California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
1-3,0-0Big West
Kansas State
3-0,0-0Big 12
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSUN | 26 | 18 | 23 | 0 |
| Kansas St. | 28 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
CSUN Drops Wildcat Classic Opener to Kansas State, 3-0
9/4/2026 6:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MANHATTAN, Kan. - CSUN battled through three tight sets Friday night, but Kansas State held off the Matadors in a 28-26, 25-18, 25-23 decision in the opening match of the Wildcat Classic at Morgan Family Arena.
The Matadors dropped to 1-3 on the season, while Kansas State improved to 3-0. CSUN hit .179 as a team and out-blocked the Wildcats 9.0-3.0, but Kansas State finished with 52 kills and used eight service aces to help close out the sweep.
Hailey Brockway led CSUN with 10 kills (.158), adding 11 digs for her third double-double in four matches this season. Senior Tatiana Turgeon added five kills (.400) and fellow senior Iye Okolo chipped in four kills on seven swings without an error to hit .571. The CSUN middles also combined for nine blocks. Sophomore Fallyn Blotzer also added four kills (.071), while Audrey Nuckols had three (.167).
Katie Kolar handed out 15 assists, added seven digs and served one ace, while Jan Marie Duhaylungsod finished with 10 assists and an ace. Paige Sentes paced the Matadors defensively with 12 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN showed fight in the opening set. After dropping the first four points and trailing by five at 13-8, the Matadors engineered an 8-2 run to take a 16-15 lead. A Nuckols-Okolo block gave CSUN set point at 24-23 and Kolar later put down a kill to give CSUN another set-point, at 25-24, but Kansas State claimed four of the final five points to take the frame, 28-26.
Behind Kolar's tough serving and some early Wildcat hitting errors, the Matadors scored the first seven points of the second set. Kansas State, however, responded with a 13-2 run to re-take the lead at 13-9. A Brockway kill pulled CSUN within three at 14-11, but the Wildcats would pull away down the stretch to claimed the set, 25-18.
CSUN kept the pressure on in the third set, getting three kills from Turgeon and two apiece from Brockway, Okolo, Julia Bazylevych and Annie Gilmore. The Matadors trailed 21-16 before mounting a late push, cutting the deficit to 24-23 on a Kansas State attacking error. The Wildcats scored the next point to close the match on Addison Massey's match-high 16th kill.
Kansas State was led by Massey, who finished with 16 kills (.306), while Raegan Fox added nine kills (.333) for the Wildcats.
HEAD COACH AQUILES MONTOYA SAID
"Frustrating loss after all the great opportunities that we seem to keep setting ourselves up with. I'm glad that we got the experience, but if we really want to strive to be the great team we know we're capable of, then we need to capitalize on the moments when we have these good teams on their heels instead of bailing them out with hesitant play.
"Luckily I've seen our team bounce back after a loss like this and we'll need a great response to beat a great Drake team tomorrow."
UP NEXT
CSUN wraps up a quick two-match tournament on Saturday, taking on the Drake Bulldogs at 9 a.m.
#GoMatadors
