CSUN Volleyball Team Finds No Room at Top Against USC

There was nothing to lose and a lot to gain for the Cal State Northridge men’s volleyball team against USC on Friday night in a Western Intercollegiate Volleyball match at USC’s Lyon Center.

But about all that Northridge gained was more respect for USC, which came into the match as the nation’s top-ranked team in the latest Tachikara coaches’ poll. The Trojans swept the Matadors, 15-13, 15-9, 15-7, in a match televised live on cable television.

“They’re a good team,” Northridge middle blocker Coley Kyman said of USC. “They played well. We couldn’t get any breaks.”

USC, which improved to 14-1 and 10-1 in conference play, maintained its one-game advantage in the WIVA’s Wilson Division over Long Beach State (9-2), which beat Pepperdine.

For the sixth-ranked Matadors, positioned comfortably in second place in the WIVA’s DeGroot Division, the match wasn’t as crucial. With five WIVA matches remaining, Northridge (11-8, 6-5) cannot catch division-leading UCLA (12-2), but is well ahead of third-place Pepperdine (4-9).

The top three teams in each division will advance to the conference tournament and the tournament champion will receive the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

“(The match) really doesn’t mean much in terms of standings,” Northridge Coach John Price said. “The most important thing to gain from this match was experience. We’re probably going to meet them again in the tournament. That’s when it counts.”

USC dominated the match early, building a 6-0 lead before Kyman registered the first Matador point. Northridge battled back, tied the game at 11-11, then went ahead, 13-11, on Gary Reznick’s dink shot before giving up four unanswered points.

“After we went up 13-11, we just broke down,” Kyman said. “I think that set the tone for the rest of the match.”

Price agreed.

“We were close,” Price said, “but they just played unbelievable defense that kept them in the game.”

Northridge broke a 6-6 tie and held a 9-6 advantage in the second game before USC reeled off nine points in a row, primarily on the hitting of Bryan Ivie and the blocking of Dan Greenbaum.

Ivie had 21 kills while Greenbaum had seven blocks. Kevin Shepard and Jason Perkins chipped in with 15 and 13 kills.

Neil Coffman led Northridge with 19 kills. Kyman and Raphael Tulino, who recorded two service aces, had 17 and 14 each.