Aug. 30, 2004
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LET THE SEASON BEGIN
* San Diego State is set to open its 2004 season on Wednesday, Sept. 1, when it takes on 17th-ranked Arizona at 7:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym.
* Two days later (Sept. 3), The Aztecs will host the annual four-team SDSU Invitational. The team's first match in that event will take place at 12:30 p.m. when it faces Texas Tech at 12:30 p.m. in the season opener for the Red Raiders.
* That evening, the Aztecs will continue tourney play against 16th-ranked UC Santa Barbara at 7:30 p.m., and will wrap up their weekend on Saturday (Sept. 4) with a match vs. Wichita State at 12:30 p.m.
TOURNAMENT TIME
* San Diego State will host the four-team SDSU Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 3-4) in Peterson Gym. Other participants include UC Santa Barbara, Texas Tech and Wichita State.
* The complete tourney schedule is as follows:
Friday, September 4 UC Santa Barbara vs. Wichita State 10:30 a.m. Texas Tech vs. San Diego State 12:30 p.m. Wichita State vs. Texas Tech..4:30 p.m. UC Santa Barbara vs. San Diego State..7:00 p.m.Saturday, September 4 Texas Tech vs. UC Santa Barbara..10:00 a.m. Wichita State vs. San Diego State..12:30 p.m.
SERIES RECORDS
* The Aztecs hold a 20-5 series lead over Arizona with the first meeting between the teams coming in 1978. They met regularly during the 1980s while both were members of the Western Collegiate Athletic Association. From 1978 through 1985, SDSU won all 19 matches against the Wildcats. They did not meet again until 1996, with Arizona winning the next five matches in the series. SDSU defeated the Wildcats in four games last season when UA was ranked 10th in the nation.
* San Diego State has a perfect 4-0 mark against Texas Tech, but this will be SDSU's first match against the Red Raiders since the 1987 season. Two of Aztecs' wins (1978 and 1987) have come in San Diego while two others (1985 and 1986) have come on neutral courts.
* SDSU holds a slim 21-20 advantage over UC Santa Barbara in a series that began in 1978. The teams faced each other two or three times annually during the 1980s, and both were members of the Big West (formerly Pacific Coast Athletic Association) from 1985 to 1989. The Aztecs' last win over the Gauchos came back in 1988 at Santa Barbara. UCSB has won the last eight meetings between the teams.
* San Diego State and Wichita State have met twice, splitting those two matches. The Aztecs defeated the Shockers in 1997 at the Kent State Tournament. WSU was victorious when the teams squared off in Wichita last season.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
* Arizona returns seven starters (including libero) from last year's squad that compiled a 17-15 record and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats will open their 2004 campaign by facing the Aztecs on their way to Honolulu to compete in the Wahine Classic at the University of Hawai'i. Included on the Arizona roster are two-time All-American Kim Glass, two-time All-Pacific-10 selection Bre Ladd and honorable mention All-Pac-10 outside hitter Jennifer Abernathy. Sophomore Tyler Bowman attended Torrey Pines high School in San Diego.
* Texas Tech begins its season on Friday in the early afternoon match on opening day of the SDSU Tournament. The Red Raiders finished last year with an 11-18 mark and 11th-place finish in the Big 12. Tech is led by senior returning starters Laura Grote (setter) and Kelly Johnson (outside hitter). Grote averaged 11.81 assists and 2.71 digs per game while Johnson averaged a team-leading 5.18 kills per game.
* UC Santa Barbara has five starters back as it looks to win its third straight Big West Conference title and make its 24th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Gauchos, who went 19-9 a year ago, are led by junior all-West Region honorable mention middle blocker Megan Blackshire and Big West Freshman of the Year Olivia Waldowski. Former Aztec All-American and Olympian Angela Rock begins her first season as an assistant coach at UCSB.
* Wichita State is coming off a 21-10 campaign and third-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference, and has seven starters back from that squad. Returning middle blocker Elizabeth Meyers set the school mark with a .375 hitting percentage last season. Right side hitter Sara Younes finished third in the nation in service aces at 0.98 per game. She set the Shocker single-game mark with 14 aces against the Aztecs in their match in Wichita last September.
FOR OPENERS
* San Diego State's record in season openers stands at 14-14 since the sport began at SDSU in 1976.
* Over the years, the Aztecs are 18-10 in home openers.
* Last season the Aztecs dropped their season debut to Rice before defeating UC Riverside in their second outing of the year.
HEAD COACH MARK WARNER
* San Diego State head coach Mark Warner is in his 10th season at the helm of the Aztec women's program. His career record over that span stands at 157-122 (.563).
* Over the past nine years, Warner has led his teams to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths and a Western Athletic Conference championship. His tutelage has produced 15 all-conference players and he was named the Mountain West Conference co-coach of the year in 2002.
A YEAR AGO
* Last season the Aztecs carved out an overall record of 18-14 en route to a fourth-place finish in the Mountain West Conference with a 7-7 mark.
