Northridge Women Show Future Is Now in Volleyball Sweep

The catchword around Cal State Northridge, where most of the athletic teams will be competing in the NCAA’s Division I by 1990, is “time.”

As in: “It’ll take some time for CSUN to be competitive.” Or, “Time will tell if this is a good decision.”

The CSUN women’s volleyball team does not have a single word to describe its reaction to the move, perhaps because one word won’t suffice.

The Lady Matadors took little time in proving that to Loyola Marymount on Tuesday night at CSUN, whipping the Lions, 15-6, 15-9, 15-9, in the opener for both teams.

“Everyone is doubting us and the move to Division I,” senior setter Karen Langston said. “But we made a nice showing against Loyola. I thought we played pretty well.”

It says something about a Division II program that can do “pretty well” in a three-game shellacking of a Division I team.

But then, CSUN’s is not an average Division II program. The Lady Matadors are the defending national champions, have won three national championships in the past eight years and were runners-up four times.

“I don’t want to sound cocky, but I’ve always known we would still be successful if we competed in Division I,” Coach Walt Ker said. “There’s no question that there is a big difference between us and the top echelon in Division I. But the rest, we can be competitive with.”

LMU Coach George Yamashita, whose team finished second in the competitive West Coast Athletic Conference last year, agreed.

“They’re a good, solid, mid-level Division I team,” he said. “Of course, they’ll struggle. Well, maybe.”

CSUN had no problem with Loyola, limiting the Lions to a .177 hitting percentage while hitting at a .340 clip. The Lady Matadors jumped to early five-point leads in each game and easily squelched the Lions’ rallies.

Middle blockers Kathleen and Marianne Dixon had an especially easy time. The sophomore twins dominated, wreaking havoc on the Lions’ offense while igniting their own.

Kathleen had nine kills and five blocks and Marianne added eight kills and two blocks. Although it was against Loyola’s three first-year middle blockers, Ker believes that the Dixons will continue to dominate even when the competition gets tougher.

“Kathleen and Marianne are going to have good matches no matter who we play,” the 10-year coach said. “They are two outstanding middle players, and they’ll work over a lot of other players.”