No. 8 USC Volleyball Team Begins Four Straight Pac-10 Matches at Home Starting with No. 16 Oregon, Oregon State
Friday, October 22 - Galen Center
No. 16 Oregon (16-3, 4-3) vs. No. 8 USC (15-3, 4-3) - 7 p.m.
All-time series: USC leads, 43-8
Pac-10 Match of the Week broadcast by FOX Sports Net
Saturday, October 23 - Galen Center
Oregon State (8-13, 1-6) vs. No. 8 USC (15-3, 4-3) - 7 p.m.
All-time series: USC leads, 40-8
All times local to game site
Live video webcast on usctrojans.com (subscription required) - home matches only
USC Probable Starters
No. Name Yr. Pos. Ht. kps pct. dps bps pps
1 Alexis Olgard Fr. MB 6-5 1.80 .387 0.26 0.72 2.42
3 Natalie Hagglund Fr. L 5-9 --- --- 3.95 --- ---
7 Alex Jupiter Jr. OH 6-3 4.40 .279 2.68 0.58 5.33
8 Lauren Williams Jr. MB 6-4 2.36 .418 0.36 0.83 2.96
12 Kendall Bateman Jr. S 5-11 0.21 .184 12.20 aps
13 Falyn Fonoimoana Fr. OH 6-4 3.14 .221 1.46 0.31 3.61
22 Katie Fuller So. OPP 6-2 2.08 .209 1.61 0.44 2.55
LOS ANGELES -- The No. 8 USC women's volleyball team (15-3, 4-3) continues Pac-10 Conference play with home matches against No. 16 Oregon (16-3, 4-3) on Friday (Oct. 22) and Oregon State (8-13, 1-6) on Saturday (Oct. 23). Both matches start at 7 p.m. with Gametracker live stats available on usctrojans.com.
Friday's match will be broadcast on FOX Sports Net with Paul Sunderland and Holly McPeak calling the action. A live audio stream will be available for Friday's match on usctrojans.com. with a live video webcast on Saturday, courtesy of SC TV.
No. 16 Oregon Notes
Oregon is 16-3 on the season and 4-3 in Pac-10 Conference play after sweeping Oregon State at home last weekend. Head coach Jim Moore is in his sixth season at Oregon. Senior outside hitter Heather Meyers has 240 kills (3.58 kps) while hitting .318 with 48 aces (0.72 saps), 143 digs (2.13 dps) and 36 blocks (0.54 bps). USC leads the all-time series with Oregon by a 43-8 margin.
Oregon State Notes
Oregon State is 8-13 on the season and 1-6 in Pac-10 Conference play after being swept at Oregon last weekend. Head coach Taras Liskevych is 50-93 in his sixth season at Oregon State. Senior outside hitter Jill Sawatzky leads the Beavers with 335 kills (3.99 kps) with 198 digs (2.36 dps) and 61 blocks (0.73 bps). USC leads the all-time series with Oregon State by a 40-8 margin.
On The Net
All USC home matches this season will be broadcast on usctrojans.com, courtesy of SC TV. There is a monthly subscription fee in order to watch the webcast.
Galen Center Promotions
The 2010 season features many promotions at the Galen Center for home matches. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets to any home match for only $3 per ticket by calling (213) 740-4170. Fans can call that number or go online at usctrojans.com to sign their children up for a Trojans Kids Club membership, good for free admission to all home matches (ages 12 and under).
This season, if USC records a 3-0 sweep, all fans in attendance will receive a coupon for free admission to the next home match.
For more information on the 2010 promotions schedule, go online at usctrojans.com under the women's volleyball page.
The Power of the Pac-10
Seven Pac-10 teams are ranked in the current AVCA poll, including No. 1 Stanford, No. 5 California, No. 7 Washington, No. 8 USC, No. 11 UCLA, No. 16 Oregon and No. 25 Arizona.
Thousand Points of Light
Head coach Mick Haley registered his 1,000th women's collegiate victory as a head coach on August 27 against Loyola Marymount. Along with his combined NCAA wins at USC and Texas (1980-1996), Haley had 251 wins as the women's head coach at Kellogg Community College (1973-79).
