Aug. 23, 2011
LOGAN, Utah -
Utah State Volleyball Weekly Release 
Release #1 • 8/23/10
CRYSTAL INN THUDERBIRD INVITATIONALAug. 26 * vs. Pacific * 4:30 p.m.Aug. 27 * vs. Drake * 10 a.m.Aug. 27 * at Southern Utah * 7 p.m.
QUICKLY
Utah State will begin its 35th season of collegiate volleyball with an overall record of 566-649-8 (.466). The Aggies have played in the NCAA Tournament four times in school history (2000, 2001, 2005, 2010), advancing to the second round in 2000 and 2001. USU has produced 11 All-Americans in its history, one academic All-American and a national championship in 1978, followed by a runner-up finish in 1979. Utah State has also had two players play professionally in Elaine Roque and Karolyn Kirby, who was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2004.
THIS WEEK
Utah State will begin the 2011 season at the Crystal Inn Thunderbird Invitational hosted by Southern Utah University. USU will begin the tournament on Friday, Aug. 26 against Pacific at 4:30 p.m., and conclude the tournament on Saturday, Aug. 27 against Drake and the host Thunderbirds at 10 a.m., and 7 p.m., respectively.
LIVE STATS AND VIDEO
Live stats and live video of every match during the 2011 Crystal Inn Thunderbird Invitational are available via the Southern Utah Athletics web site at www.suutbirds.com.
LOOKING AT UTAH STATE
Utah State returns three starters and six letterwinners from last year's team that went 24-9 overall and finished in third-place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 9-7 league record. Among those starters returning for USU is senior Liz McArthur (OH), and juniors Shay Sorensen (OPP) and Josselyn White (OH). Also returning for USU are three reserves in juniors Laurel Bodily (LIB) and Kassi Hargrove (S), and sophomore Tumua Etimani (OH). USU will also have the services of three redshirts in sophomore Nicole Gneiting-Theurer (MB) and freshmen Jamaica Alisa (OPP) and Paige Neves (S).
UTAH STATE RETURNS ALL-AMERICAN
Highlighting Utah State's three returning starters is senior outside hitter Liz McArthur who earned honorable mention All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) in 2010. McArthur was also named first-team all-WAC as a junior and the Most Valuable Player of the 2010 WAC Tournament as USU defeated Nevada (3-1), New Mexico State (3-2) and top-seeded and third-ranked Hawai'i (3-0) in the championship match.
SEASON OPENERS
Utah State is 17-18 all-time in season openers, including wins in four of its last six years. Last year, USU opened the season with a three-set win against UC Davis. In 2009, USU defeated Weber State in four sets to start the season. In 2008, USU began the year with a three-set loss at Brigham Young. In 2007, USU began the year with a three-set loss at Arizona. In 2006, USU began the year with a four-set win at New Mexico and in 2005 it started the year with a three-set win against Fordham.
UTAH STATE IN ROAD MATCHES
Utah State is 60-83 (.420) in road matches during the last 11 years, which includes a 23-29 (.442) record in non-conference matches.
UTAH STATE IN TOURNAMENT PLAY
Utah State is 48-44 (.522) in regular season tournaments over the last 11 years, which includes a 35-24 (.593) record on neutral courts.
NEXT WEEK
Utah State will host Idaho State, Syracuse and Texas State in its second annual Utah State Invitational from Sept. 1-3. USU will begin the tournament on Thursday, Sept. 1 against Idaho State at 7 p.m. USU will then play Syracuse on Friday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m., and conclude the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 3 against Texas State at 7 p.m.
SCOUTING PACIFIC
Pacific returns five starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team that went 19-11 overall and finished in fifth-place in the Big West Conference with a 9-7 league record. The Tigers are picked to finish fifth in its conference this year and will be led by a pair of all-Big West honorees from a season ago in senior outside hitter Samantha Misa and sophomore middle blocker Jennifer Sanders. UOP is coached by Greg Gibbons who is 19-11 in one season at Pacific.
