Thompson Leads CSUN Comeback : College volleyball: Matadors defeat Pepperdine in five games after losing the first two and trailing in the third, 9-5.

Cal State Northridge, down and fading fast against Pepperdine, turned the tide against the Waves, rallying for a 13-15, 8-15, 15-13, 16-14, 15-11 victory in a marathon Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men’s volleyball match Wednesday night at Northridge.

Spurred on by a crowd of 1,267, the Matadors, sparked by reserve Jamal Thompson, snapped Pepperdine’s five-match winning streak and moved past the Waves into second place behind UCLA in the MPSF’s Mountain Division in a match that lasted 2 hours 52 minutes.

Fourth-ranked Northridge is 13-4, 7-2 in conference matches. Pepperdine, which was top-ranked in one poll and second in another, is 10-3, 7-3.

Thompson, a senior who has seen limited playing time during his career, helped turn the flow Northridge’s way with Pepperdine up, 9-5, in the third game and already ahead, two games to none.

Teaming with Ken Lynch, Thompson contributed to three blocks of Pepperdine All-American Tom Sorensen as the Matadors ran off a string of four consecutive points.

“The reason he was in there was to give us some offense, but he came through on defense,” Northridge Coach John Price said. “He was big-time responsible for us coming back.”

So, too, was Lynch, who paced the Matadors with match highs of 38 kills and 10 block assists.

“This does a lot for our program and our confidence as a team,” said Lynch, a senior outside hitter. “It’s important for us to know that when we’re down we can hang in.”

Indeed, Pepperdine had beaten Northridge down about as far as the Matadors could go.

After a well-played first game, the Waves won going away in the second behind the hitting of Sorensen and all-around strong play by Dain Blanton. The Waves continued their onslaught in the third game, seeking to deal Northridge only its second consecutive-game loss at home in three years.

When Pepperdine jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead, it appeared the Waves were well on their way.

“I remember during a timeout I said, ‘You guys look like you’ve lost already,’ ” Price said. Not quite. Northridge roared back, sparked by the play of Thompson, who finished with one solo block, five block assists, 13 kills and a 50% attacking average.

With Pepperdine up, 14-13, and at match point in the fourth game, Thompson drove home a hit that gave Northridge a side out and a reprieve. After that, Matt Unger and Coley Kyman combined on back-to-back blocks of Sorensen to push the Matadors to a 15-14 lead, and when Greg Shankle hit long for the Waves on game point, Northridge had forced a point-per-play fifth game.

In the deciding game, Northridge jumped out to a 3-0 advantage and wasn’t headed.