Sept. 30, 2008

Weekly Match Notes in PDF Format

MATADORS HOST CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD TUESDAY BEFORE RETURNING TO BIG WEST ACTION Cal State Northridge (5-9, 0-2 Big West) wraps up its current three-match homestand on Tuesday as the Matadors host Cal State Bakersfield (8-7) at 7 p.m. This weekend, Northridge returns to Big West Conference action as the Matadors travel to UC Irvine (6-8, 1-0) on Friday and UC Riverside (5-11, 0-1) on Saturday. Northridge remained winless at home this season after falling in five sets to UC Santa Barbara and dropping a four-set decision to No. 25 Cal Poly last week.

NORTHRIDGE ON THE NET Tuesday's match against Cal State Bakersfield will be available via Gametracker (GoMatadors.com) and via live video streaming at BigWest.TV. Get exclusive coverage of Big West Conference action by logging on to BigWest.TV! Now in it's fourth year, BigWest.TV gives fans on-demand access to Big West sports as well as press conferences, features and Big West Conference Championships. If you can't make it to the gym or the field, head to www.BigWest.TV to catch up on your favorite team!

MATADORS FALL TO UC SANTA BARBARA AND CAL POLY TO OPEN BIG WEST PLAY Senior Val Kepler had a team-high 15 kills to lead three Northridge hitters in double figures but the Matadors dropped their Big West Conference opener to visiting UC Santa Barbara 25-27, 25-16, 28-26, 22-25, 15-12 Friday at The Matadome. Kepler easily had her best match of the season as the senior from Simi Valley hit .500 with a season-high 15 kills and just two errors in 26 swings. On Saturday, sophomore Siara Grayson pounded a match-high 17 kills but 25th-ranked Cal Poly overcame a slow start to win the final three sets of a 14-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-23 Mustang win on Saturday in Big West action at The Matadome.

GRAYSON ADDS A SOLID ONE-TWO PUNCH After posting double figures in kills in the first two matches of the season (10 kills vs. Washington State, 10 at Boise State), sophomore Siara Grayson went through a stretch of eight matches without reaching double figures. As one of the Matadors' primary outside hitters, the team needs her offense and she has delivered lately. Grayson is averaging 3.06 kills/set over Northridge's last four matches including a season-high 17 kills against No. 25 Cal Poly. The sophomore from Sandy, Utah also contributed nine kills and a career-high 14 digs against UC Santa Barbara on Friday and had 14 kills and 12 kills in the two matches prior to that. Grayson has also been a huge factor at the service line as she added seven aces in two matches last weekend to her team-leading total of 22.

MATADORS LOOK TO END FRUSTRATING SKID Over the current six-match winless streak, the Matadors have dropped 18 of 23 sets but are even in all but two crucial statistical categories. Northridge is about even or has an advantage in kills (276-278), assists (261-252), aces (29-33) and digs (312-310). Where the Matadors are coming up short is in the area of hitting percentage and blocking. Northridge is hitting .133 as a team over its last six matches while the opposition is hitting .262. What might be more troubling however is the fact that the Matadors, typically one of the stronger blocking teams in the Big West, are being outblocked by nearly 2-1 over the last six matches. Northridge has 43.5 blocks as compared to 82.5 for the opposition, an average of 2.8 per set to 1.5 for the Matadors.

CAREER RECORDS WATCH A midseason peek at the Northridge career records list shows several current Matadors closing in on important career milestones. Seniors Kelley Hanson, Amy Hultner and Val Kepler are all closing in on the top 10 in career sets played. Heather Fobian (2001-04) is currently 10th with 362 sets played while Hanson has 361, Hultner is at 360 and Kepler is at 355. Senior Kayla Wright continues her hold on third place in career assists with 2,283 and with 89 career aces is three away from the career top-10. With a pair of aces against UCSB on Friday, Hultner broke into the top-10 with 93 in 360 career sets. She is currently tied for ninth place with Anna Garcia (1985-87). Hultner (1,115) and Hanson (1,113) are neck and neck in career digs. Hultner is currently fourth while Hanson is tied for fifth. Kepler is now just nine block assists away from the Northridge career lead and 42 away in total blocks.

NORTHRIDGE REGAINS BIG WEST SERVING LEAD Always one of the stronger serving teams in the Big West, the Matadors took over the conference lead this week in aces per set. With 10 aces against UC Santa Barbara and four more against Cal Poly, Northridge is averaging a conference-best 1.42 aces per set as a team. Siara Grayson, who came into this season with seven career aces, has already tripled that figure after serving her team-leading 22nd against Cal Poly on Saturday. Grayson, who ranks third in the Big West, and senior Amy Hultner (9th) are both among the top-10 servers in the conference.

NORTHRIDGE NOTES Two of the three Matador home losses have come against ranked teams, No. 4 UCLA on Sept. 16 and No. 25 Cal Poly on Sept. 27 ... The four-set loss to Cal Poly on Saturday was the Matadors first loss in four sets this season. Northridge is currently 3-5 in three sets and 1-3 in five sets. The two losses last week were also the first for the Matadors this season when they have won the first set ... the last time Northridge opened a season with four straight home losses was in 1995 when the Matadors lost their first six home matches on the way to a 2-29 finish ... the current six-match skid is Northridge's longest since 2005 ... the Matadors have never started a Big West season with three straight losses, but were also 0-2 in 2002.

CALLING ALL ALUMNI!! Calling all Matador Women's Volleyball Alumni! Join your fellow alumni for a social followed by the women's volleyball match against Cal State Fullerton. With your RSVP, you and your family will receive complimentary appetizers, admission to the match, tour of the campus and an opportunity to catch up with fellow alumni. The date of the social is Saturday, Oct. 11 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. in The Matadome. For more information contact assistant coach Kiran Mistry at 818-677-7784.

SCOUTING CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD The Roadrunners (8-7) head to Northridge on Tuesday having won three of their last four matches. Bakersfield and Northridge have two common opponents this season as both teams defeated Sacramento State and both lost to Saint Mary's. Senior OH Sarah Norman leads the Runners with 166 kills (3.02 kps) while senior MB Rosemary Stribling averages a team-high 3.11 k/s ... Head coach John Price (Cal State Northridge, 1983) is in his 12th season at Bakersfield and sports a 208-115 school record. Overall, Price is 220-120 in his 13th season of coaching.

SCOUTING UC IRVINE The Anteaters (6-8, 1-0 Big West) host the Matadors and Cal State Fullerton this week. UC Irvine opened its Big West season with a 3-0 win at UC Riverside on Sept. 27 which snapped a two-match skid. Sophomore OH Kari Pestolesi leads the Anteaters averaging 3.55 k/s which ranks fifth in the Big West. Senior OH Lauren Kellerman averages 3.11 k/s while UCI is hitting .224 as a team. Head coach Charlie Brande (UC Irvine, 1969) is in his ninth season at UC Irvine and owns a 124-130 career and school record.

SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE The Highlanders (5-11, 0-1 Big West) host Cal State Fullerton and the Matadors this week. UC Riverside has dropped nine straight matches since defeating James Madison on Sept. 6. The Highlanders opened Big West play with a 3-0 loss at home to UC Irvine last week. Senior OH Kelly Fink leads the Highlanders averaging 3.62 k/s which ranks fourth in the Big West. UC Riverside is hitting .180 as a team, good for seventh in the conference. Head coach Sue Gozansky (Cal Poly Pomona, 1968) is in her 39th season at UCR and sports a 677-507-16 career record.

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