WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – San Francisco State placed three players on the All-California Collegiate Athletic Association volleyball team, the league office announced Thursday. Sophomore setter Iris Tolenada was a first-team pick, while junior libero Sarah Kurfess and fellow classmate Halimah Oswald, who was selected as a middle blocker, landed on the second team.
Tolenada garnered All-CCAA accolades for the second year in a row after earning second-team honors and Freshman of the Year distinction in 2009, while Kurfess and Oswald netted their first career all-conference awards.
Tolenada topped the CCAA during the regular season with average of 10.68 assists per set (1,186 total) and led SF State with 36 service aces and 12 doubles-doubles (assists-digs). She also ranked second on the squad with an average of 2.49 digs per set (276 total) and finished third with 29 total blocks. In addition, Tolenada surpassed the 50-assist plateau in nine matches, including career highs of 62 helpers and 22 digs in an upset of then-No. 11 UC San Diego at home on Sept. 18. In the regular-season finale against Chico State on Nov. 13, she matched her personal-best assist total, giving her 2,440 helpers for her career, which ranks third in school history.
Kurfess, a transfer from Bakersfield College, was the anchor on the Gator defense, which finished second in the CCAA as a team with an average of 16.46 digs per set and ranked fifth in the league in holding the opposition to a .185 hitting percentage. She led the CCAA during the regular season with an average of 4.95 digs per set, totaling a school-record 550 scoops for the year. Kurfess topped the 20-dig plateau in 14 matches, including an SF State record-tying 40 scoops against Chico State on Nov. 13. She also added 36 digs in the Gators' five-game upset of UCSD on Sept. 18. In addition, Kurfess finished second on the squad with 78 setting assists and ranked third with 20 service aces.
Oswald, meanwhile, was SF State's most efficient offensive threat during the 2010 campaign, leading the team with a .286 attack percentage, which ranked 10th in the CCAA. She also finished second on the team with an average of 2.44 kills per set (271 total), 56 total blocks and 28 service aces from the middle hitter position in the Gator line-up. Oswald increased her productivity in the latter half of the season, surpassing the double-digit kill plateau in 11 of the team's final 12 matches in which she blasted 151 kills and posted a .306 attack percentage. She launched a career-high 22 kills and posted a .559 hitting percentage to help SF State emerge triumphant in a five-set thriller at Cal State L.A. on Oct. 29, enabling the Gators to complete their first-ever season sweep against the Golden Eagles in their first victory there since 1987. Earlier in the year, Oswald also hit a season-best .571 on 12 kills in 21 attempts with no errors against Cal State Monterey Bay on Sept. 21.
Cal State San Bernardino middle blocker Samantha Middleborn was named the CCAA's Most Valuable Player in 2010, outside hitter Alex Shurtz of Chico State was voted the league's Freshman of the Year, while Cal State Dominguez Hills outside hitter Denise DeVine earned Newcomer of the Year honors. Rounding out the list of CCAA awards was Jim Spagle of Cal State East Bay, who was selected as the conference's Coach of the Year.
SF State finished the year with a 14-13 overall record and an 11-11 mark in conference play. With their ledger, the Gators posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1996 and 1997. SF State recorded four dramatic victories over nationally ranked opponents and appeared in the NCAA Division II West Region poll in four consecutive weeks.
For complete All-CCAA volleyball team, please click here
