Weather permitting, CSUN beach volleyball is scheduled to host a pair of tri-duals this week as the Matadors host Cal State LA and No. 19 Washington on Wednesday followed by No. 15 Loyola Marymount and top-ranked Pepperdine on Thursday.

Showers are expected in the Northridge area both Wednesday and Thursday so fans are encouraged to check GoMatadors.com as well as the CSUN Athletics Department’s official Twitter feed (@GoMatadors) and the beach volleyball-specific feed (@CSUNWVB) for updates on the status of the tri-duals.

CSUN (9-1) comes into Wednesday’s tri-dual having won seven straight dating back to a 5-0 loss to No. 7 Long Beach State on Mar. 4.

FOLLOW YOUR MATADORS ONLINE
Follow CSUN Matadors beach volleyball online at the official home of CSUN athletics, www.GoMatadors.com. For road matches, related links to the match, including for any live stats, audio and video, will be posted before the match on the beach volleyball schedule page of GoMatadors.com.

Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Athletics Department’s official Twitter feed (@GoMatadors) and the beach volleyball-specific feed (@CSUNWVB) for news and notes throughout the week as well as updates of matches in progress.

SCOUTING REPORTS
Cal State LA (2-4): After opening the season with a pair of wins, the Eagles have dropped four straight including 4-1 decisions to Missouri State and Vanguard in Huntington Beach last weekend. CSUN and Cal State LA met on March 8 in Northridge with the Matadors claiming a 5-0 victory.

Washington (2-1): The 19th-ranked Huskies opened 2018 season in early March with a 3-2 win over Loyola Marymount before falling to Arizona (3-2) and defeating New Mexico (5-0) in Tucson.

Pepperdine (15-2): The top-ranked Waves have won 13 straight matches following a 3-2 loss to UCLA on Feb. 28. Last weekend, Pepperdine won all four matches at the Gamecock Grand Slam in Columbia, SC. The Waves swept Jacksonville State (5-0) before defeating the host Gamecocks (4-1), LSU (3-2) and Georgia State (4-1).

Loyola Marymount (7-6): The No. 15 Lions have won three of their last five including a pair of 5-0 victories over Missouri State and Colorado-Mesa last Saturday. LMU capped a three-match Saturday with a 5-0 loss to No. 2 UCLA.

TO RECAP
CSUN captured its second home tri-dual of the season, defeating Colorado-Mesa (4-1) and Missouri State (3-2) Wednesday at the Matador Beach Volleyball Facility. The Matadors took four of five pairs in the opening dual against the Mavericks, winning at No. 1, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5. CSUN also claimed the No. 6 extra match, 21-16, 21-6 as Shawnee De Oliveira and Cassidy Rosso defeated Julia Baskin and Rachel Perrine.

Nicolette Pinkney and Lauren Conati earned the Matadors’ first win at No. 4, defeating Lindy Dixon and Hailey Crane 21-10, 21-12. Colorado-Mesa’s Hana Peterman and Megan Gianinetti evened the dual with an 18-21, 24-22, 15-13 win over Kristey Markle and Nickeisha Williams.

CSUN made it 2-1 when the No. 3 pair of Lauren McMurray and Autumn Russell swept Samantha Ritter and Kasie Gilfert 21-9, 21-14. Erin Indermill and Daniella Molinari then clinched the dual for the Matadors with a 21-17, 21-10 victory at No. 5. Katie Sato and Aeryn Owens then capped the dual with a 21-16, 21-16 sweep at No. 1.

De Oliveira and Rosso dominated the extra match to open the second dual against Missouri State, winning 21-6, 21-16. Pinkney and Conati won the No. 4 pair 21-18, 21-11 before Markle and Williams rebounded from the earlier loss to win the No. 2 match 21-12, 21-18.

Sato and Owens made it 3-0 CSUN after defeating Veronica Snelling and Taylor Fricano 21-15, 21-18. The Bears then came back to win the No. 3 pair 24-22, 21-16 as Sam Brinkmann and Mikaela Mosquera defeated McMurray and Russell.

Ivy Reynolds and Lynsey Wright then held off Indermill and Molinari in three sets, 21-17, 14-21, 15-13 at No. 5 to make the final 3-2 in favor of CSUN.

CSUN RECEIVING VOTES IN AVCA NATIONAL POLL
The Matadors are receiving votes in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Poll for the third straight week. CSUN received votes in the national poll for the first time in program history on March 5 and have received votes in succeeding polls on March 12 and March 19.

BIG WEST BEACH VOLLEYBALL
This season marks CSUN’s third season as a member of the Big West Conference in beach volleyball. The Matadors were seeded fourth at the 2017 Big West Tournament held at Pismo Beach but fell to Sacramento State (3-2) and Cal Poly (5-0) in their two tournament matches.

In 2016, CSUN was the third seed in the conference tournament and the Matadors finished 2-2 including a close 3-2 loss to Cal Poly in a third-round elimination match at Huntington Beach. The 2018 Big West Tournament is scheduled for April 27-29 in Honolulu, Hawai’i.

LOOKING AHEAD
Following a pair of home tri-duals this week, the Matadors head to Sacramento next week to play five matches at the Big West Challenge. CSUN will play No. 7 Cal Poly, No. 3 Hawai’i and CSU Bakersfield on Friday, March 30 before taking on No. 5 Long Beach State and host Sacramento State on Saturday, March 31. The Matadors return home April 5 to host another tri-dual against Vanguard and Concordia-Irvine.