Unger Set High Standard: Former Palisades High Volleyball Player Inducted into CSUN Athletic Hall of Fame

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Growing up, all Matt Unger heard was he was “too small” to be an elite volleyball player. It’s a good thing he never listened, because he made a career of proving the naysayers wrong.

In a moving ceremony last Sunday at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills, Unger was bestowed his sport’s highest honor when he was inducted into the Cal State Northridge Athletic Hall of Fame.

“The university people must not have had my number because they left a message at my parents’ house [in the Riviera] where I haven’t lived in 27 years,” Unger said with a laugh. “That’s how I found out.”

Unger was the starting setter on Palisades High’s City 4A championship team in 1988, coached by Howard Enstedt, and also played quarterback on the Dolphins’ football team under Jack Epstein and guard on the basketball team under Jerry Marvin. One of Unger’s teammates on the volleyball team was fellow setter Dave Suarez, who now coaches soccer and volleyball at Pali High.

“We beat Chatsworth  in the finals and I still remember all the guys on that team — a lot of them played in college,” Unger said.  “In high school I played a lot of beach tournaments at Will Rogers   and always enjoyed that.”

Introducing Unger on Sunday was former CSUN teammate Chris McGee (known as “Geeter”), now a studio anchor and host Time Warner Cable SportsNet, who labeled Unger’s leadership “second to none” and provided insight into a dark chapter in his friend’s life when he underwent eight months of treatment for prostate cancer with courage and emerged a year later cancer-free after willing their “Team Fletch” to the Manhattan Beach 6-Man championship.

“Matty O played better than ever and he just wouldn’t let us lose,” McGee said, working the audience into a frenzy. “He’s the greatest setter ever to don the ‘ridge uniform.”

The first person Unger thanked during his acceptance speech was John Price, his head coach at Northridge, who never judged the  gutty setter by size. “Matt was surrounded by guys who were at least 6-foot-5, so compared to everyone else he was tiny,” said Price, who piloted the program from 1986-97. “He was a great leader and competitor who wanted to win more than anything. He made a huge impact and he understood more than anybody what he needed to do to be successful.”

Unger, who wasn’t recruited, thanked Price for giving him a chance and shared several stories.

“He allowed me to be myself and he told me I had to be the best location in the country,” Unger reminisced. “Once during a timeout he told me I had to stop setting Coley Kyman and I was like  ‘what for?’ On the next point the other team had triple blockers on his side but I set him anyway. John took me out of the game and we exchange words I don’t want to repeat here. I told him I thought Coley was the best choice at that time and he said ‘No he wasn’t, he got blocked again!’ So I said ‘Then why don’t you yank Coley out then?’ He grabbed me by the shirt and said ‘Let’s get back out there.’”

Another individual Unger acknowledged was his older brother Adam, who won a City volleyball title at Pali High on the 1986 squad that finished undefeated with Kent Steffes and Ryan O’Hara) and went on to play collegiately at UC Santa Barbara.

“I’m so proud and excited for Matt,” Adam said, beaming. “He’s overcome a lot and this is a big day for our whole family.”

Unger was a four-year letter winner and three-year captain at CSUN, leading the Matadors to their first NCAA finals appearance to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in 1993. He is still ranked as the school’s all-time leader in career assists (5,732), single-season assists (2,083) and single-match assists (110), which came in a four-game victory over USC in the first round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament.

“I took advantage of the fact that I had three amazing hitters to distribute the ball to in Kenny Lynch, Axel Hager and Coley Kyman,” Unger recalled. “It hurts to lose, but facing UCLA was a dream come true because my dad Henry played there [in the early 1960s] and I watched a lot of the great Bruin players growing up.”

Kyman, who preceded Unger into the Northridge Hall of Fame in 2004, shared his thoughts on the role Unger played throughout that magical 1993 season: “Matt was tremendous and he is the reason I was able to do what I did. He made me better. He made all of us better and we wouldn’t have made it to the finals without him.”

One of Unger’s most cherished memories was seeing CSUN’s rowdy student section, known as the “Matamaniacs,” rush the floor with brooms after the Matadors’ sweep of top-ranked and unbeaten Long Beach State.

After his illustrious career at CSUN ended, Unger participated in the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival and played professional beach volleyball until 2000.

While on the beach tour Unger was introduced to Lexus Santa Monica owner Mike Sullivan through Olympian Mike Dodd.

“What makes Matt so successful are his drive, his competitiveness and his sense of teamwork,” said Sullivan, who attended Sunday’s induction ceremony. Unger joined Sullivan’s team and soon earned the nickname “car guy” as the dealership’s general manager and partner.

Through it all, Unger’s love for the Palisades never died and he and his wife Jennifer moved from Marina del Rey to the El Medio Bluffs two and a half years ago. They have a 4-year-old son Shiloh and a 2-year-old daughter Maddy.

“I’ve always loved the community,” said Unger, who cited meeting people and forming relationships as the most gratifying aspects of his job. “Being by the ocean, the small-town atmosphere… it just feels like home.”

Unger was inducted along with former CSUN baseball coach Stan Charnovsky, basketball player Andre Chevalier, soccer player Joey Kirk and the 1984 and 1985 softball squads. The event drew over 400 guests, who were treated to emotional speeches and several slideshow journeys down memory lane. CSUN President Dr. Dianne Harrison opened by highlighting the university’s recent athletic achievements, then Athletic Director Dr. Brandon Martin told the room how the new Hall of Famers set the bar high as examples for current student-athletes.

“Today’s inductees exemplify comprehensive excellence,” Martin said. “They represent courage, determination and the drive to be the best. Most importantly, all of the Matadors being honored today love our university. They continue to be outstanding ambassadors and advocates for our campus and continue to leave indelible marks in the San Fernando Valley community and across our nation. In essence, all of our Matadors being honored today are champions.”

After thanking his family members, friends and teammates, Unger closed his speech with words he has always lived by: “A lot of people will tell you that you can’t. There will always be a lot of doubters but the bottom line is, believe in yourself and your abilities no matter what others say or think. Everything is possible.”