Aug. 28, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

LET THE SEASON BEGIN
*** San Diego State will begin its 2008 volleyball season on Friday, Aug. 29, when it hosts the four-team Aztec Invitational in Peterson Gym.
*** The Aztecs' first match in that event will take place at 7:00 p.m. when they square off against the Anteaters of UC Irvine.
*** On Saturday (Aug. 30), SDSU will face Albany at 1:00 p.m. and conclude tourney play at 7:00 p.m. that night against San Diego.

TOURNAMENT TIME
*** San Diego State will host the annual Aztec Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Aug. 29-30) in Peterson Gym. Other participants include UC Irvine, Albany and San Diego.
*** Both Albany and San Diego were selected to compete in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
*** The complete tourney schedule is as follows:

Friday, August 29
   Albany vs. San Diego............4:00 p.m.
   UC Irvine vs. San Diego State...7:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 30
   San Diego vs. UC Irvine........10:00 a.m.
   Albany vs. San Diego State......1:00 p.m.
   UC Irvine vs. Albany............4:00 p.m.
   San Diego vs. San Diego State...7:00 p.m.

*** Fans can follow the action of every match on the Internet at www.goaztecs.com by going to the Volleyball page and clicking on 2008 Aztec Invitational on the Media Center side bar. Live Gametracker will be available for every match and box scores will be posted at the conclusion of each contest.

FOR OPENERS
*** The Aztecs' record in season openers stands at 16-16 since the sport began at SDSU in 1976.
*** Over the years, San Diego State is 20-12 in home openers.
*** SDSU has won two of its last three season debuts in Peterson Gym including victories over Liberty in 2005 and UC Santa Barbara last year.

SERIES RECORDS
*** San Diego State's record against UC Irvine stands at 14-4 since the teams first met in 1978. SDSU and Anteaters have not faced each other since the 2002 season when UCI defeated SDSU 3-2 in Peterson Gym. Prior to that contest, the teams had not played each other since 1990 after having played home and away matches annually while both were members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association and the Big West Conference for five seasons.
*** This weekend will mark the first-ever meeting between San Diego State and Albany.
*** San Diego State holds a 25-21 edge in its series vs. San Diego that dates back to the 1977 season. The Toreros have won the last five and eight of the last nine meetings between the teams. SDSU's last victory over USD came during the 2003 season in a five-game victory in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Aztecs are 7-8 vs. San Diego at home, 8-10 at USD and 10-3 on neutral courts.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
*** UC Irvine is coming off a 21-12 season that saw it finish third in the Big West Conference with an 11-5 mark. The Anteaters have five starters plus the libero back from that squad. Top returnees include AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year Kari Pestolesi (4.20 kpg, 2.98 dpg, 0.50 bpg) and senior outside hitter Lauren Kellerman (3.88 kpg, 2.19 dpg, 0.57 bpg). Kellerman was a first-team all-Big West selection last season while fellow returning starters Devon Sutherland and Taryn Robertson earned honorable mention all-conference honors.
*** Albany finished its 2007 season with a mark of 24-10 overall and won the America East Conference title with an 8-4 record. The Great Danes became the first team from their league to win an NCAA Tournament game when they defeated Cleveland State in the opening round last year. Albany is picked to repeat as conference champs this fall and is led by first-team all-AEC middle blocker Kamisha Kellam (3.24 kpg, 1.06 bpg) and league Rookie of the Year Amanda Cowdrey (3.47 kpg, 3.32 dpg, 43 aces).
*** San Diego is ranked 22nd in the CSTV/AVCA preseason poll after finishing 21-8 overall a year ago and tying for the West Coast Conference title with a record of 11-3. The Toreros have been tabbed as favorites to win the WCC crown in 2008. Top players include first-team all-WCC selection Amy DeGroot (outside hitter, 3.99 kpg, 2.73 dpg, 0.53 bpg) along with honorable mention all-league picks Torey Ellick (middle hitter, 2.46 kpg, 0.98 bpg) and Andrea Csaszi (libero, 4.77 dpg). Right side hitter Ali Troost (2.46 kpg, 0.55 bpg) was named to the 2007 WCC all-freshman team.

HEAD COACH Mark Warner
*** San Diego State head coach Mark Warner is in his 14th season at the helm of the Aztec women's program. His career record over that span stands at 202-195 (.514).
*** Over the past 13 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.
*** Warner has announced his retirement effective at the end of the 2008 season after serving Aztec volleyball (men's and women's) for the past 27 years.

