California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
UCLA
CSUN Opens 2026 Season With Pair of Exhibition Matches
8/19/2026 7:31:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
CSUNÂ THIS WEEK:
EXHIBITION MATCH #1
UCLA Bruins @Â CSUN Matadors
Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026Â - 6:00 p.m. PT
Premier America Credit Union Arena - Northridge, Calif.
Live Stats
EXHIBITION MATCH #2
Pepperdine Waves @ CSUN Matadors
Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026Â - 1:00Â p.m. PT
Premier America Credit Union Arena - Northridge, Calif.
Live Stats
In-game X updates:Â @CSUNWVB
FORÂ STARTERS
The CSUN women's volleyball team takes to the court for the first time in 2026 this week as the Matadors host UCLA and Pepperdine in a pair of exhibition matches at Premier America Credit Union Arena. The Matadors and Bruins will meet on Thursday at 6 p.m., before CSUN takes on the Waves on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Both matches are open to the public and free to all fans.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS
CSUN's two home exhibition matches will have live stats available at GoMatadors.com. Darren Preston returns to call CSUN Volleyball on ESPN+ again in 2026 and will be joined by Matador men's volleyball assistant coach Ryan Mason for select matches.
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 OPPOSITION
UCLA, receiving votes in the AVCA-Taraflex Division I WVB Preseason Poll (Aug. 10), officially opens the 2026 season at Long Beach State on Aug. 28. The Bruins, picked to finish ninth out of 18 teams in the Big Ten Women's Volleyball preseason poll, enter the 2026 season under first-year head coach Matt Werle. Werle arrives in Westwood after a successful stint as an assistant coach at Kansas and a decade of meteoric success as the head coach of Grand Canyon University's men's volleyball program. Junior libero Lola Schumacher and 5th-year middle blocker Marianna Singletary were both named to the Big Ten Preseason All-Conference Team. Last season, the Bruins finished with an overall record of 19-13 and were 12-8 in the Big Ten, which tied for sixth in the conference standings. UCLA earned its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2021, defeating Georgia Tech in the opening round.
Pepperdine was picked to finish second in the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll after finishing 21-8 overall and 15-3 in the WCC last season. The Waves, who open the season by hosting the Asics Invitational in Malibu on Aug, 28, picked up one first-place vote from the conference head coaches to finish second behind defending WCC champions San Diego. Three Pepperdine players were named to the Preseason All-WCC Team: Ella Piskorz, Chloe Pravednikov, and Tristen Raymond were among the 16 student-athletes selected.
2026 CSUN SEASON OUTLOOK
CSUN returns six starters and nine letterwinners from its 2025 team that finished 17-13 overall (10-8 Big West) and advanced to the postseason. Behind senior setter Katie Kolar, the Matadors return a significant portion of their offense from 2025. Senior outside hitters Julia Bazylevych and fellow senior Hailey Brockway combined for over 400 kills last season. Senior middles Iye Okolo and Tatiana Turgeon combined to hit .374 on 516 attacks, while also adding nearly 200 total blocks. Kolar posted 635 assists (6.35 APS) in 2025 and was named Big West Setter of the Week on Sept. 1. Senior libero Paige Sentes also returns to patrol CSUN's back row. Sentes, a two-time Big West Defensive Player of the Week in 2025, led CSUN with 494 digs (.12 DPS) last season and moved into CSUN Top 10 in career digs. She opens her senior season with 1,196 career digs (8th), while Kolar currently ranks ninth in program history with 1,769 career assists.
The 2025 season also figures to see the debut of several new players to the CSUN roster including Cincinnati transfer Fallyn Blotzer (OH, 6-1, So.), Auburn transfer Audrey Nuckols (OH/RS, 6-2, So.), and true freshmen Annie Gilmore (OH, 6-2, Fr.) and Madison Jameson-Rodriguez (MB, 6-3, Fr.).
"With the experience we have this season, we decided that this could be a great year to really test this group in non-conference play to prepare for the Big West season," said Montoya. "In order to prepare for the new-look Big West, we will be traveling to two Big XII opponents, hosting a deep second annual Ridge Invitational, and playing a home-and-home series with LMU."
