COACH VOWS UNITY : CSUN VOLLEYBALL HOPES ARE HIGH.Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer Last season, there was bickering bick·er intr.v. bick·ered, bick·er·ing, bick·ers 1. To engage in a petty, bad-tempered quarrel; squabble. See Synonyms at argue. 2. and backstabbing back·stab tr.v. back·stabbed, back·stab·bing, back·stabs To attack (someone) unfairly, especially in an underhand, deceitful manner: , finger pointing and plenty of the finger. The team self-destructed. The coach threw up his hands. Now, everyone says, there is ``chemistry.'' Trouble is over. They're all friends again. There is leadership. Oh, and there is a new setter setter: see sporting dog. setter Any of three breeds derived from a medieval hunting dog that would set (lie down) when it found birds so that it and the birds could be covered with a net. Setters have long hair on the ears, chest, legs, and tail. . Uh-oh. Sounds like the same old story for the men's volleyball team at Cal State Northridge, which opens its season Wednesday at USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. . But there's a twist, one that has kept coach John Price sane and given him hope an eighth straight postseason berth is possible. The team pulled it together at the end of last season and made an impressive run in the playoffs, winning at No. 2 Long Beach State and then battling UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation is a college athletic conference whose member teams are located in the western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I. Conference semifinals for four tough games. ``I think we're coming off that experience,'' junior outside hitter Chad Strickland said of the postseason rally. ``That's carrying over from last season. . . . We just got sick of each other. No one liked each other. We fixed it, and you saw the results. We know what to do in order to keep that from happening again.'' And, so they don't forget, Price enlisted the help of Northridge psychology professor Thomas White Thomas White can refer to:
``I think it's great,'' said Price, who called the final week of the 1995 regular season the toughest week he's had in 11 seasons as Matadors coach. ``We're miles ahead of last year in terms of being together and all those things.'' Said senior outside hitter Collin Smith: ``If we have a problem with someone, he helps us talk it out rather than backstab back·stab tr.v. back·stabbed, back·stab·bing, back·stabs To attack (someone) unfairly, especially in an underhand, deceitful manner: , which is what tore us apart last season.'' That's no way to win, the Matadors found out. ``The team was falling apart at the seams,'' Price recalled. ``They blamed me. I was tired of them. There was a lot of finger pointing. I blew up, the players blew up.'' Just in time, the Matadors got tired of hating each other. The players held a 3-1/2-hour meeting before the playoffs. And after two embarrassing losses to finish the regular season, the Matadors played with vigor in the playoffs. ``With the way we came through at the end of last year in the playoffs after struggling in the stretch, that's made me feel good about this season,'' Price said. Outside hitters Jason Hughes
Jason Hughes (born July 24, 1969) is the owner-driver of the Kartworld auto racing team, which has competed in the BTCC since 2003. , Smith and Strickland were particularly strong in the playoffs. Price saw in the 6-foot-1 Strickland a fierceness previously missing. Smith (6-4) is the steady team captain. And the ultra-talented Hughes, who had sleepwalked through the season, was impressive in the playoffs. Hughes, though, is ineligible for at least the start of the season. The 6-7 senior needs a ``B'' grade in his winter-session class in order to become eligible. Fifth-year senior Eric Klootwyk (6-6) will start at one of the middle blocker positions, and redshirt freshman Eric Callahan (6-6) the other. So, all Price needed was a setter - after Dan Nash quit, citing personal reasons three weeks before the fall semester started. Nash's departure continued a trend of Matadors setters quitting after one season. Travis Ferguson left The Independent Left, or the Ferguson Left as it is more commonly known, is a political faction within the Victorian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. The faction was founded by Martin Ferguson, a former president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). the team after the 1995 season. Price found a new setter in transfer Dan Fisher. Actually, he reinvented one. Fisher had played setter and outside hitter in high school. But for two seasons at Hawaii, he was an outside hitter who played sparingly. Price's desperate move has paid off. ``He's one of the main reasons I'm optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op ,'' Price said of the 6-6 Fisher, who replaced the 6-foot Nash, who replaced the 6-foot Ferguson. How optimistic? Price figures the Matadors, who have finished in the top 10 nationally six straight years, are in the third tier of teams. Stanford, he said is far and away the nation's top team. And UCLA is a bit better than a pack that Price said includes Hawaii, Long Beach State, Pepperdine, UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. and the Matadors. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1) Senior outside hitter Collin Smith says the Matadors' personal squabbles, which hurt the team last season, are over. David Sprague / Daily News (2) PRICE |
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