Craig Cummings Overall Record: 293-252 (17 Seasons) Denver, Colo

Stephanie Fischer n ASU Volleyball Contact n [email protected] n 870-972-2541 n 870-674-7078 cell Arkansas State Quick Facts No. 8 ASU (8-10) Location: Jonesboro, Arkansas Enrollment: 10,727 vs. Nickname: Indians Colors: Scarlet and Black No. 1 Middle Tennessee (16-1) Home Facility: Convocation Center Conference: Sun Belt Thursday, Nov. 15 n Noon Head Coach: Craig Cummings Overall Record: 293-252 (17 seasons) Denver, Colo. n Hamilton Gymnasium Record at ASU: 212-142 (11 seasons) Arkansas State Schedule/Results Date Opponent Time/Result ON TAP: Arkansas State will make its blocks play for Middle Tennessee. Ashley Aug. 24-25 Ole Miss/Magnolia Invitational fifth consecutive trip to the Sun Belt Adams is first in the Sun Belt in hitting Aug. 24 Jacksonville State L, 0-3 Conference Tournament this week when percentage and second in kills for MT. Aug. 25 Ole Miss L, 2-3 they head to Denver, Colo. for the 2007 Aug. 25 Missouri L, 0-3 tournament. The eighth-seed Lady Indians LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Indians will take on top-seeded Middle Tennessee took on a trio of Louisiana squads over the Aug. 31-Sept.1ASU/Bancorp South Classic Thursday at noon in the tournament’s first weekend, defeating all three and earning a Aug. 31 San Jose St. v Northwestern St 3-0 Aug. 31 Murray State L, 0-3 match-up. The Blue Raiders are 29-2 spot at the 2007 Sun Belt Conference Sept. 1 Northwestern State L, 0-3 overall and 16-1 in Sun Belt action. The Tournament. The Lady Indians swept Sept. 1 Murray St. v San Jose St. 1-3 East Division Champions are riding an ULM and UNO and defeated ULL 3-1. Sept. 1 Murray St. v Northwestern St. 3-2 eight-match win streak into the tourna- Senior Robin Aaron averaged 3.7 kills per Sept. 1 San Jose State W, 3-1 ment and most recently defeated Western game with a .305 hitting percentage and Sept. 7-8 UCA Invitational Kentucky 3-0 over the weekend. MT leads totaled 13 blocks for the weekend. Junior Sept. 7 UT-Martin L, 0-3 the conference in hitting percentage, Mafo Joelle notched 3.5 kills per game Sept. 8 Centenary W, 3-2 opponent hitting percentage, assists and with a .441 hitting percentage. Senior Sept. 8 Mississippi Valley State W, 3-0 blocks and is second in kills. Two of the Katie Peil averaged 10.9 assists and soph- Sept. 14-15 Memphis Classic top three players in hitting percentage are omore Erin Neeley had 3.5 digs per game. Sept. 14 Alabama-Birmingham L, 0-3 Blue Raiders and four of the top six in Sept. 15 Stetson W, 3-0 Sept. 15 Memphis L, 0-3 LADY INDIAN ROSTER Sept. 21 Denver* L, 0-3 Player No. Ht. Cl. Pos. Hometown (Previous School) Sept. 23 North Texas* L, 2-3 Sept. 28 Louisiana-Lafayette* W, 3-0 Erin Neeley 1 5-5 So. L Jonesboro, Ark. (Westside HS) Sept. 29 New Orleans* L, 1-3 Noelle Franke 2 6-0 Fr. OH Ballwin, Mo. (Parkway West HS) Sept. 30 Lousiana-Monroe* W, 3-1 Christin Baker 3 5-8 Fr. MB Edmond, Okla. (Edmond North HS) Oct. 5 Western Kentucky* L, 0-3 Robin Aaron 4 5-8 Sr. MB Houston, Texas (Humble HS) Oct. 7 Middle Tennessee* L, 1-3 Laura Purtee 5 5-7 So. DS Jonesboro, Ark. (Nettleton HS) Oct. 12 Troy* W, 3-0 Kristen Catalane 6 6-0 Fr. OH Bonham, Texas (Bonham HS) Oct. 13 South Alabama* W, 3-0 Oct. 20 Florida International* L, 0-3 Katie Peil 7 5-8 Sr.S Belleville, Ill. (Althoff Catholic HS) Oct. 21 Florida Atlantic* W, 3-1 Candice Eskridge 8 5-8 Fr. OH Harrisburg, Ark. (Harrisburg HS) Oct. 23 UALR* L, 0-3 Heather Gillion 9 5-8 Jr. DS Cardwell, Mo. (Southland HS) Oct. 26 North Texas* L, 1-3. Mandy DeWalt 10 5-7 So. OH Houston, Texas (J. Frank Dobie HS) Oct. 27 Denver* L, 1-3. Mafo Joelle 11 6-0 Jr. RS Younde, Cameroon (Missouri State-West Plains) Nov. 2 UALR* L, 0-3 Laura Bennett 12 5-8 RFr.S Kansas City, Kan. (St. Thomas Aquinas HS) Nov. 8 Louisiana-Monroe* W, 3-0 Nov. 9 Louisiana-Lafayette* W, 3-1 Laurel England 14 6-0 RFr. OH Rochester, NY (Irondequoit HS) Nov. 11 New Orleans* W, 3-0 Head Coach: Craig Cummings Nov. 15-17 SBC Tournament TBA Assistant Coach: Jo Beth Mathis

