With five of the final six games being on the road for the CSUN women’s volleyball team. Matadors’ head coach Aquiles Montoya is preparing his team for one final push to the end of the year.
The Matadors (8-15, 3-9 Big West) go on the road this weekend with back-to-back road games with UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly. And after splitting a pair of Big West home matches last week, Montoya has his team where he wants to finish the season out strong.
As of today, CSUN sits ninth in the Big West standings with a 3-9 conference record, just two games behind Cal State Bakersfield who are at 5-7 and sit in eighth place. And with only the top six teams earning spots in the Big West Tournament, the Matadors face an uphill battle to be one of those playoff teams.
Montoya noted that despite the win to the Titans last week on Friday the team is still finding their rhyme and may struggle to do so considering the team is facing some injuries.
“Unfortunately, I think, we kind of took a step back against Irvine. It was a tough night, and ultimately, I think they executed their game plan,” Montoya said. “We were able to overcome that against Fullerton just not against Irvine, and they’re playing a really good style of ball right now, so it’s no knock on them.”
Montoya explained that even though the team is facing injuries in a multitude of positions such as in the outside and right side, he still believes his team is resilient enough with depth and experience to overcome these struggles.
“We have a good sized roster right now, but you know, sometimes it just seems like the injuries just stack up in one position at a time,” Montoya said. “ Right now, it seems to be happening, on the outside and right side, but I feel like they’ve stayed resilient throughout it, and I’m not seeing a huge dip, regardless, in some of the results, as far as effort and attitude.
Looking ahead to this weekend, UCSB sits at 6-6 in the Big West and are coming off back-to-back losses to Cal Poly and Hawaii.
Montoya noted that even though the Gauchos are a tough opponent his team is looking forward to the challenge of facing last year’s conference champions.
I know that they’re really hungry and excited, and we’re really excited for this UC Santa Barbara match playing there. It’s a historical place, and it’s a historical program,” Montoya said. “Now there are some things that we can fix. And I think that throughout the year we’ve gotten a lot better and more experience, so I’m excited for our student athletes to go into that environment and play.”
As for Cal Poly the quick turnaround is going to be much more difficult. The Mustangs are 8-4 in the Big West and sit third in the conference standings as of Nov. 7.
Montoya added that even though the consecutive road matches will be tough on the team, CSUN have been preparing throughout the week reviewing film and giving his players enough time to prepare themselves.
“It is a tough turnaround. By no means is it something easy. But I know our players won’t be phased by that, and I think that our preparation in the week will kind of show that as well,” he said.
After both weekend matchups CSUN will finish their road trip with a game against UC Davis on Thursday, Nov. 14. The Matadors will then return home two days later for senior night at the Premier America Credit Union Arena before going on yet another three-match road trip.
Despite the difficult end to the season, Montoya noted that even though CSUN will need help to make the Big West Tournament, he still wants his team to create a foundation for 2025.
“Ultimately, the goal for this is to create a foundation of what CSUN volleyball is going to mean moving forward, and how we compete,” Montoya said. “Until we’re eliminated, you know, we can’t control all the other things that happen in this conference. Let’s just take it one match at a time.”
The Matadors’ match vs. UCSB will be broadcasted on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. on Friday.
