Aug. 23, 2006
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LET THE SEASON BEGIN
*** San Diego State is set to open its 2006 volleyball season on Friday, Aug. 25, when it hosts the annual Aztec Invitational in Peterson Gym.
*** The team's first match in that event will take place at 7:00 p.m. when it faces the Matadors of Cal State Northridge.
*** On Saturday (Aug. 26), the Aztecs will face Hofstra at 10:00 a.m. and conclude tourney play at 7:00 p.m. against University of San Diego.
TOURNAMENT TIME
*** San Diego State will host the four-team Aztec Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Aug. 25-26) in Peterson Gym. Other participants include Cal State Northridge, Hofstra and San Diego.
*** The complete tourney schedule is as follows:
Friday, August 25 San Diego vs. Hofstra.....................4:00 p.m. Cal State Northridge vs. San Diego State..7:00 p.m. Saturday, August 26 Hofstra vs. San Diego State..............10:00 a.m. San Diego vs. Cal State Northridge.......12:30 p.m. Cal State Northridge vs. Hofstra..........4:30 p.m. San Diego vs. San Diego State.............7:00 p.m.
AZTEC VIDEO LIVE ON THE INTERNET
*** This season, a video broadcast of selected Aztec volleyball matches will be available at the SDSU web site (www.goaztecs.com) free of charge to fans desiring to watch those contests.
*** The first live video webcast will be on Friday, Aug. 25, when SDSU takes on Cal State Northridge at 7:00 p.m. (PDT). A "Watch" link will be available on the schedule calendar on the SDSU home page.
*** The Aztecs' match vs. University of San Diego on Saturday (Aug. 26, 7:00 p.m.) and the contest vs. College of Charleston on Wednesday, Aug. 30 (5:00 p.m.) are also scheduled to be shown.
FOR OPENERS
*** The Aztecs' record in season openers stands at 15-15 since the sport began at SDSU in 1976.
*** Over the years, San Diego State is 19-11 in home openers.
*** SDSU's win in its 2005 home opener against Liberty snapped a string of two straight defeats in season debut matches.
SERIES RECORDS
*** San Diego State's record against Cal State Northridge stands at 9-1 since the teams first met in 1985. SDSU's lone loss to the Matadors came at Northridge during the 1995 season. The last meeting between the schools came in 1996 when the Aztecs defeated the Matadors twice during a pair of tournaments at neutral sites.
*** The Aztecs have met Hofstra on five occasions, with each of those matches being played at a neutral venue. SDSU is 5-0 against the Pride, with their most recent meeting coming during the 2003 season in a contest played at UC Irvine.
*** San Diego State holds a 25-19 advantage in its series with University of San Diego over the years. However, since 1997, the Toreros have been victorious in 14 of the 16 meetings between the schools and have won the last five. The Aztecs are 11-9 at home vs. USD, 10-9 on the Toreros' home floor, and 4-1 at neutral sites.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
*** Cal State Northridge returns six starters and the libero from its 2005 squad that compiled a 4-23 mark, finishing eighth in the Big West Conference at 2-12. Top returnees include outside hitter Harmony Burdine (2.70 kpg, 2.74 dpg), who was named to the BWC All-Freshman team last season. Also back are setter Kayla Wright (9.89 assists/game, 2.37 dpg) and middle blocker Darla Donaldson (2.91 kpg, 0.91 bpg).
*** Hofstra is coming off a season that saw it finish with a 19-8 record and win the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title with a 16-2 mark in league play. Setter Shellane Ogoshi is the reigning CAA Player of the Year and Setter of the Year after winning the league's player of the week award three times in 2005. The Pride has a pair of athletes from San Diego on its roster: senior Dana Schaefer (Francis Parker HS) and sophomore Lauren Engle (La Jolla HS).
*** The University of San Diego is ranked 20th in the nation in the AVCA preseason poll after finishing with a 24-5 record last year and advancing to the NCAA tournament for the ninth time in 10 years. Middle hitter Christie Dawson (4.27 kpg, .321) returns after winning AVCA honorable mention All-America honors in 2005. USD's other All-American candidate is middle hitter Kristen Carlson, who was averaging 5.36 kills and 3.03 digs last fall before being injured after 17 matches.
HEAD COACH Mark Warner
*** San Diego State head coach Mark Warner is in his 12th season at the helm of the Aztec women's program. His career record over that span stands at 177-161 (.524).
*** Over the past 11 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.
AZTEC VETERANS
*** San Diego State returns four starters and the all-conference libero plus three other letterwinners from last year's team that compiled a 16-14 record. Those starters include setter Kristen Castillo (6.70 asst/g); outside hitters Melanie Greene (3.23 kpg, 2.89 dpg) and Audra Dent (3.08 kpg, 0.98 bpg); middle blocker Lindsey Mahan (1.03 bpg); and libero Aime Cordeiro (4.71 dpg).
*** The Aztecs also return setter Leah Lathrop (5.54 assists/game), who alternated time with Castillo in SDSU's 6-2 offense. Also back from a year ago is a pair of athletes who saw limited playing time: middle blockers Vanessa Curtis and Kelley Wahlin.
