California State University at Northridge
4-6,0-0Big West
Portland
7-2,0-0WCC
Matadors Knock Off Portland in Five-Set Thriller
9/20/2024 10:43:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The CSUN women's volleyball team played its second five-set match in as many nights, this time coming out on the winning end as the Matadors knocked off Portland 3-2 in a non-conference match Friday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
Amaris Smith paced CSUN (4-6) with 20 which tied for match-high honors. Smith committed just a single hitting error on 49 swings to hit .388, while adding 10 digs for her third double-double of the season. Hailey Brockway added 15 kills (.093) and eight digs while Leah Miller made it three Matador hitters in double figures with 11 kills (.229), seven digs, and one ace.
In handing the Pilots just their second loss of the season, CSUN hit .217 (64-25-178) as a team and posted eight team blocks and seven aces, three from libero Paige Sentes. Sentes went on to record her first collegiate double-double with 18 digs and a career-high 12 assists.
S1 l CSUN 26, UP 24
The opening set went to extra points before the Matadors took advantage of a Smith kill and a co-block from Katie Kolar and Tatiana Turgeon to seal the win.
Set one goes to the home team!
— CSUN Women's Volleyball (@csunwomensvb) September 21, 2024
CSUN wins 26-24 to open the match.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/VXnDfEGCof
S2 l UP 25, CSUN 23
After hitting .222 to Portland's .179 in set one, the visitors would out-hit CSUN .432-.268 in set two to take a 25-23 win.
S3 l UP 25, CSUN 17
Portland would ramp its hitting percentage up to .444 in set three, winning 25-17. The score was tied 5-5 when the Pilots outscored CSUN 6-1 over the next seven points to lead 11-5. Portland would lead by as many as eight points (24-16) in the frame before closing out an eight-point win.
S4 l CSUN 25, UP 22
Needing a win to stay in the match. the Matadors scored the first four points and would never trail in the set. Portland used a 6-0 run to tie the score at 13-13 before a 6-1 CSUN run gave the Matadors the margin they needed to force a fifth set.
For the second straight night, we're going to a 5th set!
— CSUN Women's Volleyball (@csunwomensvb) September 21, 2024
CSUN takes the fourth frame by a score of 25-22.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/qKZqGoCu3J
S5 l CSUN 15, UP 11
After four early ties, the Matadors snapped a 3-3 tie with a 4-0 run. The Pilots would battle back to tie the score at 8-8 when a pair of Smith kills, a CSUN block, and a Pilot hitting error opened up a 12-8 lead. Portland closed to within three at 12-9 when the Matadors would claim three of the final points to seal their third five-set win on a Brockway kill.
COMEBACK COMPLETE!
— CSUN Women's Volleyball (@csunwomensvb) September 21, 2024
After falling behind 2-1, CSUN takes the fourth and fifth sets to defeat Portland.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/FVCl0lAzuW
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH AQUILES MONTOYA
"After a tough loss to Washington State last night, I couldn't be more proud of our team. This was probably our best team win of the entire year. The team bought into each other, and the coaching staff. Top to bottom, that was our biggest win. Portland had only lost one five-setter this season and are a confident team, I'm excited to get after them again tomorrow on short rest."
NOTES
- With the win, CSUN improves to 3-2 in five-set matches this season.
- The Matadors snap a four-match skid to Portland, improving to 4-4 all-time against the Pilots.
UP NEXT
CSUN finishes a four-match week on Saturday afternoon, hosting the Pilots in the finale of the two-match series at 1:30 p.m.
#GoMatadors