Lock and Reloaded
USC's incoming recruiting class for the 2010 season was ranked No. 1 in the nation by Prep Volleyball. The players are 6-2 outside hitter Kirby Burnham (Newport Beach/Newport Harbor HS), 6-4 outside hitter Falyn Fonoimoana (Hermosa Beach/Mira Costa HS), 5-9 libero Natalie Hagglund (Encinitas/La Costa Canyon HS), 5-10 outside hitter Sam Hirschmann (Manhattan Beach/Marymount HS), 6-5 middle blocker Alexis Olgard (Spokane, Wash./Mead HS) and 6-3 outside hitter Sara Shaw (Austin, Texas/Westlake HS).
The class includes five players ranked in the Top 100 nationally by Prep Volleyball, including three players in the top 11 spots and the No. 1 player in the nation (Fonoimoana).
“This class gives us a group of players that will add firepower to our lineup and make immediate contributions,” said USC head coach Mick Haley. “These kids can play the game and we will have immense depth on the squad. There are no kids in this class that are ‘projects’ and it’s evidenced by what they are doing for their high school and club teams. I think these kids want to compete and win a championship.”
Court of Dreams
The dream finally became reality on Oct. 12, 2006 as the brand-new Galen Center made its debut. The 10,258-seat arena is located on the corner of Figueroa St. and Jefferson Blvd., adjacent to the USC campus. The arena is named after Lou and Helene Galen, who generously donated $50 million towards the project.
USC mourned the loss of Lou Galen, who passed away on Nov. 12, 2007, at the age of 82.
Statapalooza-- USC is 58-8 all-time at the Galen Center.
-- USC has 10 players on its roster this season who are 6-2 or taller.
-- Alex Jupiter became the 17th player in USC history to record 1,000 kills in her career on September 24 against UCLA.
-- As of October 18, USC is 18th in the nation for hitting percentage (.274), 18th for assists (13.30 aps), 19th for kills (14.24 kps) and 39th for service aces (1.59 saps).
-- Lauren Williams is ninth in the nation for hitting percentage (.418).
-- Kendall Bateman is second in the nation for assists (12.20 aps).
-- Alex Jupiter is ninth in the nation for points (5.33 pps), 18th for kills (4.40 kps) and 18th for service aces (0.48 saps).
-- Alexis Olgard is 26th in the nation for hitting percentage (.387).
-- As of October 18, USC is third among all conference teams in aces (1.59 saps), digs (14.68 dps) and assists (13.30 aps) and fourth in kills (14.24 kps) and opponent hitting percentage (.163).
-- Alex Jupiter is second among all Pac-10 Conference players in service aces (0.48 saps), fourth for points (5.32 pps) and fourth for kills (4.40 kps).
-- Kendall Bateman is first among Pac-10 players for assists (12.20 aps).
-- Lauren Williams is first among Pac-10 players for hitting percentage (.418).
-- Alexis Olgard is sixth among Pac-10 players for hitting percentage (.387).
-- Natalie Hagglund is sixth among Pac-10 players for digs (3.95 dps).
-- USC has made 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
-- The Women of Troy made five NCAA Final Four appearances in an eight-year span (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007).
-- USC became the 22nd program in the nation to record 800 wins. The Women of Troy recorded its 800th win on Nov. 15, 2008, against Arizona State.
-- Head coach Mick Haley earned his 200th victory as USC's head coach on Nov. 1, 2008, against Oregon State at the Galen Center.
Out Of This World
Junior outside hitter Alex Jupiter (Paris, France/Redondo Union HS) became the 31st All-American in USC women's volleyball history after earning AVCA All-America third team honors in 2009. This season, she has 264 kills (4.40 kps) while hitting .279 with 29 service aces (0.48 saps), 161 digs (2.68 dps), 35 blocks (18 solo, 0.58 bps) and 319.5 points (5.33 pps). For Pac-10 Conference matches this season, Jupiter has 141 kills (4.70 kps) while hitting .265 with 13 aces (0.43 saps), 86 digs (2.87 dps), 17 blocks (6 solo, 0.57 bps) and 165.5 points (5.52 pps).
