With Nothing to Lose, Northridge Stays Close but Falls to Pepperdine

Seeing the volleyball match between Pepperdine and Cal State Northridge didn’t make it any easier to believe.

Northridge stayed close to the NCAA’s No. 2-ranked Waves before losing, 15-7, 15-10,7-15, 15-5, at Pepperdine.

Chuck English played his best California Interscholastic Volleyball Assn. match this season by sending overpowering kills down from the center of the court in each game. The All-American outside hitter was responsible for 14 kills and his passes led to others.

The Waves (10-3) struggled throughout the first game. When CSUN’s Scott Juhl served an ace, it ignited a four-point run to give the Matadors a 5-2 lead.

In the second game, Mike Bird mixed up the Wave defense by dumping the ball over the blockers several times. CSUN led 7-5 after Juhl and English combined for five kills in a series of seven rallies.

Bird and John Buffington combined forces at the net to block three spiked balls for CSUN points and a 5-0 lead. Pepperdine never got into the game as CSUN served an error-free game.

The Matadors have lost several previous matches because of their knack for serving into the net, but not in the third game. That one belonged to CSUN. The Matadors earned a dramatic point when Juhl crashed down onto his knees and back in order to allow an over-hit ball to land out of bounds.

“We had nothing to lose out there,” Juhl said. “And everything to gain.”

Buffington and Eddie DeGrasse each brought in 12 kills for CSUN (3-11). Mark Stein kept the ball in play with 14 defensive digs.