The CSUN women’s water polo team kicked off their season at the Beach Invite hosted by Long Beach State. The Matadors lived up to their preseason ranking as the No. 16 team in the country with a pair of wins in their season debut.
Meanwhile, the men’s volleyball team hosted a multi-team event called the Under Armour Challenge, which was highlighted by a breakout performance from a couple of big hitters.
Women’s water polo
CSUN (2-0) opened their season by playing a doubleheader against Cal State Monterey Bay and Azusa Pacific on Jan. 18. The Matadors came into the season with big expectations after winning 18 games last season.
They opened the doubleheader on the right foot with a 17-9 win over CSUMB.
CSUN’s superstar center, Dorottya Telek, scored more than half of the goals scored for the Matadors. Her nine goals tied her school record for most goals scored in a match.
CSUN jumped out to a 5-3 lead, but subsequently saw the Otters go on a 3-1 run to tie the game at six in the second period. With 4:53 left in the first half, a pair of CSUMB’s attackers created offense to break the tie and give the Otters their first lead of the match.
After trading the lead, CSUN eventually took a 9-8 lead into the intermission. The Matadors dominated the third period, scoring five goals without allowing a goal from CSUMB to give them a 14-8 lead into the final period before pulling out the win in their season opener.
In game two of the doubleheader, CSUN faced Azusa Pacific on Jan. 18 and would piece together another big offensive performance in their 16-11 win over the Cougars.
The Matadors led 10-6 at the end of the first half thanks to Telek’s five goals scored. The Cougars held Telek scoreless in the second half and even outscored CSUN in the final period, but it wasn’t enough to catch up. The Matadors ultimately secured the five-point win over APU.
Next Match: CSUN vs. Indiana at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25.
Men’s volleyball
The CSUN men’s volleyball team opened their season up by going 3-0 in the UC Santa Barbara Asics Invitational. However, the Matadors returned home and in the team’s home opener, where they picked up their third sweep of the season as they defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 3-0 on Friday, Jan. 17.
CSUN faced off Lindenwood in the second game of the Under Armour Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 18. After battling early match adversity, the Matadors came out on top 3-1 over the Lions.
The Matadors opened up by taking the first set and looked like they could potentially come away with back-to-back sweeps in the MTE, but a late rally in the second set helped Lindenwood tie the match at one.
The third set played out similarly to the second, but this time it was CSUN with the late rally to take the set 27-25 and gain a 2-1 lead. The Matadors then jumped out to a 20-14 lead in the final set and eventually put the Lions away 25-19.
Next Match: CSUN vs. USC (4-0) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22.
