Matadors Fall in Five-Set Heartbreaker at Fresno State
9/14/2025 5:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
FRESNO, Calif. — Junior Julia Bazylevych led three CSUN hitters in double figures with 20 kills, but the CSUN Women's Volleyball team fell in a five-set thriller to host Fresno State Sunday afternoon at the Save Mart Center.
The Matadors split their two matches at the Bulldog Invitational after Fresno State rallied to take a 20-25, 25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 16-14 victory.
CSUN (5-4) was led by Bazylevych, who finished with 20 kills, 10 digs and 21.5 points, marking her fifth double-double and second 20+ kill performance of the season. Sophomore Hayley Ogden was dominant at the net, hitting .652 with a season-high 16 kills on just 23 swings. Leah Miller added 10 kills, while Tatiana Turgeon provided eight kills (.538) and strong defense with two blocks.
Setter Taylor Dunlap directed the Matador offense with 31 assists, and Jan Marie Duhaylungsod chipped in 24 assists, eight digs, and four kills. Defensively, libero Paige Sentes shared match-high honors with 18 digs to go ith three assists.
The Matadors opened the match with a convincing 25-20 first-set win, using a 6-1 run midway through the frame to seize control. After dropping the second set 25-20, CSUN responded in the third with a late surge, closing on a 4-1 run capped by Duhaylungsod's kill from the setter spot for a 25-22 win.
Fresno State would force a fifth set by edging CSUN 25-23 in the fourth. The Matadors looked to gain control of the decisive fifth set, going up 13-9 on back-to-back Bulldog hitting errors. But Fresno State rallied behind a 4-0 run to tie the set at 13-13. Another Ogden kill set CSUN up with a match point at 14-13, but a Turgeon kill on the ensuing point was challenged and overruled. Fresno State would then clinch the match on consecutive kills from Jenna Lagualt and Addison Haluska, who finished with a match-high 31 kills.
NOTES
- CSUN hit .237 (70-30-169) as a team, with four players recording at least 10 points.
- The Matadors tallied 81 total points to Fresno State's 79.5.
- CSUN slips to 1-3 in five-set matches this season.
HEAD COACH AQUILES MONTOYA SAID
It's almost identical to last night's match. Play with confidence and toughness through the whistle. We had leads in the 4th and 5th sets, and let them back into it. We have challenged our players, and while we had a tough locker room talk, I am hopeful to watch them respond before we take on two good Bay Area teams next week on the road.
UP NEXT
Sunday's match opened a six-match road stretch for CSUN, which will travel to the Bay Area to meet San Francisco and San José State next weekend.
#GoMatadors
