Aug. 27, 2008

LOGAN, Utah - It may sound simple, but Utah State's goal for the 2008 season is simply to improve. To improve every day during the season, whether it be in practice or in a match. And with five starters and 10 letterwinners returning from last year's team that went 17-13 overall and finished in third-place in the Western Athletic Conference with an 11-5 league record, third-year head coach Grayson DuBose expects his veteran team to improve throughout the season.

"We've set high goals for ourselves and we want to compete at a high level in the WAC," said DuBose. "We want to get better each day we step on the court and improve with every match, and we have the experience coming back to allow us to do that."

Leading the way for Utah State in 2008 will be a trio of returning all-WAC performers in senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh, junior middle blocker Danielle Taylor and sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles. Osterloh, who earned second-team all-league honors a year ago, finished the year averaging 3.16 kills, 2.88 digs and 0.75 blocks per game. Taylor also earned second-team all-WAC honors in 2007 as she ranked seventh in the conference in hitting percentage (.262) and 10th in blocking (1.12), while Fowles was named the WAC's Freshman of the Year after finishing second in league with 12.45 assists per game.

Along with its three returning all-WAC players, Utah State welcomes back two other starters in senior middle blocker Rebecca Anderson and sophomore libero Christine Morrill. Anderson has played in 102 games during her first two years at Utah State and finished the 2007 season by leading the team and ranking fifth in the WAC with 1.22 blocks per game. Morrill, who played in 24 matches and 85 games in her first season at Utah State, finished the year ranking eighth in the WAC with 3.92 digs per game.

Also back for Utah State are five more letterwinners who all made contributions a year ago and give Utah State quality depth at every position on the court. Among this group is senior setter Heather Hillier, senior outside hitter Kris Hymas, junior outside hitter Jessalyn Payne, sophomore middle blocker Katie Astle and sophomore outside hitter Lori Wilson. Hillier has played in 253 games while at Utah State and has 1,115 career assists. Hymas appeared in 18 matches in her first year at USU and recorded 38 kills and 43 digs, while Payne played in 26 matches in her first year in Aggie Blue and averaged 1.29 digs per game. Astle played in 15 matches as a true freshman and averaged 0.87 blocks and 0.78 kills per game, and Wilson played in nine matches in 2007 and averaged 0.80 kills and 0.50 digs per game.

Joining Utah State's 10 returnees will be four talented newcomers who will be expected to contribute right away in transfers Shantell Durrant and Shanda Larsen and freshmen Emily Kortsen and Liz McArthur.

Durrant transferred to Utah State after spending two years at the University of Washington as she redshirted in 2006 and appeared in nine games in 2007. Larsen comes to USU after playing two seasons at Salt Lake Community College as she helped lead the Bruins to a 44-2 record a year ago and a third-place national finish. Kortsen earned first-team all-section honors as a prep senior at San Benito (Calif.) High School, while McArthur was named the 4A Player of the Year as a prep senior at Snow Canyon (Utah) High School.

"All of our newcomers were recruited with the notion that they would come in and raise the level of play in our gym," DuBose stated. "The expectation for them is pretty high and they are going to be able to contribute and do some great things for Utah State."

Once again, Utah State's schedule will be very challenging as it plays 27 matches during the season, including seven against NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago in BYU, Hawai'i, Missouri, New Mexico State and Purdue. After finishing in third-place in the WAC in 2007, Utah State will once again play 16 conference matches to go along with 10 contests at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, a venue where the Aggies have gone 68-28 (.708) during the last nine years.

"I am looking forward to this schedule because we will play a lot of good teams that will prepare us for the great competition that we will face when we start league play," said DuBose, who is the reigning WAC Coach of the Year. "Last season we played a tough non-conference schedule and it paid dividends as we progressed through WAC play, and I feel like our schedule this year can be beneficial as well."

Utah State will begin the 2008 season by playing nine of its first 10 matches away from home, including its season opener at in-state rival Brigham Young on Aug. 29. USU will also face Missouri and Tulane that weekend in tournament action. The Aggies will then begin its home season on Sept. 2 against in-state rival Weber State before returning to the road for back-to-back tournaments at San Francisco and Utah. During those two weeks, USU will face Texas-Arlington, UC Santa Barbara and USF the first weekend, and Purdue, Saint Louis and the Utes the following weekend.

