SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos volleyball team begins its 2014 season on the road with a three-match road trip to Oregon.
 
The Schedule
Match 1
Friday, August 15 – 1 p.m.
Cal State San Marcos (0-0) at Warner Pacific (0-0)
Portland, Ore. – C.C. Perry Gym
 
Match 2 & 3
McDonald & Wetle Concordia Challenge
Saturday, August 16 – 12 p.m.
Cal State San Marcos (0-0) vs. Eastern Oregon (0-0)
Saturday, August 16 – 7 p.m.
Cal State San Marcos (0-0) vs. Concordia (0-0)
Portland, Ore. – Cavalier Court
Live Stats
Live Video

Season Outlook - Part 1 of 2: The Upperclassmen
Cal State San Marcos' volleyball team has experienced unprecedented success in its first three season as a program. The Cougars have accumulated three Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) conference titles, three NAIA National Tournament berth, three NAIA national ranking and three conference coach of the year not to mention a slew of other accomplishments.  CSUSM will start the 2014 season with heftier goals than ever before…
 
"Our goal to defend our A.I.I conference championship title and going deep into the NAIA National Tournament," said head Coach Andrea Leonard. "We also have a goal of breaking into the NAIA Top 25.  This is our toughest schedule in the program's history, so it is set up to play a lot of ranked teams with 50 percent of our opponents consistently earning a national ranking."
 
The Cougars return six seniors including reigning A.I.I. Player of the Year, Taylor DeGraaf and Setter of the Year, Alyssa Foster. They both collected NAIA All-American honors after leading the Cougars to a 26-12 record and the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament.
 
DeGraaf capped off her junior season ranked No. 7 in the NAIA with 538 kills and 4.2 kills per game.  She tallied 20 double-doubles including a 29-kills, 22-dig performance in a four-set victory over Oregon Tech on Aug. 31.
 
Foster dished out 1,291 assists last season, ranking her No. 21 in the NAIA.  Her junior campaign was highlighted by numerous performances including a 56-assist, 13-dig, three-block feat in the four-set win over Ashford (Iowa) in the A.I.I. championship game.
 
Joining DeGraaf and Foster in their final season as a Cougar are Kara Barkdoll, Erin Talafus, Kelli McLin and Alyssa Hubbard. Each senior contributed heavily in the successful 2013 season and Leonard hopes they can exit with a bang.
 
"Five of the six seniors started the program here as freshmen," Leonard said. "They have been given the opportunity to cap off their careers in our final season in the NAIA.
 
"So essentially, they will have taken us from beginning to end."
 
Junior Jordan Banich, a transfer from University of Colorado – Colorado Springs, will add one more to the mix of CSUSM upperclassmen.
 
"We are looking for strong, positive leadership from our upperclassmen," Leonard said. "This is our opportunity to really set the culture and be positive role models for the freshmen and sophomores.

I am excited to see hour our seniors utilize this exciting opportunity."  
 
The Cougars will begin their 2014 campaign this Friday at Warner Pacific with first serve at 1 p.m.
 
Note: Oregon natives Alyssa Foster and Kara Barkdoll will be returning home to play in front of their friends and family for the first time in their collegiate career this weekend.