Aug. 28, 2002
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LET THE SEASON BEGIN
San Diego State is set to open its 2002 season this Friday, Aug. 30, when it takes on Tulane in the opening round of the SDSU Ramada Invitational. The match is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. in Peterson Gym.
The Aztecs continue tourney action on Saturday with matches against Florida International at 10:30 a.m. and 20th-ranked UC Santa Barbara at 7:30 pm.
SDSU RAMADA INVITATIONAL
For the third year in a row, San Diego State will kick off its season by hosting a four-team tournament. This year's event will be played in Peterson Gym over a two-day period.
This participants include UC Santa Barbara, Tulane and Florida International.
The complete tourney schedule is as follows:
Friday, August 30Florida International vs. UC Santa Barbara.....5:00 p.m.Tulane vs. San Diego State.....................7:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 31Florida International vs. San Diego State.....10:30 a.m.UC Santa Barbara vs. Tulane....................1:00 p.m.Florida International vs. Tulane...............5:00 p.m.UC Santa Barbara vs. San Diego State...........7:30 p.m.
SERIES RECORDS
The Aztecs hold a 1-0 series lead over Tulane, having defeated the Green Wave last season at the Kathy Trosclair Tournament in New Orleans. The match resulted in a three-game sweep for SDSU (32-30, 30-13, 30-15).
Florida International and San Diego State will meet for the first time ever this weekend.
SDSU holds a slim 21-19 series lead over UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos have defeated the Aztecs, 3-0, each of the past two seasons. UCSB has won the last eight meetings between the teams dating back to the 1989 campaign. SDSU's last win came during the 1988 season in Santa Barbara.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Tulane returns five starters and 11 letterwinners from last season's 16-14 squad that finished ninth (7-9) in Conference USA. Among the returnees are all-Conference USA outsides hitters Britney Hurst and Anastasia Kenon. The Green Wave features a pair of players from the San Diego area: Deva Fowler (sophomore from University City HS) and Kim Swafford (junior from Granite Hills HS).
Florida International is coming off a season that saw it advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after posting a 24-8 overall record and a third-place finish in the Sun Belt Conference. All six starters from a year ago are back led by conference tournament MVP Nirvana Kos. The outside hitter from Croatia is a two-time all-Sun Belt Conference honoree as well.
UC Santa Barbara comes into the tournament ranked 20th in the nation in the AVCA preseason poll. The Gauchos are coming off a 17-14 season, a third-pace finish in the Big West Conference, and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. They are led by two-time all-Big West Conference setter Brooke Niles. In addition, senior outside hitter Danielle Bauer returns after finishing among the conference kill leaders ain 2001.
FOR OPENERS
San Diego State's record in season openers stands at 16-11 since the sport began for the Aztecs in 1976.
Over the years, the Aztecs are 19-8 in home openers.
Last season the Aztecs opened the season with five straight wins after beginning the previous two campaigns (1999 and 2000) with four consecutive losses.
HEAD COACH MARK WARNER
San Diego State head coach Mark Warner is in his eighth season at the helm of the Aztec women's program. His career record over the past seven seasons at SDSU stands at 117-96 (.549).
Over the past seven years, Warner has led his teams to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths and a Western Athletic Conference championship. His tutelage has produced nine all-conference players.
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
For the third year in a row, the Mountain West Conference coaches poll has predicted the Aztecs to finish fourth in the league. SDSU has finished fourth each of the first two seasons of play in the MWC. The MWCis ranked third among Divison Ivolleyball conferences.
Utah is picked to win the league title this year, followed by Colorado State and Brigham Young. The results of the preseason poll is as follows:
Team (1st-pl. votes) Pts.1. Utah (6)....................482. Colorado State (1)..........403. Brigham Young (1)...........394. San Diego State.............325. UNLV........................286. New Mexico..................187. Wyoming.....................138. Air Force....................9
A YEAR AGO
Last season the Aztecs carved out an overall record of 16-13 en route to a fourth-place finish in the Mountain West Conference where they finished 9-5.
They concluded their season with a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the team's first appearance in the postseason since 1996.
Departed senior Katie Magnuson and returning junior Robyn Gregg earned all-conference honors at season's end, and Gregg was selected the league's defensive player of the year.
