USD Volleyball 2006

Sherburne, and now will have the chance to show everyone that she will step in and the Toreros will not miss a beat. Nyrop was a top-100 recruit out of Lake City High School in Harrison , Idaho after earning a first-team All-State 5A honor as a senior in 2004. "Jessica is very gifted athletically, has great hands , is one of our best defenders and will most likely be one of the best set– ters in our conference ," said Hilliard. 'She has big shoes to fill , but I think she will do a great job. She has a lot of attributes that we haven't had here before, so it will be fun to watch her." USD's Rachel Salcer will serve as USD's second setter. Sal– cer is a talented setter who has seen limited action due to USD's All-American setter Sherburne. As a senior in high school she was a big part of her team capturing the CIF championship. 4:j[lffiJ:J@ Another new face to appear in a key role for the Toreros this season will be Kayleen Webster at the libero position. With the departure of three-time WCC Defender of the Year Bernardine, Webster will look to step in and keep the Toreros rolling . Web– ster is a freshman from Sonora High School in La Harva, Calif. who was a two-time first-team All-Freeway League selection . Hilliard is calling her "the best passer I have seen this year so far at the club level. " Backing up Webster at Libero will be Andrea Csaszi , who was a very highly recruited libero and outside hitter in the coun– try this past year. Csaszi comes to USO after back-to-back first– team AII-CIF honors while playing at Rancho Buena Vista High School in Oceanside, Calif. "She is just a phenomenal libero. With her here we have depth at this position and that only makes us a stronger team," said Hilliard. "If Webster or ( Breanne) Ogden goes down I have no problem throwing Casazi in there and I feel we wouldn 't miss a beat. She could be challenging for time as a starter as well. " Breanne Ogden makes her return to the Toreros after a solid spring that saw her improve dramatically according to Hilliard. The coaching staff sees her as getting court time because Hill– iard believes that she has the best serve on the team. Hilliard said that "she gets points just by standing back there and bomb– ing serves, so she will find a way to get out on the court. " 4:j'iIDII! ~ USO will use all of this talent to battle through yet another strong schedule. The Toreros will face five teams ranked in the top-20 last season as well as a strong University of Michigan squad and a much underrated New Mexico State University team. Hilliard and the coaching staff have made this schedule as a surprise to no one. The Toreros have been scheduling tougher and tougher each season as they have grown into an elite program. "USO is primed to be extremely competitive this year. We expect to not only compete for a conference championship, but also a national title ," said Hilliard. "Our region , the west, is a really tough region to come out of, but I am confident if we stay healthy that we will have a very successful '06 campaign. "

was third on the team in blocks with 63 and fourth in kills per game at 2.34. Wiskar, according to Hilliard, is "no doubt the best blocker on the team and if she can improve her attacking , I have no doubt that she can be one of the best outside hitters in the conference." Outside hitter and USD's third senior, Laura Murphy, will see significant time on the court this season as she has stepped up her game during the spring . Hilliard feels that she has made the biggest improvements among anyone on the team during the spring. In 2005, Murphy recorded 26 kills and 34 digs. Jessica Andersen is another outside hitter that Hilliard ex– pects to see some action after a very productive spring . Hilliard feels that she has made big strides over the spring and will be a huge right side help for the Toreros. In 2005, she saw limited action but did appear in 17 games recoding 16 kills on 50 attack attempts. Newcomer, Jaimarie Sutherland, transfers to USO after playing one season at UC Santa Barbara . Hilliard is excited about this transfer because he feels that she "understands what it takes to compete at this level and (he) expects a lot out of her and foresees her battling for a starting spot this season ."