University Southern California Trojans
No. 10 USC Opens 2010 Season At The Galen Center
August 23, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 23, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
LOS ANGELES -- The No. 10 USC women's volleyball team opens the 2010 season by hosting the Luxe City Center Trojan Invitational, Friday-Saturday (August 27-28) at the Galen Center. The tournament features Bucknell, Cal State Fullerton and Loyola Marymount.
Bucknell and Cal State Fullerton play on Friday at 5 p.m. with USC taking on Loyola Marymount at 7:30 p.m. In Saturday action, USC plays Bucknell at 10 a.m., Cal State Fullerton against Loyola Marymount at noon, Bucknell against Loyola Marymount at 5 p.m. and USC against Cal State Fullerton at 7:30 p.m.
Bucknell Notes
Bucknell makes its first trip to the Galen Center, coming off an 8-18 overall mark last season. Head coach Cindy Opalski is 287-293 in her 21st season at Bucknell. This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools in women's volleyball.
Cal State Fullerton Notes
Cal State Fullerton returns 10 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished 18-12 overall. Head coach Carolyn Zimmerman is 108-131 in her ninth season at Fullerton. Sophomore outside hitter/middle blocker Kayla Neto earned 2009 AVCA All-America honorable mention after posting 305 kills (2.88 kps) for a .319 hitting percentage with 21 service aces (0.20 saps) and 97 blocks (0.92 bps). USC is 21-0 all-time in the series against Cal State Fullerton with the last meeting taking place in 1989.
Loyola Marymount Notes
Loyola Marymount returns 10 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished 12-17 overall. Head coach Tom Black is in his first season at LMU. Senior middle blocker Megan Nash had 104 digs (1.01 dps) and 63 blocks (0.61 bps) for the Lions last season. USC is 7-0 all-time in the series against Loyola Marymount with the Women of Troy sweeping the Lions, 3-0, in the last meeting back in 2007.
On The Net
All USC home matches this season will be broadcast on usctrojans.com. There is a monthly subscription fee in order to watch the webcast.
Galen Center Promotions
The 2010 season features many promotions at the Galen Center for home matches. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets to any home match for only $3 per ticket by calling (213) 740-4170. Fans can call that number or go online at usctrojans.com to sign their children up for a Trojans Kids Club membership, good for free admission to all home matches (ages 12 and under).
This season, if USC records a 3-0 sweep, all fans in attendance will receive a coupon for free admission to the next home match (except the UCLA match).
For more information on the 2010 promotions schedule, go online at usctrojans.com under the women's volleyball page.
The Power of the Pac-10
Seven Pac-10 teams are ranked in the 2010 AVCA preseason poll, including No. 4 Stanford, No. 8 Washington, No. 10 USC, No. 11 California, No. 16 UCLA, No. 18 Arizona and No. 20 Oregon.
Thousand Points of Light
Head coach Mick Haley is on the verge of a major coaching milestone, needing one win for his 1,000th women's collegiate victory as a head coach. Haley has 748 combined wins at the NCAA level with USC and Texas (1980-1996) and 251 wins as the women's head coach at Kellogg Community College (1973-79).
Lock and Reloaded
USC's incoming recruiting class for the 2010 season was ranked No. 1 in the nation by Prep Volleyball. The players are 6-2 outside hitter Kirby Burnham (Newport Beach/Newport Harbor HS), 6-4 outside hitter Falyn Fonoimoana (Manhattan Beach/Mira Costa HS), 5-9 libero Natalie Hagglund (Encinitas/La Costa Canyon HS), 5-10 outside hitter Sam Hirschmann (Manhattan Beach/Marymount HS), 6-5 middle blocker Alexis Olgard (Spokane, Wash./Mead HS) and 6-3 outside hitter Sara Shaw (Austin, Texas/Westlake HS).
The class includes five players ranked in the Top 100 nationally by Prep Volleyball, including three players in the top 11 spots and the No. 1 player in the nation (Fonoimoana).
"This class gives us a group of players that will add firepower to our lineup and make immediate contributions," said USC head coach Mick Haley. "These kids can play the game and we will have immense depth on the squad. There are no kids in this class that are `projects' and it's evidenced by what they are doing for their high school and club teams. I think these kids want to compete and win a championship."
