Nov. 19, 2008

LOGAN, Utah -

Complete Release in PDF Format

Release #13 • 11/19/08
2008 WAC TOURNAMENT - HONOLULU
Nov. 20 * vs. San Jose State * 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 21 * Semifinals * 8 p.m.
Nov. 23 * Championship * 6 p.m.

THIS WEEK
Utah State (11-16, 9-7) will travel to Honolulu this week to participate in the 2008 Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament from Nov. 20-23 at the Stan Sheriff Center. USU is the fourth-seed in the tournament and will face fifth-seeded San Jose State (12-16, 7-9) in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. (MT).

LIVE STATS
Fans who would like to follow the 2008 WAC Tournament via the internet can go to the following link for up-to-date stats on every tournament match. The livestats link for the entire tournament will be: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/hawaii/wvball/.

WAC TO STREAM VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
The Western Athletic Conference, in conjunction with its Web site partner JumpTV Sports, has announced it will stream all of the matches of the 2008 WAC Volleyball Tournament. Viewers can sign up by visiting www.WAC.tv. The volleyball tournament will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, Nov. 20-21, 23. All nine teams will compete in the event with the No. 8 and 9 seeds opening play at 9:30 a.m. (HT) on Thursday, Nov. 20. The quarterfinals will also be played on Thursday with the semifinals on Friday, and the championship match scheduled on Sunday, Nov. 23. Single matches can be viewed on WAC.tv for $9.95 or fans can subscribe to the full volleyball tournament package (all eight matches) for $19.95. More information and how to subscribe to any of these video streaming events can be found at www.WAC.tv .

LOOKING AT UTAH STATE
Utah State is 11-16 on the season and finished in fourth-place in the WAC with a 9-7 league record following a three-set loss at New Mexico State (25-12, 25-14, 25-20) and a four-set win at Louisiana Tech (25-20, 25-22, 19-25, 25-17) last weekend. USU is led by senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh who is averaging 4.18 points, 3.57 kills, 1.97 digs, 0.54 blocks and 0.33 service aces per set, while sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles is hitting .329 and averaging 9.60 assists, 1.62 digs, 0.64 kills and 0.53 blocks per set. Sophomore libero Christine Morrill is also playing well for Utah State as she is averaging 3.88 digs per set. As a team, Utah State is hitting .176 on the season as compared to a .224 hitting percentage for its opponents.

UTAH STATE IN THE WAC TOURNAMENT
Utah State is 2-3 all-time in the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament as it advanced to the 2005 championship match as the second seed before losing to top-seeded Hawai'i (3-0). USU began the 2005 tournament by defeating seventh-seeded Fresno State (3-1) in the first round and third-seeded New Mexico State (3-2) in the semifinals. In 2006, Utah State was the sixth-seed in the tournament and lost to third-seeded Idaho (3-1). And in 2007, USU was the third-seed and lost to sixth-seeded San Jose State (3-2).

UTAH STATE ON NEUTRAL COURTS
Utah State is just 1-5 this season when playing on a neutral court and 7-15 on neutral courts under head coach Grayson DuBose.

UTAH STATE ON THE ROAD
Utah State is 47-71 (.398) on the road over the last nine years, which includes a 31-44 (.413) record against league opponents. USU is 4-7 on the road and 5-12 away from home thus far this year.

RANKING UTAH STATE IN THE WAC
As of Nov. 16, Utah State ranks fourth in the Western Athletic Conference in service aces per set (1.31), fifth in hitting percentage (.176), sixth in kills (11.70), sixth in assists (10.90), seventh in blocks (2.05), and ninth in digs (12.17). Individually, senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh ranks third in the WAC in service aces per set (0.33), and is fourth in points (4.18) and kills (3.57) 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 (9.60), sophomore libero Christine Morrill who ranks fourth in digs per set (3.88), sophomore outside hitter Lori Wilson who ranks ninth in service aces (0.27), and sophomore middle blocker Katie Astle who ranks 10th in hitting percentage (.277).

