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	Vol.7, No 2, August 31, 1999
	Women's volleyball team reveals many new faces  By Tyler Hemstreet Daily Forty-Niner With the excitement of last yearís magical season still lingering, the Long Beach State womenís volleyball team may have a tough time duplicating the memorable run to the national championship.   Going into Wednesdayís opener against No. 23 Kansas State, the 49ers are ranked fifth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association pre-season poll and currently have a 36-game winning streak.   This yearís team will have to deal with the loss of the three best players from last yearís championship team: Misty May, Benishe Dillard and Jessica Alvarado.     Coach Brian Gimmillaro knows that last yearís performance will be a tough act to follow.   "The hardest thing in sports is not to win a championship, but to defend it, especially when you change teams," Gimmillaro said. "It will be a challenge for the younger players to make up for so many years of the experience of the players we lost."   Sophomore Keri Nishimoto and freshman Brittany Hochevar are two players that will be trying to live up to the challenge. They will be battling to be heir apparent to Misty Mayís position as setter.   "Keri is a physical player away from the net, and Brittany is more physical at the net," Gimmillaro said. "Both are needed at different times to win matches."   Gimmillaro also said it will be a game-time decision who will start against Kansas State.   Another obstacle the 49ers will have to overcome is playing without team captain Anja Grabovac. She made the first team All-Big West last year and is one of the key seniors returning to the team. She is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery and is expected to be back in a couple of weeks.   Although the team is young, Gimmillaro promises that it will not take away from the excitement of the season.  "We will miss the experience of making big plays at big times, but it will be exciting to see who will step up and make the big plays. I believe that many of the players on this team will," Gimmillaro said.		Maxson paves way for dorms Faculty may soon pay union dues Battery case delayed University warns of illegal bookstore tactics Students make over their major Long Beach assault linked to serial rapist Programs opens doors for disabled in workplace High cost of thrills Plastic plague stocks students Reggae band shines 'Brandi' brought to CSULB Gimmillaro sets high standards Women's volleyball team reveals many new faces Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.