Court of Dreams
The dream finally became reality on Oct. 12, 2006 as the brand-new Galen Center made its debut. The 10,258-seat arena is located on the corner of Figueroa St. and Jefferson Blvd., adjacent to the USC campus. The arena is named after Lou and Helene Galen, who generously donated $50 million towards the project.
USC mourned the loss of Lou Galen, who passed away on Nov. 12, 2007, at the age of 82.
Statapalooza
-- USC is 52-7 all-time at the Galen Center.
-- USC has 10 players on its roster this season who are 6-2 or taller.
-- USC has made 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
-- The Women of Troy made five NCAA Final Four appearances in an eight-year span (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007).
-- USC became the 22nd program in the nation to record 800 wins. The Women of Troy recorded its 800th win on Nov. 15, 2008, against Arizona State.
-- Head coach Mick Haley earned his 200th victory as USC's head coach on Nov. 1, 2008, against Oregon State at the Galen Center.
Out Of This World
Junior outside hitter Alex Jupiter (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Redondo Union HS) became the 31st All-American in USC women's volleyball history after earning AVCA All-America third team honors in 2009. She led the Women of Troy with 522 kills (4.54 kps) with 33 aces (0.29 saps), 308 digs (2.68 dps), 73 blocks (0.63 bps) and 608.0 points (5.29 pps). She also earned her first All-Pac-10 Conference honor as well as being named AVCA All-Pacific Region. Her 522 kills were the fourth-most in school history, along with her 5.29 points per set average.
She finished seventh in the nation for points per set and 12th for kills per set during her sophomore season and recorded 15 double-doubles. She was third among all Pac-10 Conference players in points and kills and fourth for service aces. She tallied 23 kills in a 3-0 sweep over Oklahoma on Dec. 4, 2009, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. She posted 22 kills and a season-high .514 clip (22-3-37) with 10 digs, four blocks and 24.5 points in a 3-0 sweep on Nov. 20 at No. 18 Oregon.
On Sept. 26 at Arizona State, Jupiter posted career-highs with 31 kills and 20 digs in a four-set win while hitting .433 (31-5-60). She earned Holiday Inn LA City Center Trojan Invitational all-tournament team honors after recording 41 kills, 21 digs and seven blocks (five solo) in three 3-0 sweeps.
During her 2008 freshman season, she registered 350 kills (3.24 kps) with 12 service aces (0.11 saps), 122 digs (1.13 dps), 59 blocks (0.55 bps) and 403.0 points (3.73 pps). She was named to the Pac-10 Conference All-Freshman Team. Jupiter recorded double digit kills in 20 matches and became the third freshman at USC since 1981 to lead the team in kills (Tracy Clark in 1982 and April Ross in 2000).
She had her coming-out party at the Runza/AVCA Showcase against No. 4 Texas and No. 7 Nebraska. Jupiter, who was a 2008 Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection, led the Trojans in kills for both matches with 17 against the Longhorns and 12 against the Huskers. She also had 13 digs and four service aces on the weekend.
Take The Bait
Junior setter Kendall Bateman (Manhattan Beach/Mira Costa HS) earned 2009 Pac-10 Conference honorable mention and Pac-10 Conference All-Academic honorable mention recognition last season after leading the nation with a 12.41 assists per set average. She recorded 227 digs (1.97 dps) and 48 blocks (0.42 bps) on the season and handled an offense that hit .248, ranking 35th in the nation. USC also finished second in the nation for assists per set and kills per set.
She posted 49 assists and 12 digs against Oklahoma in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament at the Galen Center and finished the regular season by registering career highs with 62 assists (15.5 aps) and 15 digs in a four-set win on Nov. 28 against No. 19 Arizona. She earned her first-ever Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week honor on Nov. 23 after recording 80 assists and 10 digs in two 3-0 sweeps. She had 57 assists, seven digs and three block assists against No. 4 Washington on Nov. 13 in a five-set win and then posted 60 assists (15.00 aps) with eight digs in a four-set win against No. 25 Washington State.
