CSUN Struggles to Volleyball Win

After years of struggle, the Cal State Northridge volleyball team, ranked fourth in a preseason poll by Volleyball Monthly, now finds itself among the nation’s elite. And during its season opener at Loyola Marymount’s Gersten Pavilion, the Matadors found that life near the top can occasionally be a little rougher than expected.

CSUN got a victory in the nonconference match, 14-16, 16-14, 11-15, 15-7, 15-13, leaving Loyola with the moral victory this time. The last game was played by a quick-score format in which there is a point awarded on every play.

Earlier in the day, Northridge Coach John Price had warned the Matadors that there would be nights such as Tuesday. But he didn’t think one would come so soon.

“We had a team meeting and talked about being ready to play,” Price said. “I told them I wasn’t concerned about a letdown tonight for the opener or Friday night (at home against UC Santa Barbara) in the conference opener.

“Obviously, that was coaching error No. 1 of the season. I should have been concerned. The only good thing about tonight was that we won.”

In Price’s view, Northridge played flat until the fifth and deciding game.

Neil Coffman, who had a match-high 35 kills for the Matadors, said the team wasn’t flat. It was tired, the result of a long weekend of tournament play at UC Santa Barbara.

“We did exceptionally well this weekend and I think maybe we’re still a little tired from that,” Coffman said. “I know we didn’t come out trying to finesse the ball, but it may have looked that way. I know I’m a little worn out.”

Coffman was among the few Matadors who didn’t look it. He hit at a more than respectable .385 clip and accounted for six of CSUN’s points in the final game.

“Our passing wasn’t good and when that happens we tend to go to Neil,” Price said. “He kept us in the match.”

But even when Northridge finally got a rally going in the deciding game, pesky Loyola, ranked 15th in the preseason, kept coming back.

The Lions trailed, 12-5, before taking one last run. Led by Sio Saipaia, Loyola cut the gap to 14-13. However, Saipaia’s final hitting attempt was blocked by the CSUN tandem of Ken Lynch and Raphael Tulino, ending the match and allowing Price to heave a deep sigh of relief. He had been on the opposite side of similar matches too many times before.

“I’ve been there when you say, ‘God, we had them.’ That’s what Loyola is saying right now,” Price said. “The one positive thing I’ll say for us is that good teams win matches like this when they don’t play well. They find a way to win, and we did.”

Now, in the days before Friday night’s Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. opener against Santa Barbara, Price will try to find the team he watched finish fourth at the UCSB tournament.

“I don’t know what happened to the hard-hitting Northridge volleyball team,” Price said.

“The No. 1 thing we do best is hit the ball, but there we were popping it up and trying to place it.”