RECAPPING LAST WEEK
Utah State posted a 1-1 WAC record last weekend with a three-set loss at New Mexico State (25-12, 25-14, 25-20) and a four-set win at Louisiana Tech (25-20, 25-22, 19-25, 25-17). Against NMSU, freshman outside hitter Liz McArthur had six kills and hit .417 (6-1-12), while freshman opposite side hitter Emily Korten had five kills and hit .417 (5-0-12). NMSU out-hit USU .549 to .152 in the match. Against the Lady Techsters, senior outside hitter Kris Hymas had a career-high 16 kills and hit a career-high .316 (16-4-38), while senior middle blocker Rebecca Anderson had nine kills and five blocks, and sophomore middle blocker Katie Astle had nine kills and three blocks. USU hit .151 in the match as compared to a .115 hitting percentage for LTU.

MORRILL CONTINUES STELLAR PLAY
Sophomore libero Christine Morrill continues to play well as she has recorded double-digits in digs in 13 of her last 16 matches and in 20 matches overall. She has also posted 20-plus digs in five matches this year, including a career-high 29 against Boise State. Morrill currently ranks fourth in the WAC with 3.88 digs per set.

FOWLES BECOMING MORE OF AN OFFENSIVE THREAT
Sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles continues to evolve and is becoming more and more of an offensive threat for Utah State. Fowles, who is hitting a team-best .329 on the season, is averaging 0.64 kills per set and had a career-high seven kills against San Jose State in her last match. As a freshman, Fowles averaged just 0.14 kills per set and hit just .122 during the season.

SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE
San Jose State is 12-16 on the season and finished tied with Nevada for fifth-place in the WAC with a 7-9 record following a five-set win at Louisiana Tech and a three-set loss at New Mexico State last weekend. The Spartans, who are 3-3 on neutral courts this year, are led by senior outside hitter Kelly Crow who is hitting .243 and averaging 3.53 kills and 2.53 digs per set. As a team, SJSU is hitting .217 on the season as compared to a .226 hitting percentage for its opponents. The Spartans return five starters and nine letterwinners from last year's team that went 14-15 overall and finished in sixth-place in the WAC with a 7-9 league record. Oscar Crespo is 26-31 in his second season as the Spartans head coach.

VERSUS THE SPARTANS
Utah State is 8-15-1 all-time against San Jose State which includes an 0-1 record in the WAC Tournament as it lost to SJSU in five sets in the quarterfinals of the 2007 WAC Tournament. Utah State swept the season series with the Spartans in 2008 as it notched a five-set win in San Jose (25-22, 15-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-11) and a four-set win in Logan (25-15, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22). Overall, the Aggies have won seven of its nine matches against San Jose State since joining the WAC.

FOWLES SIXTH ALL-TIME AT UTAH STATE IN ASSISTS
With 69 assists last week, sophomore setter Chelsea Fowles now has 2,122 assists to rank sixth all-time at Utah State. Fowles is now 143 assists shy of tying Andrea Delsigne (2001-03) for fifth-place all-time with 2,265 assists.

ANDERSON AND ASTLE EARN ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
Utah State volleyball players Rebecca Anderson and Katie Astle have been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District VIII second-team it was announced on Nov. 6. It is the second straight year that Anderson has been named academic all-district by CoSIDA, while it is the first-ever honor for Astle. Overall, the WAC had four players honored as Hawaii's Tara Hittle and San Jose State's Kristal Tsukano were both named to the third-team, while Utah's Kathryn Haynie (first-team) was the only other in-state player recognized. Anderson, a senior middle blocker from Logan, Utah (Logan HS), has a cumulative 3.94 grade-point average in statistics and has twice earned academic all-WAC honors. Astle, a sophomore middle blocker from Sandy, Utah (Skyline HS), has a cumulative 3.95 GPA in accounting and also earned academic all-WAC honors in 2007. District VIII is made up of schools from Arizona, California, Idaho Hawai'i, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

KORTSEN NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman opposite side hitter Emily Kortsen was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Monday, Nov. 10. Kortsen is the first Utah State player this year to earn the weekly WAC award. Overall, it is the sixth time that USU has had a player earn weekly WAC accolades in its four years in the conference. Kortsen, a 6-1 freshman from Hollister, Calif. (San Benito HS), hit .522 (12-0-23) against San Jose State as she had 12 kills and no hitting errors. She also added a career-high seven block assists in the match.

UTAH STATE IN THE DEE GLEN SMITH SPECTRUM
Over the last nine years, Utah State is 74-32 (.698) in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, which includes a 57-27 (.679) record against conference opponents. During the last four years, USU is 23-9 (.719) at home against WAC opponents. USU was 6-4 at home this year.

