Thursday, 4/10/97
Bruin, Matador rematch won’t be same old story
CSUN revamps line-up after previous loss to UCLA
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA men’s volleyball team had arguably their easiest match
of the season on Jan. 29 against Cal State Northridge (CSUN). But
you can be sure that neither the Matadors nor the Bruins expected
the same results.
On that night, CSUN head coach John Price walked out of Pauley
Pavilion in disgust. His team had been handed a crushing defeat by
UCLA (18-4, 14-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), and his
entire team would have to be reorganized. So Price went to work and
changed his offense.
The biggest change has been the addition of senior opposite
Jason Hughes to the lineup. The Matadors (14-11, 9-9) did not have
his services in the first match due to injury. Now an offense that
had depended primarily on outside hitters Chad Strickland and
Collin Smith enjoys more balance with Hughes.
With freshman Sean Callahan also receiving more playing time
since the three game humiliation from the Bruins, CSUN now has a
steady seven-man rotation. Against UCLA, the Matadors just seemed
to send in one player after another without success. But recently
this new seven-man rotation took one game away from previously No.
1 BYU and swept Long Beach State.
CSUN seems ready to make a run for the playoffs, and they are
not a team to be taken too lightly.
"We should beat them, but in the same breath they are a much
better team than when we saw them last time," UCLA assistant coach
Brian Rofer said.
But Rofer and the rest of the Bruins know that destiny is in
their hands.
After avenging a loss earlier in the year to Pepperdine Friday,
the Bruins can clinch home court advantage for the MPSF playoffs by
winning the remainder of their matches.
Rofer is sure that at this point in the season it does not
matter what other teams do. UCLA must keep its momentum.
Enjoying a 13-match winning streak, the Bruins seem to be
peaking at just the right time. Four members of last year’s
championship team (opposite Paul Nihipali, middle blocker Tom
Stillwell and swing hitters Fred Robins and Ben Moselle) are
elevating their games as the championship approaches.
"Their game is starting to go up," Rofer said. "It is pretty
obvious. I can see that in practice. … Regardless of what teams
do, these guys know what they have to do. I have never seen them
(not pick it up)."