‘Rhino’ Becomes CSUN’s Beast of Burden

Those who believe that it is better to give than to receive do not know much about Jeff Krieger, an outside hitter for the Cal State Northridge volleyball team.

Krieger, who will turn 25 next week, is the Matadors’ unheralded elder statesman and the player responsible for receiving the majority of opponents’ serves and starting the team’s offense.

“He’s clutch for us,” outside hitter Robert Samuelson said. “People that play his position can’t have bad nights. Without good passing, there’s no offense.”

Krieger, 6-2, 195 pounds, played volleyball at Santa Barbara High and Santa Barbara City College before taking two years off to work. He transferred to Northridge last year, made the team through an open tryout and contributed as a reserve.

“Last year, no one would have thought that he would be a starter this season,” middle blocker Jeff Campbell said. “He was a back-row specialist and he wasn’t that special. But he’s brought up the level of his play with hard work. He’s sort of an example of where hard work can get you.”

Krieger, who is nicknamed Rhino, said of his role: “It’s a responsibility, and I don’t treat it lightly.”

Northridge Coach John Price said Krieger will play a key role in the seventh-ranked Matadors’ drive toward a berth in the NCAA Western regional playoffs.

“He’s the guy who holds us together,” Price said. “He’s like a great blocking back in football. He only gets 35 yards in a game but seven of the carries are for first downs.”

Wait and see: The Northridge volleyball team has postponed nonconference matches against Chapman on Friday and UC Irvine on March 31 to remain eligible for NCAA postseason competition.

The NCAA limits schools to a schedule of 35 games during the regular season. If the Matadors play the nonconference matches and qualify for the Western regional, they would exceed the limit.

Simple solution: Robert Samuelson was having a difficult time getting his serves in this season. Every time the CSUN middle hitter attempted one of his jump serves, the ball would travel about six feet past the back line.

Samuelson had 25 service errors going into Saturday’s nonconference game against Ohio State.

Against the Buckeyes, however, Samuelson had five aces and numerous serves that Ohio State tipped but could not return. So what did Samuelson do differently?

“I just moved back six feet,” he said. “That was about it.”

High plateau: Len Mohney does not have many complaints about his Canyons baseball team, but. . . .

“I don’t really think we’re improving,” said Mohney, whose team is 14-3 overall and 9-0 in the Western State Conference. “We’re just kind of staying at a plateau. We’ve done just enough to get by the past week.

“We’re sort of ripe for a loss right now, but I don’t know when it its going to come.”

It could come today when the Cougars visit Pierce.

The Brahmas beat Canyons in extra innings last season, one of just two conference losses Canyons suffered all season.

Scott quits: Rob Scott, a junior first baseman, has quit the Cal State Northridge baseball team, Coach Terry Craven said. Scott, who graduated from Burroughs High, played in 22 games and batted .205 with three home runs and nine runs batted in.

Hot hitter: Tod Skinner, who has led The Master’s College in batting most of the season, continued his torrid pace last week in the Christian College tournament in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

He was 10 for 27 with 11 RBIs and a .370 average in 8 games. Master’s had a 5-3 record to finish third in the tournament.

Skinner’s hitting continued when the Mustangs returned home. He was 4 for 5 with three RBIs to lead the Mustangs to a 13-2 victory over Western Baptist (Ore.) on Tuesday.

Master’s takes a 5-5 record in NAIA District III play into today’s game against Cal Lutheran.

Walk on the wild side: Control has not been a strong point for the Cal Lutheran pitching staff. The Kingsmen average almost six walks a game. CLU pitchers have allowed 124 walks in 22 games.

Greg Minick (1-5) has allowed 40 walks in 42 innings. Sean Wheelock has given up 18 in 21 innings.

Batting Bear: Derek Stark, formerly of Crespi High, is playing a big role this season for the fourth-ranked UC Berkeley baseball team (23-8 overall, 9-3 in Pac-10 Southern Division play), which will open a three-game series at UCLA on April 8.

Stark, 6-0, 195-pound sophomore from Woodland Hills, is the starting catcher for the Golden Bears and is batting .333 with 3 home runs and 13 RBIs.

Moorpark awards: Karina Hardman was most valuable player of the Moorpark women’s basketball team. The sophomore guard averaged 24.7 points a game and also was a first-team all-state selection. She was third in the state in scoring and averaged 7.5 rebounds with 125 assists and 121 steals.

Other award winners were Susie Smiley (most inspirational), Remera Jones (most improved), Kristie Sterbens (best freshman), Michelle Brown and Carol Kellick (co-captains) and Brown and Smiley (best defensive players).

Guard Tom Neumayr, who averaged 15.5 points a game, was selected most valuable player of the Moorpark men’s team. Todd Johnson was honored as most inspirational player and co-captain. Gerry Walker was the other co-captain. Alex Porter was most improved and David Bussey was best defensive player.

Hot shot: Jeff Logsdon, a junior guard, set a Cal Lutheran record for free-throw accuracy by making 54 of 58 shots this season. His 93.1 percentage was best in the NAIA District III.

Staff writers Gary Klein, Mike Hiserman, Ralph Nichols and Chris J. Parker contributed to this notebook.