Let The Games Begin!
After four weeks of nonconference play, league action finally gets underway this week. Kicking off the 2009 season is the Pacific at UC Davis matchup Thursday, Sept. 24. The two teams take to Upper Hickey Gym for a 7:00 p.m. start time. This week's conference showdown marks the first home game of the season for the Aggies, who are playing the first four home contests away from their normal facility - The Pavilion - due to renovations. Five more teams join the mix the following evening with UC Davis hosting Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly entertaining UC Irvine at Mott Gym and the Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara hosting the UC Riverside Highlanders at The Thunderdome.
Six of the nine schools enter Big West action with an above-.500 record, with Pacific leading the way with a 10-1 mark, the Tigers' best start since 2001. The Anteaters, sitting second with a 10-2 record, owns a 21st national ranking to begin league play, while Long Beach State ranks 25th and UC Santa Barbara is receiving votes in the AVCA poll.
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.
A Win For The Ages
Both Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State notched a 'W' against then-No. 7 UCLA at the Brea Embassy Suites Fullerton Classic last weekend, an impressive feat for both teams. The Titans opened their home event with a 3-2 victory over the Bruins, marking their first win over a ranked team in program history and the first over UCLA in 14 matches dating back to 1980. With the momentum carrying over from the following night, the 49ers swept the Burins for their first regular-season win over UCLA since the last time the teams met in 1996.
The Streaking Tigers
The Pacific Tigers, off to their best start since 2001, enter the week riding a conference-best six-match win streak. During that span, Pacific swept four opponents and collected two tournament titles - Miami (Ohio) Tournament and Stockton Hilton Invitational. The Tigers have one contest on their docket this week when they travel to UC Davis Thursday, Sept. 24 for the first Big West match of the season.
Acing the Competition
With three of the top five conference statistical leaders in service aces, Pacific owns the top spot with 2.16 aces per game, which is good enough for sixth in the nation. Mallori Gibson paces the Tigers and the Big West Conference with a .61 average, followed by Svenja Engelhardt (3rd - .47) and Rebekah Torres (5th - .37).
Fullerton's Zimmerman Goes For 100th Career Win
Current head coach Carolyn Zimmerman, the all-time winningest coach in Cal State Fullerton history, and her Titan volleyball team own an impressive 9-3 record as the Titans begin conference play this week. The nine wins bumps Zimmerman's career win total to 99, one shy of the 100-win milestone. She will get an opportunity to notch her 100th victory Wednesday, Sept. 23 at San Diego State. Cal State Fullerton follows that up hosting Long Beach State at Titan Gym, where it is a perfect 6-0, for the Titans and 49ers Big West opener. 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.
Road Warriors
The UC Riverside Highlanders close out their season-opening, 11-game roadtrip this week when they visit UC Santa Barbara (9/25) and Cal Poly (9/26) for the start of conference play. UC Riverside's first contest at the Student Recreation Center is slated for Friday, Oct. 2 when it entertains UC Davis.
Young Talent Prospers At Cal Poly
The Mustangs were tabbed as having the ninth best recruiting class, according to prepvolleyball.com, and the diapers dandies haven't taken long to showcase their talent. In fact, four of Cal Poly's top five hitters are underclassmen.
A Clean Sweep
The Big West has collected 62 wins thus far and over half of the victories have been of the 3-0 kind. Of the 33 sweeps this season, UC Davis has whipped out the broom a conference-best eight times. The Pacific Tigers have swept six opponents and Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State have each tallied perfection five times.
Ranking In The Big West
Four different Big West teams currently lead in a variety of conference statistical categories. Offensively, Pacific and UC Santa Barbara lead the way with the Tigers tallying a .276 hitting percentage and the Gauchos averaging a league-high 14.27 kills per set. UC Santa Barbara also sits a close second in hitting percentage at .271. Defensively the Aggies and Titans are holding their ground. UC Davis owns the top spot in both blocks (2.46 BPG) and opponent hitting percentage (.157), while Cal State Fullerton's 15.49 dig average places them first.
Riverside's Blocking Duo
UC Riverside ranks second in the league with a 2.45 average, thanks in part to Bianca Endersby and Shannon Moyneur. Endersby currently paces the conference with a blistering 1.47 average, good enough for 11th in the country, while her teammate sits second averaging 1.22 blocks per set. Both players have already registered a match-high nine blocks this season - Endersby vs. Arizona State (8/29) and Moyneur vs. Sacramento State (9/5).
California Girls
The Big West Conference is a California-only league and two schools have followed suit with their 2009 lineups. UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara each showcase rosters comprising entirely of players from the Golden State. In 2008, the Aggies were the lone Big West members to have their complete roster hailing from California.
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.
Crowning The Champion
Of the nine current members in the Big West Conference, four of them have captured at least one Big West title- Cal Poly, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific. Long Beach State leads the quartet with nine conference championships, followed by UC Santa Barbara and Pacific with five apiece. The Mustangs round out the field with three titles.
Big West On Twitter
The Big West Conference is excited to bring Big West Live to Twitter, a Twitter feed designed to give fans an in-the-stands view of select Big West Events. Bringing near-instantaneous photos, commentary, and updates, Big West Live is the first feed of its kind. Moving beyond the scores and stats, Big West Live delivers the color of Big West events.