CSUN Sand Volleyball Team has the Home Court Advantage

  • The CSUN women's sand volleyball team has a new court to call home. The on- campus facility, located at Zelzah Avenue and Plummer Street, is open to students, faculty and staff. Photo by Lee Choo.

  • The Matador sand volleyball squad prepares for its first game, March 5 against UCLA. The CSUN community is invited to bring beach chairs and watch the game on the sand, close to the action. Admission is free for the first game. Photo by Lee Choo.

  • Students will soon be able to take sand volleyball classes, offered through the CSUN kinesiology department. Athletics officials hope the court's visibility on campus will boost awareness of the emerging sport. Photo by Lee Choo.

  • The sand volleyball squad is composed of members of the women's indoor volleyball team. Jeff Stork, head coach of the Matadors’ indoor and sand volleyball teams, notes that the new court gives his players more time and space for year-round conditioning. Photo by Lee Choo.

  • With the addition of a sand court on campus, the CSUN sand volleyball team has more time and space to practice for the upcoming spring season. In 2014, the team traveled 30 miles to the closest beach to practice. Photo by Lee Choo.

The beach is coming to California State University, Northridge. Well, not exactly the surf part, but the sand will play a prominent role when the Matador women’s sand volleyball team debuts a new state-of-the-art sand volleyball court on campus.

The court, located at Zelzah Avenue and Plummer Street, also will host student activity classes through the Department of Kinesiology and will be open to the campus community.

Thanks to continuous fundraising efforts — including the Ramon Calderon Cup beach volleyball tournament that raised $14,000, individual donors and the campus quality fee, as well as support from President Dianne F. Harrison and the athletics department — the sand volleyball court is set to open just in time for the spring 2015 season. By committing to this emerging sport, the university’s creation of the sand volleyball court exemplifies CSUN’s devotion to top-notch facilities.

“This is a spacious sand volleyball court that has a great infrastructure,” said Jeff Stork, head coach of the women’s indoor and sand volleyball teams. “The quality of sand is better than that at most campuses we have played at. This court was a high priority for President Harrison and the athletics department, and I am very happy with how it turned out.”

The Matadors will open the new sand volleyball season with a game against UCLA at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 5. Admission is free, and fans are invited to bring beach chairs to watch the game on the sand, close to the players. The new volleyball facility is easily visible on campus, and athletics staff hope to boost fan interest in this growing sport.

With a sand court to call their own, the Matadors no longer have to travel just to practice or play games. And while CSUN is located in sunny Southern California, the spring can present occasional weather challenges.

“Although the indoor players transitioned well to the sand, there are still fundamental differences between playing on sand and indoors,” Stork said. “Sand can be more difficult to move on, and the weather conditions cannot be controlled.”

The Matador sand squad, playing only its second season, is composed of members of the indoor volleyball team, but Stork plans to eventually recruit volleyball players specifically for the sand. The coach said he hopes to create two separate teams, thanks to the increased funding and attention for volleyball. Sand volleyball is CSUN’s 19th intercollegiate sport.

For more information, please visit gomatadors.com.

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