Jupiter has nine double-doubles this season and six in seven Pac-10 Conference matches.
On Oct. 16 at No. 25 Arizona, she had 17 kills, 12 digs, three aces and a key solo block in the fifth set as USC defeated the Wildcats.
She had a season-high 26 kills and 18 digs in a five-set win on Oct. 9 against No. 7 California and 19 kills with 10 digs on Oct. 8 in a four-set loss to top-ranked Stanford. She recorded a team-high 23 kills with 14 digs, two aces and three blocks in a five-set loss on Oct. 1 at No. 10 Washington and followed with 19 kills and a .516 clip (19-3-31) in a 3-0 sweep at Washington State the next evening.
Out Of This World (cont.)
On Sept. 24 against No. 11 UCLA, she registered her 1,000th career kill and became just the 17th player in USC history to accomplish the feat. She posted a team-high 21 kills to go with 12 digs in the four-set win against the Bruins. She had 14 kills and nine digs in a 3-0 sweep on Sept. 17 at Fresno State. On Sept. 10 against Virginia, she had 10 kills and hit .500 (10-2-16) with an ace, five digs and a solo block in the 3-0 sweep.
She became the sixth player in USC history to earn AVCA National Player of the Week honors on Sept. 6 after earning most outstanding player honors at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic in Honolulu (Sept. 3-5). She also was named Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week, the first time she earned that honor. She posted 49 kills (4.45 kps) in three matches against three teams that were receiving votes in the coaches' poll with four aces, 26 digs (2.36 dps), 10 blocks (0.91 bps) and 61.0 points (5.55 pps). She did not have one reception error in 58 attempts on the weekend. Against New Mexico, she had 10 kills, seven digs and three solo blocks in a 3-0 sweep. In another 3-0 sweep, this time against Michigan State, she had 17 kills and six blocks while hitting .483 (17-3-29). In the tournament finale against No. 4 Hawai'i, she had 22 kills and 16 digs in a five-set win over the Rainbow Wahine.
She posted her first double-double of the season on Aug. 28 in a four-set win over Cal State Fullerton with 23 kills and 10 digs against the Titans. She earned Luxe City Center Trojan Invitational all-tournament team honors after posting 29 kills (4.14 kps) with eight aces (1.14 saps), 17 digs (2.43 dps) and 39.0 points (5.57 pps).
She led the Women of Troy in 2009 with 522 kills (4.54 kps) with 33 aces (0.29 saps), 308 digs (2.68 dps), 73 blocks (0.63 bps) and 608.0 points (5.29 pps). She also earned her first All-Pac-10 Conference honor as well as being named AVCA All-Pacific Region. Her 522 kills were the fourth-most in school history, along with her 5.29 points per set average.
She finished seventh in the nation for points per set and 12th for kills per set during her sophomore season and recorded 15 double-doubles. She was third among all Pac-10 Conference players in points and kills and fourth for service aces. She tallied 23 kills in a 3-0 sweep over Oklahoma on Dec. 4, 2009, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. She posted 22 kills and a season-high .514 clip (22-3-37) with 10 digs, four blocks and 24.5 points in a 3-0 sweep on Nov. 20 at No. 18 Oregon.
On Sept. 26 at Arizona State, Jupiter posted career-highs with 31 kills and 20 digs in a four-set win while hitting .433 (31-5-60). She earned Holiday Inn LA City Center Trojan Invitational all-tournament team honors after recording 41 kills, 21 digs and seven blocks (five solo) in three 3-0 sweeps.
During her 2008 freshman season, she registered 350 kills (3.24 kps) with 12 service aces (0.11 saps), 122 digs (1.13 dps), 59 blocks (0.55 bps) and 403.0 points (3.73 pps). She was named to the Pac-10 Conference All-Freshman Team. Jupiter recorded double digit kills in 20 matches and became the third freshman at USC since 1981 to lead the team in kills (Tracy Clark in 1982 and April Ross in 2000).
