California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
USC
CSUN Returns to USC for Two Duals Before Hosting Friday Tri-Dual
3/2/2026 10:40:00 AM | Beach Volleyball
MATADORS THIS WEEK:
Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2026
Merle Norman Stadium - Los Angeles, Calif.
CSUN @ #4 USC - 10:00 a.m. l Live Scoring
CSUN vs. #15 Stetson - 2:00 p.m. l Live Scoring
Friday, Mar. 6, 2026
Matador Beach Complex - Northridge, Calif.
Hope International vs. CSUN - 9:00 a.m.
La Sierra vs. CSUNÂ Â - 2:00 p.m.
In-game X updates:Â @CSUNBeach
FORÂ STARTERS
CSUN Beach Volleyball (0-5) returns to Merle Norman Stadium on Tuesday to take on No. 4 USC at 10 a.m. and No. 15 Stetson at 2 p.m. The Matadors, still seeking their first win of the season, will then return home on Friday to host Hope International at 9 a.m. and La Sierra at 2 p.m. Friday's tri-dual will be CSUN's second and final appearance on its home sand in 2026. Â
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 OPPONENTS
No. 4 USC (8-2)Â wrapped up a 4-0 weekend at the Battle for Los Angeles last weekend. The Women of Troy took down the Matadors (5-0), Pepperdine (5-0), No. 3 Cal Poly (4-1), and Concordia Irvine 5-0 to win their eighth in 10 matches to open the season.
Series: Tuesday's dual match is the second in five days and fourth all-time between the Matadors and Trojans, dating back to the first dual in CSUN's inaugural season of 2014. CSUN is 0-4 against USC after falling 5-0 to open last week's Battle for LA. CSUN also fell to USC 5-0 at Zuma Beach in Malibu (Mar. 8) and 5-0 in Los Angeles (Mar. 27) during the 2014 season.
No. 15 Stetson (7-1) capped a dominant weekend at the Stetson Spring Fling with a pair of 5-0 sweeps, defeating Mercer and Eckerd to finish a 4-0 homestand. In addition to a 4-0 home record, the Hatters are also 1-0 in road dual matches and 2-1 on neutral sand. Stetson's only loss came to No. 17 North Florida on Feb. 20 in Jacksonville, Fla.
Series:Â Tuesday afternoon's dual match is the first-ever meeting between CSUN and Stetson.
Hope International (6-3)Â has won six of its first nine duals heading into a Wednesday match at The Master's in Santa Clarita. The Royals won their third straight match last Friday, defeating Life Pacific (4-1) in a GSAC contest in San Dimas.
Series: Friday's opener is the fourth meeting all-time between the Matadors and Royals, dating back to the first dual in 2021. CSUN is 3-0 all-time against Hope, claiming 5-0 decisions in 2-21, 2-23, and 2025.
La Sierra (2-5)Â opened the season with a 5-0 win over Life Pacific in Huntington Beach (Feb. 12), but has since dropped five of its last six matches. The Golden Eagles lost 4-1 at The Master's last Friday.
Series: Friday's dual match is the first-ever meeting between CSUN and La Sierra in beach volleyball.
CSUN FALLS TO RANKED TEAMS AT BATTLE FOR LA
After opening the season with a 3-2 loss at home to Concordia Irvine, CSUN came up empty in four dual matches at the 2026 Battle for LA last weekend. The Matadors opened Friday's competition with a 5-0 loss to No. 4 USC before being blanked by Pepperdine (5-0) at Merle Norman Stadium. CSUN then moved to the LMU Beach Courts for two matches on Saturday, falling to the No. 8 Lions (4-1) and Boise State (5-0).
CSUN QUICK SETS
Haley Coggins and Daysha Halbert picked up CSUN's lone win last weekend, earning a hard-fought three-set win over LMU's No. 4 pair of Liv Johnson and Ana Trailovic. Coggins and Halbert, who dropped the opening set (21-18), bounced back to win 21-18, 15-13, improved to 1-4 on the season ... Hannah Heflin and Maleya Miles and Phoebe Constable and Ava Rogers have CSUN's other two wins so far this 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 134-155 (.464) 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 heads to the Mustang Roundup in San Luis Obispo next week, where the Matadors will take on UC Davis, Arizona, Grand Canyon, and Oregon over two days (Mar. 13-14) at the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex.
#GoMatadorsÂ
