No. 12 USC Volleyball Opens Pac-10 Schedule with Road Trip at No. 3 Stanford and No. 25 California

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1 6-Time National Champions UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS HER 103 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA TELEPHONE: (213) FAX: (213) WOMEN S VOLLEYBALL SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR: JASON POMMIER pommier@usc.edu 2005 Schedule/Results 4-4 Overall 0-0 Pac-10 No. 12 CSTV/AVCA - No. 13 Volleyball Magazine Aug. 27 Cal Poly W 3-0 (30-27, 30-26, 30-25) at Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic Tournament - Honolulu, HI Aug. 31 vs. No. 5 Penn State L 3-1 (23-30, 27-30, 30-28, 28-30) Sept. 1 vs. No. 4 Hawai'i L 3-0 (23-30, 27-30, 31-33) Sept. 2 vs. Western Michigan W 3-0 (30-20, 30-26, 30-15) at UTSA Dome Rally - San Antonio, TX Sept. 9 vs. No. 19 Notre Dame L 3-1 (30-23, 30-32, 26-30, 27-30) Sept. 10 vs. No. 6 Florida L 3-2 (30-23, 19-30, 27-30, 30-21, 12-15) Sept. 11 vs. No. 13 Texas A&M W 3-1 (30-26, 30-23, 28-30, 30-25) Sept. 16 Pepperdine W 3-0 (30-24, 30-25, 30-26) Sept. 23 *at No. 3 Stanford 7 p.m. (FSN) Sept. 24 *at No. 25 California 7 p.m. Sept. 30 *at UCLA 7 p.m. Oct. 7 *Oregon State 7 p.m. Oct. 8 *Oregon 6 p.m. Oct. 13 *at Washington State 7 p.m. Oct. 14 *at Washington 7 p.m. Oct. 21 *Arizona State 7 p.m. Oct. 22 *Arizona 6 p.m. Oct. 28 *UCLA 7 p.m. (FSN) Nov. 3 *at Oregon 7 p.m. Nov. 4 *at Oregon State 7 p.m. Nov. 11 *Washington 7 p.m. Nov. 12 *Washington State 6 p.m. Nov. 18 *at Arizona 6 p.m. (FSN) Nov. 19 *at Arizona State 7 p.m. Nov. 25 *California 7 p.m. Nov. 26 *Stanford 7 p.m. NCAA Championships Dec. 1-4 First and Second Rnd. TBA TBA Dec Regionals TBA TBA Dec. 15 Semifinals San Antonio, Texas (Alamodome) Dec. 17 Finals San Antonio, Texas (Alamodome) BOLD indicates home matches. * Pacific-10 Conference match. FSN - Fox Sports Net matches will be shown tape delay on the date indicated. (FCSP-Fox College Sports Pacific) All home matches at USC's Lyon Center. Game times local to site. Rankings according to AVCA poll at time of match Follow the Women of Troy at For Release: Sept. 20, 2005 No. 12 USC Volleyball Opens Pac-10 Schedule with Road Trip at No. 3 Stanford and No. 25 California UPCOMING MATCHES TV RADIO/INTERNET Friday, Sept. 23, 7 p.m. - Stanford, Calif. vs. No. 3 Stanford FSN (Delayed) --- Saturday, Sept. 24, 7 p.m. - Berkeley, Calif. vs. No. 25 California USC Probable Starters No. Name Yr. Pos. Ht. kpg pct. dpg bpg ppg 6 Katelyn Bishop So. MB Bibiana Candelas Sr. MB Diane Copenhagen So. OH Nena Siljegovic Sr. S apg Kelli Tennant Fr. MB/OH Staci Venski Sr. OH Debora Seilhamer Jr. L The Facts The No. 12 USC women's volleyball team (4-4) -- winners of six national championships -- opens Pac-10 Conference play this weekend on the road at No. 3 Stanford (11-1) on Friday (Sept. 23) at 7 p.m. and No. 25 California (7-2) on Saturday (Sept. 24) at 7 p.m. Friday's game will be broadcast on a delayed basis on FOX Sports Net with Chris "Geeter" McGee and Holly McPeak calling the action. Rankings USC is ranked No. 12 in the latest AVCA/CSTV Coaches Poll and No. 13 by Volleyball Magazine. Stanford is No. 3 in both polls. California is ranked No. 25 in the AVCA/CSTV poll. No. 3 Stanford Notes Stanford is 11-1 on the season after three-game sweeps last weekend against No. 23 St. Mary's and Utah State, along with a 3-1 win over No. 24 UC Santa Barbara. Head coach John Dunning is in his fifth season at Stanford. The Cardinal returned 11 letterwinners from last year's squad that won the national championship. Freshman middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo is putting up impressive numbers with 4.33 kills per game, a.427 hitting percentage and 1.08 blocks per game. Stanford leads the all-time series with USC by a margin, but USC has won four of the last five meetings. No. 25 California Notes California is 7-2 on the season after a 3-2 loss to Nevada and 3-0 sweeps against Montana State and Akron last weekend. Head coach Rich Feller is in his seventh season at Cal. Eleven letterwinners returned from last year's squad that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Angie Pressey is leading the Golden Bears with 4.63 kpg and 2.23 dpg. USC leads the all-time series with California by a 37-7 margin. Opponent Comparisons Kpg Pct. Apg SApg Dpg Bpg USC Stanford California

