California State University at Northridge
Seattle University
CSUN Opens 49th Season Friday at Idaho State Tournament
8/28/2024 12:35:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CSUNÂ THIS WEEK - IDAHO STATE TOURNAMENT:
MATCH #1
CSUN Matadors (0-0) vs. SeattleU Redhawks (0-0)
Friday, Aug. 30, 2024 - 2:00 p.m. PDT
Reed Gym - Pocatello, Idaho
Live Stats  // ESPN+
MATCH #2
CSUN Matadors vs. San Diego State Aztecs
Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024Â - 12:00Â p.m. PDT
Reed Gym - Pocatello, Idaho
Live Stats // ESPN+
MATCH #3
CSUN Matadors @ Idaho State Bengals
Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024Â - 12:00Â p.m. PDT
Reed Gym - Pocatello, Idaho
Live Stats // ESPN+
In-game X updates:Â @CSUNWVB
CSUN WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL MEDIA NOTES
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN women's volleyball team (0-0, 0-0 Big West) opens up a new era on Friday as first-year head coach Aquiles Montoya and the Matadors travel to Pocatello, Idaho for three matches at Idaho State. CSUN opens the tournament against Seattle on Friday at 2Â p.m. before taking on San Diego State on Saturday at 12 p.m., and host Idaho State on Sunday at noon. Friday's match against Seattle also marks the opening of CSUN's 49th season of women's volleyball. The Matadors bring an all-time record of 850-650 (.567) into the 2024 season.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS
All three CSUN matches at Idaho State will be streamed live on ESPN+ and will have live stats (link at GoMatadors.com).
Fans can follow CSUN Matador women's volleyball online at the official home of CSUN athletics, www.GoMatadors.com. All home matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Darren Preston handling the play-by-play and CSUN men's volleyball assistant coach Ryan Mason providing commentary for select matches. Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Athletics Department's official X feed (@GoMatadors) and the volleyball-specific feed (@CSUNWVB) for news and notes throughout the week as well as updates of matches in progress.
SCOUTING THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
Seattle finished 8-19 overall and 3-13 in the Western Athletic Conference in 2023. Senior outside hitter Arianna Bilby was named to the nine-member Preseason All-WAC Team after finishing second in the WAC and 32nd in the nation in attacks per set (11.01) and third in the WAC in kills per set (3.56).
Series: Friday's match is just the fourth meeting all-time between CSUN and Seattle with the Matadors holding a slim 2-1 edge in the series. The two teams split the first two matches (2008, 2010) on neutral courts before CSUN won in straight sets in the most recent meeting in Northridge in 2013.
San Diego State returns 11 letterwinners from last year's steam that finished 9-20 overall and 4-14 in the Mountain West. The Aztecs are led by the junior trio of Taylor Underwood, Madison Corf and McKenna Douglas. Underwood earned first-team all-Mountain West honors after finishing sixth in the league with 3.38 kills and 3.88 points per set in 2023.Â
Series: Saturday's match is the 16th meeting all-time between the Matadors and Aztecs with San Diego State holding an 11-4 lead in the all-time series. The Matadors are 1-2 all-time against the Aztecs in Northridge, 2-5 in San Diego, and 1-4 at neutral sites. CSUN claimed the most recent match between the two teams, earning a straight-set win at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego in 2017.
Idaho State finished 8-20 overall and 6-10 in the Big Sky Conference a season ago. Senior outside hitter Jamie Streit returns as the Bengals' top offensive threat after averaging 3.25 kills per set in 2023. Sophomore middle Jaydin Watts added 2.19 kills and 0.84 blocks per set last season. Idaho State is coached by Sean Carter who lettered for the CSUN men's volleyball team in 2007.
Series: Sunday's match is the 19th meeting all-time between the former Big Sky Conference rivals. The Matadors and Bengals played 12 matches from 1996-2001 as members of the Big Sky with CSUN winning all 12. The Matadors hold a 15-3 lead in the all-time series but Idaho State has won the last two including a 3-0 win in 2022 in Spokane, Wash. All three Bengal wins in the series have come on neutral courts.
2024 SEASON OUTLOOK
CSUN returns seven letterwinners and three starters from its 2023 season finale. Junior Leah Miller, who averaged 2.30 kills and 0.50 blocks per set in 2023, is back along with fellow starters Paige Sentes, Iye Okolo, and Tatiana Turgeon. Sentes had 36 aces (0.32 per set) to rank ninth in the Big West. Turgeon returns after hitting a team-high .298 on 218 attacks last season while Okolo had 53 blocks to rank just behind Miller's 56. The 2024 season also figures to see the debut of several new players to the CSUN roster including Natalia Brandlin (MB, 6-1, Jr.), Hailey Brockway (OH, 5-11, So.), Katie Kolar (S, 5-9, So.), Presley Nippert (OPP, 6-0, So.), Autumn Rojelio (L/DS, 5-2, Jr.), and Amaris Smith (OH, 6-2, Jr.).
CSUN IN SEASON OPENERS
CSUN comes into Friday's match against Seattle with an all-time record of 20-23 (.465) in season-openers dating back to 1978. The Matadors will look to snap their current skid in season-openers as CSUN has dropped its last eight dating back to 2015. The 2020 season was not contested due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, CSUN fell at Santa Clara (3-2) to open the 2023 season after dropping a 3-0 decision to Drake to open the 2022 season at the Air Force tournament. The Matadors last won their season opener in 2014, defeating UNLV in four sets in Las Vegas.
MATADOR QUICK SETS
CSUN will open the season with seven straight road and neutral site matches before hosting California Baptist on Sept. 17. The home opener against the Lancers opens up a season-long six-match homestand for the Matadors which will complete the non-conference season as well as open the Big West season. CSUN's Big West home opener is slated for Sept. 27 against Cal Poly.
MONTOYA OPENS HIS FIRST SEASON AS CSUN HEAD COACHÂ
Aquiles Montoya was named the ninth head coach of the CSUN women's volleyball program on Apr. 10, 2024. Montoya comes to CSUN after spending the past four seasons as associate head coach and director of recruiting at Portland State. He was instrumental in three straight Vikings' student-athletes earning the Big Sky Conference's Top Newcomer award. On the court, Portland State made consecutive postseason appearances in 2021 and 2022, qualifying for the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). The Vikings won their first-round match in 2021, giving Portland State its first win at a national postseason tournament in Division I program history. The Vikings rise in the Big Sky Conference coincided with Montoya's tenure as an assistant and associate head coach under Portland State head coach Michael Seeman. The Vikings posted winning seasons, both overall and in conference play, in each of Montoya's last three seasons while reaching the Big Sky championship match in 2022, their first appearance since 2013. Prior to Portland State, Montoya spent the previous three seasons as the lead assistant of the Pacific Boxers' varsity team. He helped the Boxers set program records for wins in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018. The Boxers went 17-7 overall and 10-6 in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference (NWC) in 2017, then topped that the following year while going 18-8 overall and 11-5 in NWC play.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following this weekend's tournament at Idaho State, the Matadors will play their second and final tournament of the season next weekend in Sacramento. CSUN will meet the host Hornets (Sept, 5), San Francisco (Sept. 6), and New Mexico State in the Sacramento State Invitational at The Nest on the Sac State campus.Â
#GoMatadors
