Sept. 28, 2008

LOGAN, Utah -

Complete Release in PDF Format

Release #6 • 9/28/08
Oct. 2 * LOUISIANA TECH * 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 4 * NEW MEXICO STATE * 7:00 p.m.

THIS WEEK
Utah State will conclude its season-long four-match homestand this weekend against Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Oct. 2, and New Mexico State on Saturday, Oct. 4. Both Western Athletic Conference matches will begin at 7 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

LOOKING AT UTAH STATE
Utah State is 4-10 on the season and in third-place in the WAC with a 2-1 league record following a five-set loss to Fresno State and a five-set win against Nevada at home last weekend. USU is led by senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh who is averaging 4.35 points, 3.70 kills, 1.78 digs, 0.63 blocks and 0.33 service aces per set, while sophomore middle blocker Katie Astle is hitting .361 and averaging 1.76 kills and 1.02 blocks per set. Sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles is also playing well for USU as she is hitting .345 and averaging 9.85 assists, 1.61 digs and 0.59 blocks per set. As a team, Utah State is hitting .175 on the season as compared to a .238 hitting percentage for its opponents.

UTAH STATE GAINING MOMENTUM
After starting the season with eight straight losses, Utah State has gained momentum winning four of its last six matches which includes a five-set win against No. 15 Purdue and five-set wins at San Jose State and against Nevada. During its first eight matches of the season, USU hit .154 and its opponents hit .295. In its last six matches, USU is hitting .198 as compared to a .181 hitting percentage for its opponents.

RANKING UTAH STATE IN THE WAC
As of Sept. 28, Utah State ranks fourth in the Western Athletic Conference in blocking (2.38), fifth in hitting percentage (.175), sixth in service aces (1.20), sixth in kills (11.70), sixth in assists (10.94), and ninth in digs (12.11). Individually, senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh ranks second in the WAC in service aces per set (0.33), is third in points per set (4.35), and fourth in kills (3.70) per set. Other Aggies who rank among the top 10 in the WAC include sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles who is third in assists per set (9.85), sophomore libero Christine Morrill who ranks fourth in digs per set (3.78), and sophomore middle blocker Katie Astle who ranks third in hitting percentage (.361) and ninth in blocking (1.02).

UTAH STATE IN THE DEE GLEN SMITH SPECTRUM
Over the last nine years, Utah State is 70-30 (.700) in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, which includes a 53-25 (.679) record against conference opponents. During the last four years, USU is 19-7 (.731) at home against WAC opponents.

UTAH STATE VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
With its win against Purdue on Sept. 13, Utah State is now 10-48 (.172) against ranked opponents over the last nine years. Overall, USU has won two of its last three matches against ranked teams as it lost at No. 20 BYU (3-0) earlier this season and defeated No. 10 Hawai'i (3-0) in its final regular season match last year.

FOWLES NAMED PRESEASON ALL-WAC
Sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles was one of 12 student-athletes, and one of just two sophomores, named to the 2008 preseason all-Western Athletic Conference team. Fowles is the third player in USU history to be named preseason all-WAC joining Zuzana Cernianska (2005) and Amanda Nielson (2007). Other players named preseason all-WAC in 2008 are Krista Altermatt (New Mexico State); Lindsay Baldwin (Nevada); Colleen Burke (San Jose State); Niki Clement (San Jose State); Aneli Cubi-Ontineru (Hawai'i); Jamie Houston (Hawai'i), Amber Kaufman (Hawai'i), Haley Larsen (Idaho); Amber Simpson (New Mexico State); Krystal Torres (New Mexico State); and Lindsey Yon (New Mexico State).

NEXT WEEK
Utah State will hit the road next week for a pair of matches at Idaho on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. (MT), and at Boise State on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.

RECAPPING LAST WEEK
Utah State posted a 1-1 home record last week with a five-set loss to Fresno State and a five-set win against Nevada. Against the Bulldogs, senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh had a career-high 22 kills and hit .375 (22-4-48) in the match, while freshman outside hitter Liz McArthur added a career-high 15 kills. Against the Wolf Pack, sophomore libero Christine Morrill had a career-high 27 digs, while sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles had a career-high five kills, to go along with 52 assists and 12 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Katie Astle also had a career-high against UNR with 11 kills and hit .562 (11-2-16) in the match, while junior outside hitter Jessalyn Payne posted a career-high 13 kills and hit .333 (13-4-27).

MORRILL RECORDS CAREER-HIGH 27 DIGS AGAINST NEVADA
Sophomore libero Christine Morrill continues to play well for Utah State as she posted a career-high 27 digs against Nevada on Sept. 27. Overall, Morrill has recorded a career-high in digs in two of her last three matches as she had 25 digs at San Jose State on Sept. 20. On the season, Morrill has notched double-digits in digs 10 times.