2 2005 USC Women's Volleyball 6-time National Champions Page 2 National Polls CSTV/AVCA (Sept. 19) 1. Nebraska (58) 2. Washington (2) 3. Stanford 4. Penn State 5. Minnesota 6. Florida 7. Louisville 8. Missouri 9. Hawai'i 10. Wisconsin 11. Notre Dame 12. USC 13. UCLA 14. San Diego 15. Arizona 16. Ohio State 17. Kansas State 18. Santa Clara 19. Purdue 20. Texas A&M 21. St. Mary's 22. BYU 23. Texas 24. Kansas 25. California Week-By-Week Preseason No. 7 Sept. 5 No. 8 Sept. 12 No. 12 Sept. 19 No. 12 USC Volleyball By The Numbers - 6 National Championships - 16 Olympians Volleyball Monthly (Sept. 19) 1. Nebraska 2. Washington 3. Stanford 4. Penn State 5. Minnesota 6. Florida 7. Missouri 8. Louisville 9. Hawai'i 10. Notre Dame 11. Wisconsin 12. UCLA 13. USC 14. Santa Clara 15. Arizona 16. San Diego 17. Ohio State 18. Texas 19. Texas A&M 20. Tennessee Week-By-Week Preseason No. 9 Sept. 12 No. 16 Sept. 19 No AVCA All-Americans (51 selections) - 3 Volleyball Hall of Fame Inductees - 6 Pac-10 Conference Championships Last Week The Women of Troy closed out the nonconference portion of their schedule with a 3-0 sweep at home against Pepperdine. Senior middle blocker Bibiana Candelas registered a career-high 23 kills, adding a team-high.465 hitting percentage. USC forced Pepperdine into 33 attacking errors as the Waves hit.000 in game one and.019 in game two. The Women of Troy also had 14 blocks, including 10 solo blocks (three from freshman Kelli Tennant). A New Home This will be USC's fi nal year at the Lyon Center before the Women of Troy move to the brandnew Galen Center for the 2006 season. The 10,260-seat arena is being built on the corner of Figueroa St. and Jefferson Blvd., adjacent to the USC campus. The arena is named after Lou and Helene Galen, who generously donated $35 million towards the project that will house the USC men's and women's volleyball and basketball programs. Polling Trends On Sept. 12, the Women of Troy had its streak of consecutive Top 10 AVCA Coaches Poll rankings snapped at 84 weeks (dating back to the start of the 2000 season). The Power of the Pac-10 Six Pac-10 teams were ranked among the top 25 in the 2005 CSTV/AVCA preseason poll (the most among any other conference), including No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Stanford, No. 7 USC, No. 13 UCLA, No. 17 Arizona and No. 19 California. The Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences have four teams each in the poll. Strength Of Schedule USC is playing another diffi cult schedule based on teams ranked in the CSTV/AVCA preseason poll, including four of the nation's top fi ve teams: No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Hawai'i and No. 5 Penn State. Six other Top 25 teams are also on the schedule: No. 8 Florida, No. 13 UCLA, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 17 Arizona, No. 19 California and No. 25 Pepperdine. Notre Dame, which recently entered the Top 25 rankings, is also on this year's schedule USC Numerical Roster NO NAME POS HT YR EXP HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL) 1 Kimi Freeburg S 5-9 Jr. 2V New Castle, Ind. (New Castle Chrysler HS) 2 Debora Seilhamer L 5-5 Jr. 2V Ponce, Puerto Rico (Colegio Ponceño) 3 Nena Siljegovic S 5-10 Sr. 1V Simi Valley, Calif. (Moorpark College) 4 Annie Montgomery DS 5-7 Jr. 2V Menlo Park, Calif. (St. Francis HS) 5 Jessica Gysin OH 6-1 Fr.* RS Mountain View, Calif. (St. Francis HS) 6 Katelyn Bishop MB 6-2 So. 1V Terre Haute, Ind. (Terre Haute South HS) 7 Bibiana Candelas MB 6-5 Sr. 3V Torreón, Mexico (Colegio Ponceño) 9 Andrea McBride MB/OH 6-1 Jr.