California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
Cal Poly
CSUN Drops Two Pool Play Matches to Open Big West Beach Championship
4/23/2026 4:47:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The CSUN Beach Volleyball team opened Pool Play at the 2026 Big West Beach Volleyball Championships on Friday, falling to top-seeded Cal Poly, 5-0, and No. 4 seed UC Davis, 3-2 at Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex. Despite the two setbacks, the Matadors (10-22) will advance to Friday's Bracket Play round, where CSUN will play an elimination match against No. 3 seed Hawai'i at 10 a.m.
CAL POLY 5, CSUN 0
Top seed and No. 6 nationally-ranked Cal Poly opened the day with a 5-0 sweep over the Matadors, handing CSUN a straight-set defeat across all five flights.
The Mustangs (27-8) opened the scoring with a straight-set win in the No. 1 pair as Ella Connor and Erin Inskeep defeated Hannah Heflin and Maleya Miles by the score of 21-14, 21-7. CSUN's most competitive showing came at Flight 3, where Ava Rogers and Dylan Hall kept the opening set tight before falling 21-19, then dropped the second set 21-8 to Quinn Perry and Ashleigh Adams.
Cal Poly clinched the win on court 4, when Izzy Martinez and Logan Walter held off Tia Mendiola and Zaria Henderson, 21-9, 21-13.
The final two pairs also went to the Mustangs as Peyton Dueck and Katie Clevenger topped Haley Coggins and Daysha Halbert in the No. 5 pair, 21-11, 21-15, before Julie Westby and Elise Lenahan defeated Jill Rodig and Ainsley Patrick at No. 4 to complete the sweep.
UC DAVIS 3, CSUN 2
Looking to gain a split in Pool Play, CSUN split its five flights but came up just short in a 3-2 dual loss to UC Davis.
The Aggies secured the first two points to open the dual. Skye Smolinski and Kate O'Steen defeated Rodig and Patrick, 21-10, 21-13 on the No. 4 court, before Ava Berard and Kirra Martin topped Rodig and Patrick in the No. 4 pair, 21-10, 21-13.
CSUN staved off defeat when Hall and Rogers picked up a straight-set win (21-13, 21-15) over Kendal Steller and Shelby Santos on the No. 3 court. The Matadors then pulled even (2-2) when Heflin and Miles swept Kinley Lindhardt and Ella Erteltova 21-10, 21-17 at No. 1.
The match would come down to the No. 2 court, where UC Davis claimed the decisive third point when Emma Johnson and Alexandra Leal held off Mendiola and Henderson, 21-18, 21-17.
HEAD COACH JEFF HALL SAID
"Tough day for the beach Matadors. We put up a good fight, but didn't have enough today to win. However, with this format, we are still playing tomorrow with a chance to advance. So tomorrow is another opportunity for us. Go Matadors."
UP NEXT
CSUN will play an elimination match on Friday at 10 a.m. against No. 3 seed Hawai'i.
#GoMatadors
