SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos volleyball team will hit the road for this first time this season, competing in Point Loma's Seaside Invitational this weekend. The Cougars take on Simon Fraser on Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. before facing host Point Loma later that night at 5 p.m. CSUSM concludes the tournament with a rematch against Concordia University Irvine at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
LAST WEEK
- CSUSM went 1-3 in the fifth annual Cougar Classic this past week.
- The Cougars opened the season with a four-set loss to No. 4 MSU Denver to begin the Cougar Classic last Thursday.
- On Friday, CSUSM rebounded with a five-set thriller over Concordia University Irvine before falling to Saginaw Valley State in four sets.
- The Cougars dropped three straight sets to Biola, who was receiving votes in the AVCA National Preseason Poll last week, on Saturday in the Cougar Classic finale.
- Kiora Ridgeway and Madison Turner were named to the Cougar Classic All-Tournament Team.
INTERNATIONAL MATCHUP WITH SFU
- This will mark the second time CSUSM has taken on Simon Fraser. The friends from the north won in three sets with the final one going to 28-26 at the 2019 D2 West Region Showcase hosted by Cal State San Bernardino.
- SFU went 2-2 last weekend at the Western Washington Volleyball Invitational, falling to CCAA members Sonoma State in four sets and Cal State LA in five sets while racking up wins over No. 20 Ferris State and Regis.
- Simon Fraser returned 11 players and six starters including 2021 GNAC and AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year Brooke Dexter.
- SFU surged over the second half of the 2021 season to finish with a 17-9 overall record. One of three teams tied for fourth in the GNAC at 11-7, SFU emerged from that tie to round out the conference's four selections to the NCAA West Regional.
- Simon Fraser was picked to finish fourth in the 2022 GNAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll.
FIRST LOOK AT PLNU
- The two teams have played each other eight times with CSUSM collecting two wins in the all-time series.
- The Sea Lions have swept the Cougars in their last two meetings which came at neutral sites.
- The last time CSUSM played in Point Loma, the Cougars won a five-set thriller in 2016.
- Last weekend, the Sea Lions traveled up to Anchorage, Alaska, for the Seawolf Invitational. PLNU started the tournament strong with sweeps over Alaska Fairbanks and Pittsburg State before falling in five sets to both host Alaska Anchorage and Emmanuel College.
- Abigail Nua is leading the Sea Lions with a 4.19 kills per set average and 67 kills while Courtney Dyer, the 2021 PacWest Libero of the Year, is averaging 5.00 digs per set and has accumulated nine aces in 16 sets
- PLNU was selected to finish fifth in the 2022 PacWest Volleyball Coaches Poll.
REMATCH VS. CONCORDIA IRVINE
- The Golden Eagles went 1-2 in the Cougar Classic last weekend, opening with a five-set loss to CSUSM before being swept by No. 4 MSU Denver on Friday. CUI ended the tournament with a four-set win over Saginaw Valley State on Saturday.
- The Cougars hit .255 while holding CUI to a .127 clip on Friday. CSUSM won five of the six stat categories - points (82-67), kills (64-48), blocks (10-7), assists (59-46) and digs (85-70). CUI registered 12 aces to CSUSM's eight in the match.
- Sofia Hedqvist collected a match-high 19 kills while Trinity Barr chipped in 12 against the Golden Eagles last Friday. Mia Christensen tallied 22 digs and Kiora Ridgeway recorded five blocks.
- Since becoming full-fledged members of NCAA Division II, the Cougars hold a 3-0 record over the Golden Eagles.
- CUI closed out 2021 with a 20-7 overall record and were 15-5 in conference play to finish third in the PacWest standings.
- The Golden Eagles return five of their seven starters, including All-PacWest second-team selections outside hitter Kirra Schultz and middle blocker Jalyssa Sanchez.
- CUI was picked to finish fourth in the PacWest Preseason Poll.
2022 CSUSM VOLLEYBALL NOTES
- The Cougars return two starters from the 2021 season - Kiora Ridgeway (MB) and Madison Turner (S).
- Eight will be donning Cougar Blue for the first time on Thursday with four being true freshmen and four transferring from a four-year college.
- The 2021 season ended with CSUSM making its fourth consecutive appearance in the CCAA Volleyball Tournament - the most by any CSUSM program that requires a qualification.
- The Cougars finished their 2021 campaign with a 12-13 overall record and 9-9 in CCAA play – sixth in the CCAA standings.
- As a team in the CCAA statistics, CSUSM concluded 2021 ranked fourth in digs per set (15.22) and fifth in kills per set (12.55) and blocks per set (1.88).
- San Francisco State transfer Trinity Barr is featured on the 2022 CCAA Preseason Watchlist after earning All-CCAA first team honors last season.
- In the 2022 CCAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll, the Cougars were picked to finish fourth.
THE LEONARD FILE
- Head coach Andrea Leonard enters her 12th season in charge of the Cougar volleyball team, a program she has built from the ground up since arriving on campus in 2010.
- Leonard has a 189-132 (.589) record as CSUSM's head coach.
- In 17 seasons as a collegiate head volleyball coach, Leonard holds a 281-258 (.521) career record.
- Leonard was CSUSM's first-ever CCAA Coach of the Year after guiding the Cougars to a third-place finish in the overall standings during the 2017 season.
