Bakersfield Roadrunners
| Head Coach: Jolene Shepardson (South Florida, ‘02) |
Roadrunner Links |
| 2012 Record: 14-17 |
Complete Schedule |
| Starters Returning/Lost: 7/0 |
Roster |
Notes
- The Roadrunners return all six starters plus the libero from the 2012 season in which the team went 14-17. Bakersfield returns 10 letterwinners and three position players from a year ago.
- Bakersfield has 18 players on the roster from five different countries and five different states.
- Debora Araujo led the Roadrunners in kills last year with 475, while Fernanda Conçalves was the Bakersfield leader in assists with 1,161.
- Araujo and Conçalves are both from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and played together at Western Nebraska Community College before joining the Roadrunner program in 2012.
- Mariah Alvidrez began her collegiate career as a women’s soccer player at Fresno Pacific before a knee injury ended her career on the pitch. A Bakersfield native, she transferred to CSUB to play volleyball and led the team in digs last season with 380. A member of the CSUB Sand Volleyball team, Alvidrez was selected to Elite Eight for the USA Volleyball U23 Beach National Team.
- Danika Youngblood leads the four newcomers to the Bakersfield program. A first team All-American as a sophomore at Western Nebraska Community College, she was a teammate of Araujo and Conçalves at Western Nebraska as a freshman.
Chicago State Cougars
| Head Coach: Toby Rens (Morningside, ‘93) |
Cougar Links |
| 2012 Record: 2-30 |
Complete Schedule |
| Starters Returning/Lost: 4/3 |
Roster |
Notes
- Redshirt senior Rachel Levitt returns to the Cougars in 2013 after an injury forced her to redshirt in 2012. Levitt was an All-Great West Conference Newcomer Team selection in 2011 after recording 257 kills.
- The Cougars are led defensively by the Townsell sisters. Senior Mysta (427) and junior Mia (374) led the Cougars in digs last season.
- Mysta Townsell, Mia Townsell and Angelica Brewer were named Academic All-Great West Conference last year. In addition, Valeria Desiderio, Paula Sioto and Levitt joined the trio as Chicago State Scholar Athletes with a cumulative GPA above 3.00.
- Mysta Townsell earned a Great West Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor on Sept. 22 of last year after a 38-dig performance at Wright State on Sept. 18.
- The 2013 season will be the first for a Chicago State volleyball team in a conference with an NCAA automatic bid since 2005.
- The Cougars will play seven matches in Chicago over the first eight days of the season.
- Toby Rens is the first head coach in program history to have previous NCAA Division I head coaching experience when taking over. Not only does he bring a wealth of experience, assistant Dawn Barnes (Howard) has also served as a head coach on the NCAA Division I level.
Grand Canyon Antelopes
| Head Coach: Kris Naber (Grand Canyon, ‘91) |
Antelope Links |
| 2012 Record: 24-6 |
Complete Schedule |
| Starters Returning/Lost: 3/4 |
Roster |
Notes
- For the first time in the program’s history, Grand Canyon is coming off back-to-back postseason appearances. The Antelopes were 22-7 in 2011 and last season had the program’s second-best winning percentage in school history (.800) by going 24-6 and reaching the NCAA II West Region semifinals. It was also just the second time in program history that the ‘Lopes posted back-to-back 20-win seasons (22 wins in 1998 and 25 in 1999).
- Libero Mackenzie Phelps ranked 10th in NCAA Division II in digs per set (5.95) last season. She was selected a Daktronics, Inc., third team All-American and set a school record with 661 digs on the season.
- Middle blocker Kristen Johannsen, who ranked 18th nationally in blocks per set (1.26), set a school single-match record with 13 block assists vs. San Francisco State in the NCAA West Regional.
- Grand Canyon had 13 players selected to the Pacific West Conference All-Academic team. Kristen Preach was named the league’s top scholar-athlete for volleyball and was a Capital One Academic All-American. Phelps and Johannsen joined Preach on the Academic All-District 8 team.
- Grand Canyon plays its first-ever WAC match Sept. 26 against Kansas City at GCU Arena.
