After capturing its first championship in eight years last season, one might expect a relatively young Appalachian State University team to feel a bit of pressure to repeat last year's extraordinary feat. That pressure, combined with the loss of three seniors from last season's Southern Conference North Division championship squad, could be overwhelming for a group that returns five starters, but must integrate four freshmen that may be expected to contribute right away. However, second-year head coach Chad Callihan doesn't believe that there is any pressure mounting on the 2004 Mountaineers. "I don't think our success from last year has raised any pressure on our program," Callihan said, "because we expected to be competitive all along." Despite Callihan's declaration that there isn't pressure on his team to win Appalachian's first back-to-back volleyball titles since 1994-95, ASU has to prepare to be the SoCon's hunted rather than the hunters for the first time in nearly a decade. It must also do so without the afore mentioned seniors from last year's championship squad, including first-team all-SoCon honoree Katherine Dean, and an ever improving slate of conference foes. But a solid group of veterans, led by 2003 second-team all-SoCon performer Amber Mangrum, has its sights set on building upon last season's performance and taking it one step further - to Appalachian's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 10 years. "I truly believe that last year was a confidence builder, more than anything," Callihan said. "I don't think we look at it as an end of what we wanted to accomplish, but rather a first step." If 2003 was a first step towards bigger things, the building blocks are certainly in place to elevate the Mountaineers to the next level. Eight letterwinners return from last season and the four talented freshmen that Callihan brought to the High Country in his first full recruiting class as head coach are on hand to push the returnees for playing time in their rookie campaigns. Perhaps the only position where there won't be a full-fledged battle for the starting nod is at setter, where Mangrum returns for her senior season on pace to become ASU's all-time assist leader. The Allen, Texas native enters her final collegiate campaign with 2,864 career assists, just 1,340 behind Joanne Myers' school-record 4,204, set from 1988-92. A season ago, Mangrum dished out 1,419 assists, the second-best single-season mark in the annals of Appalachian volleyball. But just as impressive as her play on the court was her performance in the classroom, as she was one of just 48 SoCon student-athletes to compile a 4.0 grade point average for the academic year. "Amber is not only a terrific player, but she's also a leader on and off the court," Callihan said. "She is certainly an anchor for our squad and a 'quarterback' on the floor from the setter position." Backing Mangrum up at setter is freshman Lorelle Rau. The Oakland Park, Fla. native is coming off an impressive prep career in which she led Pine Crest High School to three-straight Florida 3A state championships. While she learns the ropes of the setter position from Mangrum, Rau's athleticism could allow her to compete for playing time at other positions. Even more so than the setter position, Appalachian is loaded at outside hitter. The Mountaineers not only return three players, in senior Samantha Giudici and juniors Kali Rumberger and Rebecca Sorensen, who saw significant playing time on the outside a season ago, but are boosted by the return of Chrissy Finch, who enjoyed a prolific freshman season in 2002 but missed the entire 2003 campaign due to a severe knee injury. Joining the mix are junior Amy Lewis, once she returns from offseason shoulder surgery, and freshman Bailey Cromwell. The corps of outside hitters is also a cerebral group, as all five returnees earned places on the 2003-04 SoCon Academic Honor Roll, while Giudici joined Mangrum on the short list of 4.0 student-athletes. "I'm extremely excited about the experience and depth that we have at outside hitter," Callihan said. "It is a talented and athletic group that will push each other in practice to become even better everyday." Another position buoyed by experience and depth is libero, where sophomore Rachel Gates looks to build on an impressive freshman campaign in which she finished second on the team with 323 digs. Depth at the position is provided by junior Sarahanne Boryc and Rumberger, who, despite her prowess as a hitter, led the Mountaineers with 332 digs a season ago. "Rachel had a real nice freshman season for us and enters camp as the starter," Callihan said. "We are fortunate to have a lot of depth at this position as well and are excited about looking at Kali a bit more in the back row after she had an impressive spring there." The only visible hole that Appalachian has to fill is at middle blocker. In addition to the graduation of Dean and fellow 2003 standout Jackie Jennings, ASU's only returnee at the position, Stefanie Panzer, underwent offseason surgery on her left foot and may not be ready for the beginning of the campaign. Enter freshmen Cali Cooper and Dianna Thomas, both of whom are being counted on to log significant minutes in the middle for the Mountaineers. "Our success this season depends on the health and development of the middle blockers," Callihan said. "We return experience and depth at every other position, so how quickly Stefanie returns and the development of Cali and Dianna are all huge for this team." Despite his reliance on freshmen at such important spots in the lineup, Callihan believes that his entire rookie class is up to the challenge of raising its level of play to that of the collegiate game. "The freshmen should catch on quickly," Callihan said. "The biggest adjustment for a newcomer is getting used to the speed of the game and I believe that this group is talented and athletic enough to adjust to that pretty fast." Despite the assembled talent, returning to their championship ways will not be an easy task for the Mountaineers, as the SoCon is as strong as ever, according to Callihan. "Not only will the league's top teams still be strong, but the teams that finished lower last year have narrowed the gap on everyone else," he said. "In our division alone, Chattanooga and Elon will have very strong squads, while UNC Greensboro, Western Carolina and East Tennessee State all had solid recruiting classes that will push the rest of the group." Not only does Appalachian have to contend with the ever-improving SoCon, but it must look to improve on last year's 2-11 non-conference record versus a slate that includes five matches versus teams that won at least 20 matches a season ago. The non-conference slate is highlighted by home matches versus Liberty, which went 22-11 in 2003, and SEC-power Tennessee, which posted a 22-9 record last year. Also included in the demanding non-conference schedule is a homecoming trip of sorts for Mangrum, as the Mountaineers travel to Fort Worth, Texas for the TCU/Adidas Invitational. A powerful field that includes perennial national-power Santa Clara (20-11 in 2003) and the host Horned Frogs, who compiled a 20-16 record last season, awaits Appalachian in the Lone Star State. In all, Appalachian plays nine matches versus teams that compiled 20-win seasons in 2003, including battles with SoCon powers Chattanooga, College of Charleston and Georgia Southern. Can the relatively young squad, which features just two seniors and four freshmen, build on last year's success against such a grueling schedule? Callihan thinks so. "The biggest thing that we took from last year was that we learned to win," he said. "The talent is here, so now that we have the burden of not knowing what it is like to taste victory off our shoulders, we should be on our way to even bigger and better things."