California State University at Northridge
Pepperdine
Matadors Travel to Malibu on Saturday to take on 18th-Ranked Pepperdine
4/7/2023 11:16:00 AM | Beach Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK:
Saturday, Apr. 8, 2023
Pepperdine Beach Volleyball Courts - Malibu, Calif.
CSUN at No. 18 Pepperdine - 10:00 a.m.
Live Results
In-game Twitter updates:Â @CSUNBeach
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN beach volleyball team (13-12) travels across the Valley to Malibu on Saturday as the Matadors take on No. 18 Pepperdine in a single dual match at 10 a.m.Â
CSUN has won three of its last four and four of its last five dual matches dating back to a 5-0 win over Sacramento State on Mar. 26. Last week, the Matadors split a tri-dual in Irvine, sweeping Saint Katherine (5-0) before falling to Concordia Irvine (3-2).
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
Pepperdine (14-7), ranked 18th in this week's AVCA Collegiate Beach Coaches Top 20 Poll, split its last tri-dual at Long Beach State on Thursday. The Waves defeated Cal State LA, 4-5 after falling in a tight 3-2 decision to #12 Long Beach State. Pepperdine will honor former Matador Lexi McLeod as its lone senior after playing the 2023 season as a graduate student for the Waves.
Series:Â Saturday's match is the fifth meeting all-time between CSUN and Pepperdine dating back to 2014. The Waves are 4-0 in the series after sweeping the Matadors in Malibu in 2022.
SCHEDULE UPDATES
The Matadors have added a final home date this season, hosting Cal State LA in a pair of matches on Apr. 13 at 10 a.m. and noon. CSUN then caps the regular season in Bakersfield as the Matadors take on the host Roadrunners at 10 a.m. and Westcliff at noon.Â
SENIOR DAY ON THE SAND
The CSUN beach volleyball program honored seniors Darynne Bickers, Lauren Eknoian, Gabriela Griego and Abbey Sweeting on Mar. 31. Bickers played in four matches in 2022 after transferring from Ventura College ... Eknoian is 14-11 this season after finishing 14-20 in 34 matches as a junior in 2022. She earned honorable mention All-Big West honors playing with Emily Sparks last season. Eknoian, a 2022 Big West All-Academic Team selection, also finished 7-15 as a sophomore in 2021 and 4-1 during the abbreviated 2020 season, her first at CSUN ... Griego made her CSUN debut this season and along with Sweeting has a team-leading 16-8 record. Griego, who redshirted the 2022 season, has 1a team-high 17 individual wins this season ... Sweeting, also a 2022 Big West All-Academic Team honoree, comes into the week with 41 career wins which currently ranks sixth in program history. In addition to her 16-8 record this season, she finished 15-16 in 2022, 8-9 in 2021 and 2-0 in 2020.
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 14 wins this season, Maughan has now bumped her career total to 63 heading into this week's match at Pepperdine.
CSUN QUICK SETS
The Matadors improved to 8-6 on their home sand following a pair of 5-0 wins over Saint Katherine and San Francisco on Mar. 31. After opening the home campaign with five wins in eight matches, CSUN is now 3-3 over its last six home dual matches ... Sweeting and Griego continue to hold the team wins lead with a record of 16-8. The pair is 3-3 in the No. 4's, 11-4 in the No. 5's and 2-1 in the No. 6's. Griego holds the individual wins lead with 17, followed by Sweeting with 16 ... Three other Matador pairs also have double figures in wins this season. Eknoian and Tasha Mae are 14-11 in the No. 1's while Sparks and Maughan are 13-11 in No. 2's and Seyvion Waggoner and Mac McCarthy are 10-4 on the season (4-0 at No. 3, 7-4 at No. 4).
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 13-12 record in 2023, the Matadors are now 96-108 (.471) all-time in their 10th season of beach volleyball, including a 61-35 (.635) 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
