The CSUN women’s volleyball team went winless in its two road games during the weekend, losing to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 3-2 and UC Santa Barbara 3-0. The Matadors extended their road-game losing streak to five.
CSUN vs. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
The Matadors (9-15, 2-7 Big West) lost the first set, 26-14, after trailing for the entire set. The closest CSUN got was 8-7 after an attack error by San Luis Obispo. The Mustangs (16-6, 6-3 Big West) then went on a 7-0 run to pull away. CSUN hit a match-low .080 in the set and converted only 38 percent of their sideout opportunities.
The Matadors turned things around in the second set, which they won 25-23. It was a close set throughout with each team taking turns in the lead. CSUN used a late 3-0 run to lead by two late in the set. After a San Luis Obispo timeout, the Mustangs tied the score at 23. CSUN then scored two points to win the set.
The third set was very similar to the second set. The score went back and forth for most of the set. There were 16 ties and seven lead changes.
The Mustangs had set point at 27-26 but the Matadors scored three straight points to win the set 29-27. The Matadors had a total of 15 kills in the set and converted a match high 74 percent of their sideout opportunities.
In the fourth set, the score went back and forth but a late 5-0 run by San Luis Obispo put the game out of reach for CSUN. The Mustangs won the set 25-16. San Luis Obispo hit a match high .370 in the set.
The fifth and final set of the match again went back and forth. CSUN held an early 6-4 lead but San Luis Obispo went on a 3-0 run to take a one-point lead. The Matadors tied the score at 9-9 before the Mustangs pulled away to win the set 15-12.
Freshman opposite hitter Natalie Allen led the Matadors with 14 kills and freshman setter Sydney Gedryn led with 38 assists. Freshman outside hitter Kristina Graven led San Luis Obispo with 25 kills and senior libero Alison Mort led with 23 digs.
CSUN vs. UC Santa Barbara
The first set against Santa Barbara (13-9, 7-2 Big West) was blown wide open by a series of key runs by the Guachos. UCSB went on a 5-0 run to take an early 5-2 lead that ended on a block by Gedryn and senior middle blocker Lynda Morales. Santa Barbara then went on an 8-0 run. The Guachos went on a 3-0 run to win the set 25-19. The Matadors had 10 kills and five blocks in the set.
The Matadors never got a flow going in the second set. The closest CSUN got was when the set was tied at 2-2.
The Guachos scored five unanswered points to win the set 25-13. The Matadors hit a match-low .077 while Santa Barbara hit a match high .314. CSUN had only seven kills in the set while the Guachos had 14 kills.
The Matadors made it interesting in the third and final set. The beginning of the set was back and forth until Santa Barbara went on a 4-0 run to get a four-point lead. CSUN went on a 3-0 run to bring the score to 23-22. The Matadors then tied the score at 24 all but could not take the lead. Santa Barbara won the set 26-24. The Matadors hit .143 while the Guachos hit .116.
Allen led the Matadors with 12 kills and .206 hitting percentage. Gedryn, who started the match, led the team with 21 assists.
The Matadors next game is Friday when they take on the University of Pacific at the Matadome.
