CSUN Women’s Volleyball Team Can’t Forget ’84

Shelli Mosby had her life all figured out. She would wrap up her college days last semester, her 10th, and, by now, be out in the business world, perhaps as a teacher.

Instead, she’s right back doing what she does best--setting volleyballs in a Cal State Northridge uniform.

Why? Call it unfinished business.

The last thing the Lady Matadors remember about last season was a stunning loss in the NCAA Division II final. Portland State had swept CSUN in three games.

That negated an awful lot of positives in Mosby’s career. True, Northridge has made it to the final four in women’s volleyball each of the last five years. True, they have won the national championship twice in that period--both under Coach Walt Ker. True, Mosby, a senior, has been selected All-American twice.

But it wasn’t enough.

“I didn’t want to go out a loser,” Mosby said. “We just handed it over to them (Portland State). The night before, we played great, the way you’re supposed to. But at the end,” she said, her hand angling downward in the motion of a landing airliner, “we just melted. We weren’t ready mentally.

“The way one person feels about her game can sometimes spread over the court, and that’s what happened. The mistakes just lingered on. You have to forget about what you did wrong and get ready for the next play. We weren’t able to do that.”

Teammate Heather Hafner, also a senior and a two-time All-American, knows just what Mosby is talking about.

“I’ve thought about that night over the last year,” she said. “It haunts you. It was regrettable. There was nothing we could do right. It was just one of those days; nothing really connected. It was a bad time for it to happen.”

It could happen again. The defending champions enter this season secure in the knowledge that the championship match will again take place on their court. Because of the full houses Portland produced, the dollar-conscious NCAA again has awarded the finals to that school.

As the Lady Matadors know only too well, a rematch in the finals would mean facing a tough opponent as well as some pretty tough fans. They were on the CSUN players last year, not only the moment they stepped on the court, but as early as the moment they stepped out of their hotel rooms.

“This year, we may punch them out in the elevators if we have to,” Hafner said. “We’ve had it with those fans.”

First, there are a few volleyballs to punch.

Northridge, 39-9 last year, opens this season today in the UC Davis Tournament, with matches against Cal State Hayward, Loyola Marymount and Fresno Pacific. Saturday, the Lady Matadors meet San Francisco State, Puget Sound and California.

Although the first ball has yet to be served, CSUN already has suffered a serious loss. Key middle blocker Chris Tedeschi has been declared academically ineligible.

“It’s a big blow to us,” Ker said. “But fortunately, this squad is deep, the deepest I’ve ever had.”

Backing up the 5-5 Mosby, a setter, and the 5-10 Hafner, an outside hitter, will be: Cami Crouch, a 6-1 junior middle blocker; Lynette Colter, a 5-9 senior middle blocker; Anna Garcia, a 5-8 sophomore outside hitter; Karen Lontka, a 5-11 junior outside hitter; Mary Kay Ports, a 5-0 junior defensive specialist; and Dawn Eto, a 5-6 freshman defensive specialist.

The Lady Matadors will leave UC Davis and head out for one week of play with in Hawaii. They start California Collegiate Athletic Assn. schedule Oct. 1 at Cal State Bakersfield. Regional playoffs will begin the first week in December, with the nationals set for Dec. 13 and 14.

That’s the weekend Mosby hopes she can finally expunge the demons from her mind and walk off the Northridge campus content.

“If we had won it last year, I probably would not even be here now,” she said. “If we had won it two years in a row, what goal would I have set for myself? To win again? That’s not very motivating.”

As it turned out, she finished all units required by the university but has deliberately not taken an English exam required for graduation.

“Because of that,” she said, “in the university’s eyes, I haven’t graduated.”

She will take care of that detail this year and hopes to then use her major in child development to find employment.

“That’s too far ahead to think about,” she said. “Right now, I’m just thinking about winning.”