CSUN’s Samuelson Suspended for Game Against Stanford

Cal State Northridge, still searching for its first victory in Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. play, will be without outside hitter Bob Samuelson tonight when the Matadors play host to fifth-ranked Stanford in their conference home opener at 7:30.

Samuelson, who is tied for third in the nation in kills (six a game), was suspended for disciplinary reasons earlier this week and will return to the team Monday, Northridge Coach John Price said.

“We’re obviously a better team with Bob, but we still have good players,” said Price, whose team is ranked 13th in the Division I coaches’ poll. “I feel confident that they’re going to play hard and as a team. If they do, it will be a close match.”

The Matadors (2-3 overall, 0-3 in WIVA play) will play host to a Cardinal team that includes 6-foot-6 middle blockers Dan Hanan and Scott Fortune. Hanan leads the nation in kills per game (8.33) and Fortune, a member of the 1988 U. S. Olympic team that won the gold medal in the Seoul Games, is tied with Samuelson for third.

Mike Lowe, a sophomore out of Harvard High, also is on the Stanford roster.