CSUN Is Braced for ’86 Volleyball Season : Ker, Down Two All-Americans, Still Rates His Team Among Best in Division II

When Cal State Northridge was beaten by Portland State in the NCAA Division II women’s volleyball final last December, it lost more than a national championship.

It lost the heart of its team, Shelli Mosby and Heather Hafner, whose brilliant careers ended on that chilly night in Portland.

But, as Northridge Coach Walt Ker participated in visualization training with his players this spring, he didn’t spend the time making mental images of his program collapsing in the absence of the three-time All-Americans.

Ker, in fact, bristles at talk that he’s rebuilding his team.

“I don’t think that’s very appropriate terminology,” he said last month. “We’re going to be one of the top teams in Division II. I feel I’m educated enough now to look around and say, ‘How good do we need to be to be in the Final Four?’

“And there’s no question in my mind that we have the athletes to be there again.”

Ker’s optimism is fueled by his record--the Lady Matadors have not finished lower than third nationally in the past six seasons--and by what he calls “incredible depth” among his returning players. Mosby and Hafner may be gone when CSUN opens the season next fall, but Ker will welcome back nine letter winners and three transfers who were redshirts last season.

They’ll be joined by freshmen Alissa Evans from Westlake High and the Dixon twins, Marianne and Kathleen, from Santa Monica High.

The returning players, who worked out three times a week from January through Wednesday, benefited this spring from Ker’s undivided attention. In the past, Ker has coached the CSUN men’s team.

“I came into practice fresh and excited and motivated,” Ker said. “This was the most productive spring we’ve ever had. We had a lot of really good, intense workouts.”

Also, for the first time, Ker incorporated visualization training into CSUN’s preparations for the 1986 season. Led by CSUN professor Ann Stutz, Ker’s teamwent through 40 minutes of “mental practice” twice a week.

Ker said the Lady Matadors learned techniques in breathing, concentration and relaxation, and concepts of teamwork.

“The thing I hear Dr. Stutz say over and over is, ‘These techniques are habits just like passing and spiking and setting are habits, so you need to practice them, too.’

“We get our players physically fit and technically fit, but how much time do we spend getting them mentally fit? The answer is: Not very much. I don’t want to leave any stone unturned, so this is just making us a little more complete in terms of our preparation.”

Said middle blocker Karen Lontka: “It helps us to focus on what we’re supposed to focus on and block out all the negative.”

That might include bemoaning the loss of their star players, which would be counterproductive.

Replacing their leadership, though, will be a priority for Ker.

“Shelli and Heather were both great competitors,” he said. “In the big games, both of them just juiced up. That’s a great personality to have from your leaders. One of the critical things for us is finding somebody to step into those roles.”

Among those who might make the step, Ker said: Chris Tedeschi, a starter in 1984 who has returned after being academically ineligible last season and has become one of the team’s best all-around players; Lontka, an honorable mention All-American last season, and setters Angela Brinton and Kristin Choate, one or both of whom will replace Mosby, depending on the offense Ker uses.

The loss of Hafner might be lessened, Ker said, by a “menagerie” at her outside hitter position, including 6-4 Sue Darcy, a transfer from the University of Washington who has been punishing the ball in practice. Darcy doesn’t jump particularly well, but as Ker said, with her size, she doesn’t need to.

After one particularly wicked spike by Darcy last month, Lontka looked at her increduously and cracked: “Sue, can you imagine if you added a jump to that?”

Even if she does, Darcy won’t be jumping right into the starting lineup. Anna Garcia and Franci Bowman are returning starters, and their backups from last season, Dawn Eto and Cyndie Miller, also return. They’ll all be pushed by Karen Langston, a transfer from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo who, Ker said, is “super quick, super coordinated and learns about as fast as I can teach her.”

In the middle, returning starter Cami Crouch may find herself on the bench, backing up Tedeschi and Lontka. Or, if Ker wants to use all three of them at the same time, Lontka could be moved to the outside, where she played at the start of last season.

“In every position,” Ker said, “we’re at least two deep.”

So Ker, whose teams have never failed to reach the national tournament in his seven seasons as coach, expects the Lady Matadors to be battling for the national title again next December. They’ve reached the championship match in each of the last four seasons.

“I’m very proud of our consistency,” Ker said, “and I don’t look at this year as being any different. My goal is to make the national championships, then see if we can win it from there.