49ers Open 2005 Season Friday
LBSU Ranked No. 24 in the Country
August 22, 2005 PDF VERSION of this RELEASE 0-0, 0-0 Big West
Home: 0-0 • Away: 0-0 • Neutral: 0-0
AVCA Rank: 24
Quickly:
The No. 24-ranked Long Beach State women's volleyball team opens its 2005 season, Aug. 26-27 vs. Long Island and Sacramento State in The Walter Pyramid. The 49ers face Long Island on Friday (7:30 pm) and Sacramento State on Saturday at 7:00 pm. LIU plays Sacramento State on Friday as well at 1 pm. Sacramento State will face San Diego at 1 pm on Saturday as well in the four-team tournament format. Opponent 411:
LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY won the Northeast conference tournament last year and advanced to the NCAA tourney. They are picked to win their conference championship
in a vote of conference coaches. Senior Melanie Fleig returns to the Walter Pyramid (Melanie played for The Beach in 2002 and 2003).
2004 NCAA Postseason Finish: NCAA 1st Round
Returning Starters/Letterwinners: 5 + Libero / 8
Top Returners: Dana Demayo (Jr., OH, 5-11, All-NEC 1st
Team, 3.61 kills per game); Ivana Vasiljevic (Sr., S,
5-6, All-NEC 1st Team); Melanie Fleig (Sr. OH, 6-2,
All-NEC 2nd Team, 3.11 kpg); Lizelle Jackson (Sr., OH,
5-8, 3.19 kpg); Jade Gold (Sr., MB, 6-0); Adela
Igniska (Sr., RS/Opp, 5-10)
Local connection: Melanie Fleig (transfer from LBSU),
Lizelle Jackson (Palmdale) SACRAMENTO STATE
won the Big Sky conference last year, and is picked in the Big Sky coaches poll to defend
their conference championship.
2004 NCAA Postseason Finish: NCAA 1st Round
Returning Starters/Letterwinners: 3 + Libero / 9
Top Returners: Atlee Hubbard (Jr., OH, 6-1, 2.73 kills
per game); Lindsay Haupt (So., MB/RS, 6-1, Big Sky
Freshman of the Year, 1.80 kpg); Kristin Lutes (Jr.,
Lib, 5-6, 2003 Big Sky Libero of the Year); Shannon
Arts (Sr., MB/RS, 6-0, 1.89 kpg)
Local connection: Natalie Melcher (Redlands, transfer
from Cal Poly), Andrea Conley (Coto de Caza) Season Openers:
The 49ers have not lost a season opener since 1992. In fact, Long Beach State has swept (3-0) its opening opponent nine out of the last 10 seasons.
Starting at No. 24:
Long Beach State made its return to the AVCA Top-25 Poll, at No. 24, when the annual pre-season poll was released Aug. 8. Long Beach State was last ranked in the AVCA poll, Oct. 4, 2004 at No. 23.
The Big West Poll Shows:
The Long Beach State women's volleyball team was picked to finish in second place behind UC Santa Barbara according to the annual Big West Conference women's volleyball pre-season coaches poll released Aug. 10. The 49ers received two first-place votes for a total of 58 points on the ballot. Long Beach State returns key players such as sophomore Alexis Crimes, the 2004 Big West Freshman of the Year, and AVCA Third-Team AVCA All-American. Heather Laudato, who set a school-record 537 digs last season, will anchor the back row, while junior Robin Miramontes, who recorded 348 kills in 2004, will provide a solid offensive threat at the opposite position. The 49ers finished the 2004 season with a 24-7 overall record, and a second place Big West finish at 13-5.
Don't Forget about the Time Changes:
As instituted last season, all Friday volleyball matches will be played at 7:30 pm and Saturday matches at 7:00 pm in the Walter Pyramid.
A Glance at the Schedule Shows:
A total of 15 (11 non-conference) opponents on the 2005 LBSU schedule advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, including Ohio State, who reached the all the way to a Regional Final. The Buckeyes, along with Louisville, UCSB, San Diego, St. Mary's, and Pepperdine are all ranked in the Top-25 this season.