She had her coming-out party at the Runza/AVCA Showcase against No. 4 Texas and No. 7 Nebraska. Jupiter, who was a 2008 Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection, led the Trojans in kills for both matches with 17 against the Longhorns and 12 against the Huskers. She also had 13 digs and four service aces on the weekend.
Take The Bait
Junior setter Kendall Bateman (Manhattan Beach/Mira Costa HS) has 805 assists (12.20 aps) this season with 153 digs (2.32 dps) and 24 blocks (0.36 bps).
On Oct. 9 in a five-set win against No. 7 California, she had 64 assists and 12 digs. She had 53 assists and 13 digs in a five-set loss on Oct. 1 at No. 10 Washington and recorded 39 assists in a 3-0 sweep the next night at Washington State. In a four-set win on Sept. 24 against No. 11 UCLA, she had 49 assists and 12 digs.
She was named most outstanding player for the Fresno State Invitational (Sept. 17-18) after recording 102 assists (11.33 aps) in three 3-0 sweeps against Fresno State, Cal State Bakersfield and Sacramento State. She had 17 digs (1.89 dps) and five blocks (0.56 bps). She had 41 assists and nine digs in a 3-0 sweep of Virginia on Sept. 10 at the Galen Center.
She earned all-tournament honors at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic in Honolulu after leading USC to a 3-0 mark with wins over No. 4 Hawai'i, New Mexico and Michigan State. She had 126 assists (11.45 aps), 17 digs (1.55 dps) and 11 blocks (1.00 bps) as she guided the team to a .302 hitting percentage on the weekend. She had a career-high six blocks in the five-set win on Sept. 5 against No. 4 Hawai'i, adding 53 assists and six digs. She posted 41 assists and guided the Women of Troy to a .407 hitting night in a 3-0 sweep of Michigan State.
Take The Bait (cont.)
She registered career highs on Aug. 28 in a four-set win against Cal State Fullerton with 66 kills and 18 digs to earn Luxe City Center Trojan Invitation most valuable player honors after recording 130 assists (13.00 aps) and 33 digs (3.30 dps) as the Women of Troy won the tournament title.
She earned 2009 Pac-10 Conference honorable mention and Pac-10 Conference All-Academic honorable mention recognition last season after leading the nation with a 12.41 assists per set average. She recorded 227 digs (1.97 dps) and 48 blocks (0.42 bps) on the season and handled an offense that hit .248, ranking 35th in the nation. USC also finished second in the nation for assists per set and kills per set.
She posted 49 assists and 12 digs against Oklahoma in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament at the Galen Center and finished the regular season by registering career highs with 62 assists (15.5 aps) and 15 digs in a four-set win on Nov. 28 against No. 19 Arizona. She earned her first-ever Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week honor on Nov. 23 after recording 80 assists and 10 digs in two 3-0 sweeps. She had 57 assists, seven digs and three block assists against No. 4 Washington on Nov. 13 in a five-set win and then posted 60 assists (15.00 aps) with eight digs in a four-set win against No. 25 Washington State.
Bateman appeared in 24 matches in her freshman season and recorded 117 assists on the season (2.72 aps) with two aces (0.05 saps), 32 digs (0.74 dps) and seven blocks (0.16 bps). She had two assists and one dig in her collegiate debut on Aug. 29 against No. 3 Texas at the Runza/AVCA College Showcase in Omaha, Neb. She recorded 10 assists and two digs on Sept. 5 against Hofstra at the Holiday Inn LA City Center Trojan Invitational. She recorded 10 assists in two sets on Oct. 4 at No. 11 Oregon. At No. 10 UCLA on Nov. 28, she came into the third set and tallied 14 assists, two digs and one block assist. She made her first collegiate start in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 5 against No. 15 San Diego, recording season-highs in the four-set victory with 25 assists, 10 digs and four blocks. She got the start the next night in the second round against No. 6 Hawai'i and had 16 assists and three digs.
