RHODES SMOOTH AT CSUN.

Byline: JILL PAINTER University Beat

Dan Rhodes was a remarkably talented athlete in high school. He was so good, he ditched sports he dominated in favor of new ones just to keep himself interested.

His best sports were volleyball and football. He played basketball, soccer and tennis. He also swam and participated in track and field.

But Rhodes always played volleyball, if not at Western Branch High in Virginia, then for a club team. His club team qualified for the Junior Olympics - equivalent to the national youth championships - which is how Cal State Northridge coaches saw him and he ended up with the Matadors.

After his tightly knit family was convinced Rhodes moving far from home wasn't such a bad idea, he decided to concentrate on volleyball. And it should come as no surprise he's doing it well. It's just that monotony of playing the same sport every day that has Rhodes antsy at times.

``It has its moments,'' Rhodes said. ``It gets repetitive somewhat and you put it in cruise control. But I have other things to keep me active. I do weights. I play (video) games to relax. It's not like I don't like playing one sport. I did really well in a lot of sports and I picked this and that.''

Rhodes, a cousin of Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry, will try to help fifth-seeded CSUN (19-10) knock off No. 4 seed Pepperdine (18-4) in the first round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament on Saturday at Firestone Fieldhouse. The Matadors and Waves have split their two matches this season.

It's another trip, of sorts, for the Matadors. And that means players have more chances to hear stories about Rhodes' strict background in which he had to be up by 6 a.m. every Saturday for basketball and stretching with his military father, Richard, and his four brothers and sister. Teammates laugh at the stories.

CSUN coach Jeff Campbell marvels at Rhodes' style and his upbringing.

``His family was apprehensive about sending their son across the country. He's from Waynesboro, Virginia, and they'd never even heard of Cal State Northridge,'' Campbell said. ``It was quite a sell. He's a great kid. He's very respectful. He's a hard worker. He got close to a 4.0 (grade-point average) his first semester. This is a type of kid who's a devoted player and overall great guy.''

Rhodes, a 6-foot-4 freshman, plays opposite hitter. He so impressed Campbell in the fall that he won a starting position early. He didn't play in two of the first three matches but in his first start, he had 25 kills against UCLA in UC Santa Barbara's Elephant Bar Invitational in January. He had double-digit kills in six of the next 10 matches, and had a career-high 31 kills against Pepperdine on Feb. 13.

Rhodes leads the team in kills per game with 4.08 and is second in total kills with 290. Junior Nils Nielsen leads with 303. ``It's a great feeling to come here and help this program out and get better. Every year it keeps getting better,'' he said.

--News and notes: CSUN has signed track athletes James Fredrickson and Jay Komar. Fredrickson is Washington's defending state champion in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. Komar, also of Washington, runs the hurdles as well and is Fredrickson's rival. ... The UCLA gymnastics program has signed former elite gymnast Jordan Schwikert, the younger sister of Olympian Tasha Schwikert.