CSUN Beach Volleyball Splits Tuesday Tri-Dual

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - The CSUN beach volleyball earned its first 5-0 sweep of the season as the Matadors (6-4) earned a split in a Tuesday tri-dual against Concordia Irvine and Hope International at the CSUN Beach Volleyball Complex.

CONCORDIA IRVINE 4, CSUN 1
In the second meeting between the two teams in the last two weeks, the visiting Golden Eagles evened the season series with a 4-1 victory. CUI opened the scoring in the first flight, taking a 2-0 lead with wins in the No. 2 and No. 4 pairs. The Golden Eagles' Hailee Ryan and Lelia Giusta defeated Emily Sparks and Mikaela Maughan in the No. 2 pair on center court (23-21, 21-19) before CIU claimed the 4's when Eva Prewitt and Kelissa Lemoine pulled out a three-set win over Seyvion Waggoner and Mac McCarthy, 21-16, 14-21, 15-12. The Golden Eagles completed the opening flight with a straight-set win in the exhibition pair as Lauren Clifton and Ashleigh Souza topped Abigail Alvarez and Layla Cederlind by the score of 23-21, 22-20.

Concordia claimed the team win in the opening match of the second flight as Sara Ostojic and Tatum Smith swept True McCullough and Victoria Rogers in the No. 3 pair, 21-14, 21-13. The Matadors made it 3-1 on the scoreboard when Lauren Eknoian and Tasha Mae picked up their fourth win of the season in the No. 1 pair, sweeping Olivia Highstreet and Hannah Phair, 21-19, 21-14. The final pair at No. 5 would also go the distance before the Golden Eagles pair of Lily Dyer and Carly Moreno pulled out a 21-18, 17-21, 15-10 victory over Abbey Sweeting and Gabriela Griego making the final tally, 4-1.

CSUN 5, HOPE INTERNATIONAL 0
The two middle matches of the day featured CUI defeating Utah (4-1) before the Utes swept Hope International, setting up the finale of the afternoon between the Matadors and Royals. Sparks and Maughan won for the sixth time in 2023, making quick work of Rachael Street and Rachel Miller, 21-13, 21-8 in the No. 2 pair. McCullough and Griego teamed up for the first time this season and swept Mara Sanchez and Natalie Hadder in the No. 4 pair, 21-14, 21-17. Layla Cederlind and Jadin Williams also made their 2023 debut in the exhibition No. 6 match and swept Jennine Dahdul and Julia Robertson, 21-14, 21-13 sending the Matadors to the final flight with a 2-0 lead.

The Matadors clinched the two-match split when Eknoian and Mae won in their second sweep of the day, topping Candice Palmer and Taylor Erickson, 21-12, 21-14 in the No. 1 pair. CSUN would complete the day with 2-0 wins in the No. 3 and No. 5 pairs as Waggoner and McCarthy swept Cassidy Koffroth and Stephanie Perez (21-16, 21-12) before Sweeting and Alvarez capped the day with a dominating 21-6, 21-16 win over Ariel Garcia and Mariana Turner in the No. 5 pair.

COACH ARI HOMAYUN SAID
"I was disappointed with our first match today. The girls came out flat and were not ready to go. We're moving in the right direction as a program, and that one felt like one step back. But the girls did a good job of turning the page and taking care of business against HIU. I hope they learned from this morning's match and they have a chance to prove that tomorrow on the road against The Master's. Playing nine matches in six days is challenging, but I want us to be known for being a team that is tough."

UP NEXT
After winning five of eight matches on the homestand, the Matadors head to Santa Clarita on Wednesday to take on The Master's University at 1 p.m. before returning home to host UAB Sunday at 3 p.m.

CONCORDIA 4, CSUN 1
#1 - Eknoian/Mae (CSUN) def. Highstreet/Phair (CUI) – 21-19, 21-14
#2 - Ryan/Giusta (CUI) def. Sparks/Maughan (CSUN) – 23-21, 21-19
#3 - Ostojic/Smith (CUI) def. McCullough/Rogers (CSUN), 21-14, 21-13
#4 - Prewitt/Lemoine (CUI) def. Waggoner/McCarthy (CSUN) – 21-16, 14-21, 15-12
#5 - Dyer/Moreno (CUI) def. Sweeting/Griego (CSUN) – 21-18, 17-21, 15-10
Exh. - Clifton/Souza (CUI) def. Alvarez/Cederlind (CSUN) - 23-21, 22-20

CSUN 5, HOPE INTERNATIONAL 0
#1 - Eknoian/Mae (CSUN) def. Palmer/Erickson (HIU) – 21-12, 21-14
#2 - Sparks/Maughan (CSUN) def. Street/Miller (HIU) – 21-13, 21-8
#3 - Waggoner/McCarthy (CSUN) def. Koffroth/Perez (HIU) – 21-16, 21-12
#4 - McCullough/Griego (CSUN) def. Sanchez/Hadder (HIU) – 21-14, 21-17
#5 - Sweeting/Alvarez (CSUN) def. Garcia/Turner (HIU) – 21-6, 21-16
Exh. - Cederlind/Williams (CSUN) def. Dahdul/Robertson (HIU) - 21-14, 21-13

#GoMatadors

CSUN Beach Volleyball Splits Tuesday Tri-Dual

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Players Mentioned

Abigail Alvarez

Layla Cederlind

Lauren Eknoian

Gabriela Griego

Tasha Mae

Mikaela Maughan

Mac McCarthy

True McCullough

Victoria Rogers

Emily Sparks

Abbey Sweeting

Seyvion Waggoner

Jadin Williams