Division II Volleyball: No. 1 Faces No. 2

He might not have imagined it when he took over the program six years ago, but Mark Massey has the Cal State Los Angeles women’s volleyball team in position to become the top-ranked team in the nation.

But there is a problem.

Although Cal State LA is 15-0 and ranked No. 2, the top-ranked team is in its conference, Cal State Bakersfield (22-1).

They will play tonight at Cal State LA, and it should be the best competition Division II volleyball has to offer. It is the first of two matches this season between the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. powers.

And, it is a budding rivalry.

Bakersfield, UC Riverside and Cal Poly Pomona have been the most prominent CCAA volleyball teams over the years. Cal State has been up and down, mostly down.

But Massey changed that a couple of years after he arrived with a remarkable coaching and recruiting job in 1992.

He put together a squad with four freshmen from volleyball clubs--the best volleyball at the high school age is on the club level--who weren’t quite good enough to play Division I volleyball. After Massey persuaded them to play for Cal State LA, he continued his pursuit of walk-ons, plucking setter Adriana Huerta out of one of his physical education classes.

Those players advanced to the NCAA’s elite eight tournament in 1992 and lost in the semifinals. Last year, under the new regional tournament format, Cal State LA lost in the West Regional to Bakersfield.

“There’s a different feeling now,” Massey said. “Before, we knew we could compete. Now we look at ourselves as an elite team and expect to win matches.”

Now a junior-dominated team, Cal State LA is looking for immediate success and not waiting until next season.

“We’re going to be basically the same team next year, but after losing (in the regional), they were very disappointed. They have one goal--they want championship rings,” Massey said.

The Golden Eagles can take a big step toward them tonight.

They have the experience. Huerta is one of the best Division II setters in the country, and three of the club recruits--Andrea Ferchaw, Wendy Dreher and Kaili Kimura--are the backbone of the team.

Although Massey said his team has been waiting for this match since the loss in the regional last year, he says there is no added pressure.

“I would say that there never has been a match in season of this significance here, but with our conference, we’re so used to every match being against a ranked team, that we’re used to the pressure.”

Bakersfield, which has won the last two CCAA championships, has the same attitude.

“From a significance stand-point, I don’t think it is any more significant than a lot of others--it’s a real good conference match,” Bakersfield Coach Carl Ferriera said. “Rankings don’t help you, once you start to play.”

Normally, Cal State LA draws 100-200 for volleyball matches, but with No. 1 playing No. 2, the athletic department is making arrangements to accommodate as many as 400.

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Cal Poly Pomona will have a dinner and reception to honor the accomplishments of former women’s basketball coach Darlene May, who retired last summer because of breast cancer.

It is open to fans and friends of May and is scheduled for Nov. 14 at the Kellogg West Conference Center on Pomona’s campus. Details: (909) 869-2810. Tickets are $35.

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After a disappointing season last year, it appears Claremont-Mudd’s water polo team is ready to retake the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title.

Redlands won last year, interrupting nearly 11 years of Claremont-Mudd dominance. Claremont- Mudd won 110 consecutive games against conference opponents and 10 consecutive SCIAC titles before Redlands stopped both streaks.

This season, Claremont-Mudd beat Redlands in the conference opener, 11-7. Redlands was without its best player, Greg Milton, who has a torn rotator cuff and might sit out the season.

“We were playing not to lose last year,” Claremont-Mudd Coach Mike Sutton said. “We were feeling the weight of the streak. But we’re playing well now.”

Claremont-Mudd is ranked 17th with a 5-3 record, the losses to Division I schools.

Despite the loss of Milton and a 1-5 record, Redlands is expected to play well in conference games and be in the chase for the SCIAC title. Whittier (4-2) and Occidental (8-3) will be competitive with anyone in the conference, but have yet to take the next step.

College Division Notes

Redlands’ men’s soccer team beat Claremont-Mudd for the first time since 1973, a 2-1 victory on Sept. 28. Claremont-Mudd is ranked No. 1 in the West Region. . . . Biola’s women’s volleyball team, winner of seven consecutive matches, is ranked second in the NAIA. Biola, 12-6 overall and 6-1 in the Golden State Athletic Conference, won 19 consecutive games at one point during the seven-match winning streak. Biola will play GSAC rival Azusa Pacific (No. 9) on Thursday.