PLAYER OF THE WEEK SMUs Janna Newsom has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week.
Newsom, a 6-0 middle blocker, earned her first player of the week honor by hitting .490 over two matches. A senior from Houston, Texas, Newsom led SMU to home wins over Tulsa, 3-0 and UTEP, 3-1.
Against Tulsa, she hit .520 with 15 kills and only two errors. She also added seven blocks. In the win against UTEP, Newsom helped the Mustangs rally after dropping the first game. She hit .462 in the game and added 14 kills. Against the Miners, she also added six blocks for a total of 13 on the week.
Newsom ended the week with 29 kills and only four errors, helping the Mustangs extend their winning streak to three. SMU has now won nine of its last 10 games.
Other nominees included: Christy Burnett, Fresno State; Maja Gustin, Hawaii; Brianna Sibley, Louisiana Tech; Rebeca Pazo, Rice and Jennifer Abbruzzese, UTEP.
OTHERS NOMINATED Other nominees include: Fresno State's Christy Burnett helped defeat instate rival CS Northridge, 3-0 as the Bulldogs went 1-1 on the week. Against Cal State Northridge, Burnett had a career-high five aces and added two blocks. In a close five-set loss to San Jose State, the junior outside hitter had her third 20-kill match of the season, recording 21 kills. With her 21 kills and 19 digs, she was one kill away from a 20 kill/20 dig performance. Hawai`i's Maja Gustin helped the Rainbow Wahine extend its current winning streak to 14. The sophomore left side hitter had 31 kills in two matches. Gustin had a team-high six aces on the week, including four against Boise State. Louisiana Tech's Brianna Sibley posted back-to-back double kill matches against Rice and UTEP. In two matches, Sibley had 26 kills and 14 digs. Rice's Rebeca Pazo had a career-high 26 kills in a, 3-0, victory over Louisiana Tech. The freshman outside hitter also added 14 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. Against Tulsa, Pazo added 12 more kills for 38 kills in two matches. UTEP's Jennifer Abbruzzese averaged 5.14 kill and 3.57 digs as the Miners went 1-1 on the week. The sophomore extended her double-double streak to 11-straight matches and 12 overall. Abbruzzese had a season-high 22 kills and 15 digs against SMU and added 14 kills and 10 digs against Louisiana Tech.
CURRENT POINT STANDINGS - The current point standing for seeding in the WAC Tournament are as follows:
Hawai`i 14
Nevada 12
San Jose State 11
Fresno State 10
Rice 8
SMU 7
UTEP 4
Tulsa 3
Boise State 2
Louisiana Tech 0
WAC SEASON NEARS END The WAC enters its seventh week of conference play with intra-division battles. With only two weeks of league play remaining, teams will once again face teams in their own division this week.
In the Western Division, San Jose State reclaims the second spot with tough 3-2 win over Fresno State last week. Nevada moves to third in the West after a loss to Hawai`i. This week, second place San Jose State and third place Nevada will face each other on Thursday, Nov. 1 in Reno. Nevada will then play host to Hawai`i on Nov. 2.
In the East, Rice kept its lead with wins against Tulsa and Louisiana Tech last week. The Owls are undefeated against the Eastern Division this season. SMU kept pace with victories over UTEP and Tulsa. This week, Rice will host Louisiana Tech and Tulsa.
SPARTANS EDGE BULLDOGS IN FIVE Brianna Blair recorded 24 kills to lead San Jose State to a 29-31, 30-28, 30-21, 15-30, 15-12 victory over Fresno State Saturday evening in a WAC match in Fresno.
With the 24 kills, Blair is now second all-time in kill at San Jose State with 1,429. She recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 15 digs and added five blocks.
Kimberly Noble added 16 kills for the Spartans. Liz Hudson came within one kill and one block of a triple-double with nine blocks, 13 digs and a career high nine blocks. Stephanie Pascucci added 13 kills and three blocks.
RICE WINS FOURTH-STRAIGHT Behind senior Leigh Lemans 24 kills, the Rice volleyball team finished their road trip a perfect 2-0 with a 30-13, 30-14, 30-27 win at Tulsa.