* --- Auckland, New Zealand (Avondale College) 10 Jessica Mihm DS 5-9 Sr. TR Austin, Texas (Westlake HS/SMU) 11 Gordana Baric OH 6-0 So. TR Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina (Pero Slijepoevio) 12 Diane Copenhagen OH 6-2 So. 1V Mountain View, Calif. (St. Francis HS) 15 Kathleen Gilmour OH 6-1 Fr.* RS Manhattan Beach, Calif. (Mira Costa HS) 21 Staci Venski OH 6-3 Sr. 3V California City, Calif. (Mojave HS/Calabasas HS) 26 Kelli Tennant MB/OH 6-2 Fr. HS Temecula, Calif. (Chaparral HS) 32 Alli Dillon S 5-7 Jr. 1V Long Beach, Calif. (Wilson HS/San Jose State) *Redshirt Head Coach: Assistant Coach: Assistant Coach: Volunteer Assistant Coach: Mick Haley, Ball State '65 (5th season) Todd Dagenais (1st season) Cookie Stevens (1st season) John Xie (1st season) Pronunciation Guide Gordana Barac... gohr-don-uh BAR-ich Katelyn Bishop... KATE-lynn Bishop Bibiana Candelas......bee-bee-AH-nah can-deh-las Todd Dagenais... Todd DAZJ-uh-nay...(as in dad) Jessica Gysin...Jessica GUY-sin Andrea McBride...on-DRAY-uh McBride Jessica Mihm...Jessica MIM Debora Seilhamer... Deborah SEAL-hammer Nena Siljegovic... NEY-nah she-yeh-go-vich Staci Venski...Staci VEN-skee John Xie... John SHAY

3 2005 USC Women's Volleyball 6-time National Champions Page 3 Head Coach Mick Haley Head Coach - U.S. Women's National Team ( ) Four national championships (1981, Texas, 2002, USC) Two junior college women's national championships Four junior college men's national championships Three-Time National Coach of the Year Success is often measured by results and USC head coach Mick Haley has pushed the women's volleyball program to a level that proves that axiom to be true. This season, an NCAA Final Four appearance by the Women of Troy would be their fourth straight, a school record. During his brief tenure at USC, Haley has guided his teams to two national championships (2002 and 2003), as well as reaching the national semifi nal last season. Haley, 62, guided the 2003 squad to a perfect 35-0 record (only the fourth team to ever accomplish the feat). For these accomplishments, he earned the most prestigious honor among collegiate coaches and something that had eluded him in previous years of his collegiate coaching career as he was honored AVCA Division I Coach of the Year. In the process, Haley put together an NCAA-record 52-match winning streak, dating from Nov. 8, 2002, to Sept. 11, During the impressive streak, the Women of Troy compiled a single game record (91.8%). As a two-time national championship head coach at Texas and fouryear United States National Team coach, Haley took the helm of the Trojan program at the start of the 2001 season. In his 29 years as a collegiate head coach, Haley boasts a (.814) career record and a (.808) mark in 22 years at the Division I level. He ranks seventh among the NCAA s winningest active coaches according to win percentage (.814) and eighth among all active coaches by victories (639). Most impressive is Haley s dominant history against conference opponents. He owns a (.929) career record against conference opponents while competing in the Southwest, Big 12 and Pac-10 conferences. After winning the Pac-10 title in 2002 and 2003, he now boasts 16 career conference titles. With the win, Haley became just the second head coach in NCAA history to win a national championship at two universities (John Dunning is the other). Prior to his return to the collegiate scene, Haley made his mark on the international and Olympic stage. He spent four seasons as head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team ( ), leading Team USA to a fourthplace fi nish at the 2000 Olympics. Before entering the international spotlight, Haley spent 17 successful seasons ( ) at Texas, where he was overall, won two national championships (1981 and 1988), 13 Southwest Conference titles and earned 15 NCAA tournament berths. Prior to Texas, Haley coached at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, Mich., for seven seasons ( ). In 1997, he was inducted into the Junior College Coaches Hall of Fame. While at Kellogg, he also trained with the