No. 8 Women's Volleyball Travels to Pepperdine
June 21, 1999 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 28, 1998
THIS WEEK : The No. 8 USC women's volleyball team (7-3 overall, 3-1 in the Pac-10) goes on the road to face Pepperdine (5-4) on Wednesday (Sept. 30) at 4 p.m. in Malibu. The Women of Troy will return home on Friday (Oct.2) to host crosstown rival UCLA (3-7, 3-1) at 6 p.m. in the North Gym.
SERIES NOTES :The Women of Troy are 26-7 in the all-time series with Pepperdine and haven't lost to the Waves since September of 1990. USC is looking to improve upon its 33-36 all-time series record with UCLA and extend its three-match winning streak against the Bruins.
LAST WEEK : USC celebrated its Pacific-10 Conference home opener with a 15-3, 15-11, 15-13 win over Oregon State on Friday (Sept. 25). The Women of Troy were led by senior outside hitter Jennifer Kessy's 17 kills and nine digs and senior Jasmina Marinkovic's 15 kills and five blocks. Walk-on sophomore outside hitter Shannon Redfern posted career-highs in kills (10) and blocks (five) while adding a match-high three aces and seven digs. In USC's 15-2, 15-6, 15-7 victory over Oregon on Sunday (Sept. 27), Kessy posted 18 kills and nine digs, while Marinkovic added 12 kills and five blocks.
RANKINGS : USC is No. 8 in the latest USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll. Pepperdine and UCLA are not ranked.
NOTES : The Women of Troy have suffered all three losses on the road to top 10 teams (No. 2 Long Beach State, No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 9 Stanford). Senior middle blocker Alaina Kipps suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo surgery. She will not return to play this season. Kipps was the team's lead blocker in 1997. Freshman Jennifer Pahl has taken over the vacated middle blocker position.
Senior middle blocker Jasmina Marinkovic is third on USC's career total blocks, solo blocks and block assist charts. She is also eighth on the USC career kill and attack charts. Senior outside hitter Jennifer Kessy is sixth on both the USC career kill chart and attack chart and is fourth on the career dig chart. She now holds the USC records for attacks in an individual match after collecting 92 attacks during the Wisconsin match on Senior setter Janice Mounts now boasts a 12.62 assist per game average, USC's best all-time.
COACH LISA LOVE : Her players have known her as one of the nation's best volleyball coaches for more than 16 years. Colleagues know her as one of the top athletic administrators in the country. Equally determined and successful on both fronts, Lisa Love, the 1997 Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year, has perpetuated the tradition of USC women's volleyball while also handling the duties of her position as associate athletic director. She has been USC's women's volleyball head coach since 1989 and was named to her administrative post in June of 1991. She will also complete a two-year stint as the President of the American Volleyball Coaches Association when her term concludes in December.
Love has posted an outstanding 188-90 (.673) record with the Women of Troy and an impressive 387-168 (.698) mark in 17 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Love's teams have been nationally ranked in the final Top 20 in 10 of those years and have made nine NCAA regional appearances and 12 NCAA trips overall. Love came to USC in 1989 >from Texas-Arlington, where she built the volleyball program into a national contender. She was awarded the highest collegiate volleyball coaching honor when she was named the 1988 AVCA National Coach of the Year for leading UTA to its fifth Southland Conference championship and a Top 10 national ranking.
JASMINA MARINKOVIC : One of the most exciting players in the country, senior All-American middle blocker Jasmina Marinkovic (pronounced Yaz-MEE-nah Ma-RINK-o-VITCH) is a major player in the Women of Troy's 1998 campaign. Known to her friends as Jasna, Marinkovic is an excellent leaper and one of the most athletic middle blockers in the country. She is looking to become USC's first player to earn back-to-back All-American first team honors since Tracy Clark and Kim Ruddins did it in 1984-85. Marinkovic posted 15 kills and five blocks in the match agaisnt Oregon State (Sept. 25) and collected 12 kills and five blocks against Oregon (Sept. 27).
Marinkovic had 40 kills and 14 blocks in the two matches against Stanford (Sept. 18) and California (Sept. 20), including 24 kills and seven blocks against Stanford. She is third on USC's solo block, block assists and total block career charts and eighth on the career kill chart and attack chart. She has earned All-Tournament honors at all three tournaments the Women of Troy have played in this season (NACWAA, San Francisco/Saint Mary's College and Wisconsin). Marinkovic had 22 kills and 11 blocks at the NACWAA Tournament and 14 kills in six games at the San Francisco/Saint Mary's Tournament.
