PLAYER OF THE WEEK SMU junior Leslie Lasiter has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week.
Lasiter, a 6-1 junior from Lufkin, Texas (Lufkin/Houston), led the Mustangs to wins over regionally ranked San Jose State and in-state rival TCU. The win over the Spartans was SMUs first ever over a regionally ranked opponent.
The middle blocker led the Mustangs to its first three-match winning streak of the season and stopped San Jose States eight-match winning streak. Against SJSU, Lasiter recorded a triple-double with 16 kills, 10 digs and 11 blocks in SMUs 3-2 win. Against TCU, she recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs in the Mustangs' 3-1 victory. Lasiter now has four double-doubles this season.
Lasiters performance helps place SMU fourth in the league in digs (16.45 dpg.) and blocks (2.41 bpg). The Mustangs moved into first place in the WACs Eastern Division with the weekend wins.
Other nominees included: Shauna McQuaid, Fresno State; Kim Willoughby, Hawai`i; Cristine SantAnna, Louisiana Tech; Michelle More, Nevada; Rebecca Pazo, Rice; Liz Hudson, San Jose State; Jacqui Nosan, UTEP and Kristin Bailey, Tulsa.
OTHERS NOMINATED Following are statistics and notes of others nominated for Player of the Week: Fresno State's Shauna McQuaid, a senior middle blocker, averaged 4.17 kpg and hit .298 as the Bulldogs split two WAC matches with Louisiana Tech (W, 3-0) and Rice (L, 0-3). Against Louisiana Tech, McQuaid had a match-high 14 kills and added two blocks. She currently has 10 consecutive double-kill matches with three 20-plus matches. Hawai`i's Kim Willoughby moved to first in the nation in kills with 6.08 kpg through Sept. 30. The sophomore left-side hitter led the team in kills in all three of the Rainbow Wahine's matches last week. In a three-game sweep over Tulsa, Willoughby recorded 26 kills, increasing her average to 6.36 kpg. Against Tulsa, she hit .649 and added eight digs and three blocks. Louisiana Tech's Cristine Sant'Anna, a sophomore right-side hitter hit .250 (35-15-80) in three matches. She added four service aces, 21 digs and 11 total blocks. Sant'Anna posted double figures in kills in all three matches, including a match-best 12 kills, 10 digs and seven blocks against Fresno State. The seven blocks are a career-high. Nevada's Michelle More, a junior middle blocker, led the Wolf Pack to road wins over Louisiana Tech and UTEP. She led the team in kills in both matches with 14 against UTEP and 10 against the Lady Techsters. More added an attack percentage of .500 in the two matches, including five services aces and five total blocks. Rice's Rebeca Pazo, a freshman outside hitter, led all Owl hitters against No. 13 Hawai`i with 14 kills. Pazo recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 19 kills and 20 digs in a 3-1 loss to San Jose State. She led all hitters against Fresno State with 19 kills. San Jose State's Liz Hudson had two double-doubles as SJSU split with SMU and Rice. The sophomore middle blocker hit .565 against SMU and .400 against Rice. Hudson had a season-high 18 digs against SMU and added 15 digs against Rice. She also added a season-high seven block assists and eight total blocks against the Mustangs. UTEP's Jacqui Nosan, a senior middle blocker, hit .424 last week. She notched a season-high 20 kills in a win against Boise State and added 15 kills in a loss to Nevada. Tulsa's Kristin Bailey, a freshman outside hitter, recorded 42 kills (3.82 kpg), 26 digs (2.36 dpg) and added five total blocks and two service aces in matches against Boise State, Hawai`i and Missouri-Kansas City.
WAC ACTION The WAC enters its fourth week of conference play. Fresno State's eight-match winning streak ended with a 3-0 loss to Rice, while San Jose State also lost an eight-match winning streak on the road with a tough five-game loss to SMU. Hawai`i, who continues to roll, winning seven-straight, returns home to face UTEP and SMU at home where the Rainbow Wahine lead the nation in attendance. Nevada, who owns a current WAC-high nine-match winning streak, travels to Fresno State and San Jose State. Fresno State holds a 12-4 series advantage over Nevada, while San Jose State. leads the series with the Wolf Pack 12-2.
LEADING THE WAY Not only is Nevada leading the WAC Western Division (11-1, 5-0 WAC), the Wolf Pack are also leading the way in conference statistics. Nevada is the conference leader in hitting percentage (.310) and won-lost percentage (.917). Hawai`i leads the conference in kills (16.39 kpg) and assists (15.33 apg). San Jose State is in front in the conference in digs (16.95 dpg) and service aces (2.29), while Rice leads in blocks (3.12 bpg). Last week, the Wolf Pack were also seventh in the nation in hitting percentage.
SMU TOPS SAN JOSE STATE IN FIVE SMU picked up its third- straight victory, as the Mustangs defeated WAC foe and regionally-ranked San Jose State, 3-2.
