CSUN Falls to Bakersfield in Five Sets in Home Showdown

Friday, October 23

Northridge, Calif.

6:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

8-11,4-5Big West

Cal State Bakersfield

10-11,5-4Big West

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
CSU Bakersfield	25	25	18	15	16	3
CSUN	18	22	25	25	14	2

Photo by: Josue Herrera

10/23/2026 9:29:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - The CSUN Matadors (8-11, 4-5 Big West) rallied from a two-set deficit before Cal State Bakersfield escaped with a 25-18, 25-22, 18-25, 15-25, 16-14 victory in Big West women's volleyball action Friday night at Premier America Credit Union Arena.

The Matadors (8-11, 4-5 Big West) hit .379 in the third set and .306 in the fourth to force a decisive fifth set. They led the finale 12-7, but the Roadrunners (10-11, 5-4) closed on a 9-2 run.
Hailey Brockway paced CSUN with 16 kills and 26 digs. Fallyn Blotzer added 13 kills while hitting .312, and Julia Bazylevych finished with 14 kills. Iye Okolo contributed nine kills on .304 hitting, while Tatiana Turgeon had six kills and hit .357.

Katie Kolar distributed 37 assists and collected 18 digs. Paige Sentes led the back row with 23 digs, and Taylor Dunlap added 12. CSUN finished with 13 total blocks, matching Cal State Bakersfield's total.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Bakersfield established control in the first set after the teams played through eight ties. The Roadrunners broke an 8-8 deadlock with a 7-2 stretch and later used another run to extend their advantage to 23-15. CSUN fought off two set points behind kills from Blotzer before Bakersfield closed the frame, 25-18.

In the second set, CSUN trailed 15-12 before battling back to forge ties at 17-17, 18-18 and 19-19. Bakersfield answered with three consecutive points, and although the Matadors pulled within 23-22 on a Blotzer kill, the Roadrunners took the final two rallies for a 25-22 win and a 2-0 match lead.

CSUN's offense came alive in the third set. The Matadors hit .379 with 16 kills and five errors, using a 6-0 run to build an early 6-2 lead. Bakersfield drew even at 6-6, but CSUN responded and later turned a 14-11 edge into an 18-11 advantage. Bazylevych delivered five kills in the set, while Brockway added five as the Matadors extended the match with a 25-18 victory.

The Matadors carried that momentum into the fourth set. After trailing 11-5, CSUN erased the deficit and tied the score at 12. With the set even at 15, the Matadors reeled off the final 10 points behind Blotzer's serve. Bazylevych accounted for four kills during the closing run, and Blotzer ended the 25-15 win with an ace. CSUN hit .306 in the set and held Bakersfield to .000.

CSUN moved in front early in the fifth set, taking a 7-2 lead behind a Kolar ace and a double block by Kolar and Okolo. The Matadors later led 12-7 after a Blotzer ace, but Bakersfield mounted its comeback. The Roadrunners fought off match point at 14-13, tied the set on a Suelen Lima kill and then added two more Lima kills to complete the 16-14 win. Lima finished with a match-high 13 kills for Cal State Bakersfield.

UP NEXT
Quick turnaround for the Matadors as they play this same Cal State Bakersfield squad on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at the Icardo Center in Bakersfield.