AZTEC VETERANS
*** San Diego State returns four starters from last year's team that compiled a mark of 13-16.
*** Of the 18 players on the 2007 roster, 10 were members of the SDSU program last season. That number includes seven letterwinners and one redshirt.
*** The Aztecs four returning starters include setter Leah Lathrop (6.14 assists/game), outside hitter Stephanie Darnall (3.28 kpg, 2.65 dpg), outside hitter Hannah Evans (2.28 kpg, 2.36 dpg, 0.50 bpg) and middle blocker Lauren Salisbury (2.62 kpg, 1.30 bpg. .300 hitting percentage).
*** Other top returnees include junior Caitlin McMillan and sophomore Kelsey Manasco, each of whom averaged around 1.30 kpg last season, along with middle blocker Bailee Hellwig, who redshirted last season after averaging 1.25 kills and 1.08 blocks a game as a freshman in 2006.

THE NEWCOMERS
*** SDSU signed four freshmen as part of its 2008 recruiting class, each of whom received national recognition.
*** Setter/outside hitter Lauren Van Orden (Aurora, Colo.) was a first team high school All-American who was the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Colorado.
*** Outside hitters Paije Pearson (Chandler, Ariz.) and Kyley Sexton (Salem, Ore.) both received highest honorable mention All-America honors as prep seniors last year. Pearson was listed among the top 100 seniors by Prep Volleyball while Sexton was a two-time player of the year in the Central Valley Conference.
*** Freshman Courtney Miller is a libero who was tabbed as a Defensive Dandy by Prep Volleyball, an honor recognizing the top defensive players in the nation.

STARTERS LOST
*** The Aztecs lost two starters from a year ago along with their libero and a setter who saw action in every game in 2007.
*** Losses include middle blocker Lindsey Mahan (2.67 kpg, 1.17 bpg) and right side hitter Sydney De Turk (1.70 kpg, 1.03 bpg). Mahan led the team in total kills while De Turk was one of three players to average over a block a game.
*** Also gone is libero Aime Cordeiro, a four-year starter who averaged 6.09 digs per game in 2007. She was the MWC co-Libero of the Year in 2007 and during her time at SDSU set school records for digs in a match, season and career.
*** Setter Kristen Castillo, who appeared in every one of SDSU's games 2007, finished her collegiate eligibility last fall as well.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
*** The 2008 Aztec volleyball team lists only two seniors on its roster: fourth-year setter Leah Lathrop and third-year libero/defensive specialist Michelle Ferrer.
*** Only two juniors appear on the roster as well: outside hitters Stephanie Darnall and Caitlin McMillan.
*** The remaining 14 members of the SDSU squad are underclassmen including six sophomores and eight true freshmen.

MOVIN' UP THE CHARTS
*** With 2,100 career assists over the previous three seasons, senior Leah Lathrop sits seventh on the SDSU career list.
*** She needs 139 assists to move into a tie for sixth with Melissa Stokes (1986-88) and 556 to climb into a fifth-place tie with Kristen Castillo, who finished her four-year Aztec career in 2007.

PRESEASON PROGNOSTICIANS
*** The Mountain West conference coaches and media poll has predicted the Aztecs to finish seventh in the nine-team league. In the eight years of the MWC's existence, SDSU has finished second (2002), fourth (2000, 2001, 2003), fifth (2005), sixth (1999, 2004, 2006) and eighth (2007)in the final league standings.
*** Colorado State has been named the favorite to win the MWC title with Brigham Young picked to finish second. The results of the preseason poll are as follows:

Team (1st-place votes)   Pts.
1. Colorado State (13)...125
2. Utah...................95
3. Brigham Young (1)......82
4. New Mexico.............81
5. UNLV...................63
6. TCU....................56
7. San Diego State........48
8. Wyoming................28
9. Air Force..............15

NO MWC TOURNAMENT
*** By a unanimous vote of the league coaches, the Mountain West conference will not hold a postseason tournament this season.
*** The team that wins the regular-season title will receive the MWC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. A tie in the final league standings will be resolved by a tiebreaker that includes head-to-head results followed by results against the next highest team in the final standings.
*** In the previous nine seasons, the MWC has sent four teams to the NCAA postseason tournament on one occasion, three teams on six occasions and two teams twice.

SCORING CHANGE
*** Beginning this fall, collegiate volleyball games will be played to 25 points instead of 30 as has been the case since rally scoring went into effect in 2001.
*** According to the NCAA rules committee, contests that were played to 30 points seemed to show a decrease in the intensity during the middle of those sets. The rules committee cited a desire to increase player focus and fan excitement as the major reason for the change. The fifth game still will be played to 15 points.
*** In a minor change, games will now be referred to as sets in order to conform to the widely used international terminology. Thus, each match will now be the best of five sets with the first four sets of a match played to 25 points. A fifth set, if necessary, will be played to 15 points.

AZTECS ON TV
*** SDSU will have its match at TCU on Oct. 23 televised live on The Mtn at 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time).
*** The Aztecs contest at Brigham Young on Oct. 9 will be televised live on BYU Television at 6:00 p.m. (Pacific) and will also be streamed live on the Internet at BYUTV.org.