CSUN Women Overcome Letdown, USD

On the verge of sweeping the University of San Diego in a women’s nonconference volleyball match Tuesday at Matador Gymnasium, Cal State Northridge instead settled for a tough four-game victory.

Northridge defeated San Diego, 15-10, 15-9, 13-15, 15-13, but the Matadors (9-4) had to withstand a furious rally in game four after building a 9-0 lead.

The Matadors lost game three after leading, 7-4.

“I don’t know what happened exactly,” junior outside hitter Dawn Krenik said of the Matadors’ near-collapse in game four. “We seemed to be in control. It wasn’t like we were saying, “Oh, my gosh, they’re dominating the match.’ But I kept looking up at the scoreboard and they kept coming back. . . . This is a match we should have won in three games. We need to learn to do that against teams like this.”

Nikki Wallace and Jennifer Lofftus sparked the comeback by San Diego (7-5).

Wallace, a 5-foot-11 junior middle blocker from Antelope Valley College, had a match-high 24 kills, and Lofftus was one of three Toreros with 10.

Northridge roared to a 9-0 lead in game four with Krenik serving, but the Toreros narrowed their deficit to 10-8, before tying the score, 12-12, on Wallace’s solo block of a Nancy Nicholls kill attempt.

After exchanging sideouts, Northridge took a 13-12 lead when San Diego’s Jennifer Wrightson drove the ball into the net on a kill attempt, and the Matadors went ahead, 14-12, when Nicholls and Shelly Swalec executed a textbook double block on Wrightson.

San Diego narrowed its deficit to one point, and after a sideout, Northridge won the match when Liz Gunsaulus hit long on a kill attempt.

“This was a good learning experience for us,” Northridge Coach Walt Ker said. “I would like to have seen us win in three games, but we broke down a little bit on passing. . . . It was still a good match for us to identify some things we need to work on in the future.”

Nicholls, a senior, had a team-high 15 kills, and sophomore Ana Kristich added 14. Sophomore Heather Anderson had a match-high 23 digs for the Matadors, and Krenik and Nicholls each added 18.

Krenik, who had three service aces to tie the all-time Matador record of 105, had several spectacular digs in the first two games, during which Northridge trailed only once.

“On defense, she always plays great,” Ker said of Krenik. “She’s our human highlight film.”

Northridge, which defeated 25th-ranked Fresno State in four games last Friday, will meet 11th-ranked Brigham Young in the San Diego tournament Friday.