Cal Hosts 2008 Bay Area Volleyball Media Day August 21

Head coaches and returning players from all six Bay Area schools discuss the upcoming season

Aug. 19, 2008

BERKELEY - The University of California athletic media relations office hosts the 2008 Bay Area Volleyball Media Day Thursday, August 21, at 1 p.m. at the Haas Pavilion Club Room in Berkeley, Calif. The annual event will feature head coaches and select student-athletes from the six Bay Area schools - including 2007 NCAA championship runner-up Stanford, semifinalist Cal, and tournament participant Santa Clara, as well as San Francisco, Saint Mary's and San Jose State.

Stanford and Cal were ranked No. 2 and No. 4 respectively in the final 2007 CSTV/AVCA top 25 poll and return a plethora of stars to this year's squads. The Cardinal finished 2007 with a 32-3 overall record, and claimed its 14th conference title, successfully defending its 2006 Pac-10 crown. Stanford's roster will return three All-American hitters including AVCA National Player of the Year Foluke Akinradewo, joined by Cynthia Barboza and Alix Kilineman. The Golden Bears concluded the most successful campaign in school-history with a 26-8 overall record and advanced to one of the NCAA national semifinal matches. Cal brings back All-American outside Hana Cutura and Pac-10 All-Freshman setter Carli Lloyd.

Santa Clara completed the 2007 season with a share of the West Coast Conference title and made a trip to the NCAA tournament. Head coach John Wallace put together a 19-12 overall record (195-78 all-time at Santa Clara), his ninth-straight winning season with the Broncos. First-year San Francisco head coach Gilad Doron led the Dons to a 17-13 record, 6-8 in the WCC. Also out of the West Coast Conference, Saint Mary's put the 2007 season in the books with a 15-13 overall record under third-year head coach Rob Browning. Last year, San Jose State went 14-15 (7-9, Western Athletic Conference) under first-year head coach Oscar Crespo.

Featured attendees at the 2008 media day will include: from Stanford, All-Americans Cynthia Barboza and Foluke Akinradewo, and 2008 Pac-10 Coach of the Year John Dunning; from Cal, All-American Hana Cutura, Morgan Beck and 2008 Asics/Volleyball Magazine National Head Coach of the Year, Rich Feller; from San Jose State, All-WAC selections Colleen Burke and Niki Clement, and head coach Oscar Crespo; from Saint Mary's, Taylor Groess, Lyndsey Parker and assistant coach Sam Crosson; as well as head coaches Gilad Doron and John Wallace from San Francisco and Santa Clara respectively along with selected players. Please note: the preceding list is subject to change without notice.

Attending coaches will each give a short opening statement followed by five minutes for open questions. Immediately thereafter, coaches and student-athletes will be available for informal interviews until 2:30 p.m. A light Italian lunch will be available buffet-style beginning at 12:30 p.m.

Media interested in attending the 2008 Bay Area Volleyball Media Day need to RSVP by 3 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 20, to California volleyball media relations director Jeremy Wu at jeremyw@berkeley.edu, (510) 643-2938 or Stanford volleyball media relations director Kendall Johnson at kendallj@stanford.edu, (650) 723-0996.

Directions to Haas Pavilion: Haas Pavilion is located on the Cal campus near the corner of Bancroft Way and Dana Street. For complete directions, please visit http://calbears.cstv.com/genrel/032700aaa.html. The Club Room is located on the first floor of the Pavilion on the west side of the building.

Parking Information: Parking is available beneath the Cal Recreational Facility for an hourly fee or at meters located on Bancroft Ave. For complete parking information, please visit http://pt.berkeley.edu.