California State University at Northridge
13-10,6-6Big West
Cal Poly
19-5,10-2Big West
CSUN Drops Five-Set Heartbreaker to Cal Poly
11/1/2025 10:58:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — CSUN women's volleyball pushed one of the Big West's top teams to the brink Saturday night but came up short in a 3–2 (18–25, 25–19, 20–25, 25–22, 15–11) loss to Cal Poly at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
The Matadors (13–10, 6–6 Big West) out-blocked the Mustangs 15–9 and hit .184 as a team, but couldn't hold off Cal Poly's late surge in the decisive fifth set.
Junior Hailey Brockway led CSUN with 13 kills (.053) on a season-high 57 attacks, while adding 11 digs for her first double-double of the season. Senior Leah Miller added 12 kills, hitting .323 on 31 swings, to go with six blocks. Hayley Ogden made it three CSUN hitters with double-digit kills after chipping in 11 on .389 hitting. Freshman Layla Moore made an impact in the middle by leading all players with a season-high 10 blocks, including three solo stuffs.
After dropping the opening set 25–18, CSUN bounced back with a .286 hitting effort in the second to even the match. The Matadors fought through a rough third set before forcing a fifth with a 25–22 win behind Miller and Brockway, who combined for 10 kills in the frame.
In the final set, Cal Poly jumped ahead 7–3 before CSUN rallied to within 11–9, but the Mustangs closed with a 4–2 run to seal the match.
Cal Poly (19–5, 10–2 Big West) hit .211 as a team, and were led by Charlotte Kelly's match-high 15 kills on .448 hitting.
NOTES
- Moore's 10 total blocks was the most in one match by a CSUN player in 2025.
- Setters Katie Kolar and Jan Marie Duhaylungsod each notched a double-double in the match. Kolar had 26 assists and 11 digs, while Duhaylungsod posted 22 assists and 11 digs.
- With nine digs in the match, junior libero Paige Sentes increased her career total to 1,089 digs.
HEAD COACH AQUILES MONTOYA SAID
"Tonight, we showed that we're capable. Our depth and development in the practice gym showed. Layla Moore did a great job blocking in some of the bigger, more physical attackers in our conference. Our team was emotional after the loss. We saw some fight, but we know some mental lapses in big moments are what lost us the match. We're learning, and right now Cal Poly has that ingrained in their program's DNA. It's what we're striving for, and we have a couple more weeks to finish strong. I trust our team to respond we have some tough players, and I love working with them."
UP NEXT
CSUN will look to regroup as it wraps up a three-match homestand on Wednesday against Cal State Bakersfield at 6 p.m.
#GoMatadors