OSTERLOH NINTH ALL-TIME AT UTAH STATE IN ATTACKS
Senior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh ranks ninth all-time at Utah State with 2,096 career attack attempts. She also ranks sixth all-time at USU for a single-season as she has 1,091 attack attempts this year.

MORRILL NINTH ALL-TIME AT UTAH STATE IN DIGS
Sophomore libero Christine Morrill ranks ninth all-time at Utah State with 733 career digs, while her 400 digs this season rank fourth on USU's single-season lists.

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.

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.

UTAH STATE ENJOYS GOING FIVE
Utah State has enjoyed playing five-set matches this year as it has notched a 6-1 record when going the distance. Since WAC play began, USU is 5-1 in five-set matches with wins against Boise State, Fresno State, Idaho, Nevada, and San Jose State, along with a loss to Fresno State.

WAC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT TICKETS ON SALE
Ticket packages for the 2008 WAC Volleyball Tournament, held in Honolulu, will go on sale to the general public on Monday, Nov. 3. All-session ticket packages for the entire three-day tournament (Nov. 20, 21, 23) are $45 for lower level seats and $40 for upper level seats. Single-day tickets are $16 for upper level seats and $19 for lower level seats.

RETURNING PLAYER NOTES
#2 - Chelsea Fowles - Recorded a career-high seven kills against San Jose State and hit a career-high .778 (7-0-9) against the Spartans on Nov. 6... Ranks third in the WAC with 9.60 assists per set... Named to the WAC's all-preseason team and was the league's 2007 freshman of the year... Has 2,122 career assists to rank sixth all-time in school history... Averaging 1.62 digs, 0.64 kills and 0.53 blocks per set.

#3 - Melissa Osterloh - Recorded her sixth double-double of the season against San Jose State with 13 kills and a season-high tying 13 digs... Had a season-high 29 kills against Idaho... 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 4.18 points, 3.57 kills, 1.97 digs, 0.54 blocks and 0.33 service aces per set... Ranks third in the WAC in service aces per set, and is fourth in both points and kills per set.

#4 - Jessalyn Payne - Recorded a Utah State career-high 13 kills against Nevada... Hit a career-high .643 (9-0-14) against Purdue... Averaging 1.66 kills, 0.45 digs and 0.63 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 .277 on the season and averaging 1.49 kills and 0.83 blocks per set... Ranks 10th in the WAC in hitting percentage... Named to the San Francisco Asics/Powerade Challenge all-tournament team... Had a career-high 10 blocks against Purdue.

#9 - Rebecca Anderson - Recorded a career-high 15 kills against Boise State... Hitting .226 and averaging 1.37 kills and 0.95 blocks per set... Set a school record against Texas-Arlington as she hit .786 (11-0-14) in the match.

#10 - Kris Hymas - Had a career-high 16 kills at Louisiana Tech and hit a career-high . 316 (16-4-38) in the match... Posted career-highs with 15 kills and 15 digs at Fresno State for her second double-double of the season... Had her first career double-double against Purdue with 11 kills and 10 digs... Averaging 2.21 kills, 1.76 digs and 0.40 blocks per set.

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

#12 - Emily Kortsen - Named the WAC Player of the Week on Nov. 10 after recording 12 kills and a season-high seven blocks against San Jose State... Recorded a career-high 13 kills against Idaho... Is hitting .240 and averaging 1.77 kills and 0.48 blocks per set.

#14 - Christine Morrill - Recorded a career-high 29 digs against Boise State... Ranks fourth in the WAC with 3.88 digs per set... Has notched double-figures in digs in 20 matches this year and has 20-plus digs in five matches.

#17 - Lori Wilson - Had a career-high three service aces at Boise State and at Louisiana Tech... Also tied her career-high with four digs against the Broncos... Averaging 0.36 digs and 0.27 service aces per set, which ranks ninth in the WAC.

#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 1.65 kills and 0.98 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 1.74 digs per set and had a season-high 14 digs against 15th-ranked Purdue... Has 1,136 career assists and 570 career digs.

HEAD COACH Grayson DuBose
Grayson DuBose, the reigning Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, is in his third season as Utah State's head volleyball coach after being hired on March 27, 2006. And in just three 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).