California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
Cal State Fullerton
10/28/2026 10:31:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
CSUNÂ THIS WEEK:
MATCH #21 (BIG WEST #11)
CSUN Matadors (9-11, 5-5) @ Cal State Fullerton Titans (6-17, 1-9)
Friday, Oct. 23, 2026Â - 6Â p.m. PT
Titan Gym - Fullerton, Calif.
ESPN+Â //Â Live Stats
MATCH #22Â (BIG WEST #12)
CSUN Matadors @ Long Beach State
Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026Â - 3Â p.m. PT
LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid - Long Beach, Calif.
ESPN+Â //Â Live Stats
In-game X updates:Â @CSUNWVB
CSUN WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL MEDIA NOTES
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN Women's Volleyball team (9-11, 5-5 Big West) opens the second half of the Big West season this week with road matches at Cal State Fullerton on Friday and Long Beach State on Saturday. First serve at Titan Gym is set for 6 p.m. and first serve at LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid in Long Beach is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday. The Matadors are coming off a two-match split against Cal State Bakersfield last week that saw each team win on the opposing teams' home court.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS
Both matches this week will stream live on ESPN+ with links for all video streaming and live stats are available at GoMatadors.com. Fans can follow CSUN Matador women's volleyball online at the official home of CSUN athletics, www.GoMatadors.com. Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Athletics Department's official X feed (@GoMatadors) and the volleyball-specific feed (@CSUNWVB) for news and notes throughout the week, as well as updates of matches in progress.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Cal State Fullerton (6-17, 1-9 Big West) has dropped nine of its first 10 Big West matches under second-year head coach Nicky Cannon. The Titans' lone conference win was a 3-2 upset victory over UC Santa Barbara at home on Oct. 10. Fullerton, which ranks 12th in the Big West in team hitting at .144, is led by freshman OH Sofia Shine who leads the squad with 203 kills, while Bella Risling averages a team-high 2.60 kills per set. Junior setter Italia Bernal has posted 411 assists and a team-high 23 service aces. Bernal ranks fifth in the Big West averaging 0.37 aces per set.
Series: Friday's match is the 63rd meeting all-time between CSUN and Cal State Fullerton with the Matadors leading the all-time series, 47-15. CSUN has won five straight in the series after sweeping the first match this season in Northridge. The Matadors have won 20 of the 30 all-time meetings between the two teams in Fullerton.
Long Beach State (16-4, 8-2 Big West) opens the second half of the Big West season in second place with an 8-2 conference record. Led by third-year head coach Natalie Regan, the Beach have won six of their last seven matches since dropping a 3-0 decision to the Matadors on Oct. 2. Long Beach's only other conference loss came to Cal Poly on Oct. 10. Sophomore OH Sidney Hamaker leads the team with 271 kills and ranks fifth in the Big West averaging 3.76 kills per set. As a team, the Beach ranks fourth in the Big West in hitting at .223.
Series: Saturday's match is the 56th meeting all-time between CSUN and Long Beach State with the Beach holding a 40-15 lead in the series. The Matadors, who are 4-23 all-time against Long Beach in the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid, swept the Beach in Northridge on Oct. 2 and have won two straight in the series.
SENTES TAKES OVER AS CSUN DIGS LEADER
With her eighth dig against UC San Diego on Oct. 16, senior libero Paige Sentes became CSUN's all-time digs leader. After scooping up 23 digs on Friday against Cal State Bakersfield, Sentes increased her career record total to 1,495. After opening her senior season in eighth place with 1,196 digs, Sentes has a team-high 299 digs this season to move past Monica McFarland, Amy Hultner, Natalie Allen, Nadine Nickel, Kelley Hanson, Katie Sato, and finally Cindy Ortiz (1,456) who had held the program digs record since 2012. Alexis Cormier (1998-01) holds the sideout scoring era record with 1,194 career digs. With her 10th dig in a 13-dig performance at UC Irvine on Oct. 11, 2025, Sentes became the 12th CSUN player to reach 1,000 digs in her career.Â
After becoming just the eighth player in CSUN history with 2,000 career assists earlier this season, senior Katie Kolar added 86 assists to her career tally in two matches last week. Kolar's career total stands at 2,379 and she now trails sixth-place Kayla Wright by just 55 assists.
BIG WEST POSTSEASON PICTURE
Heading into the second half of the Big West season, CSUN is currently locked in a four-way tie for the sixth and final spot in the Big West Championship. At 5-5, the Matadors share sixth place with Sacramento State, Cal State Bakersfield, and Utah Valley, The quartet trails UC San Diego (6-4) and UC Santa Barbara (6-4) by one game, UC Irvine (7-3) by two games and Long Beach State (8-2) by three. At 10-0, Cal Poly has a two-game lead at the top of the conference standings.
CSUN REMAINS BIG WEST BLOCKING LEADERS
Nine weeks into the 2026 season, CSUN continues to lead the Big West in blocks per set (2.67) and total team blocks (211.0). Behind senior Iye Okolo who leads the Big West at 1.39 blocks per set (22nd nationally), the Matadors also rank 24th in the NCAA this week in blocks per set and are 25th in the nation in total team blocks. In the Big West rankings, CSUN continues to hold the two of the top four spots in blocks per set as Okolo is the conference leader at 1.39 followed by Tatiana Turgeon, who is fourth (1.17).
CSUN QUICK SETS
With 23 solo blocks this season, Okolo has moved up to fifth in career solo stuffs. Okolo, who is also currently 10th in program history with a .299 career hitting percentage, has 62 career solo stuffs - along with 289 career block assists - for a career total of 351 ... Raegan Richardson made her first start at libero at Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday and posted a career-high 17 digs in CSUN's 3-1 win ... with 30 kills against Cal State Bakersfield last weekend, Brockway eclipsed 700 kills in her Matador career. The senior outside is also closing in on 500 CSUN digs as she currently sits at 490 ... Redshirt junior Julia Bazylevych reached 300 career digs with her 10th against Bakersfield on Saturday ... CSUN's 3-1 win in Bakersfield on Saturday was its first this season when the Matadors lose the opening set. CSUN came in with an 0-9 record when dropping set one, before claiming the final three sets against the 'Runners.
UP NEXT
Following this week's road matches in Fullerton and Long Beach. CSUN returns home for rematches against California Baptist (Nov. 5) and UC Riverside (Nov. 7). The Matadors defeated the Lancers, 3-1 on Oct. 10 and swept the Highlanders on Oct. 9.Â
#GoMatadors
