Complete Release in PDF Format
Aug. 25, 2006
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Dates: August 25-26
Times: LMU @ 6:00 pm (Aug. 25th), ASU @ 1:00 pm (Aug. 26th), NU @ 6:00 pm (Aug. 26th)
Site: Wells Fargo Arena
Series Records: First Meeting with all three schools
Internet Broadcast: None
Live Stats: None
What's on Tap: The Utah Valley State volleyball team will travel to Tempe, Arizona to open up its 2006 season in the Sun Devil Classic August 25-26 at the Wells Fargo Arena on the campus of Arizona State.
The four teams competing will be ASU, Loyola Marymount, Northeastern and Utah Valley State. It will be the first meeting for the Wolverines with all three teams playing in the tournament.
Wolverine Update: Utah Valley State (0-0) boasts a current eight match winning streak coming into the ASU tournament. The Wolverines won nine of their last ten matches to close out the 2005 season and won the Division I Independent Tournament Championship.
Utah Valley State, led by 2005 Division I Independent Coach of the Year, Sam Atoa finished with an 18-11 record last season. UV returns seven players and welcomes 10 newcomers to Orem and looks to have the firepower to defend its title.
The Wolverines also return three players who received All-Independent honors last season. Senior setter Lacee Koelliker was a First-Team performer, and was named the DI Independent "Setter of the Year," junior middle blocker Jessica Endres also received First-Team recognition. Sophomore outside hitter Camie Manwill was a Second-Team selection and was named DI Independent "Newcomer of the Year."
Scouting the Opposition:
LMU: The Lions open their season with UV and it will be the first meeting between the two schools. LMU is coming off a 19-11 season in 2005 and its third straight appearance at the NCAA Volleyball Championships.
LMU is one of three NCAA tournament teams on the Wolverine's schedule. The 2005 postseason appearance was LMU's seventh trip to the NCAAs in the last nine years. The Lions fell to UV in-state rival Utah in the first round.
LMU will be led by First-Team All-West Coast Conference performer, Heather Hughes. She averaged 3.27 k/g and hit at a .237 clip for the Lions in 2005.
ASU: The Sun Devils return 12 players from last year's team that went 8-20 (3-15 in Pac-10). ASU was picked to finish ninth in the conference by Pac-10 coaches.
The Sun Devils face a tough schedule in 2006 with 15 of their 29 opponents being ranked in the Top 25, including six with Top 10 teams.
ASU will be led by All-Pac-10 honorable mention selections Sydney Donahue and Nicole Morton and Pac-10 All-Freshman Margie Giordano. In 2005, Donahue averaged 6.41 d/g, Morton averaged 3.57 k/g, and Giordano averaged 2.53 kills and 2.54 digs per game.
NU: The Huskies are coming off a 2005 season where they finished 11-16 (8-10 in CAA) overall.
NU will be led by seniors Ashley Reeves and Chelsea Carroll, and sophomore Lauren DeTurk. DeTurk and Reeves were two and three, respectively, in the kills per game category last season. DeTurk notched 2.40 k/g, while Reeves tallied 2.21 k/g. Carroll shared setting duties last season averaging 5.26 a/g.
Up Next: The Wolverines will be back in Utah on Tuesday, August 29 to take on in-state rival Weber State in Ogden at 7:00 pm.