* Included in that record were wins over a pair of nationally-ranked teams in 10th-ranked Arizona and 18th-ranked San Diego.
* Two Aztecs (Aspen McPartland and Megan Schauermann) were named to the all-conference team.
THE 2004 AZTECS
* San Diego State returns just one starter and three other letterwinners from last year's team. The lone starter is outside hitter Kara Moriarty, and she is joined by returnee Audra Dent and Melissa Stapley.
* The Aztecs have seven other athletes back from last season who saw little or no time on the floor.
* Among the top newcomers are Melanie Greene, a transfer from Washington State who played one season there, and freshman Kristen Castillo, who is expected to be the team's starting setter.
* A total of 17 athletes appear on the 2004 SDSU roster, including five true freshmen.
STARTERS LOST
* The Aztecs lost five starters including a pair of all-conference players from last year's squad.
* Gone are all-MWC selections Aspen McPartland and Megan Schauermann along with setter Sara Engstrom, Melissa Cansdale and Zlatina Anguelova.
* Two other players also completed their eligibility including Robyn Gregg (a former MWC defensive player of the year) and defensive specialist Natalie Sande, who appeared in 31 of SDSU's 32 matches in 2003.
YOUTH WILL BE SERVED
* The Aztecs will be a young team in 2004 with one senior, six juniors, four sophomore and six freshmen.
* Although SDSU has a total of nine players returning, only two (Moriarty and Dykema) have seen significant collegiate action. The other seven returnees have played in a total of 26 games during their collegiate careers.
* San Diego State will have five new starters when the season opens this week. At least one (setter Kristen Castillo) will be a true freshman and as many as two others may also start.
LOCAL CONNECTIONS
* Three members of the 2003 Aztec squad hail from the San Diego area.
* That trio includes Ashley Bowker (Grossmont HS), Aime Cordeiro (West Hills HS) and Vanessa Curtis (University of San Diego HS).
* Bowker is a junior who redshirted in her first year as an Aztec (2001), Both Curtis and Cordeiro are true freshmen.
* A fourth Aztec, junior Barbara Louie, is from Northern California, but spent two years at San Diego Mesa College before arriving at SDSU last season.
IT'S ALL RELATIVE
* Sophomore transfer Melanie Greene (Washington State) is the daughter of Ken Greene, a former All-American defensive back at Washington State who played for the San Diego Chargers and St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently a member of the football coaching staff at WSU.
* Freshman middle blocker is the sister of former Aztec Nicole Curtis, who played at SDSU from 1996 to 1999.
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
* For the fifth year in a row, the Mountain West Conference coaches and media poll has predicted the Aztecs to finish fourth in the league. SDSU has finished fourth in the league standings in three of the previous four years with the exception coming in 2002 when they were second.
* Colorado State is picked to win the league title this year, followed by Brigham Young and Utah. The results of the preseason poll are as follows:
Pl Team (1st-place votes) Pts.1. Colorado State (14).....1182. BYU.....................1003. Utah (1).................974. San Diego State..........655. Wyoming..................596. UNLV.....................407. New Mexico...............338. Air Force................28
TEAM NOTES
* The Aztecs have enjoyed a good deal of success on their home floor, Peterson Gym. Since 1990, the Aztecs have compiled a 125-57 (.687) overall home record and a 68-28 (.708) conference record in the facility. Last season, SDSU went 8-6 overall at home and was 4-3 in conference action in Peterson Gym.
* SDSU's 2004 schedule includes five teams ranked in the USA Today/CSTV preseason Top 25: Colorado State (11), UC Santa Barbara (16), Arizona (17), Loyola Marymount (18) and Utah (24). In addition, three of this season's foes earned berths at the 2003 NCAA Tournament (San Francisco, San Diego, Brigham Young) while four others on the schedule had 20-win seasons in 2003: Oral Roberts, Fresno State, Wichita State, and Texas State.
* Ninth-year coach John Ross was promoted to the position of Associate Head Volleyball Coach this past July. Ross is a former SDSU pkayer (1989-93) who joined the women's program as an assistant coach in 1996.
PLAYER NOTES
* Kara Moriarty returns for her final season after leading SDSU in digs (2.23 dpg) last season. She was also second in kills at at 3.07 kpg.
* Junior Kara Dykema appeared in 86 of SDSU's 112 games in 2003, strictly as a back row defensive player. She could see action as a setter this fall as well.
* Freshman Lindsey Mahan was coached by former San Diego State men's player Digger Graybill at Walla Walla (Wash.) High School.
UP NEXT
* San Diego State travels to San Marcos, Texas, next week to participate in the Century Tel/Honda Classic Premiere tournament at Texas State.
* SDSU opens play against the host school on Friday (Sept. 10), followed by a match against Mississippi that evening. Tourney action continues on Saturday (Sept. 11) when SDSU will play James Madison.
* The Aztecs do not return to Peterson Gym until Wednesday, Sept. 21, when they will face the 18th-ranked Loyola Marymount Lions at 7:00 p.m.