U.S. National Team and served as an assistant coach with the U.S. men s and women s programs. As a setter at Ball State ( ), he helped lead the Cardinals to the 1964 and 1965 Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association title. He was the MIVA s MVP in 1965 and made the All-MIVA second team in Haley was inducted into the Ball State Athletic Hall of Fame in He earned his bachelor s degree in education from Ball State in He received a master s degree in education in 1966 from Southern Illinois, where he started a men s club team. With this weekend's action in the Bay Area, USC will have played seven of its 10 matches this season against Top 25 opponents. Aiming For The Four-Peat The Women of Troy are looking for a school-record fourth straight NCAA Final Four appearance this year. Since 1981, USC has made a total of six Final Four appearances, including four in the last fi ve years. Valuable Venski Senior outside hitter Staci Venski (California City/Mojave HS/Calabasas HS) has gelled into one of the team's key players for the 2005 season. She has a 4.17 kills per game average this season, along with a 0.90 blocks per game average. This season, Venski has three 20-kill performances which includes a career-high 22 kills against No. 5 Penn State on Aug. 31 at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. She registered 20 kills against No. 19 Notre Dame on Sept. 9 and No. 13 Texas A&M on Sept. 11 at the UTSA Dome Rally in San Antonio, Texas. After two years of waiting patiently, Venski earned a full-time starting role last year, starting in 28 of 29 matches. She averaged 2.70 kills, 0.61 digs, 0.66 blocks and 3.06 points per game. Fire Woman Senior middle blocker Bibiana Candelas (Torreòn, Mexico/Colegio Ponceño) is a two-time All-American for the Women of Troy. This season, Candelas has a 4.17 kills-per-game average with a.300 hitting percentage. She tallied 19 kills on Sept. 2 against Western Michigan and earned All- Tournament honors at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic with 45 kills in three matches. On Sept. 11 in a four-game win over No. 13 Texas A&M, she tied a previous career high with 20 kills. She acheived a new career high with 23 kills on Sept. 16 in a 3-0 sweep against Pepperdine. Top Of The World Bibiana Candelas is one of three USC players who played for teams that qualified for the 2006 World Championships. Candelas helped the Mexican National Team this summer by advancing at the NORCECA qualifi er. Former setter Toni Anderson and libero Nicole Davis aided the United States National Team by winning the NORCECA qualifying tournament. The Capital of Denmark Sophomore outside hitter Diane Copenhagen (Mountain View/St. Francis HS) has a 4.07 kills per game average this season for the Women of Troy, along with 3.03 digs per game. She led the team with 14 kills in the season opener on Aug. 27 against Cal Poly and 17 kills on Aug. 30 against No. 5 Penn State. Copenhagen set a career-high with 24 kills in a fi ve-game loss to No. 6 Florida on Sept. 10 at the UTSA Dome Rally in San Antonio. Copenhagen played at the 2005 U-20 FIVB World Championships in Ankara, Turkey, with the U.S. Junior National Team. Team USA fi nished in a tie for 11th place. Haley's Record at USC OVERALL PAC-10 YEAR W L PCT. W L PCT. FINISH nd st st rd TOTALS

4 2005 USC Women's Volleyball 6-time National Champions Page 4 USC Superlatives Overall Home: Away: Neutral: Three-Game Match: Four-Game Match: Five-Game Match: Win First Game: Lose First Game: Win First Two Games: Lose First Two Games: Split First Two Games: Against Ranked Teams: Against Unranked Teams: On Television: Against Opponents Post Higher Hitting Percentage: Post Lower Hitting Percentage: Post More Kills: Post Fewer Kills: Same Kills As Opponent: Post More Service Aces: Post Fewer Service Aces: Same Service Aces As Opponent: Post More Digs: Post Fewer Digs: Same Digs As Opponent: Post More Blocks: Post Fewer Blocks: Same Blocks As Opponent: Longest Game Win Streak: (9/11-9/16) Longest Game Losing Streak (8/29-9/1) Active Streak:... 