During the summer of 2008, Bateman played for the U.S. Junior National Team, playing at the FIVB World Championship in Mexico. She was a two-time member of the U.S. Girls' National Team, part of the squad that finished 10th at the 2007 FIVB Girls' World Championship in Mexico and a member of the squad that won the 2006 NORCECA championship.
She was a two-time Mizuno/Volleyball Magazine All-American at Mira Costa and led the Mustangs to a perfect 37-0 record and the school's fourth straight state championship in her senior season. She was part of the mythical national championship squads in her junior and senior seasons as named by prepvolleyball.com and named CIF most valuable player in her senior season.
No Harm, No Foul
Freshman outside hitter Falyn Fonoimoana (Hermosa Beach/Mira Costa HS) was ranked as the No. 1 high school senior in the nation by Prep Volleyball and has been regarded by some as one of the best players ever at the high school level.
This season, she has 185 kills (3.14 kps) with 13 aces (0.22 saps), 86 digs (1.46 dps), 18 blocks (0.31 bps) and 213.0 points (3.61 pps).
She posted a season-high 20 kills and 21.0 points in a four-set loss on Oct. 15 at Arizona State, following up with a double-double in a five-set win on Oct. 16 at No. 25 Arizona (13 kills, 11 digs).
She had 15 kills, eight digs and two solo blocks in a five-set win against No. 7 California on Oct. 9 at the Galen Center. On Oct. 1 at No. 10 Washington, she had 16 kills, nine digs and two solo blocks in a five-set loss. She had a season-high 17 kills, hitting .371 (17-4-35) on Sept. 24 in a four-set win against No. 11 UCLA.
She posted her first collegiate double-double on Sept. 18 against Sacramento State with 10 kills and 11 digs in a 3-0 sweep, hitting .381 (10-2-21) with two aces and one block. She hit .800 (8-0-10) on Sept. 17 at Fresno State and for the weekend at the Fresno State Invitational (Sept. 17-18), she led the Trojans with 32 kills and 17 digs.
Fonoimoana was a finalist for the Prep Volleyball National Player of the Year honor and a 2010 Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection. She earned 2009 All-CIF Southern Section first team honors and was named Daily Breeze Player of the Year after recording 664 kills and 311 digs on the season with 63 blocks and 34 aces. She was named 2007 National Sophomore of the Year by Prep Volleyball after teaming with current USC setter Kendall Bateman to lead Mira Costa to the CIF-Southern Section I-AA title with 17 kills in the final over Redondo Union.
No Harm, No Foul (cont.)
Her mother, Debbie, played beach volleyball and trained with her sister, Lelei, who swam in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, placing seventh in the 100m Butterfly at 17 years old. Her uncle, Eric, won a gold medal in 2000 in Sydney for beach volleyball and was a longtime standout on the AVP Tour.
Where There's A Will, There's A Way
Junior middle blocker Lauren Williams (Houston, Texas/Stratford HS) has 139 kills (2.36 kps) with a .418 hitting percentage, 21 digs (0.36 dps) and 49 blocks (0.83 bps) this season.
On Oct. 16 at No. 25 Arizona, she had 13 kills and no errors while hitting .565 (13-0-23).
Williams registered all-tournament honors at the Fresno State Invitational (Sept. 17-18) after hitting .421 on the weekend with five blocks (1.00 bps).
She earned all-tournament honors at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic in Honolulu after leading USC to a 3-0 mark with wins over No. 4 Hawai'i, New Mexico and Michigan State. She was second on the team with 31 kills (2.82 kps) while hitting .473 with 18 blocks (1.64 bps). She had 12 kills and six blocks while hitting .450 (12-3-20) in a 3-0 sweep of New Mexico and followed that up with 14 kills and six blocks while tying her career high of five assists in the five-set win over No. 4 Hawai'i.
She garnered Luxe City Center Trojan Invitational all-tournament honors after registering 25 kills (3.57 kps) in three matches while hitting .622 (25-2-37).