UTAH STATE ON THE ROAD
Utah State is 44-67 (.396) on the road over the last nine years, which includes a 28-40 (.412) record against league opponents. USU is 1-3 on the road thus far this year.

SCOUTING LOUISIANA TECH
Louisiana Tech is 2-8 on the season and 0-3 in the WAC following a three-set loss to No. 7 Hawai'i last weekend. The Lady Techsters, who are 1-1 on the road this year, are led by junior middle blocker KC Clayton who is hitting .188 and averaging 2.00 kills and 1.29 blocks per set. As a team, LTU is hitting .099 on the season as compared to a .184 hitting percentage for its opponents. Louisiana Tech returns three starters and eight letterwinners from last year's team that went 6-24 overall and finished in ninth-place in the WAC with a 1-15 league mark. Matt Sonnichsen is in his first year as Louisiana Tech's head coach and has an overall coaching mark of 140-119 in 10 seasons.

VERSUS THE LADY TECHSTERS
Utah State is 6-0 all-time against Louisiana Tech, which includes a 3-0 record at home. USU swept the season series with LTU last year with a pair of three-set wins.

SCOUTING NEW MEXICO STATE
New Mexico State is 8-7 on the season and 3-1 in the WAC following a three-set win against Idaho and a three-set loss to No. 7 Hawai'i at home last weekend. The Aggies, who are 1-2 on the road this year, are led by junior outside hitter Lindsey Yon who is averaging 3.77 kills and 2.35 digs per set. As a team, NMSU is hitting .182 on the season as compared to a .164 hitting percentage for its opponents. New Mexico State returns five starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's team that went 26-6 on the season and finished in second-place in the WAC with a 14-2 league record. Mike Jordan is 229-104 in his 11th season as NMSU's head coach.

VERSUS THE AGGIES
Utah State is 23-33 all-time against New Mexico State, which includes a 10-14 record at home. NMSU has won each of the last four matches played in the series including a pair of four-set wins during the 2007 season. The last time USU defeated the NewMags was on Nov. 25, 2005 in five games in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament.

DID YOU KNOW?
New Mexico State head coach Mike Jordan spent two seasons (1996-97) as an assistant coach at Utah State.

FOWLES EIGHT ALL-TIME AT UTAH STATE IN ASSISTS
With 102 assists last week, sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles now has 1,665 assists to rank eighth all-time at Utah State. Fowles is now 300 assists shy of tying Dominique Arsenault (2003-05) for seventh-place all-time with 1,965 assists.

ANDERSON SETS SCHOOL RECORD AGAINST TEXAS-ARLINGTON
Senior middle blocker Rebecca Anderson set a school record for hitting percentage with 14 or fewer attempts against Texas-Arlington on Sept. 5. Anderson finished the match by hitting .786 (11-0-14) and notched a career-high 11 kills. The previous record was .769 (10-0-13) set by Chelsi Neves against UC Irvine on Oct. 19, 2000.

UTAH STATE RETURNS THREE ALL-WAC PLAYERS FROM 2006
Utah State returns three players who earned all-WAC honors in 2007 in senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh, junior middle blocker Danielle Taylor and sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles. Osterloh was named second-team all-WAC as she averaged 3.16 kills, 2.88 digs and 0.75 blocks per game. Taylor also earned second-team all-WAC honors as she ranked seventh in the WAC with a .262 hitting percentage and 10th in the league with 1.12 blocks per game. Fowles was named the WAC's Freshman of the Year in 2007 as she finished the year ranking second in the conference with 12.45 assists per game to go along with 1.54 digs.

OSTERLOH NAMED TO A PAIR OF ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
Senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh was named to a pair of all-tournament teams during the preseason. Her first honor was at the BYU Molten Classic as she averaged 4.30 points, 3.60 kills, 2.30 digs and 0.60 service aces per set and had 16 kills, seven digs and three service aces against Missouri. Her second honor was at the 2008 Utah Classic as she averaged 3.92 points, 3.17 kills, 1.25 digs and 1.17 blocks per set during the tournament and recorded 18 kills, six digs, five block assists and two service aces in a five-set win against Purdue.

ASTLE NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Sophomore middle blocker Katie Astle was named to the 2008 Asics/Powerade Challenge all-tournament team as she hit .300 (18-6-40) during the weekend and averaged 1.80 kills and 0.80 blocks per set. Her best match of the tournament was against UC Santa Barbara as she tied her career-high with eight kills.

AGGIES THIN IN THE MIDDLE
Utah State has had to overcome two key injuries in middle blockers Danielle Taylor and Shantell Durrant. Taylor has played in just one match this year due to an ankle injury, while Durrant played in just two matches before hurting her knee.