Leman and freshman Rebeca Pazo combined for nine of Rices 19 kills in the first game. The Owls served up six aces, including two from senior Alison Broadfoot.
Leman hit .500 for the match, bringing her career kills total to 1,115, eighth all-time at Rice. Pazo added 12 kills on 29 attempts with three errors, for a .310 hitting percentage. Broadfoot hit .385 behind six kills on 13 attempts with one error. Sophomore setter Rebekah Neal recorded her fifth double-double on the year with 38 assists and 18 digs.
Tulsa was led by freshman Dana Weddle who had six kills and eight digs.
WAC TOURNAMENT CREDENTIAL DEADLINE Request forms for credentials to the 2001 WAC Volleyball Tournament in San Jose are now available through the league office. Media requesting hotel rooms must have their credential forms in by Friday, Oct. 26. If no room is requested, the deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 7. The Volleyball Tournament is slated for Nov. 15-18 at the Event Center.
VOLLEYBALL FORMAT There are two divisions for 2001: Western and Eastern. The teams in the West consist of Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai`i, Nevada and San Jose State. The teams in the East consist of Louisiana Tech, Rice, SMU, UTEP and Tulsa. Each team plays each other twice, home and home within each division and plays each team from the other division once.
EAST TEAMS HEAT UP The Western Division's Hawai`i may sport the longest winning streak in the WAC, but SMU and Rice of the Eastern Division are both coming on strong at the end of the season. After losing four-straight, SMU has come back to win three in a row and stake its claim on second place. Rice has won four straight after losing four of five matches. The Owls have lost only one game in their last 12 games. The two teams will meet one more time on Nov. 6 in Houston.
THE WAC IN THE NCAA STATS Kim Willoughby (Hawai`i) remains the national leaders in kills (as of 10/21). Willoughby with 6.91 kpg through 65 games. The sophomore retains the top spot for the fourth-straight week. The highest any WAC player has finished nationally in kills is third when Brigham Young's Tea Nieminen averaged 5.22 kpg during the 1990 season. San Jose State's Brianna Blair is 27th in kills with 4.66 kpg.
Shauna McQuaid (Fresno State) and Suzanne Stonebarger (Nevada) are also among the national leaders. McQuaid is tied for 27th in blocks with a 1.45 bpg average. Stonebarger is also tied for 27th in digs with and average of 3.88 dpg.
As a team, the Wahine are in the national ranks in four categories. This week, Hawai`i is in the top 10 in two categories. Hawai`i is fifth in assists (15.77 apg) and 10th in hitting percentage (.302). The Rainbow Wahine are also tied for 11th in kills (16.89 kpg) and tied for 23rd in win-loss percentage.
Rice is 13th followed by Fresno State at 23rd in blocks. While Nevada ranks in both hitting percentage (15th-.285) and win-loss percentage (T-16th- 0.813).
HAWAI`I BREAKS THE TOP 10 Hawai`i is the only WAC team to be ranked in both the USA Today/AVCA and Volleyball Magazine polls. This week, Hawai`i moved up in the Volleyball Magazine climbing to No. 9 from No. 11. Hawai`i is No. 12 in the USA Today/AVCA top 25 poll. San Jose State also received 31 votes in the USA Today/AVCA poll, the most this season. Both San Jose State and Nevada received votes in this week's Volleyball Magazine poll.
HAWAI`I CONTINUES TO LEAD THE NATION IN ATTENDANCE Hawai`i is averaging 6,488 fans after its first 12 home matches. The next closest school is Nebraska with an average of 4,572. The Rainbow Wahine own the nation's top nine attendance figures this season and drew 7,723 fans against UCLA on Sept. 2, the second highest this season. Most recently, the Wahine drew 6,749 fans for a match with divisional foe Nevada. The Rainbow Wahine drew 153,688 fans in 2000 and is the only program in the country to draw more than 100,000 for six-consecutive years. Hawai`i is well on its way to make that seven seasons with over 75,000 total fans so far this season.
