Aug. 25, 1997
Arizona State Volleyball Kicks Off Season
Devils Open Season with Airport Hilton/Sun Devil Challenge (8/29-30)
The Arizona State volleyball team (0-0, 0-0 Pac-10) kicks off the '97 season by hosting the Phoenix Airport Hilton/Sun Devil Challenge in the University Activity Center. Tournament participants are: Arizona State, Cal Poly SLO, Portland State and St. Mary's College (Calif.). Admission to the tournament is free.
PHOENIX AIRPORT HILTON/SUN DEVIL CHALLENGE SCHEDULE Friday, August 29: Cal Poly SLO vs. Portland State 11 a.m. ASU vs. St. Mary's 1 p.m. Cal Poly SLO vs. St. Mary's 5 p.m. ASU vs. Portland St. 7 p.m. Saturday, August 30: Portland St. vs. St. Mary's 1 p.m. ASU vs. Cal Poly SLO 3 p.m.
ASU PROBABLE LINEUP: Terri Cox (Sr./OH); Jen Lucero (Jr./OH) or Kristal Blair (Jr./OH); Jolynn Faatulu (So./S); Laura Hibsman (So./MB); Jamie Peck (So./OP); Kirstin Matttson (Sr./MB). (Key Subs): Mindi Larsen (Jr./OH); Shawna Vanley (Sr., MB).
1996 SEASON WRAPUP The Sun Devils ended the 1996 season with a record of 9-15 (4-14, 8th in Pac-10 play). Terri Cox was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection while Jamie Peck was a Pac-10 All-Freshman selection. Laura Hibsman was an honorable mention All-Freshman selection. Jen Lucero was an honorable mention Pac-10 All-Academic honoree. Arizona State ranked 10th nationally in team digs per game (19.17). Individually, Cox ranked 2nd in digs (4.90) and 11th in kills (5.07) per game.
CAL POLY SLO The Mustangs went 14-16, 7-9 in the Big West Conference last season. Four of six starters return for Cal Poly including sophomore middle blocker Kari De Soto who had 266 kills and 130 blocks in '96. Cal Poly SLO leads the all-time series with the Devils, 2-0.
PORTLAND STATE The Vikings are coming off a 12-18 season (3-13 Big Sky). Top returner for PSU is junior Hannah Long, a 5-11 middle blocker, who was an All-Sky Honorable Mention selection in '96.
ST. MARYS COLLEGE The Gaels were 7-21, 2-12 in the West Coast Conference last year. St. Marys has three starters returning including senior outside hitter Julie Grieve who posted 318 kills and 217 digs in 1996. ASU leads the all-time series with the Gaels, 1-0.
FOR THE RECORD Senior Terri Cox should move into the top three in career digs at ASU by the end of the '97 season. She is currently ranked 10th all-time with 1,021 digs and needs just 263 digs to move into the top three. The top spot held by Christy Nore (1985-88) who racked up 1,597 in her four-year career. Cox should also move into the top 10 in career kills. The outside hitter has 768 kills entering the '97 season. Senior middle blocker Kirstin Mattson should move him to the top 10 all-time for block assists this year. She currently has 147 and need just 34 to move into the top 10.
HEAD COACH SNYDER-PARK Sun Devils head coach Patti Snyder-Park enters her ninth season with the Arizona State volleyball program. She has guided the Devils to four NCAA tournament appearances in the past five years including a semifinal match appearance at the NCAA Mountain Regional in 1995. Snyder-Park has taken ASU to post-season competition in five of her last eight seasons and has posted a winning record in six of the last seven seasons. She has a career record of 135-98 at Arizona State.
COX DOES IT ALL Senior outside hitter Terri Cox looks to finish out her remarkable career with style. The 1996 first-team All-Pac-10 selection finished last season ranked second in the nation in digs averaging 4.90 per game and finished 11th in the country in kills with 5.07 per game.
MATTSON IN THE MIDDLE Senior middle blocker Kirstin Mattson will captain the squad this season. She led the team last year with 1.26 blocks per game and was second on the team in kills with 2.55 per game. The 6-1 middle leads the team in block solos with 34 on the year and is second in block assists (67).
TALK ABOUT TOUGH The Sun Devils will face nine teams ranked in the top 25 in the preseason (USA Today/AVCA) during 1997. Six of those are Pac-10 teams which ASU must face twice during the season.
SUN DEVILS ON THE NET Catch all the latest news on the Arizona State Volleyball team on the Sun Devil Athletics website at http://www.TheSunDevils.com
SUN DEVIL FACTS AND FIGURES ASU Indiv. Single-Match Leaders (Final 1996) Kills: 30, Terri Cox vs. Washington (11/16/96) Digs: 33, Terri Cox vs. Arizona (11/8/96) Assists: 80, Tracy Heflin vs. Oregon (10/26/96) Aces: 4, Kirstin Mattson vs. USC (10/4/96) Solo Blocks: 4, Kirstin Mattson vs. Oregon (10/26/96) Asst. Blocks: 7, Laura Hibsman vs. USC (10/4/96)
ASU Individual Season Leaders (Final 1996) Kills: 441, Terri Cox Digs: 426, Terri Cox Assists: 1,122, Tracy Heflin Block Solos: 35, Kirstin Mattson Block Assists: 83, Laura Hibsman Service Aces: 19, Terri Cox
PAC-10 FAXBACK Sun Devil volleyball box scores and information are available on a 24-hour basis from the Pac-10 FaxBack system. For information on how to receive material from FaxBack, please contact the Pac-10 office at (510) 932-4411 or the ASU media relations office at (602) 965-6592.
ASU ALUMNI MATCH The 1997 Sun Devil squad will host its alumni on Wednesday, August 27 at 7 p.m. at the University Activity Center for an informal scrimmage. Admission is free.
PAC-10 PRESEASON COACHES POLL
School 1. Stanford (9) 2. USC 3. UCLA 4. Washington State (1) 5. Washington 6. Arizona 7. Oregon State 8. California 9. Oregon 10. Arizona State First-place votes in parantheses
PAC-10 IN THE POLLS
School USA Today/AVCA Volleyball
(Preseason) (Preseason)
Stanford 1 1
Washinton State 7 8
USC 15 14
Washington 19 17
Arizona 20 19
UCLA 21 12
For more information on Arizona State volleyball, please contact Aimee Dombroski in the media relations office at (602) 965-6592.