[ Golden Gater Online - October 2, 1997 ]
Donald Dirks
Staff writer
Despite losing nine of its last 10 games, SF State's volleyball team begins conference play at home Friday night as a favorite to compete for its first Northern California Athletic Conference title in nine years.
Five starters returned from last year's team, which tied for second place in the NCAC. They keyed the team's strong start this season, leading SF State to a six-game winning streak. But since then, the Gators haven't found much success. Luckily, no other school in SF State's conference has a winning record and the Gators look just as good as their conference foes, including Friday night's opponent -- California State University at Hayward.
"All of the elements are present, it's whether or not they all fit together," said 19-year coach Kathy Argo, who added that this year's team has the best shot of winning the championship since the Gators won three consecutive titles from 1986-1988.
A big reason for the high expectations is SF State's quartet of junior Amy Thomas, and seniors Kris Larsen, Pam Rigor and Dana Steigerwald. Together, their names are listed 20 different times in SF State's top five categories of all-time season and career leaders.
Larsen and Rigor are neck-and-neck for the team lead in kills with 168 and 162, respectively. Steigerwald is third on the team in kills (117) and is second to Rigor in digs with 135. Thomas, who Argo calls the quarterback of the team, is the school's career assist leader. But more than statistics, the four players share a special bond of playing together through the years that enables them to excel and help their teammates on the court.
"We're so used to each other now, that I can look at their faces and tell what they're going to do next," Larsen said of her teammates. "I feel so spoiled that we've been here for so long."
The Gators began their non-conference schedule in late August, winning the Humboldt State Classic championship. The following week, the team earned three more victories at the Fresno Pacific/Union Bank Invite.
Since then, SF State has won just once since Sept. 5. Three of the losses have come against Southern California power CSU Los Angeles and three other losses to nationally-ranked Division II teams CSU Bakersfield, UC Riverside and West Texas A&M. Argo would have liked more wins against the ranked teams, but thought the Gators had a good showing by battling No. 7 West Texas A&M and No. 12 UC Riverside to four-game matches.
"The difference in competition since the first tournament ... has been night and day," Argo said.
Rigor thinks the recent slump will have an adverse affect on the team going into conference play.
"We're in a lull right now," said Rigor, a three-time All-Conference selection from her outside hitter position. "We came out strong, but since then we've slipped. But maybe conference play will get us excited and push us up where we're supposed to be."
With an overall record of 5-5, CSU Hayward is the conference's only team with a record over .500, including last year's champion UC Davis -- which was ranked as high as No. 22 earlier in the season. But even if SF State wins the title, it won't be assured of a bid to the NCAA Division II Regional Championships.
Reaching the playoffs was a realistic goal for SF State this season, now its in jeopardy. An NCAA committee evaluates records and the schedule strength of teams which qualify. It then chooses the top four teams to advance to the western region playoffs. Even if the Gators win the championship, there's a chance they might not advance to the playoffs because of the number of non-conference losses.
"At first when we started losing, we thought 'Oh gosh, we've lost all these games. Now it's over,' " Thomas said. "But now, we just want to concentrate on winning the conference."
[ Golden Gater - October 02, 1997 ]