- GCU is scheduled to play seven of its 12 home matches at GCU Arena. The Antelopes are 5-0 all-time in the building. The remaining home games will be played at Antelope Gymnasium.
- Though ineligible to play due to the school’s transition period into NCAA Division I, the Antelopes will host the WAC Volleyball Championships in Phoenix Nov. 25-27 at GCU Arena.
Idaho Vandals
| Head Coach: Debbie Buchanan (USC, ‘96) |
Vandal Links |
| 2012 Record: 17-14 |
Complete Schedule |
| Starters Returning/Lost: 2/5 |
Roster |
Notes
- Idaho has finished second in the WAC in two consecutive seasons.
- Six newcomers join the Vandals in 2013, including three freshmen and three transfers.
- Idaho is 80-48 (.625) in WAC matches since joining the league in 2005, and 23-9 (.719) in WAC play in the last two seasons.
- Idaho has finished .500 or better in conference play in 10 consecutive seasons, going 99-65 in WAC and Big West matches during that time.
- The Vandals had two six-match win streaks in 2012, matching the program’s longest win streak since 2003.
- Idaho’s 3.00 blocks per set during WAC matches led the league in 2012.
- The Vandals bring back two players who earned All-WAC honors in 2012, as first team All-WAC middle blocker Alyssa Schultz and 2012 WAC All-Freshman pick Katelyn Peterson return.
- Idaho lost six letterwinners, including four starters and the libero, from the 2012 team.
- The Vandals reached the WAC championship match in 2012 for the first time.
Kansas City Kangaroos
| Head Coach: Christi Posey (Kansas, ‘82) |
Kangaroo Links |
| 2012 Record: 17-13 |
Complete Schedule |
| Starters Returning/Lost: 6/1 |
Roster |
Notes
- Sophomore Emma Hagedorn was named to the Summit League All-Freshman Team, Summit League Honorable Mention and Summit League Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 22, while recording the seventh highest single season hitting percentage (.264) in school history.
- Chloe Jarema returns for her fourth season in the Blue & Gold as the team’s only senior.
- Sophomore Skyler Muff was named to the all-tournament teams at both the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic and the Runnin’ Bulldog Classic.
- Sophomore Taryn Miller was named to the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic, while recording the fourth most digs in a single season (540) in school history.
- Junior Melissa Hartsel joins the ‘Roos this season after spending her first two seasons at Missouri out of the SEC.
- Kansas City will welcome in five newcomers, including four freshmen, with three coming from the state of Iowa.
- The ‘Roos return five starters and their libero, with all six staring as freshman in 2012.
New Mexico State Aggies
| Head Coach: Mike Jordan (University of Phoenix, ‘01) |
Aggie Links |
| 2012 Record: 22-11 |
Complete Schedule |
| Starters Returning/Lost: 6/1 |
Roster |
Notes
- The Aggies have 16 home matches this season, the second-most ever played in Las Cruces, N.M.
- Three players earned All-WAC honors last season. The Aggies also had three preseason All-WAC selections, three WAC All-Tournament selections and one WAC Player of the Week in 2012.
- NM State has posted 20 or more wins overall in 10 out of the last 11 seasons.
- Although the Aggies entered the 2012 WAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed, they won three straight matches to win the WAC Tournament title, becoming the lowest seed ever to do so. NM State earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, where it fell to nationally ranked Brigham Young in the first round in Provo, Utah.
- The Aggies have made the NCAA Tournament six times. NM State earned a birth into the tournament in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2012. The Aggies are 1-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches with the only victory coming over St. Mary’s in 2008.
- In all, NM State has had 27 first team All-WAC selections, 10 second team selections, three All-Freshman Team selections and two WAC Freshman of the Year honorees. Mike Jordan also has coached 23 all-tournament selections since the Aggies began playing in the WAC in 2005.
- The Aggies have one student-athlete from Colorado, one from Florida, one from Pennsylvania, one from Illinois, two from California, three from New Mexico, four from Arizona and six from Texas.