VERSUS THE TIGERS
Utah State is 6-28 all-time against Pacific and the last time the two teams played one another was during the 2004 season, USU's last in the Big West Conference. The Tigers have won the last two matches played in the series and the last time USU won a match against UOP was in four sets in Logan on Nov. 20, 2003.
SCOUTING DRAKE
Drake returns three starters and eight letterwinners from last year's team that went 23-11 and finished in sixth-place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 10-8 league mark. Drake is picked to finish sixth in the MVC this year and is coached by Tony Sunga who is in his first year at Drake.
VERSUS THE BULLDOGS
Utah State and Drake will be meeting for the first time ever this weekend.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH
Southern Utah returns four starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team that went 15-15 overall and finished in fourth-place in The Summitt League with a 12-6 league record. The Thunderbirds are picked to finish fourth in its conference this year. SUU is coached by Debby Baker who is 24-35 in two seasons at the helm.
VERSUS THE THUNDERBIRDS
Utah State is 1-0 all-time against Southern Utah, defeating SUU in four sets during the 1988 season at a tournament hosted by BYU.
UTAH STATE-SOUTHERN UTAH CONNECTIONS
Southern Utah head coach Debbie Baker graduated from Utah State University in 1993 and was a two-year letterwinner on the volleyball team (1992-93). Baker also spent the 2000 season as a volunteer assistant on USU's first-ever NCAA Tournament team. Baker has also spent two seasons on the same staff as USU head coach Grayson DuBose as both were members of USU's 2000 team and New Mexico's 2001 club. Southern Utah's Athletics Director, Ken Beazer, spent four years (2001-05) in Utah State's athletics department as its development director.
UTAH STATE PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN WAC
Utah State is picked to finish third in the Western Athletic Conference this season behind Hawai'i and New Mexico State, while senior Liz McArthur (OH), and juniors Shay Sorensen (OPP) and Josselyn White (OH) were all named to the league's preseason team.
MCARTHUR RANKS SIXTH ALL-TIME AT UTAH STATE IN KILLS
Senior outside hitter Liz McArthur ranks sixth all-time at Utah State with 1,025 career kills and fifth all-time with 2,990 career attempts. Zuzana Cernianska (2002-05) holds the all-time school record with 1,813 career kills and 4,423 career attempts.
UTAH STATE RETURNS A LOT OF PRODUCTION FROM 2009
With three starters and six letterwinners returning from last year's team, Utah State returns a lot of production in a lot of different areas. The following is a breakdown of what USU's returns and what it lost from the 2010 season.
Here is a breakdown of what Utah State returns in 2011.Kills (1,051/1,589) 66.1%Points (1,300.0/2,122.5) 61.2%Service Aces (103/169) 60.9%Digs (834/1,749) 47.7%Blocks (270/695) 38.8%Assists (97/1,454) 6.7%
FROM THE STATE OF UTAH
Of the 17 players on Utah State's roster, nine are from the state of Utah. Those nine players from the "Beehive State" are senior Liz McArthur (St. George), juniors Alyssa Everett (Perry), Kassie Mendenhall (Sandy), Shay Sorensen (North Ogden) and Josselyn White (Smithfield), and freshmen Jamaica Alisa (St. George), Elle Brainard (Saratoga Springs), Ashlan Rogers (Highland) and Kaitlyn VanHoff (Draper).
POSITION-BY-POSITION BREAKDOWN
SETTERS
One of the two biggest questions surrounding Utah State's volleyball team this fall is who will fill the shoes of four-year starter Chelsea Fowles who graduated as the school's all-time leader in assists with 4,520. Despite Fowles' departure, USU does return two setters with experience in the program in junior Kassi Hargrove and redshirt freshman Paige Neves. Hargrove played in all 33 matches and 122 sets as a sophomore, including time at the setting position as she finished the year with 20 assists, 10 service aces and 42 digs. Neves, who redshirted last year, earned first-team all-state honors all four seasons at Burlington (Wyo.) High School and led her team to a state championship during her senior season.
