SAN MARCOS, Calif.— Winners of four straight matches, the No. 11 ranked Cal State San Marcos women's volleyball team will put that winning streak to the test Tuesday as they face the undefeated Concordia Eagles (20-0) on the road in Irvine. The Cougars will also face off against the Vanguard Lions Friday in Costa Mesa. Both games will begin at 7:00 pm.
Schedule
Match 27
Tuesday, October 9– 7:00 p.m.
No. 11 Cal State San Marcos (18-8) at No. 2 Concordia (20-0)
Concordia University Arena, Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats
Live Video
Match 28
Friday, October 12 – 7:00 p.m.
No. 11 Cal State San Marcos (18-8) at Vanguard (13-9)
Vanguard University Arena, Costa Mesa, Calif
Live Stats
Live Video
Rising to the Occasion
The Cougars have had great success in their short two-year history against top NAIA opponents. CSUSM is 3-2 against ranked opponents in 2012, with victories over No. 7 Rocky Mountain, No. 8 Lewis and Clark, and No. 21 Carroll. The Cougars dropped a five-set thriller to No. 5 Westmont and No. 2 Concordia earlier in the year.
In all, CSUSM is 7-8 altogether against teams in the Top-25, including a victory over then No. 1 Fresno Pacific in 2011. The Cougars will look to even that mark Tuesday as they battle the undefeated Eagles from Concordia, winners of twenty consecutive matches after falling in the NAIA Championship game last year.
One of Concordia's biggest strengths is their abundance of height at the net, with 10 players standing at least six feet tall. Fortunately for the Cougars, the middle hitters have been having an outstanding year, and been playing exceptionally well of late. The frontline of
Brittany Thompson,
Kelli McLin,
Erin Talafus, and
Kara Barkdoll has been efficient attacking, in addition to clogging up the net for opposing attackers. In just 26 games this season, they have only nine less blocks than the Cougars tallied in all 37 games last year, and will likely surpass the total by the end of this week.
With a strong defense anchored by libero
Nichole May, a well-rounded attack led by All-American Honorable Mention
Taylor DeGraaf, a talented and multi-dimensional setter in
Alyssa Foster, the Cougars look to be strong in all areas, and expect to give Concordia a run for their money.
Live video and stats for this game will be provided courtesy of Concordia athletics.
Live stats:
http://www.cuieagles.com/live/volleyball/xlive.htm
Live video:
http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/cui.portal#
Battle of the Baddest Cats
With a chance to knock off one of only two remaining undefeated teams on the season Tuesday, it is easy to overlook Friday's matchup against Vanguard. However, Coach
Andrea Leonard and the Cougars are not sleeping on the Lions, who are a challenging opponent year in and year out.
The Lions are currently 13-9 overall, and 4-3 in the brutal GSAC conference this season. The Cougars have not faced Vanguard yet in 2012, but won their only previous meeting last year in four sets
29-27, 25-10, 26-28, 25-18.
CSUSM held Vanguard to just a .094 hitting percentage in the match, led by
Nichole May's game-high 19 digs.
Taylor DeGraaf also came up big in the match, recording 18 kills and nine digs. The Cougars, who lost no starters from last year's squad, will look to do more of the same Friday.
