July 19, 2004

LOGAN, Utah - Ten teams that participated in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, including one Final Four opponent, highlight the 2004 Utah State women's volleyball schedule that was announced on Monday.

The Aggies will host eight NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago, including in-state rival Brigham Young on Sept. 28 and Final Four participant Hawai'i on Nov. 23 to close out the regular season. In all, USU will play 12 matches at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, a venue where the Aggies have gone 40-14 over the last five seasons.

Other NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago to visit the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum include Cal State Northridge, Pacific, UC Santa Barbara, Idaho, UC Irvine and Long Beach State.

Utah State will open the year against national power Stanford on Sept. 3 at a tournament hosted by Nevada, before playing road matches at Idaho State and Utah on Sept. 8 and 11. USU's first home matches of the year will be on Sept. 16 and 18 against Big West opponents Cal State Northridge and Pacific.

After 14 years of competition in the Big West Conference, Utah State will be playing its final season in the league before moving to the Western Athletic Conference in 2005. Utah State will play a total of 18 conference matches on the year in a round-robin format with each school playing each other member institution both home and away.

Utah State returns four starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team that went 18-12 overall and finished in a tie for fifth-place in the Big West with a 10-8 record. Among the players returning for USU is junior first-team all-Big West performer Zuzana Cernianska, along with Beth Hodge and Mari Ruddick who were both named to the league's all-freshman team during the 2003 season.

2004 Utah State Volleyball Schedule

Date			Opponent					Location			Time
Sept. 3-4		Nevada Tournament			Reno, Nev.
Sept. 3		Stanford					Reno, Nev.			5:30 p.m
Sept. 4		Nevada					Reno, Nev.			1 p.m.
Sept. 4		St. Mary's					Reno, Nev. 			6 p.m.
Sept. 8		Idaho State					Pocatello, Idaho		6 p.m.
Sept. 11		Utah						Salt Lake City, Utah		7 p.m.
Sept. 16		*CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE		LOGAN			7 p.m.
Sept. 18		*PACIFIC					LOGAN			2 p.m.
Sept. 23		*Idaho						Moscow, Idaho		8 p.m.
Sept. 25		UC Davis					Davis, Calif.			8 p.m.
Sept. 28		BRIGHAM YOUNG				LOGAN			6 p.m.
Oct. 1			*Long Beach State				Long Beach, Calif.		8:30 p.m.
Oct. 2			*UC Irvine					Irvine, Calif.			8 p.m.
Oct. 7			*UC SANTA BARBARA			LOGAN			7 p.m.
Oct. 9			*CAL POLY					LOGAN			Noon
Oct. 12		WEBER STATE				LOGAN			7 p.m.
Oct. 15		*Cal State Fullerton				Fullerton, Calif.		8 p.m.
Oct. 16		*UC Riverside				Riverside, Calif.		8 p.m.
Oct. 21		*IDAHO					LOGAN			7 p.m.
Oct. 28		*UC IRVINE					LOGAN			7 p.m.
Oct. 30		*LONG BEACH STATE			LOGAN			7 p.m.
Nov. 5			*Cal Poly					San Luis Obispo, Calif.	8 p.m.
Nov. 6			*UC Santa Barbara				Santa Barbara, Calif.	8 p.m.
Nov. 11		*UC RIVERSIDE				LOGAN			7 p.m.
Nov. 13		*CAL STATE FULLERTON		LOGAN			7 p.m.
Nov. 18		*Pacific					Stockton, Calif.		8 p.m.
Nov. 20		*Cal State Northridge			Northridge, Calif.		8 p.m.
Nov. 23		HAWAI'I					LOGAN			7 p.m.

*Denotes Big West Conference Match.
Home matches in BOLD CAPS.
All times are mountain time.
All times and dates are tentative and subject to change.