Coming back: Danny Nishiyama, who started 16...

Coming back: Danny Nishiyama, who started 16 of 19 matches for the Cal State Northridge men’s soccer team in 1995 before leaving the team last season, said he plans to rejoin the Matadors in the fall.

Nishiyama was the Golden League player of the year and a member of The Times’ all-area team as a Quartz Hill High senior in 1994-95. He was a prized recruit for Northridge Coach Marwan Ass’ad.

But after helping the Matadors to a 9-8-2 finish as a freshman defender, he left the team last August to take care of family matters.

Now, after attending Antelope Valley College and working in a bakery, Nishiyama hopes he’ll be able to shore up the back line of a Northridge team that slumped to 4-10-2 in his absence.

“I haven’t signed anything yet but the coaches asked me to give it another shot,” Nishiyama said. “It sounds like I can get my scholarship back and I’m looking forward to being an impact player.”

Dismissed: Dean Conk, The Master’s College women’s volleyball coach, has been fired after nine seasons, Athletic Director Bill Oates said.

The Mustangs were 31-11 last season and reached the NAIA regional quarterfinals eight times in the past nine seasons. Oates would not say why Conk was fired.

Fast company: The Cal State Northridge softball team, ranked fifth in the nation by FastPitch World magazine, is rated 15th in the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Assn. poll. Arizona was No. 1, followed by UCLA.

Making the grade: Thirteen Cal State Northridge track and field athletes posted Big Sky Conference indoor championship qualifying marks in 10 events in last Saturday’s four-team meet at the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Northridge qualified four men in three events and nine women in seven events.

The Big Sky championships will be held Feb. 21-22 in Flagstaff.

Marked men: In 17 games this season, the Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team has held the opponent’s leading scorer under his average 13 times.

Hot shot: Scia Maumausolo of Cal State Northridge, who set career records of 46 home runs and 163 RBIs for the Matadors’ softball team from 1993-96, moved to ninth on the all-time school list in the women’s shotput Saturday with a 44-foot 11 3/4-inch effort in a four-team indoor meet in Flagstaff, Ariz. It was Maumausolo’s first track competition since her senior season at San Diego Mt. Carmel High.