Last year, she made 30 starts in 31 matches as a sophomore. She finished fourth among Pac-10 Conference players with a .371 hitting percentage and third on the team with 281 kills (2.55 kps). Last season, she recorded 15 assists (0.14 aps), 19 digs (0.17 dps) and 343.5 points (3.12 pps) while leading the team with 105 total blocks (0.95 bps) with 20 solo blocks. She finished the season with double-digit kills in four consecutive matches.
She had a team-high 14 kills and hit .407 (14-3-27) with a career-high eight block assists against No. 3 Hawai'i on Dec. 5, 2009, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and recorded 10 kills and no errors for a season-high .714 clip (10-0-14) against Oklahoma on Dec. 4 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
She earned her first-ever Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week honor on Nov. 16 after registering 33 kills while hitting .462 with 11 blocks and 41.0 points in wins over No. 4 Washington and No. 25 Washington State. She had 14 kills and eight blocks (four solo) while hitting .364 against Washington. She followed that with a career-high 19 kills against Washington State without a single error for a .559 night (19-0-34).
In her first collegiate season, Williams earned Pac-10 Conference honorable mention recognition and was named to the Pac-10 Conference All-Freshman Team. She had 209 kills (2.11 kps) with a .323 hitting percentage and a team-leading 103 blocks (1.04 bps) with 15 solo blocks and 88 block assists. She recorded 11 blocks (two solo, nine assisted) in her first two collegiate matches at the Runza/AVCA Showcase against No. 4 Texas and No. 7 Nebraska. On Oct. 11, 2008, in a five-set loss to No. 10 Washington, Williams recorded a season-high 16 kills with six block assists while hitting .462 (16-4-26). She hit .550 (12-1-20) on Nov. 21 at No. 2 Stanford and followed it with a .455 match (11-1-22) with four blocks at No. 7 Cal.
She played on the 2008 U.S. Women's A2 National Team and played on the 2007 Junior National Training Team.
The Pattern Is Full
Sophomore outside hitter Katie Fuller (Olivenhain, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS) has 123 kills (2.08 kps) this season with 95 digs (1.61 dps) and 26 blocks (0.44 bps).
She had a team-high 11 kills in a 3-0 sweep on Sept. 10 against Virginia, including 10 in the first set alone. She hit .500 on the evening (11-2-18) with an ace and five digs. On Sept. 5 in a five-set win at No. 4 Hawai'i, she posted career highs with 17 kills, six digs, six blocks and 20.5 points while hitting .382. She had eight kills and hit .312 in a 3-0 sweep on Sept. 4 against Michigan State.
She filled in admirably during the Portland and Fresno State matches (Sept. 18-19) as a freshman last season. She led the team with 10 kills against Portland with two digs and one block while hitting .471 (10-2-17) in the 3-0 sweep. The following night against Fresno State, she had five kills with seven digs and two service aces.
Surf's Up
Freshman libero Natalie Hagglund (Encinitas/La Costa Canyon HS) was rated the top incoming libero by Prep Volleyball and 27th overall recruit. Along with her volleyball prowess, Hagglund is an accomplished surfer, winning the 2007 San Diego County High School Girls' Long Board Surfing championship.
She has 261 digs (3.95 dps) this season for the Women of Troy.
She posted a season-high 28 digs (7.00 dps) in a four-set loss at Arizona State.
On Sept. 24 against No. 11 UCLA, she had 19 digs in the four-set win against the Bruins. She had a season-high 22 digs in a five-set win on Sept. 5 at No. 4 Hawai'i. Her previous high of 21 digs came on August 28 against Cal State Fullerton (4 sets).
She earned 2009-10 Under Armour All-America first team honors and played for the La Costa Canyon High squad that won the San Diego Section Division I championship in four sets. Hagglund played for the 2009 U.S. Under-19 Beach Volleyball squad as part of the No. 2 team and was part of the youngest team ever to qualify for the main draw of the AVP Manhattan Beach Open (2009). In high school, she was a member of the 2008 La Costa Canyon High squad that was named national champions by Prep Volleyball and Max Preps.