Seattle U Redhawks
| Head Coach: James Finley (Sul Ross State, '83) |
Redhawk Links |
| 2012 Record: 9-19 |
Complete Schedule |
| Starters Returning/Lost: 3-4 |
Roster |
Notes
- A new era begins for Seattle U volleyball as James Finley takes over as head coach this season.
- Six letterwinners are back for the Redhawks, which finished ninth in the WAC in 2012 with a 4-14 league record after splitting 10 non-conference matches.
- Lani Beadle, the team leader in digs with 467 last season, decided to return for one more year and will be one of four seniors on the 2013 squad.
- The other seniors for the Redhawks are Sarah Jaeckel, who ranked second on the team in kills last year with 253, Allison Farley, the team leader in total blocks with 74, and Karli Pedone, who is coming off her best season as a Redhawk with 133 kills in 79 sets.
- Among the six newcomers to the squad is sophomore Martina Samadan, who followed Finley from VCU after finishing fourth in the country last season with 1.67 blocks per set.
- Seattle U will face six schools that advanced to the 2012 NCAA Tournament: Arizona State, College of Charleston, Loyola Marymount, New Mexico State, Oregon, and Washington.
- The Sept. 10 match at Oregon will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network, the first time a Seattle U volleyball match has been nationally televised.
- Fourteen of Seattle U’s first 15 volleyball matches will be away from home, with a Labor Day contest against Eastern Washington the only home non-conference match on the schedule.
Texas-Pan American Broncs
| Head Coach: Brian Yale (Bowling Green, ‘96) |
Roadrunner Links |
| 2012 Record: 10-19 |
Complete Schedule |
| Starters Returning/Lost: 4/3 |
Roster |
Notes
- Texas-Pan American broke a 17-year old attendance record by drawing 5,109 fans to eight home matches for an average of 639. The previous record was 3,266 (297 average) in 1995.
- The Broncs ranked 50th in the nation in aces per set last season at 1.40.
- UTPA posted a five-match winning streak from Sept. 21-29.
- Maria Kliefoth, Sarah Davis and Juri Franzen each earned Great West Conference Player of the Week honors.
- Diara Reynolds was named to the Great West Conference All-Tournament Team.
- Nycole Masaki and Juri Franzen were both Great West Conference second team selections. Franzen ranked 79th in the NCAA in digs per set (4.82), while Masaki was 186th in assists per set (8.76) and 246th in aces per set (0.28).
- Haley Durham earned UTPA Female Student-Athlete of the Year honors and a spot on the Great West Conference All-Newcomer Team.
- Franzen broke program record for 20+ dig performances with 16 and finished her career in the Top 10 for career digs (960).
- The Broncs’ 10 wins were the most since 2007.
Utah Valley Wolverines
| Head Coach: Sam Atoa (Brigham Young, '88) |
Wolverine Links |
| 2012 Record: 18-9 |
Complete Schedule |
| Starters Returning/Lost: 5/2 |
Roster |
Notes
- UVU returns three All-Great West Conference players from a year ago, including last year’s Freshman of the Year Lauren Stringham. Stringham and senior setter Brookelyn Hall were both first team all-conference selections, while junior outside hitter Kalani Norris was a member of the second team.
- Utah Valley went 7-1 against former and current WAC schools last season and is a combined 28-4 vs. former and current WAC opponents in the last four years.
- The Wolverines won back-to-back Great West Conference titles the last two years and went an impressive 35-7 in four years of play in the GWC.
- The Wolverines defeated Utah State – the 2012 WAC regular season champions – for the third straight meeting last year on the same day that UVU accepted an invitation to join the WAC (Oct. 9, 2012).
- UVU won a school record 23 matches in 2011.
- Utah Valley opens the season by hosting Arizona State of the Pac-12 Conference. It will also welcome in-state rivals Brigham Young, Utah and Southern Utah to Orem during the year.
- The Wolverines will host two tournaments in 2013, the La Quinta Inn & Suites Invitational with Arizona State, North Dakota State and Wichita State and the Wolverine Classic with Idaho State, UC Irvine and Utah.