California State University at Northridge
Loyola Marymount
CSUN Falls to No. 9 LMU & No. 19 Arizona in Los Angeles
4/20/2024 5:11:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
Looking to build some momentum heading into next week's Big West Beach Volleyball Championship, the Matadors (16-18) were blanked in all five pairs by the No. 9 Lions before battling the 19th-ranked Wildcats before dropping a 3-2 decision.Â
LMU 5, CSUN 0
The Matadors forced a third set in two of the five pairs but LMU was able to win both deciding sets. Cassie Chin and Chloe Hooker opened the scoring for the Lions with a 21-12, 21-6 victory over Taylor Buckley and Jillian Rodig in the No. 4 pair. Isabelle Reffel and Ellie Davis made it 2-0 LMU with a three-set win over Lauren Eknoian and Tasha Mae, 21-13, 18-21, 15-10 in the 2's. The Lions' No. 3 pair of Anna Pelloia and Jacinda Ramirez would clinch the win after defeating Julia Bazylevych and Kinley Lindhardt, 21-14, 21-17.
Gabriela Griego and MayaMay Brown fell to Vilhelmiina Prithi and Michalle Shaffer in the No. 1 pair, 21-13, 21-16 before CSUN's 5's (Abbey Sweeting and Maleya Miles) went the distance before falling to Alison Stanfil and Abbey Thorup, 21-15, 23-25, 15-7.
ARIZONA 3, CSUN 2
In their second dual of the day, the Matadors looked to split the day but came up one win short of upsetting the 19th-ranked Sand Cats. Arizona's Annie Kost and Hope Shannon picked up the first point with a 21-17, 21-19 win over Eknoian and Mae in the No. 2 pair. Buckley and Rodig pulled CSUN even with a 22-20, 14-21, 17-15 win over Jess Horwath and Kate Phillips in the No. 4 pair. Griego and Brown then put the Matadors up 2-1 after sweeping the No. 1's 21-19, 21-14.
The final two pairs would go to Arizona in straight sets as Kylee Fitzsimmons and Grace Cook took a 21-16, 21-16 win over Bazylevych and Lindhardt at No. 3 before Ashlyn Zilliken and Miranda Erro topped Sweeting and Myles in the 5's by the score of 22-20, 21-10.
COACH ARI HOMAYUNÂ SAID
"The girls had a good showing today against the #9 and #19th-ranked teams today. Went the distance on a couple of courts against LMU and almost won it against University of Arizona. I would've loved to see the girls get a top 20 win, but I think it's super motivating for the girls to see how close we really are. I think this was also a good showing going into the Big West conference tournament. I'm glad we got to play two tough teams going into our tough conference tournament."
UP NEXT
The Matadors will now prepare for the 2024 Big West Beach Volleyball Championship which will be held next Friday and Saturday (Apr. 25-26) at the KLAC Beach Volleyball Complex at Long City College.
NO. 9 LMU 5, CSUN 0
#1. Prihti/Shaffer (LMU) def. Griego/Brown (CSUN), 21-13, 21-16
#2. Reffel/Davis (LMU) def. Eknoian/Mae (CSUN), 21-13, 18-21, 15-10
#3. Pelloia/Ramirez (LMU) def. Bazylevych//Lindhardt (CSUN), 21-14, 21-17
#4. Chinn/Hooker (LMU) def. Buckley/Rodig (CSUN), 21-12, 21-6
#5. Stanfill/Thorup (LMU) def. Sweeting/Miles (CSUN), 21-15, 23-25, 15-7
NO. 19 ARIZONA 3, CSUN 2
#1. Griego/Brown (CSUN) def. Russell/McElroy (ARIZ), 21-19, 21-14
#2. Kost/Shannon (ARIZ) def. Eknoian/Mae (CSUN), 21-17, 21-19
#3. Fitzsimmons/Cook (ARIZ) def. Bazylevych//Lindhardt (CSUN), 21-16, 21-16
#4. Buckley/Rodig (CSUN) def. Horwath/Phillips (ARIZ), 22-20, 14-21, 17-15
#5. Zilliken/Erro (ARIZ) def. Sweeting/Miles (CSUN), 22-20, 21-10
#GoMatadors
