Cal State Northridge climbing volleyball ranks

The Cal State Northridge men's volleyball team has many of the pieces needed to be a contender this season, but it's going to take some time for the puzzle to come together.

Six of the nations top 15 teams reside there, meaning two of those teams will not even make the division playoffs.

"We are a real young team," Matador coach John Price said. "We just want to get our foot in the door and make the league playoffs this year."

In order to achieve the team's goal of making it into MPSF playoffs, the team will have a major personnel issue to overcome in the early part of the season.

So far this season, the Matadors have split playing time between two setters, Junior Mesones and Dan Fisher.

Fisher has emerged as the starter, but he may lose the very spot he recently won. Last year's setter, Dan Nash, quit after the 1996 season but recently rejoined the team.

Nash is currently out of shape and has lost his timing, but Price will give him a shot to retake the starting role.

"It's going to come down to Fisher and Nash," Price said. "The competition will be good for them. It should make them better players."

The fight for the setter spot may be good for the players, but it will make it difficult for the Matadors to form a cohesive and effective offense.

"We can't experiment with this all season," Price said. "Come playoff time, we need to go with just one guy."

One area Price doesn't have to worry about is at opposite hitter. They have two of the nation's best in Collin Smith and All-American Chad Strickland.

"That is the primary reason I am optimistic about this season," Price said. "I think our pair of outside hitters are two of the best in the country. I don't think there is any team that is better off in that respect."

Not only do Smith and Strickland have excellent passing skills, but they are also the Matador's two biggest offensive threats. Smith leads the team with 5.9 kills per game, and Strickland is second with 4.9.

The duo are not only the team's statistical leaders but also the emotional leaders of the young and inexperienced Northridge squad.

"We have a lot pretty young guys on our team," Smith said. "They feed off of us -- when we play well, they play well."

The Matadors do not have the size or talent of league rivals UCLA and Pepperdine, but they make up for it with their intensity.

"We're a pretty scrappy team," Smith said. "I think physically we're a little out-manned at times, but we make up for it with our desire."

Cal State Northridge may struggle through much of the early season, but as the puzzle starts to come together so will its chances at ending the season on a high note.

"They are going to struggle early and get better as the season wears on," Long Beach coach Ray Ratelle said. "Just beware. They could jump up at the end of the season and be great."