Oct. 15, 2008

Weekly Match Notes in PDF Format

MATADORS CONTINUE HOMESTAND LOOKING TO END SKID VS. UC DAVIS, PACIFIC THIS WEEK Cal State Northridge (5-14, 0-6 Big West) wraps up its three-match homestand this week as the Matadors host UC Davis (8-11, 0-6) Friday and first-place Pacific (5-9, 5-1) on Saturday. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. Northridge is looking to end a season-long, 11-match skid and something has to give on Friday as both teams come in with identical 0-6 Big West records. The Matadors, currently 0-5 in The Matadome this season, lead 7-3 in the all-time series with UC Davis but trail 9-6 in the all-time series with Pacific.

NORTHRIDGE ON THE NET Both matches this week 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 IN LONG BEACH, AT HOME TO CAL STATE FULLERTON Despite junior Angela Hupp's nine kills, Cal State Northridge had trouble getting its offense on track as Long Beach State dealt the Matadors a 25-18, 25-21, 25-21 setback at the Walter Pyramid. Hupp had nine kills while hitting .227 to go with 10 digs for her second consecutive double-double and fifth this season. The Matadors did not help themselves on offense as they hit under .200 (.059) for the third straight match. On Saturday, Northridge saw its losing streak reach 11 and its Big West record drop to 0-6 after Cal State Fullerton came into The Matadome and handed the Matadors a 25-23, 25-19, 25-19 loss. No Northridge hitter reached double figures in kills in the three-set loss as senior Val Kepler (.438) and sophomore Siara Grayson (.200) each posted a team-high nine kills.

KEPLER TAKES OVER CAREER BLOCK ASSISTS LEAD With a single block assist last Tuesday at Long Beach State, senior middle blocker Val Kepler moved into sole possession of first place in Matador history with 383 career block assists. Kepler moved past Ana Kristich, who had 382 block assists in 450 sets from 1991-94. Kepler then added five more block assists on Saturday against Cal State Fullerton and currently has 388 block assists in 374 career sets played. She also remains third in career total blocks with 425 which trails second-place Kristich by 17 blocks.

ORLANDINI IS LATEST FRESHMAN TO LEAD IN ASSISTS First-year setter Sam Orlandini is virtually assured of becoming the third freshman in the last four years to lead the Matadors is assists. Orlandini has a team-high 606 assists this season (9.77 a/s) and would join teammates Angela Hupp and Kayla Wright in leading the team as freshman. Wright had 890 assists as a true freshman in 2005 and Hupp had a team-best 609 assists (16 more than Wright) as a true freshman in 2006. Orlandini, who was second in the Big West in assists/set for much of the non-conference season, currently ranks fifth at 9.77 assists per set.

HOME NOT SO SWEET in 2008 As evidenced by their 54-42 (.563) home record since the 2000 season, the Matadors have traditionally been solid on the home court. But heading into Friday's match with UC Davis, Northridge is 0-5 in The Matadome with five home matches still to come. The Matadors have never gone winless over the course of a season at home, the closest being 1-8 in 1995. Northridge won two of its 11 home matches in 2005. 1995 and 2005 are the only seasons in the last 13 that Northridge has finished with a sub-.500 home record. The Matadors won nine home matches in consecutive seasons (2003, 2004) and won a school-record 13 in 1996.

MATADORS SEEK HITTING IMPROVEMENT Northridge heads into Friday's Big West match with UC Davis hitting .145 (269-151-815) as team in five conference matches. Overall, the Matadors are hitting slightly better at .158 (845-460-2438). After hitting .213 against No. 25 Cal Poly on Sept. 27, Northridge has hit .071 against UC Irvine, .158 against UC Riverside, .059 against Long Beach State and .162 against Cal State Fullerton. Conversely, the five conference teams the Matadors have played are hitting a combined .237 with 292 kills and 111 errors in 765 swings. In the latest Big West statistics report, Northridge ranks ninth among nine conference teams in hitting.

NORTHRIDGE IN THE RPI This week the Matadors rank 219th out of 329 schools in the NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI. UC Davis, at 202, ranks just ahead of Northridge and UC Riverside is currently at 183. Long Beach State, at No. 25 is the highest rated Big West team while Cal Poly is just behind at No. 29. Saturday's opponent Pacific is rated No. 59.

NORTHRIDGE NOTES 11-match skid is Northridge's longest under Jeff Stork and the school's longest since dropping 21 in a row in 1995 ... the last time the Matadors lost five straight home matches was in Stork's first season (2002) when Northridge dropped its final five home matches of an 11-16 season ... Northridge's five-set loss at UC Riverside dropped the Matadors to 1-5 in five-set matches and Northridge has now lost four straight five-set decisions. The last five-set win came over San Jose State on Sept. 6. Since then, the Matadors have lost in five to Texas State UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Bakersfield and UC Riverside ... the Matadors are 1-2 all-time against UC Davis in The Matadome and 3-5 in eight matches against Pacific in Northridge ... Northridge split with the Aggies in two matches last season while Pacific took both meetings in 2007 ... Stork will be inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 2 as a member of the Waves' men's volleyball team.

MATADORS TABBED SEVENTH IN THE BIG WEST The Matadors earned 27 points and were picked to finish seventh by the conference's head coaches in the 2008 Big West Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll. Northridge, which returned six starters and 10 letterwinners, garnered 27 points from the conference's head coaches and was predicted to finish seventh among nine conference teams. Two-time defending Big West champion Cal Poly was a unanimous pick to win its third straight regular season crown as the Mustangs earned all nine first place votes and 81 points total. Long Beach State was predicted to finish second after receiving 68 points.

SCOUTING UC DAVIS The Aggies (8-11, 0-6 Big West) travel to Northridge on Friday before heading to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. UC Davis slipped to 0-6 in conference play after falling to UC Riverside (3-1) and UC Irvine (3-0) at home last week. Senior OH Renee Ibekwe leads the Aggies and the Big West with 273 kills (3.96 kps) while freshman OH Keala Peterson adds 165 kills (2.54 k/s) ... UC Davis is hitting .172 as a team ... Head coach Jamie Holmes (Bethany, 1994) is in her first season with the Aggies and sports a 8-11 school record. Overall, Holmes is 20-20.

SCOUTING PACIFIC The Tigers (5-9, 5-1 Big West), who travel to Cal State Fullerton on Friday and Northridge on Saturday, took over first place in the Big West with wins over UC Irvine (3-0) and UC Riverside (3-0) last week. All the Tigers' wins have come in the Big West. Junior OH Mallori Gibson leads Pacific averaging 3.49 k/s which ranks fourth in the Big West. Senior OH Alexa Anderson ranks eighth in the conference averaging 3.39 k/s while hitting .224. Head coach Charlie Wade (Cal State Fullerton, 1991) is in his third season at Pacific and owns a 31-39 career record.

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