Feb. 3, 2010

Fullerton, Calif. - In conjunction with its women's volleyball Freshman of the Year Award given to Army's Ariana Mankus, CVU.com (The College Volleyball Uptate) also named Cal State Fullerton's middle blocker Kayla Neto one of 18 "Rising Stars" from the 2009 season.

Rising Star selections were made based on the individual's performance, contributions to their respective teams as a freshman and their potential impact in years to come.

The 6-foot-2 blocker from Clarksville, Calif., had quite a freshman campaign collecting a team-leading 97 blocks, 2.88 kills per set (305 total kills) while setting the school's third-best single-season attack percentage at .319.

Neto has become the most decorated freshman volleyball player in the program's history. The CVU.com honor will go on her resume along side her AVCA All-American Honorable Mention, AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year, Big West Freshman of the Year, All-Big West First Team and her two Big West Player of the Week awards.