A LOOK BACK AT 2025
In 2025, the CSUN Women's Volleyball team returned to the postseason for the first time in 12 years, earning the No. 5 seed in the 2025 Outrigger Big West Women's Volleyball Championship. In Montoya's second season, the Matadors finished with a 17-13 overall record and placed fifth in the Big West with a 10-8 conference mark. CSUN reached double figures in wins for the second consecutive season and also won 10 Big West matches, matching the program's best conference wins total since 2014. The Matadors earned a berth in the Outrigger Big West Women's Volleyball Championship for the first time in the postseason event's three years of existence.Â
The Matadors' appearance in the postseason in 2025 marked their first in 12 seasons. CSUN's last postseason appearance was a memorable one, as the Matadors reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2013 after upsetting Colorado State in five sets in the first round. No stranger to the postseason, the Matadors have made 23 postseason appearances dating back to their first in 1979. Since jumping to Div. I level in 1990, CSUN made 12 postseason appearances, winning the Big Sky Conference championship in 1996 and finishing second in 1999.
CSUN received some impressive individual performances in 2025. With a team-high 494 digs last season, including a season-high 27 in CSUN's 3-2 win at UC Riverside on Nov. 22, Sentes moved into eighth place in CSUN history with 1,196 career digs. Sentes, averaging 3.43 digs per set over 349 sets in her career, moved past Dawn Krenik, Jessika Hammerich, and Alexis Cormier last season. With her 10th dig in a 13-dig performance at UC Irvine on Oct. 11, Sentes became the 12th CSUN player to reach 1,000 digs in her career.
CSUN had two selections on the 2025 All-Big West Volleyball Team as senior opposite Leah Miller was named second-team and middle/opposite Hayley Ogden earned honorable mention accolades.
CSUN HEAD COACH AQUILES MONTOYAÂ
Aquiles Montoya opens his third season as head coach of the CSUN Women's Volleyball team in 2026. In his first two seasons with the program, Montoya has led the Matadors to 27 wins, the best two-year total since Jeff Stork also won 27 matches in 2014 and 2015. After leading CSUN to a 10-19 overall record in his first season (2024), Montoya guided the Matadors to a 17-13 overall record in his second campaign. CSUN's 17 wins in 2025 were the program's highest total since Stork won 19 in 2014. CSUN reached double figures in wins for the second consecutive season and also won 10 Big West matches, matching the program's best conference wins total since 2014. The Matadors also earned a berth in the Outrigger Big West Women's Volleyball Championship for the first time in the three years of the postseason event. Montoya heads into his third season with an overall record of 27-32 (.458) and a 15-21 (.417) Big West record.
Montoya became the ninth coach to lead the Matadors when he was named head coach in April 2024. Montoya earned his first head coaching win when the Matadors knocked off San Diego State in five sets in Pocatello, Idaho, on Aug. 31, 2024. He picked up his first Big West win when CSUN defeated Cal State Fullerton at Titan Gym on Oct. 5, 2024. Montoya came to CSUN after spending four seasons as associate head coach and director of recruiting at Portland State. Portland State made consecutive postseason appearances in 2021 and 2022, qualifying for the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). The Vikings won their first-round match in 2021, giving Portland State its first win at a national postseason tournament in Division I program history. The Vikings' rise in the Big Sky Conference coincided with Montoya's tenure as an assistant and associate head coach under Portland State head coach Michael Seeman. The Vikings posted winning seasons, both overall and in conference play, in each of Montoya's last three seasons while reaching the Big Sky championship match in 2022, their first appearance since 2013. Prior to Portland State, Montoya spent the previous three seasons as the lead assistant of the Pacific Boxers' varsity team.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following this week's exhibition matches, the Matadors will officially open the 2026 season at the Buffs Classic in Boulder, Colo., on Aug. 28.
In Boulder, CSUN will meet the host Buffaloes, Denver, and Central Arkansas from Aug. 28-30. The Matadors will next travel to Manhattan, Kansas, to take on Kansas State and Drake on Sept. 4-5, before returning to the Valley for the second annual Ridge Invitational. From Sept. 11-13, CSUN will host six matches featuring UNLV, San Francisco, and Fresno State.
#GoMatadors