JENNIFER KESSY : An All-American candidate as a 1998 senior, Jennifer Kessy is one of the top outside hitters in the country and one of the most feared attackers in the Pac-10. Kessy posted 35 kills and 18 digs against Oregon State (Spet. 25) and Oregon (Sept. 27), including 18 kills and nine digs against Oregon. At Stanford (Sept. 18) and California (Sept. 20), Kessy had 30 kills and 28 digs, with 16 kills and 13 digs at the Cal match. She has 41 double-doubles in her career. Kessy now holds the record for individual attacks in a single match with her 92 attacks during the Wisconsin match (Sept. 12). She has taken the fifth-place spot on the USC career dig chart.
Kessy is currently the team leader in kills (192) and digs (111). She has been named to the All-Tournament team at all three tournaments the team has played in this season (NACWAA, San Francisco/Saint Mary's College and Wisconsin). She had 61 kills and 32 digs at the Wisconsin Tournament, with 36 kills and 24 digs during the Wisconsin match (Aug. 28). As a standout junior in 1997, Kessy was named to the KAEPA/AVCA All-District VIII and All-Pac-10 first teams.
JANICE MOUNTS : Janice Mounts, a 1998 senior All-American candidate, is in her third year as USC's starting setter. A savvy veteran with loads of court experience, Mounts, a Women of Troy co-captain, is one of the top floor leaders in the nation. Mounts' 3,269 assists place her third on the USC career assist list, 422 short of Christine Brigman's record of 3,691. Her assist per game average (12.62) is best all-time, just above Brigman's career mark (12.60). Mounts collected 92 assists in the two matches against Oregon State (Sept. 25) and Oregon (Sept. 27).
She posted 128 assists during the Stanford/California weekend (Sept. 18 & 20), including 69 assists, eight digs and two blocks against Stanford. She has earned All-Tournament honors at all three tournaments the squad has competed in this season (NACWAA, San Francisco/Saint Mary's College and Wisconsin). In the NACWAA Tournament, Mounts collected 111 assists, 10 digs and six blocks. As a 1997 junior, Mounts earned All-Pac-10 honorable mention for the second consecutive season.
ALAINA KIPPS : Alaina Kipps, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament during the fourth game of the Indiana match, will undergo surgery and will not return to play this season. Kipps was the team block leader in 1997 and is currently a Women of Troy co-captain. Kipps earned 1997 GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America second team and District Vlll and Pac-10 All-Academic first team honors.
ANTOINETTE POLK : A 1998 sophomore, outside hitter Antoinette Polk is looking to build on a promising freshman season in which she established herself as one of the top up-and-comers in the Pac-10. She is possibly the most athletic player and best leaper on the team (at 5-10, she can dunk on a regulation basketball hoop). In the two matches against Oregon State (Sept. 25) and Oregon (Sept. 27), Polk posted 13 kills and nine digs. Polk had a career-high 21 kills and added nine digs during the match against California (Sept. 20). She started in both matches of the Wisconsin Tournament collecting 23 kills, 23 digs and three block assists. Starting as a redshirt freshman in 1997, Polk was named 1997 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (USC's second such honor. The first was Jasmina Marinkovic in 1995).
SARA STEPHEN : One of the quickest members of the Women of Troy and perhaps its hardest hitter, 1998 senior Sara Stephen is a multi-dimensional player who will vie for time at outside hitter. A quick player with great leaping abilities, her versatility gives Coach Lisa Love many options. Stephen started in the Stanford (Sept. 18) and California (Sept. 20) matches, collecting 11 digs. She played in both matches at the Wisconsin Tournament, collecting 14 digs and three aces. In 1997, Stephen finished tied for third on the team with 19 aces and fourth in digs with 163.
KASHI CORMIER : Sophomore Kashi Cormier will vie for time at one of the starting outside hitter positions for the 1998 season. In the two matches at Stanford (Sept. 18) and California (Sept. 20), Cormier collected 11 digs, three blocks and one service ace. Cormier had a career-best 20 digs against Wisconsin in the Wisconsin Tournament and had four block assists. She has had two double-doubles this season (11 kills and 16 digs vs. Wisconsin on Aug. 28 and 11 kills and 12 digs vs. Long Beach State) at the NACWAA Tournament. In 1997, Cormier was named a Pac-10 All-Freshman honorable mention selection.
JANAE HENRY : Sophomore Janae Henry will vie for time at the outside hitter position. Henry collected five kills and six digs in the two matches against Oregon State (Sept. 25) and Oregon (Sept. 27). She posted 15 kills, nine digs and two blocks in USC's effort against Stanford (Sept. 18). She had her first career start against Wisconsin (Aug. 28) at the NACWAA Tournament to start off the 1998 season. Henry was the 1996 Volleyball Magazine "Player of the Year."
