Lynch Lifts CSUN to 1st Volleyball Win Over USC

As Ken Lynch stepped onto the Pauley Pavilion court Saturday night with the Cal State Northridge volleyball team trailing USC by one game, he slapped the hand of teammate Coley Kyman and broke into a wide grin.

Lynch was simply glad to be playing again, and his 18-kill performance showed it in the Matadors’ 8-15, 15-8, 15-7, 15-7 win over the Trojans in the third-place match of the UCLA Volleyball Classic.

The win marked the first time in 24 meetings that CSUN has beaten USC in volleyball, but more important, it gave the Matadors (17-11) momentum for the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. tournament Wednesday at UC Irvine.

Lynch’s appearance, after a dreadful showing by Northridge in the first game, gave his teammates an instant lift. CSUN took a quick 6-0 lead in the second game, survived a rally by the Trojans, then won, 15-8, on Axel Hager’s ace.

In the third game, CSUN went ahead, 14-2, before USC (11-12) scored five consecutive points. The Trojans survived 11 game points before hitting wide to give Northridge a 2-1 lead in games.

The Matadors took an 11-6 lead in the fourth game and closed out the match on a block by Hager.

Although Lynch re-injured his left ankle Thursday and played in pain against the Trojans, he blamed his absence from the lineup on a recent slump.

“I haven’t been playing to my potential,” Lynch said. “It is a lot of things. My ankle . . . having a lot of things at school to turn in. I wasn’t as attuned to volleyball.”

With Lynch playing sparingly, the Matadors took defending NCAA champion Cal State Long Beach to five games before losing in the first round of the tournament Friday.

“If we were playing well again tonight, I probably wouldn’t have played,” Lynch said.

His return to the lineup at opposite hitter enabled Kyman to move back to his natural middle blocker position.

“I don’t mind playing opposite hitter, but I feel the only way we can win the (WIVA tournament) title is with Ken in there,” Kyman said.

As CSUN Coach John Price put it, Lynch was “frothing at the mouth to get in.”

Hewitt contributed a match-high 12 blocks and 16 kills and Hager added a team-high 13 digs and 12 kills. Setter Matt Unger recorded 72 assists, and Kyman had 25 kills and 11 digs.