2007 Lady Indian Volleyball asuindians.com PEIL REWRITES RECORD 2007 SUN BELT CONFERENCE BOOKS: Senior setter Katie Peil took RECORD-SETTING SENIORS: VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS (as of Nov. 12, 2007) over first place on the all-time assists list Seniors Robin Aaron and Katie Peil at Arkansas State, as she recorded a sea- have rewritten the record books at EAST DIVISION Conference Overall son-high 65 assists against FAU on Oct. Arkansas State. Aaron has recorded Team W-L Pct. W-L Pct. 21. Peil now has 5,011 assists for her 1,454 kills during her career, which Middle Tennessee 16-1 .941 29-2 .935 career, surpassing Nicole Grimes’ mark places her fourth all-time at ASU. She is Western Kentucky 14-3 .824 25-7 .781 of 4,725 set from 1995-1998. Peil also third in career blocks with 466 and Florida International 12-5 .706 18-7 .720 recorded her 1,000th career dig against 11th all-time with 103 service aces. Peil Troy 7-10 .412 16-17 .485 South Alabama on Oct. 13, becoming is first in career assists with 5,011 and is South Alabama 4-13 .235 11-18 .379 Florida Atlantic 3-14 .176 6-21 .222 just the eighth Lady Indian all-time to eighth all-time with 1,095 career digs. reach 1,000 in two statistical categories. Peil is also ninth on the all-time service Peil currently has 1,095 digs for her aces list with 115 for her career. WEST DIVISION Conference Overall career. Team W-L Pct. W-L Pct. TOURNAMENT TESTED: This will Denver 15-3 .833 21-11 .656 be the Lady Indians’ fifth consecutve UALR 14-4 .778 22-8 .733 CUMMINGS GETS 100: Head coach trip to the Sun Belt Tournament and New Orleans 10-8 .556 15-16 .516 North Texas 8-10 .444 12-20 .375 Craig Cummings recorded his 100th 14th appearance since joining the con- Arkansas State 8-10 .444 12-18 .400 career Sun Belt victory Thursday in the ference in 1991. The nine-time Sun Belt Louisiana-Lafayette 3-15 .167 4-29 .121 Lady Indians’ 3-0 win over ULM. Conference Champs are 22-11 all-time Louisiana-Monroe 0-18 .000 1-31 .031 Cummings notched his 300th career vic- at the conference tournament. The last tory when the Lady Indians defeated time ASU and Middle Tennessee met at Troy 3-0 on Oct. 12. Cummings current- the SBC tournament was in 2005. The ly has 305 career wins and 102 Sun Belt Blue Raiders won the match 3-0. Conference victories.

