CSUN women’s volleyball looked to end an eight-game losing streak on Friday night against UC Irvine. Despite a strong start to the match, the Matadors failed to close things out against the Anteaters at home.

CSUN would take the first set of the match by going on a 4-1 run led by middle blocker Nieko Thomas, who would get a kill and a UCI hitting error which would close out the set 25-19.

The second set of the match resulted in 12 tie scores and 7 lead changes, although UCI would take over late in the set by going on a 6-0 run making the score 21-16. CSUN would go on to drop the set 25-20.

CSUN dropped the third set of the match after the Anteaters went on a 5-0 run to give them a 20-11 cushion. A kill from UCI outside hitter Joy Umeh would give them the set 25-19.

“We need to be more consistent.” head coach Susie Terrusa said. “ We had just too many errors in each set, we need to cut down on our errors.”

UCI would take a 16-20 lead in the final set, but a Matador comeback would make it 19-20 late. Thomas would end up getting a kill after a long rally to bring the Matadors within two points.

The match seemed to end as a Thomas spike went out of bounds, but a challenge reversed the call as the ball touched the boundary line, making the score a 25-25 tie. A hitting error by the Matadors would end the set 28-26, giving UCI a 3-1 victory.

“I know we’re gonna get it,” Thomas said. “This is my second game back after being injured for a while, so I’m still out of it. I’m still making stupid mistakes that I’ve made over and over again. I’ve just got to work harder.”

CSUN will try to snap their losing streak again on Saturday night against UC San Diego at home.