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CSUSM Women’s Volleyball continues its hot streak under head coach Andréa Leonard with a win percentage well above .500 as they look to finish off the season and defend their Association of Intercollegiate Institutions (A.I.I.) conference title.

As of Monday, Oct. 20,

[column type=”whole] [counter num_start=”0″ num_end=”17″ num_speed=”1000″ num_color=”#0040FF” text_above=”Cougars hold” text_below=”Wins” text_color=”#04B404″][counter num_start=”0″ num_end=”10″ num_speed=”1000″ num_color=”#0040FF” text_above=”and” text_below=”Losses” text_color=”#FF0000″][/column]

on the season.

Cougars seem to have struck a goldmine in its freshman class. Middle-blocker Kristen Parker, libero Samantha Flores and outside-hitters Cheyenne Richards and Ashley Kaylor have all found a place in the rotation during almost every set.

Kristen Parker receives exceptional praise from Leonard.

“She’s been really consistent for us, especially for a freshman,” Leonard said. “She’s a kid that comes in there with no fear, she’s a gamer. I think we see her best when she’s in pressure situations.”

Senior setter Alyssa Foster continues to demonstrate exceptional leadership on her team. Foster methodically distributes the ball to every one of the Cougar hitters on the court, often displaying her incredible volleyball IQ.

Composed and calm, nearly every set is dictated by Foster, implementing lessons learned from Coach Leonard during practice.

“Things we’ve been working on in practice is putting ourselves in pressure situations in order to find a way out of that and still be aggressive,” Coach Leonard said. “More importantly, mentally; they have to keep their mental focus and stay aggressive. We can’t get complacent.”

Junior outside-hitter Jordan Banich and senior outside-hitter Alyssa Hubbard have combined to tally more than 400 kills over the course of the season.

“My setter is really good,” Hubbard said. “I trust everyone around me and I know I have to put the ball away, there is really no other option. Any way I can help my team to get a victory.”

[blockquote cite=”Andréa Leonard” type=”center”]We’re battling. We’re back to that gritty determination, which is what we really want… for a championship.[/blockquote]

Cougars find consistent effort and production from their role players sophomore outside-hitter Brooke Butler, sophomore middle-hitter Morgan Willis and senior middle-hitter Kelli McLin, many times helping to tip the scale in CSUSM’s favor during matches.

“We have players coming of the bench and making impact points, which is really hard to do,” Leonard said. “It’s easier to be a starter, but it’s more difficult to come off the bench and have to perform right away under pressure.”

The depth on the Cougars’ bench seems to go on endlessly as CSUSM continues to find excellent contribution from sophomore setter Taylor Harris and sophomore middle-blocker Markisha Henderson-Diaz.

Despite earning plenty of success against other teams in the A.I.I. and N.A.I.A. conferences, Cougars are still looking to improve upon their volleyball proficiency during competitive matches.

“There are definitely areas of our game we need to work on and address,” Coach Leonard said. “However we’re battling. We’re back to that gritty determination, which is what we really want to build up towards the end of the season for a championship.”

CSUSM will host only four more home games before competing in the A.I.I. tournament on November 14-15 in Denver, Colorado.

“This is exactly where we want to be,” Coach Leonard said. “Rather than fear that moment, this gives us an opportunity to really embrace it.”[/columnize]

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