Post by jgrout on Aug 23, 2007 23:35:04 GMT -5
[Wednesday was Bay Area volleyball media day. The only feature article I've found so far is John Reid's on Cal, Santa Clara, St. Mary's, USF and San Jose State, which was published in Thursday's San Mateo Daily News. His Stanford feature is promised for next Tuesday]
Cal, Santa Clara among nation's best in volleyball
By John Reid / Daily News Staff Writer
Cal, St. Mary's, USF, Santa Clara and San Jose State will find out something about themselves when they open up the women's volleyball preseason schedule on Friday.
The Dons and Spartans each have first-year coaches in Gillad Doron and Oscar Crespo, respectively. Doron's native country is Israel, while Crespo headed the Palo Alto High girls volleyball program from 1987 to 1991. Jon Wallace returns for his ninth season at Santa Clara, as does Rich Feller at Cal. Rob Browning is in his third season as head of the Gaels.
Cal is ranked No. 12 and Santa Clara is No. 24 in the CSTV/AVCA Top 25 poll. Here is a breakdown of the teams with last year's record in parentheses.
SANTA CLARA (20-8 overall, 9-5 WCC): Picked third in the West Coast Conference preseason poll, the Broncos have a solid core coming back. Senior setter Crystal Matich was a third-team All-American as a sophomore when the Broncos made the school's only Final Four appearance. Matich missed nine games last year due to a foot injury.
"We have some strong athletes on this team," said Matich, from El Molino High. "We have some new faces, but we're getting more comfortable with each other."
"We have a lot of new girls on this team, but I'm not going to use the word, 'rebuilding'," Wallace said. "When you have a dynamic, special player like Crystal, you should be expected to win a lot of matches."
Libero Caroline Walters, from Los Gatos High, is back for her senior season. Walters has 1,456 career digs, second all-time at Santa Clara and fifth all-time in the WCC. Should she stay healthy in 2007, Walters should own the career digs record at Santa Clara by the end of the year.
"Walters is the best (back row) player in the history of Santa Clara," Wallace said. "And there has been a lot of digging of balls over the years at Santa Clara so that is saying a lot."
"We know what it takes to get to the Final Four, and we're trying to teach that in the new players," Walters said. "It's all about competing and playing your hardest every practice. Coach Wallace is instilling intensity to the new players."
Junior outside hitter Brittany Lowe, WCC freshman of the year and a first-team all-WCC selection two years ago, will be the main go-to player for the Broncos.
"Lowe had a tough year last year, but she's playing great in the preseason," Wallace said.
Another force at the net, senior middle blocker Anna Cmaylo, is out indefinitely with an injury. Junior Michelle Luxton (OH/DS) should give Wallace some versatility and leadership. Locals on the Broncos include Nichole Clark of St. Francis and Nina Sevastopoulos of Los Gatos.
The Broncos play Fullerton Friday in Boise, Idaho, at 3 p.m.
CAL (22-10 overall, 9-9 Pac-10): Feller has led the Bears to five straight first-round wins in the NCAA tournament.
"I predict great things for this team this year," he said. "For the first time, I can put 12 players on the floor at any time and have no drop-off. The Pac-10 is as good as it always is. The bottom half of the conference has gotten better. There should be five to six teams from the conference ranked in the top 25."
Senior outside hitter Angie Pressey, a co-captain, has 1,262 career kills, sixth all-time at Cal. Senior co-captain Ellen Orchard anchors the middle for the Bears and was third in the conference in blocks last season. Sophomores Morgan Beck and Hana Cutura had a combined 698 kills last season. Los Gatos High product Bryte Nielson was slated to start at setter, but she has been sidetracked by an injury. Freshman setter Carli Lloyd, from Fallbrook Union High, has been earning high praise from Feller and will start if Nielson is not ready.
Cal hopes to make the best of it early in the Pac-10 with home matches against conference favorites Stanford, UCLA and USC to start the Pac-10 season. Cal hosts Idaho Friday at 7 p.m. in a tournament match at Haas Pavilion.
ST. MARY'S (11-14 overall, 6-8 WCC): This is a very young Gaels team, but four starters return. Junior Brittany Barker is considered one of the best middle blockers in the nation, leading the WCC last year with 1.59 blocks per game. Sophomore middle blocker Megan Burton was one of the top freshmen in the conference last season.
"We're making progress," Browning said.
St. Mary's plays Eastern Washington and Utah State at a tourney in Tucson, Ariz., Friday.
USF (23-10 overall, 6-8): Doron comes from Villanova where he was 21-11 in 2005. This is a small team in height with only one player listed over 6-foot-1. Senior outside hitter Kristin Hasselberg (6-1) was second in the WCC in kills per game last year with 4.57. Junior middle Alix Gombos ranked second in the WCC in attack percentage with .345.
The Dons have a tough opener Friday, playing power Washington at 7 p.m. in Seattle.
SAN JOSE STATE (19-12 overall, 9-7 WAC): Junior middle Colleen Burke was a second-team all-WAC selection a year ago, when she had 332 kills. Junior outside hitter Niki Clement led the team in blocks with 97 and had 400 kills in 2006. Incoming freshman setter Emily Burke (Mitty High) could be one of the team's top players by season's end.
