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Kansas State
CSUN Faces Kansas State & Drake at Wildcat Classic
9/2/2026 1:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CSUNÂ THIS WEEK - WILDCAT CLASSIC:
MATCH #1 (SEASON MATCH #4)
CSUN Matadors (1-2) @ Kansas State Wildcats (2-0)
Friday, Sept. 4, 2026Â - 4:30Â p.m. PT
Morgan Family Arena - Manhattan, Kan.
ESPN+Â //Â Live Stats
MATCH #2 (SEASON MATCH #5)
CSUN Matadors vs. Drake Bulldogs
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026Â - 9Â a.m. PT
Morgan Family Arena - Manhattan, Kan.
Live Stats
In-game X updates:Â @CSUNWVB
CSUN WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL MEDIA NOTES
FORÂ STARTERS
CSUN Women's Volleyball (1-2, 0-0 Big West) continues tournament play this week as the Matadors return to the Midwest for two matches at Kansas State's Wildcat Classic in Manhattan, Kan. After finishing 1-2 at the season opening Buffs Classic in Boulder, Colo. last weekend, CSUN will take on the host Wildcats on Friday at 4:30 p.m. PT. The Matadors will complete the weekend, meeting the Drake Bulldogs on Saturday at 9 a.m. PT.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS
CSUN's Friday match against Kansas State will stream live on ESPN+, while Saturday's match against Drake will have live stats only. Links for all video streaming and live stats are available at GoMatadors.com. 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 WILDCATÂ CLASSIC FIELD
Kansas State (2-0)Â is off to a 2-0 start after capturing the K-State Invitational title at home last weekend. The Wildcats opened the season with a 3-0 sweep over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Aug. 28) behind 14 kills from freshman Addison Massey. Kansas State, which entered the year receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 Poll, capped the weekend with a 3-1 win over Campbell (Aug. 30).
Series:Â Friday's match is the third meeting all-time between CSUN and Kansas State, and first since 2004. The two teams last met in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles, with KSU taking a straight-set win.
Drake finished 1-2 at its season-opening Drake Invitational last weekend. The Bulldogs, picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, opened the season with a 3-1 loss to South Dakota before falling in straight sets to DePaul. Drake picked up its first win with a 3-1 win over Milwaukee behind 14 kills from senior Lisa Melenciano.Â
Series: Saturday's match is just the second meeting all-time between CSUN and Drake dating back to 2022. The Bulldogs won in straight sets in the 2022 season opener for both teams at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic at the Air Force Academy.
OKOLOÂ NAMED BIG WEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEKÂ
 In the first Big West Women's Volleyball weekly awards of the 2026 season, CSUN senior middle blocker Iye Okolo was named Defensive Player of the Week honor on Monday (Aug. 31). The award is the first career weekly honor for Okolo, who led CSUN's defensive effort in three matches at the Buffs Classic in Boulder, Colo. last weekend. Okolo posted a team-high 23 total blocks in three matches, averaging 1.92 blocks per set which leads the Big West after the opening weekend of action. In the Matadors' five-set loss to Denver, Okolo posted a match and career-high 14 blocks including three solo stuffs. On the offensive end, she also added seven kills (.261) along with a match and career-high 14 blocks including three solo stuffs.
BIG WEST RANKINGS
After the first weekend of the 2026 season, CSUN leads the Big West in blocks by a wide margin. The Matadors posted 42.0 team blocks in three matches in Colorado, and with 3.50 blocks per set, CSUN leads second place California Baptist (2.71) by 0.79 blocks per set. With 20.0 team blocks against Denver on Saturday, the Matadors posted the fifth-best total for a single match in CSUN's Rally Scoring era history. The Matadors also rank second in the conference in digs per set at 15.50 after scooping up 186 digs over 12 sets in Colorado. The Matadors open the second week of the season ranked third in points per set (16.75), fourth in assists per set (11.75), and fifth in both hitting percentage (.182) and kills per set (12.50). Individually, Okolo leads the Big West in blocks per set (1.92), while Paige Sentes is second in digs per set (4.33) and Hailey Brockway is second in points per set (5.31) and third in kills per set (4.63). Senior Tatiana Turgeon ranks second in hitting percentage (.459) and third in blocks per set (1.58).
SENTES, KOLAR MOVE UP CSUN CAREER CHARTS
With 52 digs in three matches last week, senior libero Paige Sentes moved into fifth place in program history with 1,248 career digs. Sentes, who opened her senior season in eighth place with 1,196 digs, moved past Monica McFarland, Amy Hultner, and Natalie Allen last week. Sentes opens the week trailing Nadine Nickel and fourth place by just 20 digs. With her 10th dig in a 13-dig performance at UC Irvine (Oct. 11, 2025), Sentes became the 12th CSUN player to reach 1,000 digs in her career. Cindy Ortiz (2009-12) holds the all-time CSUN and rally scoring era records with 1,456 digs, while Alexis Cormier (1998-01) holds the sideout scoring era record with 1,194 career digs. With 64 assists last weekend, senior setter Katie Kolar upped her CSUN career assists total to 1,833 over 228 career sets. She opens the second week of the season in ninth place in program history and is now just 114 assists away from Heather Zall (1999-2000) and eighth place.
CSUN QUICK SETS
A host of Matadors made her CSUN debut in Colorado last weekend. Sophomore Audrey Nuckols ranked third on the team with 20 kills over three matches, hitting .196 on 56 swings. Freshman Annie Gilmore also appeared in all three matches, making her first collegiate start against Denver. Gilmore connected for 14 kills on .125 hitting over 12 sets in her debut weekend. Sophomore Fallyn Blotzer made her CSUN debut in the final set against No. 23 Colorado before making her first start in the Matadors' 3-1 win over Central Arkansas. Redshirt freshman Raegan Richardson, sophomore Suzie Ponce, freshman Madison Jameson Rodriguez also made their CSUN debut last weekend ... Okolo surpassed 400 career kills during the opening weekend, while Brockway surpassed 300 kills and 500 points in her CSUN career. Turgeon matched her career-high with 10 kills against Denver ... CSUN picked up four double-doubles during the opening weekend of the season. Brockway notched a pair (13th and 14th of her career) with 11 kills-11 digs against Colorado and 25 kills-13 digs against Central Arkansas. Kolar posted her 23rd career double-double with 29 assists and 11 digs against Denver and senior Julia Bazylevych posted her 10th career with 19 kills and 11 digs against Denver.
UP NEXT
Following this week's Wildcat Classic, CSUN will return to the Valley for its 2026 home opener on Sept. 11. The Matadors will host a trio of teams (UNLV, San Francisco, Fresno State) at the Linda Murphy Ridge Invitational over three days (Sept. 11-13). The Matadors will meet UNLV on Friday, USF on Saturday, and Fresno State on Sunday with all matches at Premier America Credit Union Arena.
#GoMatadors
