BRUINS DOMINATE CSUN : STILLWELL'S KILLS LEAD TRADITIONAL TROUNCING OF MATADORS UCLA 3, CSUN 0.

Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer

One program is its school's most successful. The other's achievements will likely never be matched by any volleyball team in the land.

But if it ever was a rivalry, it may no longer be considered one.

When they play each other, the men's volleyball teams from Cal State Northridge and UCLA are close only by way of the San Diego Freeway now. It has been too long since Northridge made the Bruins work up more than a sheen of sweat.

Virtually uncontested in the middle and altogether more fluid, No. 2 UCLA beat the ninth-ranked Matadors 15-0, 15-6, 15-4 in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match on Wednesday at Pauley Pavilion.

It was the two-time defending national champion Bruins' 12th straight victory over Northridge, which is perennially ranked in the top 10 but currently is merely a speed bump on UCLA's drive to the title.

``Were they playing hard? I don't think so,'' said Northridge coach John Price of UCLA, which has won 16 national championships in 27 years. ``Did they need to play hard? No.

``Part of it is we're not a very good team right now. The other part is, there's something about UCLA.''

The series has become so lopsided that the schools can't even agree on how lopsided it is. Northridge, in its pregame press release, said UCLA led 34-2-1. The Bruins insist their edge is now just 34-2.

This much is sure: Northridge is 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the MPSF this season. UCLA is 2-1, 1-0, and is still an unsolved mystery to the Matadors.

``We could be playing (as well as) an international team before we play UCLA,'' Price said before Wednesday's game. ``When we play them, we play like a junior-high team.''

His point was proved in the first game, when the Matadors committed six service errors. ``That first game was a joke,'' Price observed without a smile.

The second game began with more comedy as a Northridge player whiffed as he attempted to bump the first serve. The second game, however, provided a brief Northridge rally. Down 10-3, the Matadors pulled to 11-6 before UCLA finished off the game, the final two points coming on a kill and a block by Tom Stillwell. The Notre Dame High School graduate finished with 15 kills, second to the Bruins' Paul Nihipali's match-high 16. Chad Strickland's 12 kills led Northridge.

The memory of a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Matadors in last year's MPSF semifinals still fresh, the Bruins were complimentary of Northridge.

``We always respect them,'' Stillwell said. ``They're always pretty good. . . . Maybe it's Pauley.''

Price saw no need to be complimented after watching his team show the most effort when it was pointing fingers at each other.

``There's nothing positive to come out of this,'' he said.

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Photo

Photo: UCLA's Paul Nihipali spikes over CSUN's Collin Smith during the Bruins' win at Pauley Pavilion.

Tom Mendoza / Daily News