ARKANSAS STATE vs MIDDLE TENNESSEE

This will be the 19th meeting all-time between the Lady Indians and the Blue Raiders. Middle Tennessee holds a 7-11 advanage in the series and won their last meeting 3-1 on Oct. 7.

ASU in Sun Belt Rankings (as of Nov. 12, 2007) Sports Information Arkansas State University P.O. Box 1000 Stat Arkansas State Rank Leader State University, Ark. 72467 Hit % .159 11th MT (.294) Office: 870-972-2541(Main) Fax: 870-972-3367 Opp. Hit % .191 7th MT (.118) Kills 14.65 5th WKU (16.54) Jerry Scott, Assistant A.D./Sports Information Assists 13.18 6th MT (15.42) 870-972-3405 n [email protected] Gina Bowman Asst. Director Digs 17.16 2nd DU (18.26) 870-972-3457 n [email protected] Blocks 1.85 12th MT (3.34) Van Provence Asst. Director Aces 1.60 13th NT (2.18) 870-972-2707 n [email protected] Stephanie Fischer, GA/Volleyball Contact ASU Individuals in SBC Rankings (as of Nov. 12, 2007) 870-972-2451 n [email protected]

Media Information Stat Player Average Rank Leader Interviews Kills Robin Aaron 3.94 6th Yarimar Rosa (FIU) The Arkansas State locker room is closed to all members of the media. Head coach Craig Cummings Digs Erin Neeley 4.34 6th Kacie Wikierak (DU) and requested players will be available for post-game Assists Katie Peil 10.21 8th Leslie Clark (MT) interviews following a brief team meeting. Blocks Robin Aaron 1.08 7th Ashley Asberry (MT) To arrange for an interview during the week, contact the Sports Information Office.

2007 Lady Indian Volleyball asuindians.com 2007 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship Thursday-Saturday, November 15-17 • Hamilton Gymnasium • Denver, Colorado Host: University of Denver

No. 8 Arkansas State

Thursday, 12 p.m.

No. 1 Middle Tennessee

Friday, 5 p.m.

No. 5 Florida International

Thursday, 2:30 p.m.

No. 4 UALR

Saturday, 3 p.m.

No. 6 New Orleans Winner receives Sun Belt automatic bid to NCAA Tournament

Thursday, 5 p.m.

No. 3 WKU

Friday, 7:30 p.m. No. 7 North Texas

Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

No. 2 Denver

All times local

Denver reserves the right to choose the time of its ﬁrst round match

For media credential information please contact Kelly Oravet at the Sun Belt Conference (504-299-9066) HEAD COACH CRAIG CUMMINGS