THE 2002 AZTECS
San Diego State return five starters plus three other letterwinners from its 2001 squad. The returning starters includes a pair of seniors (setter Melissa Wright and middle blocker Nicole Akporiaye), plus a trio of juniors (hitters Zlatina Anguelova and Megan Schauermann, along with middle blocker Aspen McPartland). Junior defensive specialist Robyn Gregg and part-time starting outside hitter Rochelle Currier also return.
Among the news faces who may contribute immediately are three transfers from four-year schools: setter Sara Engstrom from Portland, setter Brittney Pearson from Fresno State, and outside hitter Natalie Sande from University of San Francisco. Also transferring to the Aztec program is sophomore Lucilla Xavier, who was an NAIA all-region selection at St. Gregory's University in Oklahoma last season.
A total of 20 athletes appear on the 2002 SDSU roster. Also in that group are four who redshirted during the 2001 season plus three true freshmen.
LOCAL CONNECTIONS
Five members of the 2002 Aztec squad hail from the San Diego area.
That quintet includes Aspen McPartland (Grossmont HS), Ashley Bowker (Grossmont HS), Robyn Gregg (West Hills HS), Natalie Sande (Torrey Pines HS) and Sara Engstrom (Rancho Bernardo HS).
McPartland and Gregg are juniors in their third seasons at San Diego State, Bowker is a redshirt freshman, and both Sande and Engstrom are juniors who came to SDSU this fall from other four-year schools.
TWO PLAYERSLOST
Two members of the 2002 Aztecs suffered torn ACLs during preseason training and look to be out for the coming season.
The first is junior Janice Dykema, who endured the same injury just prior to the start of the 2001 season. A transfer from the University of Connecticut last year, she was expected to see action last season before the injury. After a fine spring, she was again expected to be one of SDSU's primary weapons before being injured last week.
Freshman Angela Verdenacci, an outside hitter from Brazil, will also miss the 2002 campaign with a torn ACL suffered in preseason workouts. Verdenacci redshirted at SDSU in 2001.
TEAM NOTES
The Aztecs have enjoyed a good deal of success on their home floor, Peterson Gym. Since 1990, the Aztecs have compiled a 108-47 (.697) overall home record and a 57-25 (.695) conference record in the facility.
San Diego State has three setters on its roster with at least two seasons if Division I experience. In addition to returnee Melissa Wright, others at the position include Sara Engstrom (two years at Portland) and Brittney Pearson (two years at Fresno State).
SDSU's 2002 schedule includes five teams ranked in the AVCA preseason Top 25: Hawaii (4), Utah (13), Colorado State (18), UC Santa Barbara (20) and Brigham Young (23). In addition, three Aztec opponents were among other schools receiving votes in the poll (Missouri, University of San Diego and Loyola Marymount).
The Aztecs will be looking to get off to a good start for the second year in a row. Last year's 5-0 start was the team's best since it began with six straight wins to open the 1990 season.
PLAYER NOTES
Robyn Gregg ranked seventh in NCAA Division I in service aces last season, averaging 0.78 aces per game. She set an MWC record with 40 aces in conference play.
Setter Melissa Wright ranks fourth on the SDSU career assist list with 2,437 over two seasons at SDSU.
Bulgarian outside hitter Zlatina Anguelova led the squad in kills last season with 336 for a team-leading average of 3.46 kpg.
Middle blocker Nicole Akporiaye was honored as an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar for her achievements on the court and in the classroom.
Setter Sara Engstrom, a transfer from Portland this fall, is the sister of volunteer assistant John Engstrom, who is a former men's volleyball player at SDSU.
Brazilian Lucilla Xavier, a transfer from St. Gregory's University, was named the NAIA Region VI Front Row Player of the Year last season.
Junior Megan Schauermann was the lone athlete at San Diego State to letter in two sports during the 2001-2002 school year. She was a jumper for the Aztec track team last spring.
Outside hitter Kara Moriarty was the only true freshman to see playing time in 2001. Three other first-year players (Kari Dykema, Ashaley Bowker, Angela Verdenacci) redshirted at SDSU last year.
Transfer Natalie Sande was a Junior All-American and two-time CIF Player of the Year at nearby Torrey Pines High School.
UP NEXT
San Diego State travels to Honolulu next week to participate in the Aston Imua Wahine Challenge at the University of Hawaii.
SDSU opens play against Washington on Thursday (Sept. 5) followed by matches against Hawai'i (Fri., Sept. 6) and San Francisco (Sat., Sept. 7).
The Aztecs return to Peterson Gym on Tuesday, Sept. 10, to face UC Irvine at 6:00 p.m.