Bakersfield Posts Upset of CSUN in Volleyball

BAKERSFIELD —  The end of the 1989 women’s volleyball season was expected to be a time of pleasurable reflection for those associated with the Cal State Northridge team.

After a decade of dominance on the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division II level, the Lady Matadors are bound for the big time next season.

What better way to celebrate its move to Division I than to accomplish the usual--earning a berth in the national finals?

“Excellence in the ‘80s” was CSUN’s team slogan and Coach Walt Ker announced early that Northridge was more motivated than ever to go out on top.

So much for the best-laid plans.

Cal State Bakersfield squashed CSUN’s plan for an 11th consecutive trip to the Division II quarterfinals, upsetting the third-ranked Lady Matadors, 16-14, 15-6, 15-13, Friday night.

And, yes, upsetting is an appropriate term.

Northridge (26-11), which had won 13 of its past 14 matches, was outdug, outserved, outhit and perhaps outfoxed by the 11th-ranked Roadrunners.

Bakersfield (18-15), which had split its previous four matches this year against Northridge, juggled its lineup and adjusted its hitting patterns in the West regional final.

“We came back from losing to Northridge at the Air Force tournament (in November) and said ‘Assuming we’re going to get Northridge in the regional, this is what we’ll do,’ ” said Bakersfield Coach Dave Rubio, a Ker protege.

Bakersfield’s Rachel Morton, normally a middle blocker, was moved to outside hitter and Roadrunner players were instructed to tip down the line in an effort to break up CSUN’s blocking pattern.

“We were tight at first,” said Rubio, who played for Ker at CSUN and Granada Hills High.

“But once some of the things we had been practicing started to work, it gave us that much more confidence.”

Down, 10-4, in the first game, Bakersfield scored 10 consecutive points en route to a 16-14 win.

“They never broke down,” said CSUN’s Allisa Evans, a senior outside hitter.

“They played great from point one to 45. They excelled in every facet of the game, from beginning to end. Everything we tried, they handled.”