RBV grad gives USD local face

By: TOM SHANAHAN - For the North County Times | Wednesday, August 23, 2006 11:21 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- One asset the University of San Diego women's volleyball team enjoys is a streak of five straight trips to the NCAA tournament, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2004.

Another feature the Toreros boast of his perennial residence in the national rankings, which is rare for San Diego collegiate sports, men or women.

The Toreros, who open the 2006 season Friday against Hofstra in the two-day, four-team San Diego State Tournament at the Aztecs' Peterson Gym, is again a top-20 school. They are ranked No. 20 in the nation in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll.

The roster also is highlighted by the usual All-America candidates. Christie Dawson, a 6-foot-1 senior middle from Apple Valley, was All-American honorable mention as well as first-team All-West Coast Conference last year. Kristen Carlson, a 6-2 senior outside hitter from Virginia, is considered an All-America candidate despite missing the second half of last season because of a knee injury.

But something that's been missing from the school's successful program is a local face.

"That's the one thing that's been lacking," acknowledged Brent Hilliard, USD's top assistant the past five seasons who was named interim head coach while Jennifer Petrie takes a semester off to spend with her newborn son, Charles, and 2-year-old daughter, Jane.

"We've been in the NCAA, and we've been ranked in the Top 20," Hilliard added. "We've been pushing the envelope and feel we're on the cusp of being a top-10 program. But we haven't had that top local recruit."

Until now, that is.

The Toreros landed one of San Diego County's top recruits last year when Rancho Buena Vista High's Andrea Csaszi passed on opportunities to play at Pac-10 schools Arizona, Cal and USC not to mention Georgia of the Southeastern Conference.

Csaszi was a first-team All-CIF choice last year for the Longhorns as an outside hitter, but she'll begin her career as a defensive specialist at USD.

"I think Andrea has the ability to contribute right away as a defensive player," Hilliard said. "She plays defense at an extremely high level. How much she plays will be determined by how much success we have. We'll get a good view of her the opening weekend. She'll start out in the back row and that can change."

The defensive role is fine with Csaszi. All through her high school and club playing days, she recognized she's not the 6-footer that plays at the net in the college level.

"I know my role on this team," she said. "I think it's important to be a well-rounded player. One of the reasons I picked USD is I think it's a well-rounded place to be with the volleyball program and the academics."

Csaszi said once she started hearing recruiting pitches, she realized her sophomore and junior seasons that she didn't have to leave San Diego to play for a top-20 program.

"I love San Diego and didn't want to leave," Csaszi said. "I can work an internship in San Diego and be 10 minutes from campus. I know a lot of girls want to go away for college, but I've talked to a lot of girls I've known from club volleyball who say they wish they hadn't left San Diego. The success of the program and the quality of the coaching at USD made it an easier decision for me."

Although the Toreros hope a successful career from Csaszi opens the door to more local talent staying home, Hilliard emphasized she and Petrie don't recruit local players just to have a San Diego girl on the roster. If a top San Diego recruit doesn't want to play for the Toreros, they know they can recruit top-100 players from around the country.

Jessica Nyrop, who takes over for All-America setter Lindsey Sherburne, is from Idaho. Carlson picked Washington State out of Louden Valley High in Purcerville, Va., before transferring to USD.

"The last three years the face of our program was Jackie Bernardin," Hilliard said of the graduated three-time WCC defensive player of the year from Bakersfield. "We'd love to have to that with a player from San Diego."