MIDDLE BLOCKERS
Utah State also must replace its two starting middle blockers from a year ago in Katie Astle and Shantell Durrant, who both were named to the WAC's second-team in 2010 and both rank among the top 10 middle blockers in school history in block assists and total blocks. USU does return one player here with experience in the program in sophomore Nicole Gneiting-Theurer who redshirted during her first year and missed this past season due to injury. As a prep senior at Palo Verde (Nev.) High School, Gneiting-Theurer earned first-team all-region honors and was named the region's Most Valuable Player. Newcomers to this group include junior college transfer Alyssa Everett and freshmen Shan England and Kaitlyn VanHoff. Everett has spent the past two seasons at the College of Southern Idaho, helping the Golden Eagles to a National Championship in 2009. As a sophomore at CSI, Everett hit .261 (240-76-629) and averaged 2.02 kills, 0.65 blocks and 0.65 digs per set. England earned first-team all-region and honorable mention all-state honors as both a junior and senior at Cactus Shadow (Ariz.) High School, and VanHoff earned all-state honors in each of her last three seasons at Alta (Utah) High School.
OUTSIDE/OPPOSITE SIDE HITTERS
Utah State is experienced, talented and deep at the antennas as it returns all three of its starters here from a year ago including senior All-American outside hitter Liz McArthur, along with junior opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen and junior outside hitter Josselyn White. McArthur was named an honorable mention All-American as a junior as she finished the year hitting .207 (504-208-1428) and averaging 4.00 kills, 1.90 digs, 0.48 blocks and 0.33 service aces per set. On the year, McArthur recorded double-digit kills in all but four matches and had at least 20 kills eight times to go along with eight double-doubles. She finished the season ranking first in the WAC in service aces per set (0.33), and was third in both kills and points (4.59) per set. Sorensen hit .221 (244-105-628) on the season and averaged 2.20 kills and 0.81 blocks per set. As a sophomore, Sorensen posted double-digit kills nine times and concluded her season by being named to the WAC's all-tournament team after hitting .684 (13-0-19) against Hawai'i in the championship match. White hit .177 (294-119-991) a year ago and averaged 2.41 kills, 1.87 digs and 0.94 blocks per set, while posting double-digit kills 14 times and double-digit digs six times. Along with its three returning starters, Utah State also welcomes back two other players who were in the program last year in sophomore outside hitter Tumua Etimani and redshirt freshman opposite side hitter Jamaica Alisa. Etimani appeared in six matches and played in 10 sets as a true freshman and finished the year with six kills, 10 digs and four block assists. Alisa redshirted at USU last year after earning first-team all-state honors as a prep senior at Snow Canyon (Utah) High School. Three newcomers will also vie for playing time here in freshmen Elle Brainard, Rachel Orr and Alexis Walker. Brainard twice earned first-team all-state honors at Westlake (Utah) High School, Orr helped Thatcher (Ariz.) High School to back-to-back runner-up finishes at the state tournament, while Walker earned first-team all-region and all-district honors as a prep senior at Idaho Falls (Idaho) High School.
LIBEROS
Utah State must replace another record holder at libero after the graduation of four-year starter Christine Morrill who posted 1,846 digs during her Aggie career and was named to the WAC's second-team as a senior. The Aggies, however, appear to have another defensive gem ready to fill Morrill's shoes in junior Laurel Bodily who has played in 62 matches and 241 sets during her first two years at USU. As a sophomore, Bodily averaged 2.28 digs per set to rank second on the team and posted double-digits in digs 13 times. Bodily also notched 22 service aces a year ago and already has 44 aces during her first two years. Utah State's other libero on the roster is freshman Ashlan Rogers who was named the Region 4 Most Valuable Player and the MVP of the state tournament as a prep senior at Lone Peak (Utah) High School. Another player who could see time here is junior transfer Kassie Mendenhall who prepped at Brighton (Utah) HS.
