Junior outside hitter Aeryn Owens is an elite competitor not only at Cal State Northridge but also in the Big West Conference. As a sophomore, Owens has earned All-Big West First Team honors.
Currently, Owens averages 5.06 points, 4.56 kills, and 2.44 digs per set. With 401 kills this season, she is the leader of kills on the team and the Big West as of October 29. Her kills per set average rank her third in the Big West.
In digs, Owens comes in second for the Matadors with 215. She scored a season-high of 33.5 points and five blocks when the Matadors clashed against the Fresno State Bulldogs on September 9.
With a 10-13 overall record and a 4-7 conference record, the Matadors endured great adversity. The Big West is a tough conference, housing the nationally-ranked Cal Poly Mustangs who has only lost two games overall.
“It’s pretty challenging,” Owens said. “We have a lot of really good teams, it’s definitely really competitive.”
With 375 kills and 3.57 kills per set in 2016, Owens was the standard of the Matador offense. She made more than 20 kills in five different matches and made eight double-doubles last season.
Owens noted the skill of the volleyball team during a road victory against the UC Irvine Highlanders last year. In that game, she made a career high of seven blocks.
“We went to five [sets] with them,” Owens said. “We all played really well. That was a really good game.”
Teammates keep the San Bernardino native motivated. Owens mentioned how the players pump each other up, energizing them to compete.
“A lot of my teammates are my really good friends,” Owens said. “Getting to practice and play and travel with them is a lot of fun.”
Owens is a marketing major with a 3.2 GPA, her favorite class was an intro to psychology course. The course taught her “the way people think and how they react to certain things and why they think the way they do.”
“That was really fun to me, really interesting,” Owens said.
The volleyball team serves the Northridge community by reading to elementary school students.
“We usually do that on the Fridays that we don’t have games,” Owens said. “We do a lot of community service in the spring.”
Owens began playing volleyball in seventh grade and was a standout in Alta Loma High School. As a senior, she helped the Braves to a 36-3 record. Owens was also was All-CIF Division 4AA Player of the Year.
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