4 win Longest Match Win Streak:... 2 Active Streak:... 2 win Current Home Win Streak:...2 (8/27-9/16) Current Road Win Streak:... 1 (9/11) Current Pac-10 Win Streak: USC vs. Conferences: Big East Big Ten Big Big West MAC SEC WAC West Coast "Seil" The Deal Junior libero Debora Seilhamer (Ponce, Puerto Rico/ Colegio Ponceño) served as a freshman backup to former standout libero Nicole Davis and now has established herself as one the nation's top liberos. Seilhamer has 168 digs this season for a 5.79 per-game average. She tied a school record on Sept. 9 against No. 19 Notre Dame for most digs (36) in a four-game match, tying a mark held by Megan McAllister (10/21/89) and Katie Haller (10/24/92). Seilhamer had 82 digs in three matches against Top 25 teams (Notre Dame, No. 6 Florida and No. 13 Texas A&M) at the UTSA Dome Rally (Sept. 9-11) and was named to the all-tournament team. Last season, she set a USC single season record with 571 digs on the season and averaged a school-record 5.39 digs per game, which ranked her third in the Pac-10 Conference. Seilhamer earned All-Pac-10 honorable mention and set a USC record (and five-game record) with 45 digs in the match on Nov. 12 against UCLA. The Pahl Bearer Freshman middle blocker/outside hitter Kelli Tennant (Temecula/Chaparral HS) lists former USC All-America middle blocker Jennifer Pahl ( ) as her biggest sports hero. Tennant is wearing Pahl's number (26) as a tribute to her. Pahl grew up near Tennant in Murrieta, Calif. Tennant has contributed in her 2005 freshman season, averaging 2.17 kills per game and 0.83 blocks per game. She leads the USC regulars with a.317 hitting percentage. A True Trojan Family Freshman outside hitter Kathleen Gilmour (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) comes from a long line of Trojans a list that far exceeds that of just former Trojan athletes. The Gilmours, including brothers J.T. and Marcus, who both played on the USC men s volleyball team, keep a detailed list of their own Trojan family history that includes 40 family members who have all attended USC. The lists dates back to Kathleen s great-great grandfather, Andrew Morrow ( 23), and the first USC relative, her great-great uncle, Charles Morrow ( 21). Injury Report Redshirt freshman Jessica Gysin tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in July and will be out for the entire 2005 season...senior defensive specialist Jessica Mihm is out indefinitely with a left elbow injury. Team Co-Captains For the 2005 season, senior outside hitter Staci Venski and junior setter Kimi Freeburg will serve as team co-captains Victory Mick Haley needs nine wins to record his 900th overall victory as a head coach. His 29-year career includes seven years at Kellogg Community College in Michigan ( ), 17 years at Texas ( ) and five years at USC (2000-Present). He also served as head coach for the U.S. Women's National Team from , including the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Getting New Assistance This season, the USC program has two new assistant coaches, Todd Dagenais and Cookie Stevens, as well as a new volunteer assistant coach, John Xie. Dagenais served a one-year stint with USA Volleyball after spending five seasons at Michigan State ( ). During his tenure at MSU, he was the recruiting and scouting coordinator, as well as assisting with all other aspects of the program. He played four seasons for Central Michigan's men's club team. Stevens was the head coach at Florida International ( ), leading the Golden Panthers to an appearance in the 2001 NCAA Tournament. She recorded two national championships during her 18-year career at Miami-Dade Community College ( ) and was honored twice as the junior college national coach of the year. She played two seasons at San Diego State ( ). Xie spent the last four seasons with the Impact Volleyball Club, including head coaching duties last year for the 15-2 girls' team. He played on the 1999 Ohio State men's club team.

