SAN MARCOS, Calif.— The No. 9 Cal State San Marcos volleyball team returns to action this week with a pair of home games against San Diego Christian and UC Merced on Tuesday and Saturday. The Cougars will also hit the road Friday for a Top-10 matchup against No. 5 Westmont College in Santa Barbara.

SCHEDULE
Match 21
Tuesday, September 18 – 8:00 p.m.
San Diego Christian (2-5) at No. 9 Cal State San Marcos (13-7)
Escondido High School, Escondido, Calif.

Match 22
Friday, September 21 – 5:00 p.m.
No. 9 Cal State San Marcos (13-7) vs No. 5 Westmont (15-1)
Murchison Gym, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Match 23
Saturday, September 22 – 5:00 p.m.
UC Merced (3-11) at No. 9 Cal State San Marcos (13-7)
Escondido High School, Escondido, Calif.

PLAYING THE FIELD
The Cougars are 4-0 lifetime against San Diego Christian, winning 12 out 13 total sets including a straight set victory in their 2012 season opener 25-23, 25-14, 25-19.

CSUSM swept both Westmont and UC Merced in their only prior meetings last year. Against Westmont, the Cougars won 25-21, 25-15, 26-24, while they made quick work of UC Merced 25-7, 25-22, 25-17. The seven points allowed in the first set remains a single-set school record for the Cougars.

FOSTER-ING THE PEOPLE, AND ONESELF
The only Cougar to appear in every match of the program's two-year history, sophomore setter Alyssa Foster is as steady as they come for Cal State San Marcos. Solid performances night in and night out have enabled Cougar attackers to hit at ease, with Foster setting up teammates like Steve Nash or even Magic Johnson.

A first team A.I.I. All-Conference selection as a freshman, Foster has continued to flourish distributing the ball, but has also developed into a multi-dimensional threat in all areas of the game. Her improvements as an offensive threat became evident in a five-set victory over NCAA Division II opponent Cal State Los Angeles, when she tallied 10 kills and an impressive .529 hitting percentage, helping the Cougars pull out a tough victory. Currently, her .342 hitting percentage on the season leads the team.

Defensively, Alyssa has recorded five matches with double-digit dig totals in 2012, already almost matching her season total of seven from last year. Always a threat with the serve, she is also averaging over an ace a match, but she has improved leaps and bounds at the net, literally. Foster is averaging 0.34 blocks per set, and has 24 total blocks on the season, just three less than her totals from last year.

“Alyssa has a calm demeanor, but she is one of the fiercest competitors out there,” said head coach Andrea Leonard. “She is emerging as a player on the court, but she is also maturing into a leadership role as she's buying in to the direction of the program. There are expectations of consistent high level performance that come along with trying to build an elite program, and Alyssa has recognized that and is performing remarkably.”