Standing Guard
Freshman middle blocker Alexis Olgard (Spokane, Wash./Mead HS) has 97 kills (1.80 kps) this season while hitting .387 with 14 digs (0.26 dps), 10 aces (0.19 saps) and 39 blocks (0.72 bps).
In her last five conference matches, Olgard has 48 kills against only five errors for a .478 hitting percentage (48-5-90).
She had 10 kills and no errors with three solo blocks on Oct. 16 in a five-set win at No. 25 Arizona.
She posted season highs for kills in successive nights on Oct. 8 and 9. Against No. 1 Stanford on Oct. 8, she had nine kills with no errors and three blocks for a .450 night and recorded 12 kills in a .500 night with two blocks against No. 7 California. Her block, along with teammate Alex Jupiter, while USC was down 14-12 in the fifth set against the Golden Bears sparked a 5-1 run as the Women of Troy pulled out the victory. She was third on the team with 26.0 points during the Fresno State Invitational (Sept. 17-18) with 16 kills and a team-high five service aces.
She was rated as the No. 5 recruit in the nation by Prep Volleyball and played for the 2009 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team while being an alternate for the 2008 squad. She was a finalist for the Prep Volleyball National Player of the Year honor and 2010 Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection. At the 2009 FIVB Junior World Championship in Mexico, she finished fourth in blocks among all players and 20th in scoring. She was an integral part of three state championship squads (2006, 2007 and 2009) and was named 2009 Gatorade State Player of the Year as well as 2009 Inland Northwest Junior Female Athlete of the Year.
That's G
Senior defensive specialist/outside hitter Geena Urango (Los Alamitos/Los Alamitos HS) has seven kills (0.13 kps) and 13 service aces (0.24 saps) this season.
She had a season-high 11 digs on Sept. 24 in a four-set win against No. 11 UCLA.
Urango made seven starts in 30 matches last season, recording 69 kills (0.74 kps), seven assists (0.08 aps), 20 service aces (0.22 saps), 107 digs (1.15 dps) and 93.5 points (1.01 pps). She earned 2009 Pac-10 Conference All-Academic second team honors, posting a 3.69 grade-point-average in communications. Her best match came on Sept. 11 vs. Idaho State, leading the Trojans with a season-high 17 kills while hitting .469 on Sept. 11 against Idaho State at the Wolverine Invitational in Orem, Utah.
She played in every match during her 2008 sophomore season, recording 36 kills (0.35 kps), 11 assists (0.11 aps), 13 aces (0.12 saps), 158 digs (1.52 dps), five blocks (0.05 bps) and 52.0 points (0.50 pps). She had a season-high nine kills and added two aces and two digs against Hartford on Sept. 18 and posted eight kills and a season-high 14 digs on Oct. 3 at Oregon State.
Urango recorded 112 kills (0.90 kps) and 347 digs (2.80 dpg) in her freshman season, earning All-Pac-10 Freshman Team honorable mention honors. She finished in a tie for sixth place in the Pac-10 Conference with 40 service aces (0.32 saps) and recorded four aces in a match twice (Sept. 1 vs. Mercer and Sept. 15 vs. Purdue).
She recorded 21 digs on Sept. 7 at Utah in a four-game victory and posted a season-high 31 digs in a five-game win on Sept. 14 at No. 20 Ohio State. On Oct. 11 against Oregon State, she tallied a season-high 10 kills, hitting .304 in the match and adding nine digs. She recorded a season-high 21 kills, taking 47 swings against No. 9 Cal in a 3-2 win on Oct. 26 at the Galen Center. Urango posted her first collegiate double-double on Nov. 2 against No. 9 UCLA with 17 kills and 12 digs in the 3-1 victory.
She was on the 2008 U.S. Beach Volleyball Training Team for the SWATCH FIVB World Championship. She also played two years for the U.S. Youth National Team (2005-06) and also played on the Junior National Team.
It's Greek To Me
Senior middle blocker Zoe Garrett (Laguna Beach/Laguna Beach HS), whose first name is derived from a Greek word meaning "life", has 47 kills (1.74 kps) this season white hitting .347 with 15 blocks (0.56 bps).