AGGIES ON THE INTERNET
All of Utah State's home matches are available to watch live via the internet at www.UtahStateAggies.com. Fans can also follow all of the action on the internet via GameTracker, with up-to-date score and stats.

UTAH STATE RETURNS FIVE STARTERS, 10 LETTERWINNERS
Utah State returns five starters and 10 letterwinners from the 2007 team that finished 17-13 overall and in third-place in the Western Athletic Conference with an 11-5 league record. Those five starters returning for USU are seniors Rebecca Anderson (MB) and Melissa Osterloh (OH), junior Danielle Taylor (MB), and sophomores Chelsea Fowles (S) and Christine Morrill (LIB).

UTAH STATE RETURNS A LOT OF PRODUCTION FROM 2007
With five starters and 10 letterwinners returning from last year's team, Utah State returns a lot of production in a lot of different areas. The following is a breakdown of what USU's returns and what it lost from the 2007 season.

Statistical breakdown of what Utah State returns in 2007.
Assists (1,357/1,378)         98.5%
Service Aces (121/162)        74.7%
Blocks (365/608)              60.0%
Points (1,009.5/1,959.5)      51.5%
Digs (724/1,531)              47.3%
Kills (700/1,482)             47.2%

FROM THE STATE OF UTAH
Of the 14 players on Utah State's roster, 10 are from the state of Utah. Those 10 players from the "Beehive State" are seniors Rebecca Anderson (Logan), Kris Hymas (South Jordan) and Melissa Osterloh (Sandy), juniors Shanda Larsen (North Logan) and Danielle Taylor (Springville), sophomores Katie Astle (Sandy), Shantell Durrant (American Fork), Christine Morrill (Neola) and Lori Wilson (Provo), and freshman Liz McArthur (St. George).

PETERSON RETURNS TO UTAH STATE
Former Utah State head coach Tom Peterson has come back to Logan, joining the Aggies as an assistant coach. Peterson served as USU's head coach during the 1999 and 2000 seasons and compiled an overall record of 36-22 (.621). That 62.1 percent winning percentage ranks second all-time in school history. Prior to Peterson coaching at USU, the Aggies had just two winning season in its previous 16 years. Since Peterson took over the Aggie program, USU has had six winning seasons in the last nine year. Overall, Peterson brings 28 years of coaching experience with him to Utah State, including 21 as a head coach. Most recently, Peterson spent four years (2003-06) as the head coach of Brigham Young's men's volleyball program, leading the Cougars to the National Championship in 2004 and a national runner-up finish in 2003. In his 10 years as a men's head coach at the Division I level, Peterson's teams appeared in seven NCAA Final Fours.

RETURNING PLAYER NOTES
#2 - Chelsea Fowles - Recorded a career-high five kills and hit .625 (5-0-8) against Nevada... Ranks third in the WAC with 9.85 assists per set... Named to the WAC's all-preseason team and was the league's 2007 freshman of the year... Has 1,665 career assists to rank eighth all-time in school history... Averaging 1.61 digs and 0.59 blocks per set.

#3 - Melissa Osterloh - Recorded a USU career-high 22 kills against Fresno State... Earned second-team all-WAC honors in 2007... Named to the BYU Molten Classic all-tournament team and to the Utah Classic all-tournament team... Averaging 4.35 points, 3.70 kills, 1.78 digs, 0.63 blocks and 0.33 service aces per set... Ranks second in the WAC in service aces per set, is third in points and fourth in kills per set... Recorded her second double-double of the season with 21 kills and 13 digs at San Jose State.

#4 - Jessalyn Payne - Recorded a Utah State career-high 13 kills against Nevada... Hit a career-high .643 (9-0-14) against Purdue... Averaging 1.74 kills, 0.37 digs and 0.66 blocks per set.

#5 - Danielle Taylor - Has played in only one match this year due to injury... Earned second-team all-WAC honors in 2007 as she hit .262 during the season and averaged 2.07 kills, 1.12 blocks and 0.52 digs per game... Finished the year ranked seventh in the WAC in hitting percentage and 10th in blocking... Finished the year with 114 block assists which ranks tied for seventh all-time in school history for a single-season.

#7 - Katie Astle - Recorded a career-high 11 kills against Nevada... Is hitting .361 on the season and averaging 1.76 kills and 1.02 blocks per set... Ranks third in the WAC in hitting percentage and is ninth in blocking... Named to the San Francisco Asics/Powerade Challenge all-tournament team... Had a career-high 10 blocks against Purdue.

#9 - Rebecca Anderson - Hitting .206 and averaging 1.22 kills and 0.98 blocks per set... Recorded a career-high 11 kills against Texas-Arlington and set a school record in the match by hitting .786 (11-0-14).

