Cal State volleyball team might need to lose

It's hard to run the table - in any sport. The USC football team found that out Thursday night.

So here sits the Cal State volleyball team at 12-0. Like the Trojans, the Coyotes are No. 1 in the country in their sport. The Coyotes have not been forced to five sets yet and have given up just four games in 12 matches.

The Coyotes trek down to UC San Diego tonight for a showdown with their bitter rival. They then return home on Saturday to face NAIA power Cal Baptist. That's a tough back-to-back.

UC San Diego might be the easiest of the two just because it is the first. And its a conference match so it is more important. The Coyotes will have no trouble getting up for that match in the typically hostile environment.

It will be interesting to see how they come out the next night against the Lancers. A loss wouldn't be a bad thing. It's a nonconference match and its an NAIA foe so it likely wouldn't even hurt their national ranking.

A loss also lets the team know it is not invincible. Teams always get hungrier after being dealt a loss. And better now than later when it really matters!