California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
UC Santa Barbara
CSUN Opens 2026 Big West Season on the Central Coast
9/23/2026 11:01:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
CSUNÂ THIS WEEK:
MATCH #11 (BIG WEST #1)
CSUN Matadors (4-6, 0-0) @ UCSB Gauchos (4-7, 0-0)
Friday, Sept. 25, 2026Â - 7Â p.m. PT
The Thunderdome - Goleta, Calif.
ESPN+Â Â //Â Live Stats
MATCH #12 (BIG WEST #2)
CSUN Matadors @ Cal Poly Mustangs
Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026Â - 4Â p.m. PT
Mott Athletics Center - San Luis Obispo, Calif.
ESPN+Â Â //Â Live Stats
In-game X updates:Â @CSUNWVB
CSUN WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL MEDIA NOTES
FORÂ STARTERS
CSUN Women's Volleyball (4-6, 0-0 Big West) opens up the 2026 Big West season this week as the Matadors travel to UC Santa Barbara on Friday and Cal Poly on Saturday. CSUN and UCSB are scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve in The Thunderdome, while Saturday's tilt at the Mott Athletics Center is scheduled for 4 p.m. CSUN wrapped up the non-conference portion of the 2026 season last week, dropping a pair of matches to the LMU Lions which snapped a season-long three-match win streak for the Matadors.
FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS
Both matches at UCSB and Cal Poly will stream live on ESPN+ and will have live stats, with 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 OPPONENTS
UC Santa Barbara (4-7, 0-0 Big West) is currently 4-7 overall under first-year head coach Michael Henchy. The Gauchos opened the season by sweeping the Wildcat Classic in Tucson with wins over Tarleton State University, Prairie View A&M, and host Arizona. After a 1-1 Gaucho Invitational (Sept. 3-5), UCSB has dropped six straight, including a 3-1 loss to UC Davis and a straight-set loss to No. 19 USC last weekend. The Gauchos are averaging 12.9 kills per set and hitting .198 as a team. Junior OH Sophia Wendlick earned Wildcat Classic MVP and Big West Player of the Week honors earlier this season.
Series: Friday's match will be the 62nd meeting all-time between CSUN and UCSB with the Gauchos holding a 51-10 lead in the series. The Matadors are 3-28 all-time in matches played in Santa Barbara, their last win coming in 2015 CSUN and UCSB last met in the opening round of the Outrigger Big West Championship last November in Long Beach with the Gauchos winning in straight sets.
Cal Poly (4-6, 0-0 Big West), which opens the Big West season against Cal State Bakersfield on Friday, enter the week with a 4-6 overall record. The Mustangs, who were the unanimous favorite in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll, hosted a pair of ranked teams at the SLO Classic last weekend. Cal Poly fell to Santa Clara (3-2), No. 12 Arizona State (3-2), and No. 8 Stanford (3-1) and have now lost four of its last five matches. Kendall Beshear, Emma Fredrick, and Chloe Leluge were each named to the 2026 Preseason All-Big West Team.
Series: Saturday's match is the 74th meeting all-time between CSUN and Cal Poly with the Mustangs leading the all-time series, 44-29. The Matadors, who last beat Cal Poly in 2021, are 13-21 all-time in San Luis Obispo, last winning 2014. Cal Poly has won seven straight in the series, defeating CSUN 3-0 at home and 3-2 in Northridge last season.
CSUN IN CONFERENCE OPENERS
The Matadors come into Friday's Big West opener at UC Santa Barbara with a 24-15 (.615) all-time record in 39 previous conference openers. CSUN has opened the last two Big West seasons against the Mustangs, with Cal Poly earning a 3-0 win in Northridge in 2024 and a 3-0 win in San Luis Obispo in 2025. The Matadors also opened the 2019 Big West season at UCSB in head coach Jeff Stork's final season. CSUN's last conference-opening win came in 2018, when the Matadors swept Cal State Fullerton. The Matadors are 11-13 all-time in 24 previous Big West openers dating back to 2001. The Matadors have already improved to 24-22 in home openers after defeating UNLV in five sets on Sept. 11.
BIG WEST DEFENSIVE LEADERS RANK FIFTH IN NCAA IN BLOCKS
Four weeks into the 2026 season, CSUN continues to lead the Big West in all three defensive categories. The Matadors lead the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.159), digs per set (15.29), and blocks per set (3.09). Individually, senior Iye Okolo leads the Big West in blocks per set at 1.54, followed by Tatiana Turgeon in second at 1.40. Senior libero Paige Sentes ranks second in digs per set at 4.44. As a team, CSUN ranks fifth in the nation in blocks per set at 3.09. CSUN trails only James Madison (3.79), Colorado (3.25), Washington State (3.23), and Lehigh (3.17) on the national rankings list.
SENTES CLOSING ON CSUN CAREER DIGS RECORD
With 50 digs in two matches against LMU last week, senior libero Paige Sentes inched closer to the CSUN all-time digs record. With 1,378 career digs, Sentes ranks second in program history and trails first place Cindy Ortiz (1,456) by only 78 digs heading into this week's matches. Sentes, who opened her senior season in eighth place with 1,196 digs, has a team-high 182 digs this season and has moved past Monica McFarland, Amy Hultner, Natalie Allen, Nadine Nickel, Kelley Hanson, and Katie Sato on the career digs chart. 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 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.
CSUN QUICK SETS
With 54 assists in two matches last week, senior setter Katie Kolar became the eighth player in CSUN history with 2,000 career assists. Kolar, who upped her CSUN career assists total to 2,009 over 257 career sets, remains in eighth place on the program career assists list. She is now 144 assists away from Heather Hofmans (1995-96) and seventh place ... With 23 assists and 13 digs at LMU on Thursday, Kolar notched her fourth double-double of the season and 26th of her career. Senior Hailey Brockway leads the team with five double-doubles this season ... The Matadors finished non-conference play with a four wins in 10 matches. In head coach Aquiles Montoya's first two seasons, CSUN finished 6-4 in 2025 and 5-6 in his first season in 2024.
UP NEXT
Following this week's Big West season opening trip to UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly, the Matadors return to the Valley to host Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 2-3. The Matadors and Beach are scheduled for a 6 p.m. first serve on Oct. 2, before the Matadors and Titans will start on 4 p.m. on Oct. 3.
#GoMatadors
