Matadors Not Close in Opener

IRVINE â€”  No matter how good or bad Cal State Northridge might be, it’s always a battle, usually a five-game type, when the Matadors travel to UC Irvine for a men’s volleyball match.

Not this time. Not even close.

UC Irvine trounced Northridge, 15-7, 15-3, 15-5, in the Matadors’ Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener Friday night.

Northridge scored the first two points of the match, but embarked on a mission of futility, getting out-blocked, out-passed, out-hit and, an obvious net result of all the above, outscored.

As the match neared its conclusion, with UC Irvine firmly in control, the only drama left was whether Northridge (1-1) would register a block.

Adam Black almost had one late in the second game, but the ball was dug by the Anteaters.

Black and J.P. Jandreau came close in the third game--with UC Irvine holding an 11-0 lead, by the way--but the ball deflected out of bounds.

Finally, Black and Junior Mosones combined for a block on Erick Helenihi, preventing the Matadors from tying a school record for fewest blocks. Northridge failed to get a block in a 1992 match against Long Beach State.

Against the Anteaters, Northridge was out-blocked, 19 1/2-1.

“I think that’s the best blocking ratio we’ve ever had,” said Coach Charlie Brande of UC Irvine. “We had ourselves in front of their hitters every time.”

Helenihi and Josh Richardson each had eight blocks for the Anteaters (3-3, 1-1), who played without Steve Cavella, the team leader in kills with 5.1 per game. Cavella sat out because of a sore back.

Northridge, a young team that will take any break, failed to take advantage.

Eckhard Walter, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, had eight kills, nine hitting errors and a minus-.040 hitting percentage.

Jandreau, also a sophomore, had 14 kills and 12 hitting errors.

“We didn’t do anything right,” said Junior Mosones, one of the few Matadors to play well, finishing with 12 kills and a .429 hitting percentage.

“They put a lot of pressure on us and we didn’t change anything. We continued to make bad mistakes.”

In a match where the past met the present--in attendance was Coley Kyman, the Matadors’ all-time kill leader, now a resident of nearby Aliso Viejo--it was the future that needed immediate attention.

Afterward, Coach Jeff Campbell of Northridge announced there will be a 9 a.m. practice today.

Film will be analyzed. Breakdowns will try to be corrected. And, Campbell said, lineup changes might take place.

“They need to know this is not acceptable to play like this,” Campbell said. “That’s as bad as it gets for us. I don’t know what team that was out there, but it wasn’t a good one.”

The Matadors play next Friday and Saturday at defending NCAA champion Brigham Young.

Said Mosones: “The [opponents] are only going to get better.”