March 11, 2008

NORTHRIDGE VOLLEYBALL THIS WEEK:

MATCH #21: #5 PEPPERDINE AT #2 NORTHRIDGE • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12 • THE MATADOME • 7 p.m.

SECOND-RANKED MATADORS HOST NO. 5 PEPPERDINE IN MID-WEEK SHOWDOWN Second-ranked Cal State Northridge (16-4, 12-3 MPSF), winners of a school-record 10 consecutive matches, looks to avenge an earlier defeat as the Matadors host fifth-ranked Pepperdine (8-7, 8-7 MPSF) on Wednesday at The Matadome. Northridge not only puts its 10-match win streak on the line this week but also its unblemished 6-0 home record. The Matadors, the first team in the MPSF to reach 12 conference wins, trail 46-16 in the all-time series with Pepperdine and are 9-18 against the Waves in The Matadome. Although Pepperdine has defeated Northridge four consecutive times, the Matadors have split the last four matches between the two teams at home.

MATADORS CLAIM SCHOOL-RECORD 10TH STRAIGHT WIN WITH 3-1 WIN OVER NO. 8 USC Isaac Kneubuhl and Cody Loe each pounded a match-high 16 kills and Mike Gaudino added a double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs as third-ranked Cal State Northridge won its school-record 10th match in a row with a 28-30, 30-22, 30-22, 30-22 win over No. 8 USC on Friday at The Matadome. The 10th-consecutive win eclipses the record set by the 1979 Matador squad who won nine straight on two occasions. The Matadors, who now have the best record in school history after 20 matches, also continued their recent dominance of USC as Northridge has now won the last 12 matches between the two teams. Loe, who hit .464 and Kneubuhl (.321) led the way for the Matadors while Gaudino and Eric Vance (11 kills) also reached double figures in kills. Gaudino, Kneubuhl and Vance all added double figures in digs as Northridge posted three double-doubles in the match. Kneubuhl and Vance also added three aces apiece as the Matadors posted a season-high 12 aces as a team. Senior setter Travis Bluemling had 57 assists in leading Northridge to a .363 (63-18-124) hitting effort. On Wednesday, Kneubuhl matched his career-high with 22 kills while Vance added 19 kills and four aces to lead the Matadors to their ninth straight win, 30-25, 25-30, 30-17, 30-23 over No. 13 UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday at The Matadome.

MATADORS ACHIEVE HIGHEST-EVER RANKING THIS WEEK After defeating No. 13 UC Santa Barbara and No. 8 USC last week to run their win streak to 10, the Matadors moved up to their highest-ever ranking of second in this week's CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Top 15 poll. The number two national ranking is the Matadors' highest ever since the AVCA poll was introduced in 1986. In the CBS College Sports Network/AVCA poll, Northridge received a season-high 217 points along with a pair of first place votes this week. After two weeks out of the top spot, BYU (16-1) earned 12 first-place votes and 234 points to take over as the top-ranked team in the country. Long Beach State (15-2) picked up one first-place vote for third while Penn State (19-1) and Pepperdine (8-7) round out this week's top five. Stanford (14-7), Ball State (14-6), UC Irvine (10-11), UCLA (13-9) and USC (9-10) complete this week's top 10. Northridge was ranked third in the most recent Molten/Volleyball poll released Mar. 3. The latest Molten/Volleyball poll should be released on Wednesday, Mar. 12.

MATADORS OFF TO BEST-EVER START With 16 wins in its first 20 matches this season, Northridge is off to the best start in the 31-year history of Matador men's volleyball. Twice in Northridge history had a team started 15-5 (1991, 1993). The 10-3 MPSF start is the best ever by a Northridge team since joining the conference in 1993.

THAT'S A WINNING LINEUP The starting lineup is always a work in progress as evidenced by the fact that Northridge has used eight different starting combinations this season. But since head coach Jeff Campbell has settled on the starting seven of McKniff-Loe-Bluemling-Kneubuhl-Vance-Gaudino-Keohohou, the Matadors have won six straight matches. In fact, in matches that Loe, Kneubuhl and Vance have been together in the starting lineup, Northridge is a perfect 16-0. Loe did not play in the season-opening loss to Stanford, Kneubuhl missed the loss at Pepperdine and Vance did not play in the finale at BYU. Only senior Travis Bluemling and sophomore Kevin McKniff have started all 20 matches.

MATADORS IN THE NCAA STATS Several Northridge players appear in this week's NCAA statistics report. Junior Eric Vance ranks eighth in aces (.433), 11th in points (5.07) and is 12th in kills (4.24). Also figuring into the national stats, senior Travis Bluemling is third in assists (13.06 per game), freshman Cody Loe (.430) and sophomore Kevin McKniff (.401) rank 11th and 17th respectively in hitting percentage, senior Isaac Kneubuhl is 18th in aces (.370) and sophomore Ali'i Keohohou is 10th in digs (2.61 per game). As a team, the Matadors are third in the country in team hitting at .321.

SERVING UP A STORM Northridge, second in the MPSF in service aces per game (1.64) but leading in total aces (121), boosted the total with 23 aces in two matches last week. Vance had a team-high seven in the two wins, while sophomore Mike Gaudino added six, Kneubuhl had four and McKniff added three.

NORTHRIDGE NOTES It was double-double's all around for the Matadors last week. Vance posted his team-leading third with 19 kills and 10 digs against UCSB on Wednesday and then Vance, Gaudino and Kneubuhl all turned the trick against USC on Friday. It marked the first for Gaudino and Kneubuhl this season ... After playing 20 matches (14 on the road) in 69 days since the season opened on Jan. 4, Northridge will take a much-needed 13-day break between matches following Wednesday's match against Pepperdine ... The Matadors took all three matches from both UC Santa Barbara and USC this season. Northridge has now won a series-best 12 straight over the Trojans.

NORTHRIDGE ON THE NET The Pepperdine-Northridge match will be broadcast live with Cory Bluemling, the voice of Matador men's volleyball, calling all the action. Click the newly-launched GoMatadors.com for more information.

SCOUTING NO. 5 PEPPERDINE The fifth-ranked Waves (8-7, 8-7 MPSF) had their three-match win streak snapped with a pair of losses at No. 2 BYU last weekend. Junior OPP Paul Carroll led Pepperdine with 57 kills in two matches (8.14 per game). He had 28 kills and hit .423 in the first match and had 29 kills and hit .468 in the second. For the season, Carroll leads the Waves averaging a team-best 6.67 despite eight matches due to injury. The Waves hit .294 as a team. Head coach Marv Dunphy is in his 25th season at Pepperdine and sports a 460-180 career and school record. This week's match is the second meeting between the Matadors and Waves this season. Pepperdine won in three in Malibu on Jan. 12 and leads 46-16 in the all-time series which dates back to 1978.

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