Northridge Women’s Volleyball Team Braces for Tournament at Fullerton

Fresh from a runner-up finish in the Arizona State tournament, the Cal State Northridge women’s volleyball team will begin play today in the J.M.N. Premier tournament at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Gym.

Northridge, one of 16 teams in the three-day event, will take on 1989 NCAA tournament participant Eastern Washington at 1 p.m.

At 7:30 p.m., the Matadors will meet another NCAA entrant, California. On Friday, Northridge will complete pool play with an 11 a.m. match against Baylor.

The top two teams in each pool will advance to the quarterfinal bracket of single-elimination championship play Friday night. The bottom teams will compete in a consolation bracket.

Pool No. 1 is made up of defending national champion Cal State Long Beach--which is ranked No. 11 in Volleyball Monthly magazine’s weekly poll--Loyola Marymount, Wisconsin and Northern Arizona. Idaho State, Fresno State, Oregon State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, another NCAA participant from last year, make up the second pool and Fullerton, Georgia, Weber State and Oregon, a 1989 NCAA tournament entry that is ranked 17th by Volleyball Monthly, are in the third pool.

It should be a stiff challenge for the young Matadors, six of whom are sophomores.

“Last weekend was good, we got to see four teams,” said Northridge Coach Walt Ker, “but this weekend with 16 teams we’ll get a much better sense of where we lie. . . . what the big picture is for us in Division I, especially with high-end teams like Long Beach State there. It’s an opportunity for us to be tested. To see if we can play with the aggressiveness and mentality of top-level teams.”