RETURNING PLAYER NOTES
#3 - Tumua Etimani - Played in six matches and 10 sets during the season... Made her only start of the year against UC Riverside (9/18) and recorded season-highs with four kills, 20 attacks, five digs and three block assists... Finished the year with six kills, 10 digs and four block assists, while hitting .032 (6-5-31).
#4 - Laurel Bodily - Played in all 33 matches and all 126 sets during the year... Finished the season second on the team with 287 digs and fifth overall with 22 service aces... Recorded double-digits in digs 13 times during the year including a season-high 15 against Nevada on Nov. 12... Tied her career-high with three service aces against both BYU on Sept. 14 and Nevada on Nov. 12... Averaged 2.28 digs and 0.17 services aces per set... Earned academic all-WAC honors.
#8 - Kassi Hargrove - Appeared in all 33 matches and 122 sets during the season... Had a season-high nine assists against Temple on Sept. 11... Recorded a career-high five digs against Loyola Marymount on Sept. 17 and had a career-high two service aces against Utah Valley on Sept. 17... Finished the season averaging 0.34 digs per set... Earned academic all-WAC honors.
#10 - Shay Sorensen - Played in 32 matches, starting 19, and 111 sets during the season...Finished the year third on the team with 244 kills and fourth in hitting percentage at .221 (244-105-628)... Averaged 2.20 kills and 0.81 blocks per set... Recorded double-digits in kills nine times during the season, including a career-high 16 kills at Brigham Young (9/14)... Best offensive match of the season was against No. 3 Hawai'i in the championship match of the WAC Tournament as she hit a career-high .684 (13-0-19) with 13 kills and no attack errors on 19 swings... Was named to the WAC's all-tournament team as she hit .333 (31-7-72) in three matches, while averaging 2.58 kills, 0.75 blocks and 0.33 digs per set... Was named the Most Valuable Player of the Montana Invitational as she hit .278 (29-9-72) and averaged 2.64 kills, 1.18 blocks and 0.55 digs per set in wins against Montana (3-1), Temple (3-1) and North Dakota (3-0)... Earned academic all-WAC honors.
#18 - Liz McArthur - Earned AVCA honorable mention All-American honors as she finished the year ranking 32nd nationally in points per set (4.59) and 34th in kills per set (4.00)... Also earned first-team all-WAC honors as she ranked first in the league in service aces per set (0.33), third in kills per set and third in points per set... Finished the year hitting .207 (504-208-1428) and averaging 1.90 digs and 0.48 blocks per set... Was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2010 WAC Tournament as USU defeated Nevada (3-1), New Mexico State (3-2) and No. 3 Hawai'i (3-0) in the championship match... Averaged 3.92 kills, 2.00 digs, 0.58 blocks and 0.17 service aces per set during the tournament... Started all 33 matches and played in 123 sets during the year... Set a single-season school record with 1,428 attempts, had 504 kills to rank third all-time at USU, and 42 service aces to rank sixth in a single-season in school history... Tied her career-high with 25 kills at Utah on Aug. 28 as she was named the MVP of the 2010 Utah Classic... Named the Collegiate Volleyball Update National Player of the Week on Sept. 1 for her performance in the Utah Classic... Also named the MVP of the 2010 Arizona State Sheraton Classic... Had a career-high five service aces against Weber State on Aug. 31 and a career-high five block assists against New Mexico State on Nov. 23 ... Recorded double-digits in kills 29 times during the season and had at least 20 kills eight times... Posted double-digit digs eight times including a career-high 15 at Utah... Had eight double-doubles during the year... Best offensive match of the year was at Utah as she hit .512 (25-3-43) and posted career-highs with 25 kills and 15 digs... Earned academic all-WAC honors and was named a CoSIDA Academic All-District recipient.