WINNING WAYS After starting the season 3-4, Hawai`i has rebounded to win 14-straight matches. The Rainbow Wahine started the season facing No. 1 Nebraska, No. 5 USC, No. 8 UCLA, No. 9 Wisconsin, No. 20 Santa Clara and No. 22 Kansas State. Hawai`i is 3-4 against ranked opponents, and has also defeated Big Ten foe Michigan. Hawai`i is also in the midst of a 48-match WAC regular season winning streak that dates back to 1998.
QUICK HITS Fresno State concluded its home schedule last week and ending the home season with a 10-2 mark. It was the fourth time under head coach Lindy Vivas that the Bulldogs have notched 10 or more home wins ... San Jose State's Brianna Blair moved to second all-time in kills as a Spartan with 1,429 kills ... Hawai'i's Jennifer Carey had her best match of the season against Nevada with nine kills, 11 assists and four blocks, hitting .643 ... Louisiana Tech hit .211 against UTEP for its highest hitting percentage in a WAC match led by Tanya Jarvis who had six blocks ... San Jose State's Liz Hudson had a career-high nine blocks against Fresno State, placing her one kill and one block away from a triple-double ... Rice's Leigh Leman recorded 20 digs in two matches to increase her career total to 1,271 ... Fresno State freshman setter Whitney Arena totaled 95 assists in two matches for an average of 11.88 assists per game ... Rice's Rebekah Neal recorded her fifth double-double of the season against Tulsa with 38 assists and 18 digs, tying her career best.
UNDERCLASSMEN LEADING THE WAC This season, underclassmen have made their mark in the WAC. Led by Hawai`i sophomore Kim Willoughby the WAC's freshmen and sophomore have had an impact.
Willoughby not only leads the WAC in kills, but she has also led the nation in kills for the past four weeks. This week, she averages 6.82 kpg and 7.32 kpg in WAC matches to lead the league. The sophomore also leads the conference in hitting percentage with a .349 mark.
San Jose State sophomore Kimberly Noble leads the WAC in services aces (0.52 sapg). She is one of five underclassmen in the top 10 in the category. Fellow sophomore and teammate Liz Hudson is second (0.44 sapg) followed by Tulsa freshman Vanessa Thon (0.43 sapg).
Boise State sophomore Jacqueline Heler (3.66 dpg) is second in the WAC in digs behind Nevada's Suzanne Stonebarger (3.84 dpg). Willoughby is fourth in the category with 3.53 dpg.
SHOJI MOVING UP NCAA LISTS Since taking over the coaching duties at Hawai`i in 1975, head coach Dave Shoji has won 758 matches and boasts an .843 winning percentage, both which rank among the all-time leaders in NCAA coaching history. His overall record stands at 758-143-1, placing him third all-time in winning percentage and fourth in wins among active coaches.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE PLAYED IN SAN JOSE The 2001 WAC Volleyball will be played at the Event Center on the campus of San Jose State University on Nov. 15-18. The tournament will feature all 10 WAC teams in a single-elimination format. The first-round matches will be played on Nov. 15 with seed No. 7 vs. No. 10 at 6:00 p.m. and seed No. 8 vs. No. 9 at 8:00 p.m. The quarterfinals are slated for Nov. 16 and feature the winner of No. 7/No. 10 vs. seed No. 2 at 1:00 p.m., seed No. 3 vs. No. 6, 3:00 p.m., seed No. 4 vs. No. 5, 6:30 p.m. and the winner of No. 8/No. 9 vs. seed No. 1 at 8:30 p.m. The semifinals are on Nov. 17 with match times set for 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., and the championship match slated for Nov. 18 at 1:00 p.m. (All times are Pacific).
WAC TOURNAMENT TICKETS ON SALE Tickets for the 2001 WAC Volleyball Tournament are on sale. Ticket prices are $30 for adults and $15 for children and students for an all-session pass (nine matches). Tickets can be purchased at the San Jose State Ticket Office or by calling (408) 924-SJTX. Fans can obtain a room rate at the San Jose Hilton & Towers by calling 408-287-2100 and request the "WAC Volleyball Tournament" group rate.