golden Eagles No. 1 pair of Ashley Dittman and Iane Henke split the two matches and are now 5-1 on the season.
Series: Wednesday's match is the 11th meeting all-time between the Matadors and Cal State LA with CSUN unbeaten in the previous 10 matches. The teams met in Northridge on Mar. 3 with the Matadors winning 4-1.Â
Hawai'i (14-3), on a 12-match winning streak, returns to the sand after a week off to compete at this weekend's Big West Challenge in San Luis Obispo. The Rainbow Wahine have already faced a pair of its conference rivals this year, having defeated Cal Poly and No. 12 Long Beach State a combined for times in the Best in the West tournament, March 4-5, in Laguna Beach. Following the Big West Challenge, UH will play at UCLA on March 29, followed by the East Meets West Invitational in Manhattan Beach, March 31-April 1.
Series: Saturday's match will be the ninth meeting all-time between the Matadors and Bows with Hawai'i holding an unblemished 8-0 record in the series. The two teams last met on the same court in San Luis Obispo in the 2022 Big West Championship when the Wahine swept all five pairs.
Long Beach State (9-8) has won six straight heading into a Tuesday match against Boise State. The Beach's Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah were named Big West Pair of the Week on Monday after posting perfect 4-0 weekend at home. Long Beach's No. 3 pair is now a team-leading 12-4 on the season and have won five straight duals.
Series: Saturday's match will be the 18th meeting all-time between the Matadors and Beach with Long Beach carrying a 17-match win streak in to the matchup. The two teams met twice in 2022 with the Beach winning 5-0 in San Luis Obispo and 5-0 in Northridge.
CSU Bakersfield (8-3) is coming off a 2-2 weekend in San Jose that saw the Roadrunners cap the weekend with a 5-0 sweep over San Francisco and a 4-1 win over Oregon 4-1. Bakersfield is 1-1 in road matches and 4-2 on neutral courts in 2023.
Series: Saturday's match will be the 25th meeting all-time between the Matadors and 'Runners with CSUN holding a 13-11 edge in the series. The 24-match series between the Matadors and CSU Bakersfield, which dates back to 2014, is the largest in CSUN's beach program history. The two teams met earlier this season in Northridge with the 'Runners pulling out a 3-2 win.Â
UC Davis (9-4) dropped four straight matches at the Grand Canyon Tournament in Phoenix last weekend. After opening the season with nine straight wins, four at gome, the Aggies fell to Texas A&M Corpus Christi (3-2), Grand Canyon (5-0), Pepperdine (5-0) and Arizona State (3-2).
Series: Sunday's match will be the sixth meeting all-time between the Matadors and Aggies with UCD holding a slim 3-2 edge in the series. The two teams met twice last season with the Aggies winning 4-1 in Long Beach and 4-1 at the Big West Championship in San Luis Obispo.Â
Sacramento State (3-2) has won three straight heading to San Luis Obispo this weekend. The Hornets swept Pacific in their home opener on Mar. 11 and their three victories are already two shy of the team's win total from all of last year. Sac State also has wins over San Francisco (3-2) and another over Pacific (4-1) this season. The Hornets' No. 1 team of Kelani Hayes and Bridgette Smith in unbeaten in five matches so far this season.
Series: Sunday's match will be the ninth meeting all-time between the Matadors and Hornet with CSUN holding a 7-1 lead in the series. The two teams met twice last season with the Matadors winning 5-0 in Long Beach and 4-1 at the Big West Championship in San Luis Obispo.Â
Cal Poly (5-13) split its final two matches of the Arizona Invitational last weekend in Tucson; sweeping Southern Mississippi 5-0 and falling to No. 17 Arizona 4-1. The Mustangs finished the weekend in Arizona with a 3-1 record after collecting a pair of victories Friday over Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Arizona Christian. Cal Poly has played just a pair of home dual matches this season, defeating Santa Clara (3-2) and Utah (4-1) on Mar. 8.Â
Series: Sunday's match will be the 12th meeting all-time between the Matadors and Mustangs with Cal Poly leading 9-2 in the series. The two teams met twice last season with Cal Poly winning 5-0 at Rosie's Dog Beach and 5-0 at the Big West Championship.Â
MAUGHAN SETS CSUN INDIVIDUAL WINS RECORD
Already the program record holder in pairs wins (43), Mikaela Maughan moved past Kailey Klein to become CSUN's all-time individual wins leader when she teamed up with Emily Sparks to defeat Boise State on Mar. 4. The win was the 53rd individual win for Maughan, who came into the 2023 season trailing Klein by three career wins (52-49).