AMBER OLIVER : Sophomore middle blocker Amber Oliver has returned to play after redshirting last season while rehabilitating a shoulder injury. Oliver is a welcome returner at middle blocker and is looking to return to the form that made her a force at the net as a blocker and a quick attacker in 1996. At the Wisconsin Tournament, Oliver played in seven games, collecting 11 kills and six block assists.
HEIDI MUNNEKE : An instinctive setter with an exceptional touch, sophomore setter Heidi Munneke will compete for time behind starter Janice Mounts. At the San Francisco/Saint Mary's Tournament, Munneke had 23 assists and four aces in three games.
JENNIFER PAHL : One of two freshmen on the roster, middle blocker Jennifer Pahl has taken over the middle blocker position in the absence of Alaina Kipps. Pahl posted nine kills and five digs in the two matches against Oregon State (Sept. 25) and Oregon (Sept. 27). Adding to the USC win over California (Sept. 20), Pahl contributed nine kills and three blocks. She had a career high 10 kills in the match against Stanford (Sept. 18). As a prep senior in 1997, Pahl was named to Volleyball Magazine's "Fab 50" and was the CIF Division V-AA Co-Player of the year.
SHANNON REDFERN : Walk-on sophomore Shannon Redfern had her first career-start at the outside hitter position against Oregon State on Sept. 25 and posted career-highs in kills (10) and blocks (five) while adding a match-high three aces and seven digs. Against Arizona in 1997, Redfern had a USC season-high seven aces, one short of tying USC's three-game match record.
WALK-ONS : The Women of Troy feature a talented cast of six walk-ons that provide Coach Love with key depth. Cynthia Corpuz, a sophomore defensive specialist, adds speed and quickness in the back row. She collected a career-high 15 digs against Wisconsin at the Wisconsin Tournament. Corpuz had her first career starts at the San Francisco/Saint Mary's Tournament, playing in all six games. Christine Bohle, a sophomore outside hitter, serves the Women of Troy mainly as a back-row specialist and situational server as she did in the 1997 season. Bohle saw time in two games at the San Francisco/Saint Mary's College Tournament, collecting five kills.
A competitive player who can provide a spark off the bench will be sophomore defensive specialist and a reserve setter Ashlyn Dyer, a first-year player. Sophomore middle blocker Sara Peterson is again a solid contributor, adding depth to the blocking ranks. Freshman Emily Dalbeck is a valuable back-up at outside hitter and as a defensive specialist. Dalbeck earned CIF Division 3-A first team honors in her senior year at La Canada (Calif.) High.
PEPPERDINE : Pepperdine (5-4) is led by junior middle blocker Jamie Hill, who leads the team in kills (156) and blocks (44) and freshman Lindsay Phillips, who leads the Waves in digs (121) and is second in kills (146). Pepperdine is coached by Nina Matthies, who is in her 16th season with the Waves.
UCLA : The Bruins are coached by Andy Banachowski, who is in his 31st season at UCLA and has posted a 829-188 record. UCLA is led in kills by freshman outside hitter Kristee Porter (159), in blocks by sophomore middle blocker Elisabeth Bachman (99) and is led in digs by freshman outside hitter Ashley Bowles (90).
VOLLEYBALL HALL OF FAME : Assistant volleyball coach and former USC All-American Paula Weishoff will be inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame on Oct. 19. Weishoff, a three-time Olympian ( won a silver medal in 1984 and a bronze in 1992 and also played on the 1996 team in Atlanta). In 1980, she played under Coach Chuck Erbe, leading the Women of Troy to a 46-4 record and the AIAW national championship.
TOUGH SCHEDULE : As usual, USC faces one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Including possible tournament match-ups, the Women of Troy could face up to 10 schools ranked in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Preseason Top 25: Stanford, Long Beach State, Washington State, Washington, UCLA, Pepperdine, Wisconsin, Pacific, Arkansas and Notre Dame. USC will also face three teams that received votes in the preseason poll: Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State and possibly Houston in the Banker's Classic.
PAC-10 PRESEASON POLL : USC was ranked No. 1 in the Pac-10 Preseason Coaches Poll. The Women of Troy earned nine of the 10 first-place votes with defending national champion Stanford picking up the remaining vote. USC becomes the first team other than Stanford or UCLA to hold the spot in the preseason poll. The coaches have chosen correctly in seven of nine previous polls. Following are the results: 1. USC, 2. Stanford, 3. UCLA, 4. Washington, 5. Washington State, 6. Arizona, 7. Oregon State 8. Arizona State, 9. Oregon, 10. California.
