California State University at Northridge
Long Beach State
CSUN Knocks Off Long Beach State in Five-Set Thriller
10/23/2025 9:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Junior Julia Bazylevych knocked down a team-high 16 kills to lead four Matador hitters in double figures as CSUN outlasted Long Beach State in a five-set battle, 25-23, 25-14, 21-25, 14-25, 15-11, in a Big West match on Thursday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
Bazylevych, Hailey Brockway (11), Hayley Ogden (11), and Leah Miller (11) all reached double digits in kills as the quartet accounted for 49 of CSUN's 63 kills.
The Matadors (12-8, 5-4 Big West) built early momentum with a strong offensive start, hitting .371 in the opening set and .417 in the second to open up a two-set lead. Brockway had eight kills to lead the charge, while Bazylevych added six kills in the first two frames. Matador setters Katie Kolar and Jan Marie Duhaylungsod directed the attack with a combined 48 assists, along with 10 digs in the win.
Long Beach State (14-6, 7-2) rallied behind outside hitter Logan King, who tallied a match-high 21 kills on .581 hitting. The Beach evened the match after taking the third and fourth sets, but CSUN regrouped in the fifth, using a 4-0 opening run capped by a service ace from Bazylevych to seize control.
Sophomore middle blocker Iye Okolo continued her hot hitting for the Matadors, connecting at a .636 clip with seven kills and five blocks, while libero Paige Sentes had a match-high 16 digs and a pair of aces as CSUN posted a 54-52 edge in team digs.
The Matadors, who improved to 6-2 at home this season, finished the night with a .271 hitting percentage and nine total team blocks, while Long Beach State hit .234 and totaled 10 blocks. CSUN also held a 78–68 edge in total points.
NOTES
- With 16 digs in the match, Sentes now has 1,050 digs in her CSUN career.
- CSUN snaps a three-match skid to Long Beach State, improving to 14-40 all-time against the Beach and 10-17 against LBSU in Northridge.
HEAD COACH AQUILES MONTOYA SAID
"We challenged our team early on, because we knew tonight would be tough, It's really hard when you handle them the first two sets, they come storming back and handle us in the next two, and then it's kind of a crapshoot. We had a nice jump there in the fifth set, 4-0 in the beginning to force a timeout, but Long Beach came back, and we stayed persistent within our game plan. Ultimately, I dial it up to toughness with our team."
UP NEXT
CSUN next travels to UC San Diego on Saturday for a 6 p.m. first serve in La Jolla.
#GoMatadors
