COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL PREVIEWS : CSUN Actually Better After Losing Players

Of the 14 men’s volleyball teams in the powerful Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Cal State Northridge probably has suffered the biggest blow.

The Matadors’ best hitters from last season--6-foot-7 Oliver Heitmann from Germany and 6-5 Jon Baer--are gone and so are the team’s top two setters. Heitmann is playing club volleyball in Germany and Baer in Austria.

The loss of the two hitters was expected because both were seniors, but starting setter Travis Ferguson and his backup, Justin Hambleton, were underclassmen who were supposed to return.

But in June, Ferguson, the 1992 Southern Section 3-A Division player of the year at Royal High, quit school and got married. He had 1,660 assists, 169 digs and a team-high 28 aces last year as a sophomore.

Hambleton quit the team in November because he said he was no longer excited about playing volleyball. In 14 matches as a freshman last year he had 165 assists.

“You may not believe this and most people won’t, but this year’s team is better than last year’s team,” Northridge Coach John Price said. “We don’t have the potential to be as good as last year, but that team didn’t come anywhere near reaching its potential.”

Personality clashes among players and lack of effort, Price said, caused problems on the 1995 team that finished with a 16-12 record and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

So, while the talent pool may not be as great in ‘96, the result will be better because players get along and they have a great work ethic, Price said.

“I was miserable last year,” Price said. “It was the worst year I’ve had in coaching. I tried everything I could think of to get the guys to do it the right way and nothing worked.”

The new formula should be successful. Junior Dan Nash (6-feet), a Pierce College transfer, will start at setter, and freshman Matt Gillis (6-4, Saugus High) will back him up.

Mikko Sivonen, a 6-3 freshman from Finland who joined the team earlier this week, eventually may become the team’s starting setter.

Dirk Schlueter, a 6-8 middle blocker from Germany, should join the Matadors by next week, Price said. Sivonen and Schlueter weren’t enrolled sooner because their visas were delayed because of the federal government shutdown.

Schlueter should play extensively, Price said, but the Matadors have three other talented blockers in seniors Chris Gil (6-5) and Ed Bond (6-6), and junior Eric Klootwyk (6-6). Gil played the most last season and had 188 kills, 77 digs and 33 blocks.

Northridge’s top hitters are sophomore Chad Strickland (6-1) and juniors Jason Hughes (6-7) and Collin Smith (6-4). Strickland, an explosive player who came off the bench last season, had 172 kills, 89 digs, 37 blocks and 11 aces. Hughes had 325 kills, 122 digs, 66 blocks and 26 aces. Smith had 280 kills, 197 digs and 45 blocks.

“Most of our firepower is going to come from Chad and Collin,” Price said. “They have both improved a lot in the off-season and Collin is in much better shape.”

Freshman Kevin Bergschneider (6-4, Inglewood High) will be a key backup hitter, and freshman Tongsu Rivera (5-11), a walk-on from Guam, will be a back-row specialist.

The Matadors, ranked ninth nationally by Volleyball magazine, play host to No. 7 USC tonight at 7 in their opener. Northridge then plays No. 2 Long Beach State at home Saturday at 3 p.m.