The CSUN Matadors women’s volleyball team extended their losing streak to four matches by losing 22-30, 31-29, 17-30 and 24-30 to conference rival Pacific Oct. 1 on the road in Stockton.

The Tigers took game one of the match as they hit .278 with 17 kills and seven errors. The Matadors, on the other hand, were held to a hitting percentage of .100 with only eight kills and five errors. The game was tied at 18-18 when the Tigers scored five straight points that propelled Pacific to the win. Sophomore Kara Uhl gave Pacific a needed boost as she slammed down a kill, and followed up with served three aces. Senior Sidney Bennett capped the run with a kill and gave the Tigers the 30-22 win.

Game two was also close, with both teams holding leads in the final five points. The Matadors came out on top as they got back-to-back kills from freshman Harmony Burdine and Kelley Hanson that led CSUN to the 31-29 win.

“The difference between a win and a loss can be one hit, one serve, one pass or one play,” said Jeff Stork, Matadors head coach.

Pacific won game three 30-17 as the Tigers turned up their defensive pressure, forcing 11 errors and giving up just 10 kills, forcing the Matadors to hit a negative at 0.023. Pacific, meanwhile, got their offense moving, getting 16 kills and just five errors for an average of .262. Bennett led the Tigers in the game with seven kills.

In game four, CSUN committed seven service errors and lost the game 30-24. With the loss, the Matadors lost the match.

“Pacific played well and we did too at times,” Stork said. “Our passing was good, but our serving needs to be more consistent.”

Pacific senior Ashley Groothuis led all attackers with 21 kills, while Uhl finished with 16 and Bennett had 12 for the Tigers. The Matadors were led by 11 kills from freshman Darla Donaldson.

The win evened the Tigers record to 7-7 and moved their record up to 2-1 in the Big West. With the loss, the Matadors record fell to 3-11 overall and 1-3 in the Big West.

The next match for the Matadors will be Friday night against Long Beach State at the Matadome followed by UC Davis on Saturday night at the Matadome.

“Everyone is learning as we are beginning the meat portion of our season,” Stork said. “We are showing the young players their areas needed for improvement and we are trying to minimize the downs and maximize the ups.”

Justin Satzman can be reached at justin.satzman@csun.edu.