Quick 2005 Season Outlook:
For the third straight season Head Coach Brian Gimmillaro has a new crop of talent to shape into a perennial contender for the Big West Title and its 19th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
As expected, Gimmillaro will rely on the core senior leadership from players like Erika Chidester and Heather Laudato to guide the 2005 team to success. Despite not playing due to injury last season, Chidester still makes an impact off the court because of her veteran experience. "She's our best all-around player," said Gimmillaro of Chidester. "She's an excellent defensive player, hitter, passer, server, blocker, and back-row attacker. She really gives us great leadership and maturity."
Strengthening the defense in the back-row, while at the same time setting a positive example to a young defensive specialist group (which includes Iris Murray and Elise Duggins), Laudato has been that fixture for the 49ers. "Our defense is very strong, led by Heather and our two other seniors Taylor Peyton and Sara Kroneberger," stated Gimmillaro. "All three are well experienced and very talented." Laudato posted her finest season in 2004, recording a single-season school record with 537 digs for a 4.88 digs per game average (highest average in program history). Laudato also set a school individual single-match record with 40 digs vs. Notre Dame on Nov. 27, breaking the previous record held by Tara Cross-Battle, who had 39 vs. Hawaii on 10/3/86. For her efforts, Laudato was named as a Big West Conference Honorable Mention selection in '04.
Peyton had her breakout campaign last season, recording 229 digs and 22 service aces, while Kroneberger turned in another steady season with 239 digs and 32 service aces (second highest total). In fact, Kroneberger led the nation with a 3.20 service ace to service error ratio (32 aces, 10 service errors).
Anticipation for a successful sophomore campaign is certainly high for second-year player and All-American Alexis Crimes. "Her competitiveness and team-first attitude will help us a lot this season," said Gimmillaro. "She is much physically stronger than last season." The third team AVCA All-American (one of three freshman in the country to garner All-America honors) also earned AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year and AVCA All-West Region accolades as well. Crimes was named the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year (she joined Misty May as the only other 49er to earn that distinction), and was a first team all-conference selection (she was the only freshman on the first team ballot). In 2004 she averaged 3.88 kills and 1.25 blocks per game with a .374 attack percentage.
Gimmillaro also expects solid play from his junior corps of players in Mariko Crum, Robin Miramontes, and Natalie Uhart. "Mariko is one of our most improved players who played really well during spring practices," commented Gimmillaro. "Robin is someone else who has also shown a lot of maturity and experience," said Gimmillaro. "Natalie's court time was limited due to injury, but she has shown good progress in the spring workouts as well," noted Gimmillaro. Crum notched 181 kills and 93 blocks in 82 games played (suffered mid-season injury), while Miramontes garnered honorable mention all-conference honors in 2004 after averaging 3.16 kills and 2.11 digs per game. Add a healthy Rosie Lewis in the equation (Lewis missed all of last season due to injury as well), and this foursome of juniors should provide a formidable offensive and defensive attack which Gimmillaro hopes for.
Replacing setter Jillian Mazzarella will either be sophomore Dyanne Lawlor or incoming freshman Nicole Vargas. Lawlor (2.34 kills, 0.90 digs last season) was moved to the outside hitter role from her natural setter position last season due to the injury bug. And Vargas, daughter of Hall of Fame setter and assistant coach, Debbie Green, will certainly provide a healthy challenge for that role as well.
Adding depth at the outside hitter slot will be sophomore Heather Hetzer. Hetzer registered 2.67 kills per game while adding 44 blocks in 66 games played in 2004.
For the second straight year, Gimmillaro and his staff landed a top national recruit in Allison Daley. Daley helped guide her high school team to three league championships, and made the A-2 Junior National team in the summer of 2004 and 2005. "We're very pleased with this recruiting class," said Gimmillaro. "All of these players have the potential to be great," Gimmillaro also added size with this recent class, in Stephanie Tokarz (6-4), Naomi Washington (6-3), and Quincy Verdin (6-0).
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