#23 - Josselyn White - Started all 32 matches she played in during the season and appeared in 122 sets... Finished the year ranking second on the team in kills with 294, was third on the team with 115 total blocks and third overall with 29 service aces... Recorded double-digit kills 14 times during the season and double-digit digs six times... Had two double-doubles during the year... Posted a career-high 16 kills against New Mexico State in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament and had a career-high 13 digs against both Louisiana Tech (10/21) and Boise State (11/4) during the regular season... Had a career-high three service aces against UC Davis (8/28) and a career-high seven block assists against North Dakota (9/11)... Named to the Utah Classic All-Tournament team as she averaged 2.86 kills, 1.29 digs and 0.71 blocks per set... Hit a season-high .364 (9-1-22) at Louisiana Tech (11/15)... Finished the year with a .177 (294-119-991) hitting percentage, while averaging 2.41 kills, 1.87 digs and 0.94 blocks per set... Earned academic all-WAC honors.
HEAD COACH Grayson DuBose
Grayson DuBose is entering his sixth season as Utah State's head volleyball coach after being hired on March 27, 2006. In his five years at USU, DuBose (pronounced Do-Boz) has brought stability to one of the top programs in the WAC as he has coached two All-Americans, 15 all-WAC selections, 39 academic all-WAC honorees and six academic all-district recipients. He is also one of just four coaches in school history to have a winning record and is five victories away from becoming the second-winningest coach in school history. Utah State had one of its best seasons in school history in 2010 winning its first-ever WAC Tournament Championship and advancing to its fourth NCAA Tournament in school history. Overall, Utah State became just the third team in the history of the WAC to win its tournament championship as it was the first school in 11 years to defeat perennial power Hawai'i in the championship match. USU finished the year with a 24-9 record, including a third-place conference finish with a 9-7 league mark. Those 24 wins in 2010 were not only the seventh-most in school history, but the most since 1982. Utah State also had four players earn all-WAC honors during the season, including junior outside hitter Liz McArthur who was named to the first-team. McArthur was also named the Most Valuable Player of the 2010 WAC Tournament and went on to earn American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) honorable mention All-American honors. USU also had seven players earn academic all-WAC honors in 2010, while senior middle blocker Katie Astle joined McArthur on the academic all-district team. DuBose also received national attention in 2010 as he was named one of five finalists for the Collegiate Volleyball Update National Coach of the Year award. DuBose also had plenty of success during the 2007 season as he led Utah State to a 17-13 record and a third-place conference finish with an 11-5 mark. Among those 11 league victories was one of the biggest wins in school history as USU posted a three-set sweep at No. 10 Hawai'i, snapping an 108-match home conference winning streak for the Rainbow Wahine. Following the 2007 season, DuBose had four players recognized by the WAC as senior Amanda Nielson was named to the league's first-team and an AVCA honorable mention All-American, while setter Chelsea Fowles was named the freshman of the year in the WAC. DuBose was also honored in 2007 as he became the first volleyball coach in school history to garner conference coach of the year honors. Prior to accepting the head coaching position at Utah State, DuBose spent four seasons (2003-06) as an assistant on Brigham Young University's men's volleyball team. DuBose began his collegiate coaching career at Utah State from 1999-2000 as an assistant to Tom Peterson. During that time, the Aggies won the Eastern Division of the Big West Conference in 1999 and advanced to the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2000, defeating Missouri in the first round. USU finished the 2000 season ranked 22nd in the country, the program's first-ever top 25 ranking. In his four seasons at Brigham Young, DuBose helped lead the Cougar's men's program to a 90-30 (.750) record, including a National Championship in 2004 and a second-place finish at the 2003 NCAA Tournament. During his time at BYU, he coached nine All-Americans, including the 2004 NCAA Player of the Year. DuBose graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in history in 1993 and then received his teaching certificate from Utah State in 1995. He and his wife Lenonnie have three children, Kline (13), Cassandra (11) and Jackson (7).
Year School Overall WAC2006 Utah State 13-19 (.406) 6-10 (.375)2007 Utah State 17-13 (.567) 11-5 (.688)2008 Utah State 11-17 (.393) 9-7 (.562)2009 Utah State 15-14 (.517) 6-10 (.375)2010 Utah State 24-9 (.727) 9-7 (.563) Totals 80-72 (.526) 41-39 (.513)