"The WAC is a fantastic conference," said Crespo, who is returning to coach his alma mater. "Everyone will go after Hawaii, but there are other good teams in the conference, too."
The Spartans are at a tournament in New Mexico this weekend.
Cal, Santa Clara among nation's best in volleyball
By John Reid / Daily News Staff Writer
Cal, St. Mary's, USF, Santa Clara and San Jose State will find out something about themselves when they open up the women's volleyball preseason schedule on Friday.
The Dons and Spartans each have first-year coaches in Gillad Doron and Oscar Crespo, respectively. Doron's native country is Israel, while Crespo headed the Palo Alto High girls volleyball program from 1987 to 1991. Jon Wallace returns for his ninth season at Santa Clara, as does Rich Feller at Cal. Rob Browning is in his third season as head of the Gaels.
Cal is ranked No. 12 and Santa Clara is No. 24 in the CSTV/AVCA Top 25 poll. Here is a breakdown of the teams with last year's record in parentheses.
SANTA CLARA (20-8 overall, 9-5 WCC): Picked third in the West Coast Conference preseason poll, the Broncos have a solid core coming back. Senior setter Crystal Matich was a third-team All-American as a sophomore when the Broncos made the school's only Final Four appearance. Matich missed nine games last year due to a foot injury.
"We have some strong athletes on this team," said Matich, from El Molino High. "We have some new faces, but we're getting more comfortable with each other."
"We have a lot of new girls on this team, but I'm not going to use the word, 'rebuilding'," Wallace said. "When you have a dynamic, special player like Crystal, you should be expected to win a lot of matches."
Libero Caroline Walters, from Los Gatos High, is back for her senior season. Walters has 1,456 career digs, second all-time at Santa Clara and fifth all-time in the WCC. Should she stay healthy in 2007, Walters should own the career digs record at Santa Clara by the end of the year.
"Walters is the best (back row) player in the history of Santa Clara," Wallace said. "And there has been a lot of digging of balls over the years at Santa Clara so that is saying a lot."
"We know what it takes to get to the Final Four, and we're trying to teach that in the new players," Walters said. "It's all about competing and playing your hardest every practice. Coach Wallace is instilling intensity to the new players."
Junior outside hitter Brittany Lowe, WCC freshman of the year and a first-team all-WCC selection two years ago, will be the main go-to player for the Broncos.
"Lowe had a tough year last year, but she's playing great in the preseason," Wallace said.
Another force at the net, senior middle blocker Anna Cmaylo, is out indefinitely with an injury. Junior Michelle Luxton (OH/DS) should give Wallace some versatility and leadership. Locals on the Broncos include Nichole Clark of St. Francis and Nina Sevastopoulos of Los Gatos.
The Broncos play Fullerton Friday in Boise, Idaho, at 3 p.m.
CAL (22-10 overall, 9-9 Pac-10): Feller has led the Bears to five straight first-round wins in the NCAA tournament.
"I predict great things for this team this year," he said. "For the first time, I can put 12 players on the floor at any time and have no drop-off. The Pac-10 is as good as it always is. The bottom half of the conference has gotten better. There should be five to six teams from the conference ranked in the top 25."
Senior outside hitter Angie Pressey, a co-captain, has 1,262 career kills, sixth all-time at Cal. Senior co-captain Ellen Orchard anchors the middle for the Bears and was third in the conference in blocks last season. Sophomores Morgan Beck and Hana Cutura had a combined 698 kills last season. Los Gatos High product Bryte Nielson was slated to start at setter, but she has been sidetracked by an injury. Freshman setter Carli Lloyd, from Fallbrook Union High, has been earning high praise from Feller and will start if Nielson is not ready.
Cal hopes to make the best of it early in the Pac-10 with home matches against conference favorites Stanford, UCLA and USC to start the Pac-10 season. Cal hosts Idaho Friday at 7 p.m. in a tournament match at Haas Pavilion.
ST. MARY'S (11-14 overall, 6-8 WCC): This is a very young Gaels team, but four starters return. Junior Brittany Barker is considered one of the best middle blockers in the nation, leading the WCC last year with 1.59 blocks per game. Sophomore middle blocker Megan Burton was one of the top freshmen in the conference last season.
"We're making progress," Browning said.
St. Mary's plays Eastern Washington and Utah State at a tourney in Tucson, Ariz., Friday.
USF (23-10 overall, 6-8): Doron comes from Villanova where he was 21-11 in 2005. This is a small team in height with only one player listed over 6-foot-1. Senior outside hitter Kristin Hasselberg (6-1) was second in the WCC in kills per game last year with 4.57. Junior middle Alix Gombos ranked second in the WCC in attack percentage with .345.
The Dons have a tough opener Friday, playing power Washington at 7 p.m. in Seattle.
SAN JOSE STATE (19-12 overall, 9-7 WAC): Junior middle Colleen Burke was a second-team all-WAC selection a year ago, when she had 332 kills. Junior outside hitter Niki Clement led the team in blocks with 97 and had 400 kills in 2006. Incoming freshman setter Emily Burke (Mitty High) could be one of the team's top players by season's end.
"The WAC is a fantastic conference," said Crespo, who is returning to coach his alma mater. "Everyone will go after Hawaii, but there are other good teams in the conference, too."
The Spartans are at a tournament in New Mexico this weekend.