Arkansas State head coach Craig Cummings enters his 12th season at the helm of the Lady Indian volleyball program, making him the longest tenured coach in ASU volleyball history. During the past 11 seasons at ASU, Cummings has compiled an impressive 212-142 record and has picked up three Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year honors. Last season , he became only the third coach in ASU volleyball history to eclipse 200 wins. He enters the 2007 season with an overall record of 293-252 and needs just two wins to move into second place on ASU’s all-time wins list. Cummings is coming off of an 21-14 overall record and 12-6 Sun Belt Conference record last season. He enters the 2007 season with 94 victories during Sun Belt Conference play which places him third all-time among SBC coaches. During his tenure at ASU Cummings has guided the Lady Indians to four Sun Belt Conference regular-season championships. Cummings and assistant coach Jo Beth Mathis have been a part of eight of the Tribe's nine SBC titles all-time as coaches and/or player. His most recent title came in 2004 as the Tribe took home Sun Belt Conference East Division honors as the Lady Indians posted a 25-8 overall record on the year and an 11-3 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. The 2004 Lady Indians closed out the regular season by picking up victories in 13 of their last 14 matches on their way to the title. The Tribe also posted an undefeated record at home with a 14-0 mark at the Convocation Center. Also under Cummings' tutelage, outside hitter Giedre Tarnauskaite was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and setter Katie Peil picked up SBC Freshman of the Year accolades. Cummings' crowning achievement so far was a three-game victory over Arkansas-Little Rock in Little Rock, Ark., on Nov. 21, 1999, that gave him his first SBC Tournament championship and ASU's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1995. In 1999, Cummings guided the Lady Indians to a 21-11 record on the season. The 21 wins were the most for ASU since the 1999 campaign and returned ASU to the upper echelon in the Sun Belt Conference. ASU won another Sun Belt Conference title in 1999 when the Lady Indians finished with a 28-7 record, including a stellar 14-2 mark in conference action. The Lady Indians finished atop the league standings and went on to win the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title and gain the NCAA Tournament appearance. The 28-win campaign was the highest win total for ASU under Cummings and the most since the 1993 season in which ASU picked up 32 victories. Eight of Cummings' teams have won 20-or-more games-after a 24-win campaign in Cummings' first season in 1996, ASU had a 21-12 record in 1997, a 23-11 record in 1998, a 28-7 mark in 1999, a 20-11 record in 2000, a 21-11 mark in 2003, 2005's 25-8 record and last season’s 21- 14 mark. Cummings was named the head volleyball coach at Arkansas State in May of 1996. He is the fifth coach in the program's 31-year history. He had spent the previous six seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, in San Luis Obispo, Calif. As a player, Cummings played three seasons for the Cal Poly men's program from 1978-80. A member of the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, the Cal Poly men played against some of the top collegiate men's teams ever to step foot on a floor. Cummings began his coaching career in 1981 as the head coach of the Cal Poly-SLO men's program, posting a record of 23-10. Cal Poly discontinued its men program the following year and Cummings went to work as an assistant coach of the women's team and remained there until 1989. During his term as an assistant coach, Cal Poly participated in eight straight NCAA Tournaments from 1982-89, a run that included three Elite Eight appearances (1982, 1983, 1985). The Cal Poly coaching staff was named Coaching Staff of the Year in the Big West Conference in 1985 and 1989. In 1990, Cummings began his career as a head coach by taking over the Mustang program. In 1992, his Mustangs posted a 22-11 record and were ranked fourth in the Northwest Region. That same year he was named Northwest Region Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. During his time at Cal Poly-SLO, Cummings coached 19 All-Americans. In recognition of his coaching excellence at Cal Poly, Cummings was named to the coaching staffs at three straight U.S. Olympic Festivals (1993-95). As an assistant for the South squad in 1993, Cummings earned a gold medal for his efforts. In 1994 and 1995, Cummings served as head coach of the West squads, finishing second and fourth. He has been a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association since 1983 and a member of USA Volleyball since 1980. In addi- tion to his work with the U.S. Olympic Festivals, he has served on the Board of Directors and Selection Committee of the National Invitational Volleyball Championships. He has been a member of the NCAA Division I Northwest Region Advisory Committee and the AVCA Northwest Region Division I All-American Committee. Cummings has been a clinic speaker for West Coast Clinics in Palo Alto, Calif., and at the 1990 and 1996 National (Junior )Volleyball Festival. Cummings was also instrumental in the development of the San Luis Obispo Juniors Volleyball Club, serving on its Board of Directors. Cummings was born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, on March 28, 1957. He and his wife Carol have two children, Drew (16) and Alex (14). Cummings, a 1982 graduate of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo with a degree in Physical Education, earned a master's degree in Physical Education in 1987 from Cal Poly-SLO.

2007 Lady Indian Volleyball asuindians.com