5 2005 USC Women's Volleyball 6-time National Champions Page USC Women s Volleyball USC Women of Troy Match-by-Match KILLS-ACES-DIGS-BLOCKS All matches Opponent Date Score WL FREEBURG SEILHAMER SILJEGOVIC MONTGOMERY BISHOP CANDELAS MCBRIDE CAL POLY Aug W vs Penn State Aug L DNP DNP at HAWAII Sep L DNP vs Western Michigan Sep W DNP DNP vs Notre Dame Sep L DNP vs Florida Sep L DNP DNP DNP vs Texas A&M Sep W DNP PEPPERDINE Sep W Opponent Date Score WL COPENHAGEN GILMOUR VENSKI TENNANT DILLON CAL POLY Aug W vs Penn State Aug L at HAWAII Sep L vs Western Michigan Sep W vs Notre Dame Sep L vs Florida Sep L DNP vs Texas A&M Sep W PEPPERDINE Sep W DNP

6 2005 USC Women's Volleyball USC Women of Troy Combined Team Statistics (as of Sep 16, 2005) All matches RECORD: OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL ALL MATCHES... ( 4-4 ) ( 2-0 ) ( 0-1 ) ( 2-3 ) CONFERENCE... ( 0-0 ) ( 0-0 ) ( 0-0 ) ( 0-0 ) NON-CONFERENCE... ( 4-4 ) ( 2-0 ) ( 0-1 ) ( 2-3 ) ATTACK SET SERVE DIG BLOCKING ## STATS SUMMARY G K K/G E TA Pct A A/G SA SE SA/G RE DIG D/G BS BA Total B/G BE BHE Points Venski, Staci Candelas, Bibiana Copenhagen, Diane Tennant, Kelli Bishop, Katelyn Siljegovic, Nena McBride, Andrea Freeburg, Kimi Gilmour, Kathleen Montgomery, Anne Dillon, Alli Seilhamer, Debora Team - USC WOMEN OF TROY Opponents TEAM STATISTICS USC OPP DATE OPPONENT W/L SCORE SCORE-BY-GAME ATTEND ATTACK... Aug 27 CAL POLY W ,30-26, Kills Aug 31 vs #5 Penn State L ,27-30,30-28, Errors Sep 01 at #4 HAWAII L ,27-30, Total Attacks Sep 02 vs Western Michigan W ,30-26, Attack Pct Sep 09 vs #19 Notre Dame L ,30-32,26-30, Kills/Game Sep 10 vs #6 Florida L ,19-30,27-30,30-21, ET... Sep 11 vs #13 Texas A&M W ,30-23,28-30, Assists Sep 16 PEPPERDINE W ,30-25, Assists/Game ERVE... Aces Errors Aces/Game ERVE RECEPTIONS... Errors Errors/Game EFENSE... Digs Digs/Game LOCKING... Block Solo Block Assist Total Blocks Blocks Per Game Block Errors ALL HANDLING ERRORS ATTENDANCE... Total Dates/Avg Per Date 2/644 1/7247 Neutral site #/Avg 5/917 Current win streak 2 - Home win streak