Nov. 4, 2008

Weekly Match Notes in PDF Format

FINAL ROAD MATCHES ON TAP FOR NORTHRIDGE OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS Cal State Northridge (6-19, 1-11 Big West) plays its final stretch of road matches in 2008 beginning Thursday with a non-conference match at Cal State Bakersfield (13-12). This week's road trip continues on Saturday as the Matadors return to Big West action at Cal State Fullerton (13-13, 6-5 Big West). Northridge slipped to 1-11 in Big West matches after dropping conference matches to UC Riverside and UC Irvine last week. Since 2007, the Matadors are 1-1 against Cal State Bakersfield after resuming the series after a 13-year hiatus. All-time, Northridge, leads 27-6 in the series with the Roadrunners. The Matadors lead 21-7 in the all-time series with Cal State Fullerton.

NORTHRIDGE ON THE NET Thursday's match at Cal State Bakersfield will be available via live stats and video at www.GoRunners.com. Saturday's match at Cal State Fullerton will be available via Gametracker at GoMatadors.com and will also be available 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 AT HOME TO UC RIVERSIDE AND UC IRVINE Angela Hupp knocked down a career-high 27 kills and had 17 digs for her sixth double-double of the season but UC Riverside blocked its way to a 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 30-28 win over Cal State Northridge. On Saturday, Siara Grayson and Hupp combined for 27 kills but Cal State Northridge dropped its fourth straight match 20-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-21 to visiting UC Irvine. Grayson's 14 kills led Northridge as the sophomore hit .122 and added a pair of blocks. Hupp added 13 kills hitting .211 and scooped up 14 digs for her second double-double in as many nights.

HUPP MAKES A PUSH FOR POSTSEASON HONORS With just five matches remaining in the 2008 season, junior Angela Hupp is making a bid for All-Big West honors for the third straight season. Hupp might have played her best volleyball of the season on Friday in a four-set loss to UC Riverside. The junior from Acton, Calif., pounded a career-high 27 kills in a career-high 55 swings for a solid .364 hitting average. She also added a season-high 17 digs which is just three off her career-high. The double-double was Hupp's team-leading sixth of the season and she backed it up with her seventh the next night against UC Irvine. She tallied 13 kills and 14 digs against the Anteaters on Saturday and accounted for 45.5 of Northridge's 128.5 points in the two matches last weekend. Hupp garnered Big West Freshman of the Year honors in 2006 and was named Honorable Mention All-Big West in 2007.

NORTHRIDGE FOURTH IN BIG WEST IN BLOCKS, ACES The Matadors head into the homestretch of the conference season ranked fourth in both blocks and aces. Over the past few seasons, Northridge has proven itself to be one of the stronger blocking teams in the conference finishing as high as second in 2007. After approaching the Northridge single-season record with 332.5 total blocks in 2007, the Matadors have slipped a bit to 205.0 total blocks in 25 matches this season. After leading the Big West in aces in 2006, Northridge ranked fifth last season and is fourth so far in 2008.

A TRIO OF MATADORS REACH 200 KILLS With 26 kills in two matches last weekend, sophomore Siara Grayson became the third Matador hitter to surpass the 200-kills plateau in 2008. Hupp leads Northridge with 257 while sophomore Brittany Williams has 213. Grayson, with 201 kills this season, is 25 kills away from establishing a new career-high in one season. Another sophomore Lynda Morales also has a shot at 200 kills as she heads into the final five matches with 158 kills. Hupp should become the first Matador since Darla Donaldson in 2006 to pass 300 kills in a season.

MATADORS LOOK FOR STRONG BIG WEST FINISH Northridge needs to win two of its final four conference matches to avoid posting the most Big West losses in Jeff Stork's seven seasons on the bench. Stork's first Matador squad in 2002 finished 5-13 (.278) when the Big West had 10 members. In terms of winning percentage, the 2005 team finished with the lowest winning percentage at .143 (2-12). If the Matadors drop one of their final five matches it will be the second time in Stork's tenure that Northridge has lost as many as 20 matches in a season. The 2005 squad, made up largely of freshmen, finished the season 4-23.

NORTHRIDGE NOTES Senior Val Kepler is one block assist away from the 400th of her Matador career. Kepler had a pair of block assists against UC Irvine on Saturday to give her 399 ... The Matadors slipped to 1-18 this season when they lose the hitting percentage battle. The last time Northridge out-hit an opposition was against Pacific (.283-.199) on Oct. 18 and the Matadors only win when they were out-hit was against San Jose State on Sept. 6 ... Since defeating Montana on Sept. 12 to improve to 5-3, Northridge is 1-16 over its last 17 matches ... The Matadors need 183 kills over their last five matches to avoid setting a school record for least kills in a season. The 1989 Northridge squad had 1286 kills as a team which is the lowest in school history.

SCOUTING CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD The Roadrunners (13-12) host the Matadors in their only match this week. Bakersfield has dropped two straight but has still won eight of its last 14 matches. Last week, the Runners lost at Portland (3-1) before defeating Fresno Pacific at home (3-2). Senior OH Sarah Norman leads CSUB with 308 kills (3.18 kps) while senior MB Rosemary Stribling adds 306 k/s. The Roadrunners are hitting .230 as a team. Head coach John Price (Cal State Northridge, 1983) is in his 12th season with the Roadrunners and sports a 213-118 school record.

SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON The Titans (13-13, 6-5 Big West), who travel to Long Beach State on Tuesday before hosting the Matadors on Saturday, split a pair of matches last week falling in five sets to UC Irvine before defeating UC Riverside in three. Senior RS Brittany Moore averages a team-high 3.67 kills/set which ranks second in the Big West while sophomore MB Erin Saddler averages 2.88 k/s. Fullerton is hitting .194 as a team Head coach Carolyn Zimmerman (Pepperdine, 1992) is in her seventh season at Cal State Fullerton and owns a 86-117 career and school record.

UP NEXT FOR NORTHRIDGE Following this week's matches at Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State Fullerton, the Matadors wrap up the road portion of the 2008 season at Pacific (Nov. 14) and UC Davis (Nov. 15). The season winds down on Nov. 21 as Northridge hosts Long Beach State on Senior Night. Prior to the match, the Matadors will pay tribute to their five seniors, Kelley Hanson, Amy Hultner, Val Kepler, Jenn Probert and Kayla Wright. The quintet of players have all played all four years at Northridge and have accumulated a 39-72 record.

- GO MATADORS -