TRANSFER HELP
*** The Aztecs have added a pair of transfers to the roster, both of whom could make an immediate contribution this season.
*** The first is Sydney De Turk, a 6-1 middle blocker who comes to SDSU from the Concordia University in Irvine, Calif, where she hit .327 and averaged just 1.33 blocks per game last year.
*** The second is 6-1 middle blocker Iva Gosnjak from nearby Grossmont JC, who ranked among the top 20 junior college players in the state in kills as a freshman there.
TOP NEWCOMERS
*** The Aztecs have four freshman recruits who are expected to play a part in SDSU's 2006 campaign.
*** Outside hitter Stephanie Darnall was a two-time all-CIF performer and league player of the year as a senior. SDSU's other first-year outside hitter, Hannah Evans, was a three-year all-state selection in Texas.
*** Middle blocker Bailee Hellwig is an imposing 6-4 and was recruited by numerous Division I schools while fellow frosh Caitlin McMillan was a member of the Canadian Junior National Team as a libero and outside hitter.
MOVIN' UP THE CHARTS
*** Two Aztec players broke into the San Diego State record books during the 2005 season.
*** Setter Kristen Castillo now has a total of 1,629 assists in her two seasons as an Aztec to move into the number-nine spot on the SDSU career list. She needs 15 more to take over the number-eight spot occupied by Lisa Bostian (1,643 from 1997-99).
*** Libero Aime Cordeiro's 470 digs during the 2005 campaign ranks third on the Aztec single-season chart.
CORDEIRO PRESEASON ALL-MWC
*** Junior libero Aime Cordeiro was named to the 2006 preseason all-Mountain West Conference team by a vote of the league's head coaches. She was an all-MWC selection last season after leading the conference in digs, both overall (4.71 dpg) and in league games (4.58 dpg).
*** Her 35 digs in the match at UNLV on Oct. 7 established a new Mountain West Conference record.
*** She also had 31 digs in SDSU's contest at Utah on Oct. 24, and is only the second Aztec to ever have a pair of 30-dig matches during her career. The other is Jackie Mendez who recorded 30 or more digs on four occasions.
STARTERS LOST
*** San Diego State lost a pair of starters from last season in middle blocker Lindsey Noll and outside hitter Alicia Waller.
*** Noll was an all-MWC selection who led the squad in hitting percentage and blocks while Waller was the team leader in service aces.
*** Among the returning team leaders are:
Lindsey Mahan - .238 hitting pct.
Melanie Greene - 3.23 kills/game
Kristen Castillo - 6.70 assists/game
Melanie Greene - 0.37 aces/game
Aime Cordeiro - 4.71 digs/game
Lindsey Mahan - 1.03 blocks/game
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
*** The Mountain West Conference coaches and media poll has predicted the Aztecs to finish fifth in the nine-team league. In the seven years of the MWC's existence, SDSU has finished second (2002), fourth (2000, 2001, 2003), fifth (2005) and sixth (1999, 2004) in the final league standings.
*** Brigham Young and Utah have been picked as co-favorites to win the league title this year, followed by Colorado State and UNLV. The results of the preseason poll are as follows:
Team (1st-place votes) Pts.1. Brigham Young (6)....116 Utah (6).............1163. Colorado State (2)...1014. UNLV..................825. San Diego State.......59 Wyoming...............597. New Mexico............428. TCU...................419. Air Force.............14FOOTBALL-VOLLEYBALL CONNECTION
*** Senior outside hitter 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.
*** Sophomore setter Leah Lathrop is the daughter of Kit Lathrop, who played football at Arizona State and later in both the NFL and USFL. Her uncle is former ASU quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst.
*** Freshman Bailee Hellwig's grandfather, Dr. James Jones, played football at USC.
AZTEC NOTES
*** A total of 22 athletes appear on the 2006 SDSU roster, including seven true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen.
*** SDSU's total of 16 wins in 2005 was four times as many victories as it had during the entire 2004 season. Last fall, the Aztecs also doubled their conference win total over the previous year with eight.
*** Seniors Audra Dent and Melanie Greene have been named co-captains for 2006.
*** The Aztecs have a pair of foreign national on their 2006 roster: Iva Gosnjak from Belgrade, Serbia, and Caitlin McMillan from Coquitlam, B.C., Canada.
*** San Diego State has enjoyed a good deal of success on its home floor, Peterson Gym. Since 1990, the Aztecs have compiled a 128-69 (.650) overall home record and a 72-32 (.692) conference record in the facility.
UP NEXT
*** San Diego State continues home action on Wednesday, Aug. 30, when it hosts the College of Charleston at 5:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym. Following that match, the team will be away until Sept. 21.
*** Next weekend the Aztecs will travel to Syracuse, N.Y., to participate in the Syracuse Invitational (Sept. 1-2). In addition to the host school, SDSU will also face New Hampshire and Kentucky during that event.