California State University at Northridge
UC Davis
CSUN Set to Host 2025 Big West Beach Volleyball Championship in Santa Monica
4/22/2025 1:20:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
2025 BIG WEST BEACH VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Ocean Park Beach Courts - Santa Monica, Calif.
Day One
Thursday, Apr. 24, 2025Â - 9:30Â a.m. PT
No. 4 Seed CSUN (17-14) vs. No. 5 Seed UC Davis (17-15)Â
Live Scoring
Thursday, Apr. 24, 2025Â - 2:30Â p.m. PT
No. 5Â Seed CSUN vs. No. 1 Seed Cal Poly
Live Scoring
Day Two
Friday, Apr. 25, 2025Â - Times TBD
In-game updates on X:Â @CSUNBeach
Big West Beach Volleyball Championship Central
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN Beach Volleyball team (17-14) is set to open the 2025 Big West Beach Volleyball Championship this week at the Ocean Park Beach Courts in Santa Monica. The Matadors, who earned the No. 4 seed, will open the double-elimination tournament against UC Davis Thursday at 9:30 a.m. CSUN will also meet top-seeded Cal Poly Thursday at 2:30 p.m. CSUN last hosted the Big West Beach Championship in 2019 at Zuma Beach in Malibu.
All seven Big West teams are slated to take to the sand for the 2025 Big West Beach Volleyball Championship at Ocean Park in Santa Monica, Calif., the birthplace of the modern two-person beach volleyball game.
Hosted by CSUN, the 2025 Championship event is set to take place on April 24-25, featuring an updated seeding methodology and bracket format with modified pool play followed by a six-team single-elimination bracket to determine the league's champion.
Last year in Long Beach, third-seeded Hawai'i prevailed after winning both its pool play matches, eliminating UC Davis in the semifinals and taking down No. 2 seed Long Beach State in an epic 3-2 battle on the sand at Long Beach City College. Showcasing the quality of competition throughout The Big West, it was the fifth 3-2 final score since beach volleyball became a conference-sponsored sport in 2016.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
Live scoring will be available for all Big West Championship matches, check the CSUN Beach Volleyball schedule page for links as matches are determined. Fans can also follow CSUN Matadors beach volleyball on-line at the official home of CSUN athletics, GoMatadors.com. Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Athletics Department's official Twitter feed (@GoMatadors) and the beach volleyball-specific feed (@CSUNBeach) for news and notes throughout the week as well as updates of matches in progress.
CSUN TOURNAMENTÂ NOTES
The Matadors come into the Big West Championship needing just one win to set a program record for single-season wins. At 17-14 this season, CSUN has matched the 2018, 2022, and 2023 Matador teams that also won 17 times ... CSUN's leading pair, Dylan Hall and Hannah Heflin, come into the championship with 18 wins this season. Hall and Heflin have an 18-4 record (5-2 at No. 3, 9-2 at No. 4, 4-0 at No. 5) and are 7-3 over their last 10 matches ... Three other CSUN pairs have double-digit wins this season; Maleya Miles and Layla Cederlind are 16-14, Tia Mendiola and Julia Bazylevych are 14-11, and Tasha Mae and Kinley Lindhardt are 13-16 ... Individually, Heflin set the single-season program record with her 22nd win of the season against Cal State Bakersfield on Apr. 8 and has since claimed her 23rd win against the Roadrunners on Apr. 19.
CSUN VS. THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
The Matadors come into the Big West Championship with an all-time series lead over a pair of Big West teams. CSUN is 22-15 all-time against Cal State Bakersfield, including a perfect 5-0 record against the Roadrunners this season. The Matadors are 2-2 all-time against CSUB in the Big West Championship. CSUN is 12-1 all-time against Sacramento State, including a 3-2 win at the Big West Challenge in March. The Matadors are 4-1 all-time against Sac State in five previous Big West Championship matches.
CSUN is 2-14Â all-time against Cal Poly (0-6Â in Big West Championship matches) and was eliminated in the conference tournament by the Mustangs in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2023. The Matadors are 2-8Â all-time against UC Davis (1-3Â in Big West Championship matches) and have dropped eight straight to the Aggies, dating back to CSUN's last win in 2019. The Matadors have never beaten Long Beach State (0-23) and Hawai'i (0-11) in their beach volleyball history.
HOMAYUN SETS PROGRAM RECORD FOR COACHING WINS
Head coach Ari Homayun has now led the Matadors to 50 wins in her two-plus seasons, finishing 17-16 in 2023, 16-21 in 2024, and 17-14 so far in 2025. With a pair of wins on Apr. 8, she moved past Noelle Rooke who posted 48 wins from 2018-21.
The Matadors are 133-147 (.475) all-time in their 12th season of beach volleyball, including a 81-41 (.664) record on their home sand. After setting a program record for single-season wins with 17 in 2018, the Matadors matched that total with a 17-17 overall record in 2022 and a 17-16 record in 2023. CSUN also came within one victory of equaling the season mark in both 2019 (16-12) and last year (16-21).
BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The 2025 season marks CSUN's 12th season of beach volleyball and its 10th season as a member of the Big West. The Matadors are 7-17 all-time in the Big West Beach Volleyball Championship since the inaugural championship in 2016. The postseason championship was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At last season's conference championship at KLAC Beach Complex in Long Beach, CSUN fell to top-seeded Cal Poly (5-0), No. 4-seed UC Davis (3-2), and No. 2-seed Long Beach State (5-0).
At the 2023 Big West Championship, held at Queen's Beach in Hawai'i, the Matadors finished in fifth place after winning one of three matches. CSUN, seeded sixth, opened with a 3-2 loss to UC Davis before staving off elimination with a 3-2 win over Sacramento State. The Matadors then fell to Cal Poly (3-2) in an elimination match and finished the championship with a 1-2 record.
CSUN also finished fifth at both the 2021 and 2022 Big West Championships. At Cal Poly's Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex in 2022, the Matadors opened with a 5-0 loss to Cal Poly before staving off elimination with a 4-1 win over Sacramento State. CSUN then fell to UC Davis in an elimination match and finished the championship with a 1-2 record. At Rosie's Dog Beach in 2021, the championship finished in a similar formula for the Matadors. CSUN opened with a 5-0 loss to Hawai'i before sweeping Sacramento State, 5-0. CSU Bakersfield then eliminated the Matadors in a close 3-2 final.
The Matadors were the No. 4 seed in the seven-team field at the 2019 Big West Tournament at Zuma Beach in Malibu. CSUN finished 2-2 in the championship tournament, their best showing since also finishing 2-2 in the inaugural conference tournament in 2016. After winning two of three matches on the opening day, CSUN came up empty against No. 3 seed Long Beach State on Saturday and was the fourth squad eliminated from the tournament. Cal Poly, the No. 2 seed, went undefeated in four tournament matches to capture its first conference championship along with the Big West's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Hawai'i, the top seed coming in, finished second.
At the 2018 championship in Hawai'i, the Matadors were seeded fourth in the six-team field in but were upset by fifth-seeded CSU Bakersfield in the opening round (3-2). CSUN then fell to No. 2 seed Cal Poly in an elimination match (5-0).Â
The Matadors were also seeded fourth at the 2017 Big West Tournament held at Pismo Beach but fell to Sacramento State (3-2) and Cal Poly (5-0) in their two tournament matches.Â
In 2016, CSUN was the third seed in the inaugural conference tournament before finishing 2-2 including a close 3-2 loss to Cal Poly in a third-round elimination match at Huntington Beach.
#GoMatadors
