California State University Northridge Athletics
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Beach Volleyball Set to Face Ranked Teams at Battle For LA
2/26/2026 1:44:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK - BATTLE FOR LA
Friday, Feb. 27, 2026
Merle Norman Stadium - Los Angeles, Calif.
CSUN @ #4 USC - 10:00 a.m. l Live Scoring
CSUN vs. Pepperdine - 12:00 p.m. l Live Scoring
Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026
LMU Beach Courts - Los Angeles, Calif.
CSUN @ #8 LMU - 10:00 a.m. l Live Scoring
CSUN vs. (RV) Boise State - 12:00 p.m. l Live Scoring
In-game X updates:Â @CSUNBeach
FORÂ STARTERS
CSUN Beach Volleyball (0-1) is set for the 2026 Battle for Los Angeles tournament this weekend as the Matadors take on a host of ranked teams over two days. CSUN opens the event on Friday at USC's Merle Norman Stadium against the No. 4Â Trojans at 10 a.m. The Matadors cap day one against Pepperdine at noon, before heading to Loyola Marymount for two matches on Saturday. CSUN takes on the No. 8 Lions at 10Â a.m., before meeting Boise State at the LMU Beach Courts on Saturday at noon.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
Follow CSUN Matadors beach volleyball online at the official home of CSUN athletics, www.GoMatadors.com. For road matches, related links to the match, including any live stats, audio, and video, will be posted before the match on the beach volleyball schedule page of GoMatadors.com.Â
Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Athletics Department's official X feed (@GoMatadors) and the beach volleyball-specific feed (@CSUNBeach) for news and notes throughout the week, as well as updates of matches in progress.
SCOUTING THE BATTLE FOR LA FIELD
No. 4 USC (4-2)Â opened the season at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic in Honolulu (Feb. 19-21). The Trojans picked up 3-2 wins over No. 2 Stanford and No. 9 California, and 4-1 wins over No. 7Â LMU and No. 16 Hawai'i. USC's two losses came against No. 1 UCLA (3-1) and No. 6 Texas (3-2).
Series: Friday's opener is just the third meeting all-time between the Matadors and Trojans, dating back to the first dual in CSUN's inaugural season of 2014. CSUN is 0-2 against USC, falling 5-0 at Zuma Beach in Malibu (Mar. 8) and 5-0 in Los Angeles (Mar. 27) during the 2014 season.
Pepperdine (1-3) opened the season hosting the Pepperdine Challenge (Feb. 20-21) as the Waves defeated Vanguard (5-0) in their season opener, before falling twice to No. 19 Washington (3-2, 4-1) and No. 10 Long Beach State (5-0).
Series:Â Friday's dual is the seventh meeting all-time between the Matadors and Waves, with Pepperdine holding a 6-0 lead in the series. The two teams met at last season's Battle for LA at UCLA's Mapes Beach with Pepperdine coming out on top, 3-2. CSUN is 0-4 all-time against the Waves in Malibu and 0-1 at home.
No. 8 LMU (1-4) also opened the season at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic in Honolulu (Feb. 19-21). The Lions opened with a 3-2 win over No. 9 California, before falling to No. 4 USC (4-1), No. 1 UCLA (4-1), No. 6 Texas (3-2), and No. 2 Stanford (3-0). The Lions' final dual against No. 16 Hawai'i was canceled due to weather. Magdalena Rabitsch and Ines Piret earned West Coast Conference Pair of the Week following the first tournament of the year.
Series: Saturday's opener is the 16th meeting all-time between the Matadors and Lions, dating back to the first dual in 2014. CSUN is 1-14 all-time against LMU, with the Matadors' lone win coming in 2016 (3-2) at home. The two teams met twice last season, with the Lions taking a 5-0 decision at the Battle for LA (Feb. 28) and a 5-0 sweep at the LMU Beach Courts (Apr. 19).
Boise State (3-1), receiving votes in this week's AVA Beach poll, finished its season-opening weekend with three wins, defeating Coastal Carolina (3-2), Florida International (3-2), and Palm Beach Atlantic (4-1) at the Beach Burrow Bash in Boca Raton, Fla. The Broncos' only loss came against No. 15 Florida Atlantic (4-1).
Series: Saturday dual is the sixth meeting all-time between the Matadors and Broncos, dating back to the first dual in 2015. CSUN is
CSUN DROPS SEASON OPENER, 3-2 TO CONCORDIA IRVINE
CSUN opened its 2026 season Thursday with a narrow 3-2 loss to Concordia Irvine in a non-conference beach volleyball dual at the Matador Beach Complex.
The Matadors (0-1) picked up victories at the No. 1 and No. 5 positions but came up short in three tightly contested three-set matches as the Golden Eagles secured the clinching point on court three.
CSUN struck first when Phoebe Constable and Ava Rogers swept Julie Watney and Madi Kelly 21-14, 21-16 at No. 5. The straight-set win gave the Matadors an early 1-0 lead in the dual.
Concordia answered on court four, where Jordan Vander Veen and Rosie Cline edged Haley Coggins and Daysha Halbert in three sets, 21-15, 20-22, 15-13, to even the dual at 1-1. The Eagles then took a 2-1 lead after Gabby Reinking and Lexi Godbey outlasted Tia Mendiola and Dylan Hall 21-19, 15-21, 15-12 at No. 2.
The deciding match came on court three, where Concordia's Kelia Giusta and Ashley Rossi rebounded from a first-set loss to defeat Jill Rodig and Zaria Henderson 14-21, 21-15, 16-14. The Eagles' three-set win clinched the dual.
CSUN's top pair of Maleya Miles and Hannah Heflin closed the team scoring, posting a 21-19, 22-20 victory over Olivia Medina and Aliyah Moore at No. 1, fighting off a late push in the second set to make the final team tally, 3-2.
CSUN QUICK SETS
Sophomore Hannah Heflin picked up her 24th career individual win, combining with Maleya Miles for a straight-set win in the No. 1 pair against Concordia Irvine ... all six pairs that competed for the Matadors in the season opener against Concordia were first-time pairings. Miles and Heflin and Phoebe Constable and Ava Rogers (No. 5) are both 1-0 on the season. Tia Mendiola and Dylan Hall (No. 2). Jill Rodig and Zaria Henderson (No. 3), and Haley Coggins and Daysha Halbert (No. 4), and Natalia Brandlin and Natalie Gilbert (Exh) are 0-1 to start the season ... CSUN's 3-2 loss at home to the Golden Eagles was just its 15th loss on its home sand in the last three seasons. The Matadors dropped just four home duals in each of the last two seasons, finishing 10-4 in 2025 and 8-4 in 2024.
CSUN BEACH HISTORY
The Matadors are 134-151 (.470) all-time in their 12th season of beach volleyball, including a 71-38 (.651) record on their home sand. CSUN set a program record for single-season wins with 18 in 2025. The Matadors finished with 17 wins in 2023 (17-16), 2022 (17-17), and 2018 (17-8).
UP NEXT
CSUN will return to Merle Norman Stadium next Tuesday (Mar. 3) to take on the Trojans and Stetson in a tri-dual beginning at 10 a.m.
#GoMatadors
