Matadors Will Try to Start the Way They Finished ’96

NORTHRIDGE — Comparisons sometimes are useless, even unfair, but Lian Lu is being forced to make them.

So tell us, Coach Lu, how does the Cal State Northridge women’s volleyball team match up with the Matador squad that won the Big Sky Conference title last year?

“In the beginning this year, we’ll be better than last year,” said Lu, in his fourth season at Northridge. “But compared to the end of last season, we look a little weak.”

Most everybody would.

The Matadors, who open the season Friday at DePaul in the Blue Demon Invitational in Chicago, rolled to the Big Sky championship last year with a 16-0 record and won the conference tournament before losing at Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.

Not bad for a team picked by conference coaches to finish last.

This time, the Matadors are tabbed in the preseason poll for third place behind Eastern Washington and Cal State Sacramento, mainly because those teams each have five returning starters. Sacramento finished second and Eastern Washington third in 1996.

Northridge features three returning starters, all outside hitters, but they are all solid.

Heading the group is Nancy Ma, a 6-foot-1 junior from China who last season led the Matadors with a school season-record 456 digs and was second on the team with 511 kills. Ma was an All-Big Sky selection and the conference tournament’s most valuable player.

Former Saugus High standout Amy Gillis, a 5-10 senior who last year established a Matador record with 44 digs in a match, and Nicki Midwin, a 5-11 sophomore who had 73 assists, complement Ma on the front row.

“Our hitting position will be stronger,” Lu said.

One area of concern for Lu is middle blocker, where 6-foot junior Crystal Newquist and 6-1 freshman Angie Herrera are slated to start. Newquist started as a freshman but played sparingly last year. Herrera was a standout the past four years at Moreau Catholic High in Hayward, Calif.

“We didn’t expect [Herrera] could handle the position because she’s too young, but she looks good,” Lu said.

Herrera sprained her left ankle in practice Tuesday and is questionable for the opener. It forces Lu to reshuffle his lineup, shifting senior Rene Goth to Herrera’s spot.

Goth, primarily an outside hitter the past three seasons, was penciled in as the starting setter. It’s not an entirely new position for the Buena High graduate, who had 49 assists in a match two years ago while filling in for former setter Heather Hofmans.

Sophomore Ellie Flato is expected to replace Goth at setter this weekend.

“Rene is a senior and she improved a lot in the spring,” Lu said.

Other top players include defensive specialist April Lares, a 5-5 senior who recorded 76 digs in 58 games last year and outside hitter Kristin Sigel, a 5-8 freshman from Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach who last season was the Southern Section Division I player of the year.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Cal State Northridge Volleyball

ROSTER

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No. Player Pos. Ht. Yr. High School/College 1 Kristin Sigel OH 5-8 Fr. Manhattan Beach Mira Costa 2 Nikki Cohen DS 5-5 Fr. Chaminade 3 Holli Sierra OH 6-1 So. San Marcos 4 Crystal Newquist MB 6-0 Jr. Bakersfield Highland 5 Nicki Midwin OH 5-11 So. San Jose Archbishop Mitty 7 Nancy Ma OH 6-1 Jr. Zheng Zhou (China) 8 Rene Goth S 5-10 Sr. Buena 11 Ellie Flato S 5-9 So. Rancho Bernardo/Pacific 12 Amy Gillis OH 5-10 Sr. Saugus 14 April Lares DS 5-5 Sr. Bakersfield 15 Angie Herrera MB 6-1 Fr. Hayward Moreau Catholic 16 Candice Hayden MB 6-3 So. B.C. Richmond/Wash. State 17 Alyssa Hain DS 5-8 Fr. La Reina

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SCHEDULE

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Date Opponent Time Fri. vs. +DePaul 1 p.m. Fri. vs. +Wisconsin Green Bay 5 p.m. Sat. vs. +Evansville 9 a.m. Sat. vs. +Eastern Illinois 3 p.m. Sept. 5 vs. #Creighton 9 a.m. Sept. 5 vs. #Texas San Antonio 5 p.m. Sept. 6 at UNLV Semifinals/Final TBA Sept. 9 at USC 7 p.m. Sept. 18 at *Idaho State 7 p.m. Sept. 21 *Northern Arizona 1 p.m. Sept. 23 San Diego 7 p.m. Sept. 25 *Sacramento State 7 p.m. Sept. 27 *Weber State 1 p.m. Oct. 2 *Portland State 7 p.m. Oct. 4 *Eastern Washington 7 p.m. Oct. 6 Cal State Los Angeles 7 p.m. Oct. 9 at *Montana State 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at *Montana 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at *Northern Arizona 7 p.m. Oct. 25 *Idaho State 1 p.m. Oct. 28 at UC Irvine 7 p.m. Oct. 30 at *Weber State 7 p.m. Nov. 1 at *Sacramento State 2 p.m. Nov. 6 *Montana 7 p.m. Nov. 8 *Montana State noon Nov. 13 at *Eastern Washington 7 p.m. Nov. 15 at *Portland State 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at UCLA 7:30 p.m.

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All times Pacific

+ DePaul Invitational

# UNLV Invitational

* Big Sky Conference matches