Volleyball to Open 2005 Season with Hofstra and Alumni Game

Aug. 23, 2005

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THIS WEEK

Cal State Fullerton vs. Hofstra Aug. 26 @ UC Riverside, noon

Cal State Fullerton vs. Alumni Aug. 27 @ Titan Gym, 2 pm

FULLERTON: 0-0 overall, 0-0 conference Match Streak: N/A Game Streak: N/A

HOFSTRA: 0-0 overall, 0-0 conference Match Streak: N/A Game Streak: N/A

SERVICE! With a new coaching staff for head coach Carolyn Zimmerman and some fresh faces on the court, Cal State Fullerton's women's volleyball team will open the 2005 season Friday at noon against Hofstra, looking to build on the success and progress of last season. The match will be played at UC Riverside before The Pride and the Highlanders hook up at 7:00 pm. The Titans are coming off a 2004 campaign that saw them reach the 14-win plateau for only he third time in school's history, and finished the season with six wins in Big West Conference play, matching a school record set by the 1996 squad.

ABOUT THE PRIDE: Hofstra is coming off of a 19-10 season while finishing 10-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2004. Friday's match-up will be the fourth time the two teams have locked horns, with Fullerton holding a 3-0 advantage. The last time the two teams met was back in the 1988 season when the Titans took a five game match 3-2. Hofstra is on the West Coast to play Riverside, UC Irvine and Fullerton. The pride is a combined 0-7 vs. the California teams all-time.

Head Coach Fran Kalafer is in her 25th season at the helm of the Pride (26th overall) and is ranked No. 11 among all active Div. I head coaches in victories with 589.

SCHEDULE: This year's schedule includes exciting match-ups for the Titans including five matches with ranked teams (Two with No. 24 Long Beach State and two with No. 15 UC Santa Barbara and one with No. 18 San Diego, all ranked in the CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Pre-Season Poll) as well as two matches with teams just missing the Top 25 (Pacific and Loyola Marymount). A highlight of the season will be a nationally televised match versus Santa Barbara on Nov. 6 from the campus of UCSB. The game will be televised on CSTV as its "Match of the Week".

QUICK STARTS: Fullerton has gotten off on the right foot in each of the last three seasons under head coach Carolyn Zimmerman. The 2002 team started off 4-2 only to lose all but one remaining match with UC Riverside to close out the season. In 2003, the Titans jumped out to a 5-1 record notching a couple of 2nd place, non-conference tournament finishes before ending the season with an 8-22 record. 2004 saw Fullerton win two tournament championships en route to a 6-1 start, with the loss coming to a No. 22 Loyola Marymount squad in the fourth game of the season.

SOMETHING TO PROVE: The 2005 Cal State Fullerton women's volleyball team will be out to prove the league wrong as they were predicted to finish last out of eight teams in the Big West Conference preseason coaches poll on Wednesday.

The Titans out of a possible 64 points received just 19, trailing Cal State Northridge, UC Riverside and UC Irvine, all failing to notch 30 points. Leader UC Santa Barbara received six first place votes, while the 49ers tallied two.

2005 Big West Conference Preseason Coaches Poll

1. UC Santa Barbara 62 (6) 2. Long Beach State 58 (2) 3. Pacific 48 4. Cal Poly 30 5. UC Irvine 25 6. UC Riverside 24 7. Cal State Northridge 22 8. Cal State Fullerton 19

DIGGIN' UP OLD TITANS: The Fullerton volleyball team will play host to several former Titans returning to their former stomping grounds to take on the 2005 squad in an alumni game on Saturday, Aug 27 at 2 pm. Scheduled to appear are approximately 10 former players including Megan Sabo (1998-2001, 2nd all-time in kills with 1,378), Kim Levey (1999-2002, 1st in assists with 3,621) and LaCrecia Brown (Smith) (1996-97, Fifth in single-season digs with 357. Also Scheduled to appear are 2004 teammates Jacyln Owen and All-Big West Honorable Mention Tiffany Dolven. Following the three-game match bragging rights will be established over a catered BBQ meal.

NEW WEB SITE: The Cal State Fullerton athletics department and CSTV.com have teamed up to launch fullertontitans.com, an all new web site for fans of Cal State Fullerton Athletics. It features all the same news and notes you were accustomed to at titansports.org, with new player biography sections as well as integration with GameTracker and audio streaming of certain sports. Fullertontitans.com includes all current information on the 2005-06 academic year and links back to the old site that will be maintained indefinitely for archive purposes.

INJURY REPORT: The Titans have made it through Preseason drills in fairly good shape, with only two Titans starting this Friday unable to play. Redshirt freshman, Kate Fruhwirth will be listed as day-to-day with a possible stress fracture in her foot limiting her from playing time until a physician can provide more details. Transfer Amanda Pfielschiefter is also listed day-to-day with a knee injury limiting her jumping and lateral movement on the court.