California State University at Northridge
1-4,0-0Big West
Fresno State
2-3,0-0Mountain West
Matadors Fall in Five Sets at Fresno State
9/1/2023 8:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
FRESNO, Calif. – Two nights after sweeping Fresno State in Northridge, the CSUN women's volleyball team fell to the Bulldogs in five sets in a non-conference match Friday night at the Save Mart Center.
Leah Miller led CSUN (1-4) with a season-high 15 kills, hitting .333 on 39 attacks. Two other CSUN hitters reached double figures in kills as Taylor Orshoff and Carisa Barron each added 13. Barron added 21 assists for her second double-double of the season.
For the match, Fresno State out-hit CSUN .261 to .171. The Bulldogs also out-blocked the Matadors, 16-9, had a 72-65 advantage in digs and an 8-4 edge in aces.
SET 1: CSUN 25, FRESNO STATE 22
Miller and Orshoff each had four kills as the Matadors took the opening set, 25-22. After a Barron kill gave CSUN a 16-13 lead, the Matadors extended the lead to 21-15 before the hosts rallied for three straight to force a CSUN timeout at 21-18. After Orshoff set the Matadors up with set point at 24-21, Fresno State saved one set point before Miller connected to end the set.
S2 l Orshoff with the kill out of the back row and #CSUN grabs the opening point of set 2#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/Mvop354yc4
— CSUN Women's Volleyball (@CSUNWVB) September 2, 2023
SET 2: FRESNO STATE 25, CSUN 16
The second set was all Bulldogs as Fresno State out-hit the Matadors .346 to -.034 to win the set going away. After a Barron kill tied the score at 9-9, Fresno State scored nine straight points to all but seal the set.
SET 3: FRESNO STATE 25, CSUN 17
After a Miller kill pulled the Matadors within one at 17-16, the Bulldogs engineered a 5-0 run to open up a 22-16 advantage. A Fresno State hitting error gave CSUN its final point of the set as the hosts claimed the final three points in a 25-17 win.
SET 4: CSUN 25, FRESNO STATE 19
S4 l Barron's attack gets a touch on set point and we're heading to a 5th set after #CSUN takes the 4th set 25-19#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/usECn4vi1o
— CSUN Women's Volleyball (@CSUNWVB) September 2, 2023
Needing a win to stay in the match, the Matadors took advantage of a Fresno State service error to lead 15-12 at the media timeout. CSUN claimed two of the next three points to open up a 17-13 lead before three straight Bulldog points trimmed the lead to one. But another Miller kill would fuel an 8-3 CSUN run that closed out the win while forcing a fifth and deciding set.
SET 5: FRESNO STATE 16, CSUN 14
The Bulldogs claimed five of the first six points in the final set and would never trail. A Barron kill capped a 5-1 CSUN run that tied the score at 6-6 and the Matadors would keep the score even at 11-11 following a Paige Sentes ace. facing match point at 14-12, CSUN used a Fresno State service error and a Barron kill to knot the score at 14-14. But a Bulldog kill on the ensuing followed by a Fresno State block sent the hosts to the 16-14 win.
NOTES
- Taylor Dunlap set a new season-high with 25 assists to go with 10 digs for her first collegiate double-double.
- Kelsey Knudsen led CSUN with 19 digs, one of four Matadors to post double figures in digs.
- The two teams split the two-match non-conference season series as the Matadors are now 16-11 all-time against Fresno State.
UP NEXT
CSUN returns to tournament action next week as the Matadors travel to Portland to play three matches next Friday and Saturday. CSUN meets Eastern Washington and Portland on Friday before taking on Wyoming on Saturday 11 a.m.
#GoMatadors