#10 - Kris Hymas - Recorded a career-high 11 kills against 15th-ranked Purdue... Also recorded her first career double-double against the Boilermakers as she had 10 digs as well... Averaging 2.05 kills, 1.85 digs and 0.46 blocks per set.

#11 - Shanda Larsen - Saw her first action of the season against Tulane and had one attack... Also played against Utah Valley and Nevada.

#12 - Emily Kortsen - Is hitting .181 and averaging 1.39 kills and 0.32 blocks per set... Has a season-high six kills at Utah.

#14 - Christine Morrill - Recorded a career-high 27 digs against Nevada... Ranks third in the WAC with 3.78 digs per set... Has notched double-figures in digs in 10 matches this year.

#17 - Lori Wilson - Averaging 0.44 digs per set and had a career-high four digs against Tulane.

#18 - Liz McArthur - Had a career-high 15 kills against Fresno State... Recorded her first-ever double-double against Saint Louis with 12 kills and 12 digs... Averaging 1.61 kills and 1.19 digs per set.

#21 - Shantell Durrant - Played in only two matches this year before suffering a season-ending injury... Is hitting .231 on the season and averaging 1.71 kills... Had a season-high eight kills and five blocks against Missouri.

#23 - Heather Hillier - Is averaging 1.76 digs per set and had a season-high 14 digs against 15th-ranked Purdue... Has 1,129 career assists and 486 career digs.

HEAD COACH Grayson DuBose
Grayson DuBose, the reigning Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, is entering his third season as Utah State's head volleyball coach after being hired on March 27, 2006. And in just two shorts years, DuBose (pronounced Do-Boz) has revitalized Utah State volleyball into one of the top programs in the WAC as he has already coached one All-American, five all-WAC selections, the 2007 WAC Freshman of the Year and 16 academic all-WAC honorees. After being picked to finish seventh in the WAC prior to the 2007 season, DuBose led Utah State to a 17-13 record and a third-place conference finish with an 11-5 mark. Among those 11 league victories was one of the biggest wins in school history as he led the Aggies to a three-game sweep at then No. 10 Hawai'i, snapping an 108-match home conference winning streak for the Rainbow Wahine. Following the season, DuBose had four players recognized by the WAC as senior Amanda Nielson was named to the league's first-team, while junior Melissa Osterloh and sophomore Danielle Taylor both earned second-team all-WAC honors. Also joining the list of honorees was setter Chelsea Fowles who was named the freshman of the year in the WAC, while DuBose became the first volleyball coach in school history to garner conference coach of the year honors. USU also received three WAC Player of the Week honors during the season in Amanda Nielson, Osterloh and Taylor. Utah State also had plenty of success in the classroom during the 2007-08 academic year as nine players earned academic all-WAC honors, which were the most by any volleyball team in the league. In his inaugural season at Utah State, DuBose inherited a team that lost four starters and seven quality letterwinners from an NCAA Tournament team that went 21-13 overall and finished in a tie for second-place in the WAC with an 11-5 league record in 2005. Despite all the turnover, DuBose led Utah State to an early 10-8 record, including a 3-1 mark in WAC play before numerous injuries and inexperience took its toll in the final six weeks. In 2006, DuBose coached two all-league players as Nielson earned second-team all-WAC honors, while Melissa Larson was named to the conference's all-freshman team. Utah State also had six players earn academic all-conference honors, and one player earn WAC Player of the Week honors, marking just the second time that a USU player has received the award. Prior to accepting the head coaching position at Utah State, DuBose spent four seasons (2003-06) as an assistant on Brigham Young University's men's volleyball team. DuBose began his collegiate coaching career at Utah State from 1999-2000 as an assistant to Tom Peterson. During that time, the Aggies won the Eastern Division of the Big West Conference in 1999 and advanced to the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2000, defeating Missouri in the first round. USU finished the 2000 season ranked 22nd in the country, the program's first-ever top 25 ranking. In his four seasons at Brigham Young, DuBose helped lead the Cougar's men's program to a 90-30 (.750) record, including a National Championship in 2004 and a second-place finish at the 2003 NCAA Tournament. During his time at BYU, he coached nine All-American's, including the 2004 NCAA Player of the Year. DuBose began his coaching career as an assistant at Brighton High School in Sandy, Utah from 1997-98 and also assisted with the Cache Valley Juniors and the Mountain West Volleyball Club during that time period. Following his two-year stint at Utah State, DuBose spent one year as an assistant to Peterson at the University of New Mexico, working with the women's program, before following Peterson to BYU. DuBose played two years of collegiate volleyball at Golden West Community College in Huntington Beach, Calif., after graduating from Edision High School in Huntington Beach where he earned all-county honors his senior season. DuBose graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in history in 1993 and then received his teaching certificate from Utah State in 1995. He and his wife Lenonnie have three children, Kline (10), Cassandra (8) and Jackson (4).