She equaled Klein after picking up wins over Concordia (Feb. 23), Cal State LA (Mar. 3) and CSU Bakersfield (Mar. 4) before setting the record with a 2-0 win over Boise State. With eight wins this season, Maughan has now bumped her career total to 57 with Friday's straight-set win over Utah in Long Beach.
CSUN QUICK SETS
Abbey Sweeting and Gabriela Griego picked up their team-leading ninth and 10th wins of the season last weekend against Texas and Utah. Sweeting and Griego are now 2-0 at the No. 4 position, 6-2 at No. 5 and 2-1 in the exhibition pair this season ... Griego and Sweeting also hold the team lead with 11 individual wins apiece this season. Victoria Rogers holds the program record for individual wins in one season with 21 in in 2022 ... Two CSUN pairs have won eight times this season; Lauren Eknoian and Tasha Mae are 8-6 at No. 1, Emily Sparks and Maughan are 8-6 at No. 2 while Seyvion Waggoner and Mac McCarthy are 6-4 on the season (1-0 at No. 3, 5-4 at No. 4).Â
BIG WEST BEACH VOLLEYBALL
2023 not only marks CSUN's 10th season of beach volleyball but its eighth season as a member of the Big West Conference. The Matadors are 6-12 all-time in the Big West Championship since the inaugural championship in 2016. The postseason tournament was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the 2022 Big West Championship, held at Cal Poly's Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex, the Matadors finished in fifth place after winning one of three matches. CSUN opened with a 5-0 loss to Cal Poly before staving off elimination with a 4-1 win over Sacramento State. The Matadors then fell to UC Davis in an elimination match and finished the championship with a 1-2 record.
The 2021 Big West Championships, at Rosie's Dog Beach, finished in a similar formula for the Matadors. CSUN opened with a 5-0 loss to Hawai'i before sweeping Sacramento State, 5-0. The Matadors were then eliminated by CSU Bakersfield in a close 3-2 final.
The Matadors were the No. 4 seed in the seven-team field at the 2019 Big West Tournament at Zuma Beach in Malibu. CSUN finished 2-2 in the championship tournament, their best showing since also finishing 2-2 in the inaugural conference tournament in 2016. After winning two of three matches on the opening day, CSUN came up empty against No. 3 seed Long Beach State on Saturday and was the fourth squad eliminated from the tournament. Cal Poly, the No. 2 seed, went undefeated in four tournament matches to capture its first conference championship along with the Big West's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Hawai'i, the top seed coming in, finished second.
At the 2018 championship in Hawai'i, the Matadors were seeded fourth in the six-team field in but were upset by fifth-seeded CSU Bakersfield in the opening round (3-2). CSUN then fell to No. 2 seed Cal Poly in an elimination match (5-0).Â
The Matadors were also seeded fourth at the 2017 Big West Tournament held at Pismo Beach, but fell to Sacramento State (3-2) and Cal Poly (5-0) in their two tournament matches.Â
In 2016, CSUN was the third seed in the inaugural conference tournament before finishing 2-2 including a close 3-2 loss to Cal Poly in a third-round elimination match at Huntington Beach.
CSUN BEACH VOLLEYBALL HISTORY
With a 9-5 record in 2023, the Matadors are now 92-101 (.477) all-time in their 10th season of beach volleyball, including a 59-34 (.581) record on their home sand.Â
After setting a program record for most wins in one season with 17 in 2018, the Matadors matched that total with a 17-17 overall record in 2022. CSUN also came within one victory of equaling the mark with a 16-12 record in 2019.
The Matadors have steadily improved since the induction of the sport in 2014. Playing 10 matches, all on the road in its inaugural season, CSUN finished 1-9 in 2014. The Matadors picked up their first-ever beach volleyball win on Mar. 27, 2014 when CSUN defeated Oregon (3-2) at USC's Merle Norman Stadium.
The Matadors then debuted their on-campus facility in 2015, playing 11 matches overall and four matches at home. CSUN's first-ever home match was Mar. 5, 2015 against No. 7 UCLA. CSUN won at home for the first time on Mar. 9 of the 2015 season when the Matadors defeated TCU, 4-1. CSUN ultimately upped its season win total to three culminating with a 3-8 overall season record to close the 2015 season.
The 2016 season saw the Matadors finish 8-14 before falling to Cal Poly in the third round of the Big West Tournament. CSUN then posted an overall record of 6-12 in 2017 before winning a program-record with 17 times in 2018. After posting 16 wins in 2019, the 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the Matadors off to a 4-1 start. CSUN won 11 times in 2021, finishing with an overall record of 11-15.
#GoMatadors
