The women’s volleyball team ended their last home game of the season on a high note, shutting out the Cal State Fullerton Titans 3-0 on Saturday night.
The win ensured that the Matadors (16-11 overall, 9-7 conference) remained fifth in the Big West standings with only two games remaining in the regular season. The Titans fell to 8-20 overall and 3-13 in conference play.
Head coach Aquiles Montoya said the team is happy to be in the driver’s seat in regards to making the playoffs.
“We control our destiny right now,” Montoya said. “If we win out, then we’re in for sure, but we’re taking it one day at a time.”
Opposite Leah Miller led the Matadors with 13 kills in her final home appearance as she celebrated alongside her fellow seniors.
“My last time playing in the Matadome was just a dream,” Miller said. “I had an amazing four years of college and to finish it off with a bang feels great.”
In the first set, the Titans jumped out to a 4-0 lead before a serving error got the Matadors on the board. Just when it seemed the Titans would run away with the lead in the first set, the Matadors came back from an 11-6 deficit to tie the set 19-19.
Two kills from outside hitter Hailey Brockway allowed the Matadors to secure the first set, 25-22.
In the second set, the Titans and Matadors kept pace with each other and did not let the deficit grow more than two points. Down 15-13, the Matadors went on a run of 12-3 to end the set, at 25-18.
Montoya spoke on how he wants to see his team perform moving forward.
“I wish we could jump on some earlier leads like we did in the third set, but this team’s resilient,” Montoya said. “The team adapted pretty fast, so I’m really proud of them.”
In the third set, the Matadors were the aggressive scorers, jumping on a 5-1 lead with the Titans unable to keep up. The Matadors won 25-15 with a service ace from setter Katie Kolar being the final hit.
Despite the sweep, Miller said her team’s work isn’t done yet.
“We’re definitely going to go back into the gym,” Miller said. “We beat Fullerton, but there are some things we have to work on heading into these last two games.”
Some stats that stood out included middle blocker Hayley Ogden’s 11 kills and libero Paige Sentes’ 13 digs, which brought her to 444 digs in the season, making her 34 digs away from shifting into 9th place all time at CSUN.
The Matadors will travel to UC Davis (18-6 overall, 14-2) to take on the Aggies who look to keep their number one seed on lock. The game will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20, at the University Credit Union Center.
