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After finishing last season tied for last place in the MPSF, Cal State Northridge opened its preseason undefeated at the USC Fall Invitational.
The Matadors won all four of their matches Saturday to end the two-day preseason tournament 6-0 — the only team to finish undefeated.
Cal State Northridge defeated three teams that reached the 2011 MPSF Tournament, including the host team USC. In addition, freshman outside attacker Julius Hoefer had match-high 17 kills in a victory against Lewis.
UCLA won three of its four matches Saturday to finish 4-2 at the preseason USC Fall Invitational.
Outside attackers Gonzalo Quiroga and Kene Izuchukwu led the Bruins in kills in two of their victories Saturday, including each having a game-high nine kills against the Trojans.
UCLA opened the two-day preseason invitational splitting its two matches Friday.
Cal State Northridge was the only team that defeated UCLA in the final day of the tournament.
Long Beach State after winning both its matches on the first day finished the tournament 5-1. Long Beach State won its three matches Saturday but lost to Pacific in its tournament finale for its first preseason loss.
USC in its home preseason tournament went 1-2 on the final day with its
only victory coming against Pacific. The Trojans ended the USC Fall Invitational 2-3.
Stanford, which only played in the final day of the two-day tournament, defeated Lewis but lost to Long Beach State and Cal Baptist.
Lewis, the only non-West Coast team to compete at the USC Fall Invitational, finished 1-4. The only victory for Lewis was a three-game win against Cal Baptist in its day-two opener.
The USC Fall Invitational is one of the first tournaments of the men’s volleyball preseason. Six of the eight teams participating in the invitational ended last season ranked in the final top 15 coaches poll.
Each match in this preseason event was a best-of-three games, instead of the typical best-of-five game matches played during the regular season. If a team swept a match in two games, both head coaches had the option of playing an additional third game.
USC Fall Invitational results and schedule
Friday’s results
UCLA def. Cal Baptist 25-15, 25-15, 6-15
Long Beach State def. USC 25-22, 26-24, 15-11
Cal State Northridge def. Lewis 25-17, 25-22, 13-15
Long Beach State def. UCLA 23-25, 27-25, 15-9
Cal State Northridge def. Cal Baptist 25-22, 29-27
USC def. Lewis 25-23, 27-25, 15-9
Saturday’s results
Lewis def. Cal Baptist 28-26, 17-25, 25-7
UCLA def. Pacific 25-19, 25-15, 15-13
Long Beach State def. Stanford 21-25, 31-29, 15-9
Cal State Northridge def. USC 16-25, 25-21, 17-15
USC def. Pacific 25-17, 25-16, 15-10
Long Beach State def. Cal Baptist 25-19, 25-18, 16-14
Stanford def. Lewis 25-17, 15-25, 15-9
Cal State Northridge def. UCLA 29-27, 25-20, 13-15
Long Beach State def. Lewis 25-17, 25-11, 15-11
Cal State Northridge def. Stanford 25-22, 25-15, 15-9
UCLA def. USC 25-22, 25-21, 13-15
Cal Baptist def. Stanford 25-21, 25-21, 12-15
UCLA def. Lewis 25-19, 22-25, 20-18
Pacific def. Long Beach State 22-25, 21-25, 16-14
Cal State Northridge def. Pacific (Score unavailable)