UC Irvine Lands In Top 25
For the first time since 1988, the UC Irvine women's volleyball team is ranked in the AVCA Top 25 national poll. The Anteaters earned their spot among the best after going 3-0 last weekend at the Nevada Mariott Courtyard/Fairfield Invitational, which included an upset win over then-ranked No. 6 California. UC Irvine received votes in the AVCA preseason poll, just not enough to make the top 25 cut-off.
Anteaters Capture Top 10 Victory
UC Irvine kicked off the 2009 season in fine fashion, knocking off No. 6 California at the Nevada Marriott Courtyard/Fairfield Invitational. This gave the Anteaters their first-ever win over a top-10 team in program history. The 22nd-ranked Anteaters look to keep their unblemished record going this weekend when they host the UCI Classic Sept. 4-5 at Crawford Court. The Anteaters face Montana, Northeastern and Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC).
Top 25 Teams Visit Stockton; Pacific Tournament Offers Free Live Stream This Weekend
The Pacific Tigers (3-0) open the home portion of their schedule this weekend with the 31st Annual Community Bankers Classic which includes No. 5 Florida, No. 11 Stanford and San Jose State. Pacific battles the Spartans Friday and will face either Stanford or Florida on Saturday. If you can’t make it to the Alex G. Spanos Center Sept. 4-5, don’t worry, because you can watch live streaming of the tournament free of charge at BigWest.TV.
Fullerton's Zimmerman Eyeing 100th Career Win
Current head coach Carolyn Zimmerman, the all-time winningest coach in Cal State Fullerton history, and her Titan volleyball team opened the season with a perfect 3-0 mark to increase her career win total to 93. Currently in her eighth year at the helm of the Cal State Fullerton program, Zimmerman has guided the Titans to a .500-or-better overall record four of the last five seasons.
Saddler's Career Highs Lead Titans To 3-0 Mark
Junior outside hitter Erin Saddler led the Titan volleyball team to a 3-0 record last weekend after tallying three consecutive double-doubles over Lamar, Appalachian State and Idaho. Friday night versus Lamar, Saddler blasted a career high 24 kills, and scooped a career-best 16 digs to lead the floor offensively. In the Titans' sweep of Appalachian State, she provided the offensive spark with 17 kills and 11 digs. Saddler matched her career high with 24 kills and 11 digs to close out Fullerton's tournament. Saddler, who had recorded just one double-double prior to this season, was named The Crowne Plaza Titan Classic MVP.
LBSU Continues Homestand With Weekend Tournament
For the second straight week, The Walter Pyramid plays host to a women's volleyball tournament. Long Beach State opened the 2009 season hosting the Baden Classic where they fell to No. 15 San Diego (3-1) and No. 2 Texas (3-2). This week the 49ers extend the home portion of their schedule with the Long Beach State Invitational where they take on UMBC, Indiana State and Northeastern.
Tough Road Ahead For Cal Poly
The Mustangs are coming off a 0-3 performance at the Asics Classic in Fort Collins, Colo., where they faced Oregon State, Pepperdine and host Colorado State. The Waves are ranked No. 21 in this week's AVCA Top 25 poll, while the Beavers and Rams are receiving votes. The task ahead doesn't get much easier for Cal Poly as it battles two Top 25 teams this week. Tuesday, Cal Poly plays a single match against No. 17 Utah before heading to Provo, Utah, for the Molten Classic on the BYU campus. The Mustangs face BYU, No. 23 Kansas State and Weber State in the two-day tournament. Excluding NCAA Tournament play, Cal Poly is 5-12 against nationally-ranked opponents programs when under the helm of Jon Stevenson.
Trio Of Coaches Make Big West Debut In 2009
UC Irvine, UC Riverside and Pacific will all feature a new face at the helm of their respective programs.
Three-time Olympian Paula Weishoff was named head coach of the UC Irvine women's volleyball program last December to succeed Charlie Brande, who retired after nine seasons as the Anteaters' head coach. Weishoff served the past five seasons as head coach at Concordia University, Irvine, which won 146 matches during her tenure. She guided the Eagles to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national finals twice and the semifinals on two other occasions in her five years at the university. Weishoff was named NAIA Coach of the Year in 2008 after leading Concordia to a 31-6 overall record and the national championship match.
UC Riverside hired Ron Larsen over the summer as just the second head women's volleyball coach in the program's history. Larsen replaces Sue Gozansky, who retired last season after 39 years at the helm of the Highlander volleyball team. He joins the Highlanders after four years as the top assistant coach for the USA Men's National Volleyball Team. The international sporting world was introduced to Larsen most recently when he took over for Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon at the 2008 Olympic Games, coaching the U.S. Men’s Team in its first three contests. Larsen coached the U.S. Men’s Team to three pool play victories against Venezuela, Italy and Bulgaria before McCutcheon returned to the team, which went on to win the Olympic gold medal for the first time since 1988.
David Johnson was named interim head coach of the Pacific women's program after former head coach Charlie Wade resigned from his position to take over Hawaii’s men’s program. Johnson has spent the last seven seasons as an assistant coach at Pacific. He was in charge of all phases of recruiting for the Tigers, oversaw all video-related duties for the Tiger volleyball program, served as the club director for Club Pacific Volleyball Team and plays a critical role in practice and pre-match preparation for the Tigers. David joined the Tigers from Stanford following the Cardinal’s 2001 national championship season. A volunteer assistant coach at Stanford, Johnson’s primary responsibilities for the Cardinal included the handling of video and scouting analysis, as well as assisting in all phases of training, pre-match scouting and practice. He worked at Stanford from 1999-2001.
UC Santa Barbara Faces First Ranked Opponent of Season
Three Big West schools have already tackled nationally-ranked opponents, Long Beach State, UC Irvine and UC Riverside, and three more teams face the country’s best this week. Joining Cal Poly and Pacific in their quest to knock off the Top 25 are the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, who head to San Diego to battle the 15th-ranked Toreros. The two teams square of at the Jenny Craig Pavilion Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Cal Poly, UC Irvine Welcome Top Newcomers
In the annual prepvolleyball.com Top 30 recruiting class poll, two Big West Conference teams made the cut - Cal Poly and UC Irvine. The Mustangs were selected ninth overall, while the Anteaters were tabbed 24th. Four other Big West schools received various honorable mention honors - UC Santa Barbara, Pacific, UC Davis and Long Beach State.
Top Players Return For Upcoming Season
Eight players from the 2008 All-Big West First Team return to their respective squads for the 2009 season. Defending champion Long Beach State welcomes back the most honorees with a trio consisting of senior Brittney Herzog, senior Naomi Washington and sophomore Caitlin Ledoux, the 2008 Big West Freshman of the Year recipient. Also included on the list are junior Dominique Olowolafe (Cal Poly), junior Cami Croteau (Cal State Fullerton), senior Angela Hupp (Cal State Northridge), junior Kari Pestolesi (UC Irvine) and senior Mallori Gibson (Pacific).
49ers Return To The Court As Conference Favorite
The Long Beach State women's volleyball team was selected to win its second straight, 10th overall, Big West Championship after receiving four first-place votes and 75 total points, according to the conference coaches in the annual Big West women’s volleyball preseason coaches poll. The 49ers, looking to secure a 23rd consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2009, enter the season as defending Big West champions after capturing their ninth title a season ago with a 13-3 conference mark. Long Beach State returns three starters and seven letterwinners from a 2008 roster that registered an overall record of 26-6 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.