California State University at Northridge
4-1,0-0Big West
Colorado State
3-2,0-0Mountain West
CSUN Falls to Colorado State in Five Sets at Portland Invitational
9/5/2025 3:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
PORTLAND, Ore. — In its second match of the Portland Invitational, CSUN pushed Colorado State to the limit Friday afternoon but came up just short, falling 3-2 (25-13, 25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 15-8) at the Chiles Center.
Junior Julia Bazylevych, senior Amaris Smith, and sophomore Hayley Ogden all reached double figures in kills, as Bazylevych led the Matadors (4-1) with 15 kills (.067). She also added 11 digs for her fourth double-double in five matches this season. Smith added 14 kills (.106) and 10 digs second double-double of the season, while Ogden added a season-high 13 kills, hitting a team-high .393 on 28 swings.
Ogden and fellow middle Iye Okolo combined for 13 blocks, Ogden notching seven while Okolo chipped in five kills and six blocks.
After dropping the opening two sets, CSUN stormed back with a gritty third and fourth set. Bazylevych found her rhythm in set three, posting four kills and two blocks as the Matadors edged the Rams 25-23. Ogden and Smith fueled the comeback in set four, combining for nine kills and several key defensive plays to tie the match.
But Colorado State (3-2) controlled the decisive fifth. Behind Halle Jameson, who finished with 17 kills and 22 points, the Rams jumped out to a 7-3 lead and never looked back, sealing the match with an 8-2 closing run.
Junior setter Katie Kolar directed the CSUN attack with 46 assists and added 13 digs - her third double-double of the season - while libero Paige Sentes led all players with a match-high 23 digs.
NOTES
- CSUN posted 67 team digs to 66 for the Rams, but was out-aced 13-0 by Colorado State.
- The Matadors slip to 2-5 in seven matches all-time against the Rams.
HEAD COACH AQUILES MONTOYA SAID
"I thought we matched a lot of Colorado State's physicality. What they clearly won was the serve and pass battle. Kudos to them for not allowing a service ace in a 5-set match. I didn't think we served easy as we only missed three serves as well. But they beat us up and we allowed too many aces. I am confident we will learn from this and grow. And there is no downtime as we play a good Portland team at their home to wrap up the tournament."
UP NEXT
The Matadors wrap up the Portland Invitational on Saturday, taking on the tournament host Pilots at 1 p.m.
#GoMatadors
