SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos volleyball team (0-4) will host the sixth-annual Cougar Classic this weekend in The Sports Center. The Cougars welcome Concordia University Irvine (3-1) on Thursday for a 6 p.m. match before playing a pair of matches on Friday against St. Edward's (1-3) at 1 p.m. and RV Seattle Pacific (2-2) at 6 p.m. CSUSM will close out the Cougar Classic against RV Colorado School of Mines (2-2) on Saturday at 5 p.m.
OPENING WEEKEND
- The Cougars went 0-4 at the PLNU/CSUSM Seaside Invitational in the first weekend of play in the 2023 season.
- CSUSM started off the tournament strong in The Sports Center last Friday, winning the first two sets against Biola before dropping the final three in a five-set heartbreaker (25-20, 25-20, 19-25, 13-25, 11-15).
- The Cougars dropped their next three matches in three sets to RV Lewis, RV Seattle Pacific and Point Loma.
| MATCH 5 | CONCORDIA UNIV. IRVINE |
| Date |
Thursday, September 7, 2023 |
| Time |
6 p.m. |
| Location |
San Marcos, Calif. |
| Venue |
The Sports Center |
| Records |
CSUSM (0-4)
CUI (3-1) |
| Live Stats |
SideArm Stats |
| Live Video |
CCAA Network ($) |
| Tickets |
HomeTown Ticketing |
SHOWDOWN VS. CONCORDIA IRVINE
- Friday's match will be the 14th meeting between CSUSM and CUI with the Cougars recording their only wins in the last three of four meetings.
- Since becoming full-fledged members of NCAA Division II, the Cougars hold a 2-2 record over the Golden Eagles.
- CUI hosted the Golden Eagle Invitational last weekend, pulling off victories over Cal State Dominguez Hills (3-1), Cal State East Bay (3-2) and University of Colorado - Colorado Springs (3-1) while falling to then-No. 4 Wayne State in three sets.
- Outside hitters Kennedy Farley and Kirra Schulz were named to the CUI All-Tournament Team.
- Last season, CSUSM went 1-1 against the Golden Eagles. The Cougars picked up a five-set win (25-23, 21-25, 22-25, 25-10, 15-9) in the Cougar Classic before falling to CUI in four sets (15-25, 25-20, 18-25, 15-25) at the PLNU Seaside Invitational.
- CSUSM registered the program's first win over CUI in 2018 at the D2 West Region Showcase. The Cougars swept the Golden Eagles (25-17, 25-23, 25-22) on their home court in the tournament finale.
- CSUSM picked up a come-from-behind four-set victory (21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 26-24) when CUI hosted the SoCal Freeway Challenge in 2021.
- CUI closed out 2022 with a 17-10 overall record and were 14-6 in conference play to finish fifth in the PacWest standings.
- CUI was picked to finish fourth in the PacWest Preseason Coaches Poll.
FIRST LOOK AT SEU
- Friday's match will be the first meeting between these two teams.
- The Hilltoppers went 1-3 last weekend in the UT-Tyler Invitational pulling off a sweep in their final game of the tournament against University of Montevallo after falling to RV Harding (0-3), Fort Lewis (2-3) and Southern Nazarene (2-3).
- SEU concluded the 2022 season with a 9-18 overall record and a 6-10 conference record.
- Since joining the Lone Star Conference, which is the second largest NCAA Division II conference in the nation with 17 teams, the Hilltoppers are 33-30 in conference play (49-45 in overall).
- Sarah Konovodoff (MB/OH) and Addy Badley (L) were named to the UTT Patriot Classic All-Tournament Team.
- SEU was picked to finish 12th in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
REMATCH AGAINST SPU
- Friday's match will be the third meeting between these two teams with the Falcons holding a 2-0 lead in the all-time series.
- The two teams met last Saturday at Point Loma with the Cougars falling in three sets despite a late rally that took the set to 28-26 after CSSUM dropped the first two sets 25-19 and 25-17.
- The Falcons also registered a three-set sweep over Lewis to kick off the season before falling to Point Loma (0-3) and Biola (1-3).
- 2022 All-GNAC first-team selection Hannah Hair posted a .465 clip last weekend with 23 kills while senior middle blocker Allison Wilks accumulated 15 blocks and a .533 clip (26 kills, 2 errors, 45 attempts).
- SPU concluded 2022 with an overall record of 13-13 and an 11-7 GNAC record, finishing tied for third with Central Washington.
- SPU was picked to finish third out of 10 teams in the 2023 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
| MATCH 8 | RV COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES |
| Date |
Saturday, September 9, 2023 |
| Time |
5 p.m. |
| Location |
San Marcos, Calif. |
| Venue |
The Sports Center |
| Records |
CSUSM (0-4)
MINES (2-2) |
| Live Stats |
SideArm Stats |
| Live Video |
CCAA Network ($) |
| Tickets |
HomeTown Ticketing |
COUGAR CLASSIC FINALE VS. MINES
- Saturday's finale of the Cougar Classic will be between two teams that have never met before.
- In its home tournament last weekend, the Oredigger Volleyball Classic, Mines won the first two matches on Friday over Fort Hays State (3-1) and Pittsburg State (3-1) before being swept by CCAA member San Francisco State and Findlay on Saturday.
- The Orediggers wrapped up the 2022 season with a 22-8 overall record (15-3 RMAC), falling to NCAA Division II National Champion West Texas A&M in five sets in the South Central Regional Tournament Semifinals.
- Mines was picked to finish fourth in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
LOOK INSIDE THE COUGARS
- The Cougars return five starters from the 2022 season - Trinity Barr (OH), Sofia Hedqvist (OH), Jessica Thomas (OH), Mia Christensen (DS/L) and Jackie Phillips (DS/L)
- Seven will be donning Cougar Blue for the first time on Friday with four being true freshmen and three junior college transfers.
- The Cougars finished their 2022 campaign with an 8-17 overall record and were 7-11 in CCAA play – eighth in the CCAA standings.
- As a team in the CCAA statistics, CSUSM concluded 2022 ranked seventh in blocks per set (1.87).
- In the 2023 CCAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll, the Cougars were picked to finish ninth.
THE LEONARD FILE
- Head coach Andrea Leonard enters her 13th 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 196-150 (.566) record as CSUSM's head coach.
- In 17 seasons as a collegiate head volleyball coach, Leonard holds a 288-276 (.511) 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.
