California State University at Northridge
4-0,0-0Big West
Eastern Washington
0-4,0-0Big Sky
Behind 26 Kills From Bazylevych, CSUN Defeats Eastern Washington in Four Sets
9/4/2025 2:28:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
PORTLAND, Ore. — Junior Julia Bazylevych slammed down a career-high 26 kills and senior Amaris Smith added 18 as CSUN defeated Eastern Washington, 3-1 on Thursday afternoon in the Matadors' opening match of the Portland Invitational at the Chiles Center.
The win keeps the Matadors unbeaten to start the season at 4-0, CSUN's best start since 2014.
CSUN (4-0) took the match 25-14, 25-23, 34-36, 25-11, hitting a season-high .305 as a team behind a balanced attack. Bazylevych hit .262 on 61 swings while also adding 10 digs and a block for her third double-double in four matches this season. Smith was equally efficient on the outside, finishing at a season-high .424 clip on 33 swings.
Junior setter Katie Kolar directed the offense with 51 assists and chipped in three kills, three aces, and a season-high 13 digs for her second double-double of the season. Senior Leah Miller added 12 kills, hitting .310 on 29 attacks, while middles Hayley Ogden and Iye Okolo combined for 15 kills.
CSUN stormed through the opening set behind a 10-2 burst and never trailed, but Eastern Washington (0-4) clawed back in the second before the Matadors closed it on a Bazylevych kill. The Eagles extended the match in a marathon third set, 36-34, despite nine kills from Smith in the frame.
The Matadors responded with their most dominant stretch of the night, hitting .600 in the fourth set and finishing the match on a 12-2 run capped by Kolar's third kill on match point.
Quincy Moran led Eastern Washington with 12 kills, while Alyssa Radke added 14. The Eagles hit .224 as a team but struggled in serve-receive, surrendering nine aces to the Matadors.
NOTES
- CSUN is off to its best start since opening the 2014 with five straight wins.
- With the win, the Matadors improve to 6-12 all-time against the Eagles, a former rival in the Big Sky Conference from 1996-2000.
HEAD COACH AQUILES MONTOYA SAID
"Awesome win for us today on a neutral court against a coach and program I respect a ton. Big time play from our passers and defenders to minimize aces and dig a lot of balls when Eastern was putting pressure on us. Hard to ignore the play from Julia as well, she has been our workhorse and has predominantly taken on the 6 rotation load for us this year. We come away from the win knowing we can be better, and we'll need to be against a historically strong program like Colorado State tomorrow."
UP NEXT
The Matadors will look to continue their strong start this season when they take on Colorado State on Friday at noon in their second match of the Portland Invitational.
#GoMatadors
