Aug. 10, 2008

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State's women's volleyball team will start the 2008 season on Monday, Aug. 11 with its first practice of the year at 9:00 a.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

Third-year head coach Grayson DuBose, the reigning Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, welcomes back five starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's team that finished 17-13 on the season and in third-place in the WAC with an 11-5 league record. Among those returning for USU is senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh and junior middle blocker Danielle Taylor who both earned second-team all-WAC honors in 2007, while sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles was named the WAC's Freshman of the Year.

Fowles is also one of 12 players in the league, and one of just two sophomores, to be named to the 2008 preseason all-WAC team after ranking second in the WAC a year ago with 12.45 assists per game. She finished the year with 1,133 assists which ranks ninth all-time at Utah State for a single-season and is 10th all-time in school history.

"I am looking forward to the start of the season," said Dubose. "We have continued to improve during the off-season and now must work hard everyday in practice in order to achieve our goals."

Joining Utah State's 10 returnees will be four newcomers which includes two transfers and two freshmen. This group includes junior libero Shanda Larson who transferred from Salt Lake Community College and sophomore middle blocker Shantell Durrant who transferred from Washington, along with freshmen Emily Kortsen and Liz McArthur. Kortsen was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tri-County League (Calif.) in each of the last three seasons, while McArthur was the 3A Most Valuable Player as both a junior and senior at Snow Canyon High School in St. George, Utah.

Utah State opens the 2008 season on Friday, Aug. 29 in Provo, Utah against Brigham Young at 7 p.m. in a tournament hosted by the Cougars. USU will then play both Missouri and Tulane in the final day of the tournament on Saturday, Aug. 30.