Bateman appeared in 24 matches in her freshman season and recorded 117 assists on the season (2.72 aps) with two aces (0.05 saps), 32 digs (0.74 dps) and seven blocks (0.16 bps). She had two assists and one dig in her collegiate debut on Aug. 29 against No. 3 Texas at the Runza/AVCA College Showcase in Omaha, Neb. She recorded 10 assists and two digs on Sept. 5 against Hofstra at the Holiday Inn LA City Center Trojan Invitational. She recorded 10 assists in two sets on Oct. 4 at No. 11 Oregon. At No. 10 UCLA on Nov. 28, she came into the third set and tallied 14 assists, two digs and one block assist. She made her first collegiate start in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 5 against No. 15 San Diego, recording season-highs in the four-set victory with 25 assists, 10 digs and four blocks. She got the start the next night in the second round against No. 6 Hawai'i and had 16 assists and three digs.
During the summer of 2008, Bateman played for the U.S. Junior National Team, playing at the FIVB World Championship in Mexico. She was a two-time member of the U.S. Girls' National Team, part of the squad that finished 10th at the 2007 FIVB Girls' World Championship in Mexico and a member of the squad that won the 2006 NORCECA championship.
She was a two-time Mizuno/Volleyball Magazine All-American at Mira Costa and led the Mustangs to a perfect 37-0 record and the school's fourth straight state championship in her senior season. She was part of the mythical national championship squads in her junior and senior seasons as named by prepvolleyball.com and named CIF most valuable player in her senior season.
Where There's A Will, There's A Way
Junior middle blocker Lauren Williams (Houston, Texas/Stratford HS) made 30 starts in 31 matches as a sophomore. She finished fourth among Pac-10 Conference players with a .371 hitting percentage and third on the team with 281 kills (2.55 kps). Last season, she recorded 15 assists (0.14 aps), 19 digs (0.17 dps) and 343.5 points (3.12 pps) while leading the team with 105 total blocks (0.95 bps) with 20 solo blocks. She finished the season with double-digit kills in four consecutive matches.
She had a team-high 14 kills and hit .407 (14-3-27) with a career-high eight block assists against No. 3 Hawai'i on Dec. 5, 2009, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and recorded 10 kills and no errors for a season-high .714 clip (10-0-14) against Oklahoma on Dec. 4 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
he earned her first-ever Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week honor on Nov. 16 after registering 33 kills while hitting .462 with 11 blocks and 41.0 points in wins over No. 4 Washington and No. 25 Washington State. She had 14 kills and eight blocks (four solo) while hitting .364 against Washington. She followed that with a career-high 19 kills against Washington State without a single error for a .559 night (19-0-34).
In her first collegiate season, Williams earned Pac-10 Conference honorable mention recognition and was named to the Pac-10 Conference All-Freshman Team. She had 209 kills (2.11 kps) with a .323 hitting percentage and a team-leading 103 blocks (1.04 bps) with 15 solo blocks and 88 block assists. She recorded 11 blocks (two solo, nine assisted) in her first two collegiate matches at the Runza/AVCA Showcase against No. 4 Texas and No. 7 Nebraska. On Oct. 11, 2008, in a five-set loss to No. 10 Washington, Williams recorded a season-high 16 kills with six block assists while hitting .462 (16-4-26). She hit .550 (12-1-20) on Nov. 21 at No. 2 Stanford and followed it with a .455 match (11-1-22) with four blocks at No. 7 Cal.
She played on the 2008 U.S. Women's A2 National Team and played on the 2007 Junior National Training Team.
It's Greek To Me
Senior middle blocker Zoe Garrett (Laguna Beach/Laguna Beach HS), whose first name is derived from a Greek word meaning "life", made 16 starts in 24 matches as a junior last season for the Women of Troy. She recorded 81 kills for a 1.27 kps average and a .288 hitting percentage with 16 assists (0.25 aps), six service aces (0.09 saps), 27 digs (0.42 dps), 45 blocks (0.70 bps) and 112.0 points (1.75 pps). She received 2009 Pac-10 Conference All-Academic honorable mention recognition
She earned all-tournament team honors at the 2009 Wolverine Invitational (Sept. 11-12) at Utah Valley after getting 20 kills and seven blocks while hitting .474. She had nine kills while hitting .500 at Utah Valley (9-1-16) on Sept. 11 with four block assists and had nine kills with four blocks while hitting .571 (9-1-14) on Aug. 29 against North Carolina.
