Oct. 11, 2004

LOGAN, Utah -

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THIS WEEK - Utah State (4-10, 1-6) will host Weber State (2-16) on Tues., Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum before returning to Big West play on Fri., Oct. 15 and Sat., Oct. 16 with a pair of road matches at Cal State Fullerton (9-7, 2-5) and UC Riverside (9-8, 1-6).

SERIES HISTORY - Utah State is 26-18 all-time against Weber State, which includes a 15-6 home record. USU has won five straight matches against the Wildcats and seven of the last eight dating back to the 1997 season. USU is 17-13 all-time against Cal State Fullerton, which includes a 7-7 road record, and 6-4 all-time against UC Riverside, which includes a 3-0 road record. USU has won the last nine meetings in the series against the Titans and the last six against the Highlanders. The last time USU lost to UCR was on Sept. 17, 1987 at a tournament in Provo, Utah in three games. The last time the Aggies lost to the Titans was on Oct. 9, 1997 in Logan in four games.

SCOUTING WEBER STATE -Weber State is 2-16 on the season, which includes a 1-4 record in the Big Sky Conference following a four-game loss at Idaho State in its last match. The Wildcats, who are 0-6 on the road this season, are led by freshman middle blocker Kolbie Murphey who is averaging 2.13 kills and 1.09 blocks per game, while hitting .235 on the season. As a team, Weber State is hitting .121 on the year, while its opponents are hitting .188. WSU returns three starters and seven lettermen from last year's team that went 7-21 on the year and finished in seventh-place in the Big Sky Conference with a 3-11 league mark.

SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON -Cal State Fullerton is 9-7 on the year and currently in seventh-place in the Big West Conference with a 2-5 league record following a four-game loss at Pacific and a three-game loss at Cal State Northridge last weekend. The Titans, who are 6-1 at home this year, are led by senior middle blocker Carley Dial who is averaging 2.37 kills and 1.04 blocks per game while hitting .345 on the season. As a team, the Titans are hitting .206 overall, while its opponents are hitting .201. Cal State Fullerton returns four starters and nine lettermen from last year's team that went 8-22 on the season and finished in last place in the Big West Conference with a 2-16 league record.

SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE -UC Riverside is 9-8 on the season and tied with Utah State for eighth-place in the Big West Conference with a 1-6 league record after losing a pair of three-game matches at Cal State Northridge and at Pacific last weekend. The Highlanders, who are 1-2 at home this year, are led by junior outside hitter Jamie DeKiewiet who is averaging 5.45 kills and 3.30 digs per game while hitting .269. As a team, the Highlanders are hitting .212 on the season, while its opponents are hitting .189. UC Riverside returns five starters and nine lettermen from last year's team that went 9-20 on the season and finished in ninth-place in the Big West Conference with a 4-14 league record.

NEXT WEEK - Utah State will play just one match next week as it hosts Idaho on Thur., Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. USU is 11-10 all-time against Idaho, which includes a four-game loss in Moscow earlier this year.

RECAPPING LAST WEEKEND - Utah State went 1-1 last weekend losing to 13th-ranked UC Santa Barbara in three games (24-30, 23-30, 25-30) before notching its first conference win of the season with a four-game victory against Cal Poly (30-19, 30-25, 19-30, 30-26). Against the Gauchos, Zuzana Cernianska led USU with 20 kills as she hit .310 in the match. Carolyn Forbush added 11 kills and 11 digs, while Amanda Orgill had 10 kills. Overall, the Aggies hit .160, while UCSB hit .325. Against Cal Poly, Cernianska once again led the team as she had a match-high 15 kills to go along with nine digs and four service aces, while hitting .345. Orgill was the only other Aggie to notch double-digits in kills in the match as she had 14. Overall, USU hit .194 as compared to a .190 hitting percentage for the Mustangs.

1,000 KILL CLUB - Junior Zuzana Cernianska became just the fourth Utah State player ever to record 1,000 kills with her 28 against UC Davis on Sept. 25. Cernianska, who has 219 kills on the season, ranks fourth all-time at Utah State with 1,075 kills.

ON THE ROAD - Utah State has been a much improved team away from home over the last five years as the Aggies have recorded a 26-37 (.413) road record. In league play, USU is 16-22 (.421) on the road over that same time period. Thus far this year, Utah State is 2-5 on the road, which includes a 0-3 record in the league.

AGGIES AT HOME - Utah State has been very good at home over the last five years, recording a 42-17 (.712) record, which includes an 2-3 record thus far this year. Against Big West opponents, USU is 31-16 (.656) at home over the last five-plus years.

HODGE TO MISS SEASON- Sophomore outside hitter Beth Hodge will most likely miss the entire 2004 season after suffering a stress fracture in her right leg last spring. Hodge was named to the Big West all-freshman team last year as she averaged 3.39 kills per game.

MOVING UP THE CAREER CHARTS- Junior opposite side hitter Zuzana Cernianska ranks fourth all-time in kills at Utah State with 1,075. She is also sixth all-time in attempts (2,618), eighth in service aces (77), and ninth in hitting (.216). Junior middle blocker Ingrid Roth ranks seventh all-time in block assists with 210 and is eighth all-time in total blocks with 231, while sophomore Dominique Arsenault now ranks 10th all-time at USU in assists with 640.

VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS - Utah State is 7-29 versus ranked opponents over the last five years, but has lost each of its last 13 matches against ranked teams. Thus far this year, USU is 0-3 versus top-25 competition losing to then sixth-ranked Stanford in four games, 23rd-ranked Long Beach State in three games, and 13th-ranked UC Santa Barbara in three games. The last time USU defeated a ranked opponent was in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament when the Aggies upset No. 19 Brigham Young in five games.

VERSUS THE STATE OF UTAH AT HOME - Utah State has won seven straight matches at home against in-state opponents which includes a five-game win over BYU earlier this year. The last time USU lost a home match to an in-state rival was on Sept. 20, 1999 when Weber State defeated USU in four games.