Unger, Mesnik Team to Lead CSUN Victory

They had watched from the sidelines together so many times, it only seemed appropriate that they burst into the spotlight together.

Matt Unger, benched by academic ineligibility last season, and Mike Mesnik, sidelined by better players ahead of him, provided the spark for Cal State Northridge on Friday as the fourth-ranked Matadors opened Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. action with a 3-15, 15-12, 15-1, 15-6 win over seventh-ranked UC Santa Barbara at CSUN.

It was Unger who provided the big play and Mesnik who came off the bench to steady CSUN’s rapidly sinking ship as the Matadors came back from a disastrous performance in the match’s first game.

CSUN (2-1) was close to being saddled with a two-game deficit when Unger ignited a Matador rally with a solo block of a kill attempt by Santa Barbara’s Eric Fonoimoana.

Northridge went on to score 27 of the match’s next 28 points.

“Anything Matt does definitely fires us up, whether it’s a block or a kill,” said CSUN’s Neil Coffman, who had a game-high 23 kills and a .526 hitting percentage. “He’s our spark plug.”

Unger’s older brother, Adam, was Santa Barbara’s captain last season, so the win was extra sweet.

“I’m friends with a lot of these guys because of my brother,” Unger said.

Mesnik’s contribution was as important, although not as spectacular, as Unger’s.

After replacing starting outside hitter Mark Root a few plays before Unger’s pivotal block, Mesnik provided what CSUN was missing--defense and passing.

Santa Barbara (0-1) took command of the first game without breaking much of a sweat. The Gauchos hit through the Matador defense at will, going around CSUN’s blocks when possible and through them when it was not.

Northridge fell behind, 10-1, showed signs of a pulse with consecutive points, then lost the serve and watched Santa Barbara’s David Leath serve out the game’s final five points.

CSUN was putting up more of a struggle in the second game, and Mesnik’s arrival succeeded in tipping the scales decisively in the Matadors’ favor.

Northridge scored five of the final six points to win the second game, then made the third set a replay of the first.