As a sophomore in 2008, Garrett started in all but one match during the season, recording 171 kills (1.71 kps) for a .305 hitting percentage with 19 service aces (0.19 saps), 61 digs (0.61 dps), 90 blocks (0.90 bps) and 241.5 points (2.41 pps). She tied her previous best of nine blocks on Sept. 18 against Hartford with one solo block and eight block assists in the 3-0 victory at the West Point Challenge, also tied a season high with three service aces. In the Pac-10 opener against No. 4 UCLA, she had nine kills and hit .400 (9-1-20) in the five-set win with six digs and five blocks. In a 3-0 sweep of Washington State on Oct. 10, she tied her career high with 13 kills, hitting .476 (13-3-21) in the process. She tied her season and career highs with 13 kills and nine blocks on Dec. 5 in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament against No. 15 San Diego and hit a season-high .478 (13-2-23) against the Toreros in the four-set win.
Garrett received All-Pac-10 Freshman Team honorable mention honors in 2007 after recording 210 kills (1.81 kps average) and 118 blocks (1.02 bps avg) while hitting .262. A 10-kill performance came on Oct. 18 at Washington State where she also registered a season-high nine blocks (one solo, eight assisted).
G-Unit
Senior defensive specialist/outside hitter Geena Urango (Los Alamitos/Los Alamitos HS) made seven starts in 30 matches last season, recording 69 kills (0.74 kps), seven assists (0.08 aps), 20 service aces (0.22 saps), 107 digs (1.15 dps) and 93.5 points (1.01 pps). She earned 2009 Pac-10 Conference All-Academic second team honors, posting a 3.69 grade-point-average in communications. Her best match came on Sept. 11 vs. Idaho State, leading the Trojans with a season-high 17 kills while hitting .469 on Sept. 11 against Idaho State at the Wolverine Invitational in Orem, Utah.
She played in every match during her 2008 sophomore season, recording 36 kills (0.35 kps), 11 assists (0.11 aps), 13 aces (0.12 saps), 158 digs (1.52 dps), five blocks (0.05 bps) and 52.0 points (0.50 pps). She had a season-high nine kills and added two aces and two digs against Hartford on Sept. 18 and posted eight kills and a season-high 14 digs on Oct. 3 at Oregon State.
Urango recorded 112 kills (0.90 kps) and 347 digs (2.80 dpg) in her freshman season, earning All-Pac-10 Freshman Team honorable mention honors. She finished in a tie for sixth place in the Pac-10 Conference with 40 service aces (0.32 saps) and recorded four aces in a match twice (Sept. 1 vs. Mercer and Sept. 15 vs. Purdue).
She recorded 21 digs on Sept. 7 at Utah in a four-game victory and posted a season-high 31 digs in a five-game win on Sept. 14 at No. 20 Ohio State. On Oct. 11 against Oregon State, she tallied a season-high 10 kills, hitting .304 in the match and adding nine digs. She recorded a season-high 21 kills, taking 47 swings against No. 9 Cal in a 3-2 win on Oct. 26 at the Galen Center. Urango posted her first collegiate double-double on Nov. 2 against No. 9 UCLA with 17 kills and 12 digs in the 3-1 victory.
She was on the 2008 U.S. Beach Volleyball Training Team for the SWATCH FIVB World Championship. She also played two years for the U.S. Youth National Team (2005-06) and also played on the Junior National Team.
The Pattern Is Full
Sophomore outside hitter Katie Fuller (Olivenhain, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS) filled in admirably during the Portland and Fresno State matches (Sept. 18-19) as a freshman last season. She led the team with 10 kills against Portland with two digs and one block while hitting .471 (10-2-17) in the 3-0 sweep. The following night against Fresno State, she had five kills with seven digs and two service aces.
Injury Report
Senior outside hitter Kimmee Roleder injured her right knee during spring practice and will be out for the entire 2010 season.