Utah State will return home and host Utah Valley on Sept. 16 before beginning WAC play that weekend at San Jose State on Sept. 20. USU will then play four straight conference matches at home against Fresno State and Nevada during the last weekend in September and versus Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State in the first weekend of October. Following its four-match home stretch, USU will play seven of its final 11 league matchups on the road, which includes a season-ending road trip to New Mexico State on Nov. 13 and Louisiana Tech on Nov. 15. USU's home finale will be on Nov. 6 against SJSU.

The 2008 WAC Tournament will be held in Honolulu, Hawai'i from Nov. 20-23, while the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament will be held during the first weekend in December.

SETTERS
Once again, Utah State will have plenty of experience and depth at the setting position in 2008 as it returns both of its setters from a year ago in Chelsea Fowles and Heather Hillier. Fowles played in 27 matches and 91 games in her first season at Utah State and was named the WAC's Freshman of the Year as she averaged 12.45 assists per game to rank second in the league to go along with 1.54 digs. Overall, Fowles recorded 1,133 assists as a freshman which ranks ninth all-time at USU for a single-season and 10th all-time in school history. Hillier, who will also see plenty of time in the back row, has recorded 1,115 assists in her three seasons at Utah State to go along with 391 career digs.

MIDDLE BLOCKERS
Another position that returns the majority of its production from a year ago is in the middle as Utah State ended the 2007 season ranking first in the WAC and 25th in the nation with 3.03 blocks per game. Leading the way for this group is junior Danielle Taylor who was named second-team all-WAC last year after ranking seventh in the conference in hitting (.262) and 10th in blocking (1.12). During her sophomore season, Taylor recorded 114 block assists which ranks tied for seventh all-time at Utah State for a single-season. Joining Taylor in the middle is senior Rebecca Anderson who finished her junior campaign ranking fifth in the WAC with 1.22 blocks per game, to go along with 1.10 kills and a team-high .297 hitting percentage. The third returning letterwinner here is sophomore Katie Astle who appeared in 15 matches and 23 games a year ago and averaged 0.87 blocks and 0.78 kills per game to go along with a robust .448 (18-5-29) hitting percentage. Utah State will have to replace Melissa Larson who played in 37 games during her sophomore season and was averaging 1.54 blocks per game before her career ended due to injury. One newcomer to this position who should help fill the void left by Larson is sophomore Shantell Durrant who transferred to USU after spending two years at the University of Washington as she redshirted in 2006 and appeared in nine games in 2007.

OUTSIDE/OPPOSITE SIDE HITTERS
The position with the most question marks is on the outside for Utah State after the graduation of two starters in All-American Amanda Nielson and Monarisa Ale. Nielson averaged 5.17 kills, 2.33 digs and 0.95 blocks per game on the right side as a senior, while Ale averaged 2.13 kills 2.44 digs and 0.94 blocks per game as an outside hitter. Despite the loss of two proven players, Utah State does return senior Melissa Osterloh, who earned second-team all-league honors a year ago, as she averaged 3.16 kills, 2.88 digs and 0.75 blocks per game. The Aggies also return three other letterwinners from a year ago in senior Kris Hymas, junior Jessalyn Payne and sophomore Lori Wilson. Hymas played in 32 games in her first year at USU and averaged 1.19 kills and 1.34 digs per game, while Payne averaged 1.29 digs as she appeared in 76 games, and Wilson saw action in 10 games and averaged 0.80 kills and 0.50 digs. Utah State also welcomes two talented freshmen to the mix in Emily Kortsen and Liz McArthur. Kortsen, who prepped at the same high school as current Aggie Chelsea Fowles, earned first-team all-central coast section honors at San Benito (Calif.) High School and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tri-County League three straight years. McArthur, who is from Snow Canyon High School in St. George, Utah was named the 4A Player of the Year and 4A state tournament MVP as a senior as she led her high school to the state championship. As a junior, McArthur was named the 3A Player of the Year and MVP of the 3A state tournament as her team won the state championship that year as well.

LIBEROS
Talent and depth should not be a concern for Utah State at the libero position in 2008 as it returns one of the best young defensive players in the WAC in sophomore Christine Morrill and welcomes junior college transfer Shanda Larsen. Morrill played in 24 matches and 85 games in her first year at Utah State and ended the season ranking eighth in the WAC with 3.92 digs per game. Larsen joins USU after spending two seasons at Salt Lake (Utah) Community College where she averaged 1.35 digs per game as a sophomore and helped led the Bruins to a 44-2 record and a third-place finish at the national tournament.