California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
Long Beach State
Beach Volleyball Heads to Long Beach for 2026 Big West Challenge
3/18/2026 2:48:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK - BIG WEST CHALLENGE
Saturday, Mar. 21, 2026
Rosie's Dog Beach - Long Beach, Calif.
CSUN vs. No. 11 Long Beach State - 8:00 a.m. l Live Scoring
CSUN vs. Cal State Bakersfield - 12:40 p.m. l Live Scoring
CSUN vs. No. 3 Cal Poly - 5:20 p.m. l Live Scoring
Sunday, Mar. 22, 2026
Rosie's Dog Beach - Long Beach, Calif.
CSUN vs. Sacramento State - 10:20 a.m. l Live Scoring
CSUN vs. No. 13 Hawai'i - 1:30 p.m. l Live Scoring
CSUN vs. UC Davis - 4:10 p.m. l Live Scoring
In-game X updates:Â @CSUNBeach
FORÂ STARTERS
CSUN Beach Volleyball heads to Long Beach this weekend for the annual Big West Challenge at Rosie's Dog Beach. This year's event, which runs from Friday to Sunday (Mar. 20-22), will be hosted by Long Beach State. The Matadors (2-11) will take on the other six Big West beach teams, including a trio of ranked squads. CSUN will meet 11th-ranked Long Beach State, Cal State Bakersfield, and 3rd-ranked Cal Poly on Saturday, before taking Sacramento State, 13th-ranked Hawai'i, and UC Davis on Sunday.
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 scoring, 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 OPPONENTS
No. 11 Long Beach State (10-4) kicks off the weekend on Friday against Sacramento State at 11:15 and will close the day against Hawai'i. The Beach will play CSUN Saturday at 8 a.m. before facing UC Davis at 11:30 a.m., and then on Sunday will host No. 3 Cal Poly at 11:30 a.m., before wrapping up Sunday's action at 5:20 p.m. against Cal State Bakersfield. The Beach has been excellent at the top of the lineup. Seniors Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah have set the standard for four years, passing 100 career wins and extending their school record each time they win. This year, the two-time All-Americans are 11-3 at the top of the lineup.
Series: Saturday's dual match is the 24th meeting all-time between CSUN and Long Beach State, dating back to 2014. The Matadors have never defeated Long Beach State in beach volleyball, the teams' last meeting came at the Big West Challenge in 2025, with the Beach winning 5-0.
Cal State Bakersfield (5-10) will face Sacramento State, CSUN, and Hawai'i on Saturday, followed by duals against Cal Poly, UC Davis, and Long Beach State on Sunday. The 'Runners are 2-6 over their last eight duals after splitting four dual at the Malibu Invite at Pepperdine last weekend. CSUB defeated Hope International twice and lost to the host Waves twice.
Series:Â Friday's dual is the 39th all-time between CSUN and Cal State Bakersfield, with the Matadors leading the all-time series, 23-15. CSUN has won six straight over the 'Runners, all six dual wins coming in 2025, including a 3-1 win at the Big West Championship in Santa Monica.
No. 3 Cal Poly (14-2) will face UC Davis, No. 13 Hawai'i, and CSUN on Saturday. Then on Sunday, Cal Poly takes on Cal State Bakersfield, No. 11 Long Beach State, and Sacramento State. Erin Inskeep and Ella Connor were named Big West Pair of the Week for the second time this season. Inskeep and Connor went a perfect 4-0 at the No. 1 spot last weekend at the Mustang Roundup as Cal Poly defeated No. 19 Arizona, No. 17 GCU, Oregon, and Santa Clara.
Series: Saturday's dual is the 19th all-time between CSUN and Cal Poly. In the series, which dates back to 2015, the Mustangs have won 16 straight and lead the all-time series 16-2.
Sacramento State (8-5) opens the Big West Challenge against Hawaii on Friday at 10 a.m. The Hornets, who will play twice each day of the event, have won five straight dual matches - the longest winning streak in school history. Sac State defeated San Franciso (4-1), Portland (5-0), and Corban (4-1) last Saturday at the Hornet Beach Bash.
Series: Saturday's dual match is the 15th meeting between CSUN and Sacramento State. The Matadors are 13-1 all-time against the Hornets and have won 11 straight in the series dating back to 2018. CSUN won 3-2 over the Hornets at the Big West Challenge in 2025.
No. 13 Hawai'i (7-8) will take on Sacramento State and Long Beach State on Friday, Cal Poly and Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, and UC Davis and CSUN on Sunday. Through the first month of the season, Hawai'i has already faced eight ranked opponents, with seven of those opponents ranked within the top 10. The BeachBows upset No. 1 UCLA in one of those ranked matchups, taking down the Bruins 3-2 on the opening day of the season at the OUTRIGGER Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic in February.
Series: Saturday's dual match is the 12th meeting between CSUN and Hawai'i. The Matadors have yet to defeat the Rainbow Wahine in beach volleyball, but did claim the No. 4 pair at last season's Big West Challenge when Hannah Heflin and Dylan Hall swept Sophie Buschmann and Kristen Serrano by the score of 21-14, 21-16.
UC Davis (3-9) takes on Cal Poly, Long Beach State, and Sacramento State on Saturday, followed by duals against Hawai'i, Cal State Bakersfield, and CSUN on Sunday. The Aggies are 2-6 over their last eight duals with their two wins coming against Sac State (3-2) and the Matadors (4-1).
Series: Saturday's dual match is the 13th meeting all-time between CSUN and UC Davis, dating back to 2019. The Aggies hold a 10-2 lead in the series and have won 10 straight, including a 4-1 win at the Mustang Roundup at Cal Poly last weekend.
CSUNÂ DROPS FOUR DUALS AT MUSTANG ROUNDUP
The Matadors dropped their opening two matches of the Mustang Roundup last Friday at the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex, falling to UC Davis 4-1, before No. 19 Arizona completed a 5-0 sweep later in the day. CSUN then took on No. 17 Grand Canyon and UC Davis on Saturday, falling 5-0 to the 17th-ranked Lopes, before coming up just short in a 3-2 decision to Oregon.
CSUN QUICK SETS
Two CSUN pairs have four wins to lead the team through the first month of the 2026 season. Heflin and Maleya Miles are 4-9 at the No. 1 spot and Haley Coggins and Daysha Halbert are also 4-9. Coggins and Halbert are 1-3 at No. 4 and 3-6 at No. 5 this season ... Three other CSUN pairs have won three times, Tia Mendiola and Ainsley Patrick, Ava Rogers and Dylan Hall, and Jill Rodig and Zaria Henderson.
CSUN BEACH HISTORY
The Matadors are 136-159 (.461) all-time in their 12th season of beach volleyball, including a 73-38 (.658) 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
Following this weekend's Big West Challenge, CSUN will travel to Irvine to compete in a tri-dual against Concordia and Vanguard on Friday, Mar. 27.
#GoMatadorsÂ