Garrett made 16 starts in 24 matches as a junior last season for the Women of Troy. She recorded 81 kills for a 1.27 kps average and a .288 hitting percentage with 16 assists (0.25 aps), six service aces (0.09 saps), 27 digs (0.42 dps), 45 blocks (0.70 bps) and 112.0 points (1.75 pps). She received 2009 Pac-10 Conference All-Academic honorable mention recognition
She earned all-tournament team honors at the 2009 Wolverine Invitational (Sept. 11-12) at Utah Valley after getting 20 kills and seven blocks while hitting .474. She had nine kills while hitting .500 at Utah Valley (9-1-16) on Sept. 11 with four block assists and had nine kills with four blocks while hitting .571 (9-1-14) on Aug. 29 against North Carolina.
As a sophomore in 2008, Garrett started in all but one match during the season, recording 171 kills (1.71 kps) for a .305 hitting percentage with 19 service aces (0.19 saps), 61 digs (0.61 dps), 90 blocks (0.90 bps) and 241.5 points (2.41 pps). She tied her previous best of nine blocks on Sept. 18 against Hartford with one solo block and eight block assists in the 3-0 victory at the West Point Challenge, also tied a season high with three service aces. In the Pac-10 opener against No. 4 UCLA, she had nine kills and hit .400 (9-1-20) in the five-set win with six digs and five blocks. In a 3-0 sweep of Washington State on Oct. 10, she tied her career high with 13 kills, hitting .476 (13-3-21) in the process. She tied her season and career highs with 13 kills and nine blocks on Dec. 5 in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament against No. 15 San Diego and hit a season-high .478 (13-2-23) against the Toreros in the four-set win.
Garrett received All-Pac-10 Freshman Team honorable mention honors in 2007 after recording 210 kills (1.81 kps) and 118 blocks (1.02 bps) while hitting .262. A 10-kill performance came on Oct. 18 at Washington State where she also registered a season-high nine blocks (one solo, eight assisted).
Burn Notice
Freshman outside hitter/opposite Kirby Burnham (Newport Beach/Newport Harbor HS) was rated as the No. 49 incoming recruit in the nation by Prep Volleyball and was a 2010 Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection, along with earning All-America honors by Prep Volleyball.
This season, she has 37 kills (1.16 kps) while hitting .219 with 37 digs (1.16 dps).
She was the team captain for the Newport Harbor squad that won the 2009 CIF-SS Division 1-AA championship as Burnham earned 2009 All-CIF Southern Section first team honors. She was named most valuable player in the CIF Division I state championship match after posting 12 kills in the 3-0 sweep of Salinas. Burnham was a member of the National Charity League where she completed 50-100 hours of community service a year and created her own neighborhood food drive in her community while she was in high school.
The Shawshank Redemption
Freshman outside hitter Sara Shaw (Austin, Texas/Westlake HS) has 22 kills (0.61 kps) this season with 51 digs (1.42 dps) and six blocks (0.17 dps).
She was rated No. 11 nationally by Prep Volleyball and played for the 2009 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team. She also was a finalist for the Prep Volleyball National Player of the Year honor and 2010 Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection. Shaw earned 2009-10 Under Armour All-America first team honors after leading Westlake to its third straight Class 5A state final and was named 2009 Gatorade State Player of the Year.
All-Time Great Night
Since the Galen Center's opening, the USC women's volleyball program has honored its former players with a banner ceremony with the individual having their number and name listed in the rafters for a full year.
During the September 24 match against UCLA, the Women of Troy honored Dana Smith (1980-83), who was a three-time first team All-American. Smith, a native of 29 Palms, Calif., was a member of two national championship squads (1980 and 1981). Her best season came in 1982 when she had 385 kills with 24 aces and 30 digs.
Smith is one of only four USC women's volleyball players to earn an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship (1984).
Injury Report
Senior outside hitter Kimmee Roleder injured her right knee during spring practice and will be out for the entire 2010 season.