Down two games to one, the SMU rallied a 25-30, 30-26, 25-30, 30-26, 15-13 win at home. San Jose entered the match on an eight-match win streak, while the Mustangs entered the match having won three of their last four. The two teams fought with SMU taking the final game 15-13.
The Mustangs played well both offensively and defensively, recording 63 kills and 84 digs for the match.
Junior Leslie Lasiter was the Mustang leader, posting a triple-double with 16 kills, 10 digs and 11 blocks.
SMU junior Kristen Peterson and freshman Beth Karasek also played strong matches for SMU, as Peterson posted 22 digs while Karasek had another double-double with 15 kills and 16 digs.
Defensively, SMU limited last week's WAC Player of The Week Brianna Blair to a .067 hitting percentage.
RICE STOPS FRESNO STATE'S WINNING STREAK Fresno State had its nine-match win streak snapped and its four-match Western Athletic Conference streak stopped by Rice as the Bulldogs were swept for just the second time this season by the scores of 30-27, 30-18 and 30-23.
The Bulldogs trailed throughout all three games and Rice answered with a .350 hitting performance and 12 blocks in the victory.
The Owls, who are ranked No. 21 nationally in blocks per game, hit .300 or better in each of the three games to improve to 7-6 overall and 2-3 in conference play. Fresno State, which ranks second to Rice in blocks in league play, managed just a .142 hitting percentage and seven total blocks.
Fresno State sophomore outside hitter Kara Verwey tallied a team-high 13 kills while senior middle blocker Shauna McQuaid added 11 kills and tied for match-high honors with six blocks. Freshman outside hitter Kristen Fenton posted a match-high 14 digs while junior outside hitter Christy Burnett chipped in 11.
Rice had three players in double-figures, led by Rebeca Pazos 19 kills. The Owls' Rebekah Neal led Rice with 44 assists and 11 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.
ON A ROLL While Fresno State and San Jose State both had their eight-match winning streaks stopped on the road, Nevada and Hawai`i continue to roll.
The Wolf Pack have currently won nine-straight matches, while Hawai`i has won seven-straight. Nevada's nine-match streak equals the longest winning streak during head coach Devin Scruggs' tenure. The 11-1 overall start for Nevada is the best in Scruggs' five seasons. The Wolf Pack have not lost at home this season (7-0).
Hawai`i continued its return after a slow start. Hawai`i was dominate last week with three-straight sweeps. Since joining the WAC in 1997, the Rainbow Wahine have compiled a 74-1 (.987) mark during conference play.
HAWAI`I'S WILLOUGHBY LEADES NATION IN KILLS The last two WAC Players of the Week, Kim Willoughby (Hawai`i) and Brianna Blair (San Jose State), are among the national leaders in kills (as of 9/30). Willoughby leads the nation in kills with 6.08 kpg through 37 games. The sophomore moved up a spot; last week she was second with 6.12 kpg. 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. Blair is 22nd in the country with 4.66 kpg through 47 games.
NATIONAL POLL WATCH Hawai`i is the only WAC team to receive mention in both the USA Today/AVCA and Volleyball Magazine polls. Hawai`i is ranked 13th in the USA Today/AVCA top 25 poll and 16th in the Volleyball Magazine poll. Nevada also received 69 votes in the USA Today/AVCA poll, moving up to 26th from 27th, while San Jose State and Nevada also received votes in this week's Volleyball Magazine poll.
HAWAI`I LEADS THE NATION IN ATTENDANCE Hawai`i is averaging 6,580 fans after its first eight home matches. The Rainbow Wahine own the nation's top eight attendance figures this season and drew a nation-high 7,723 fans against UCLA on Sept. 2. 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.
RECORD WATCH Senior outside hitter Leigh Leman recorded 46 digs last week and now needs only two to take over the all-time spot at Rice. She currently has 1,216 digs. The record is currently held by Karolina Zelinka, who finished her career last season with 1,217 digs. Fresno State head coach Lindy Vivas is also closing in on a record. In her 11th season, she needs only one more win for her 200th victory at Fresno State (199-134).
TOP SCHEDULE Hawai`i is off to a 10-4 start, but the Rainbow Wahine have already faced 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.
UTEP TIES SCHOOL SERVICE ACE RECORD UTEP tied a school record with 15 services aces against Boise State on Oct. 6. The Miners also recorded 15 aces against Prarie View A&M during the 1994 season. The Miners were led by Sarah Davis who notched five of the team's 15 service aces, including four in a row. She is just the 11th UTEP player to recorded five or more service aces in a match.
QUICK HITS Louisiana Tech improved its record to 5-0 against instate schools with a 3-0 win over Louisiana Monroe last week ... the Techsters are also one win away from matching last season's win total for the whole year ... four of the five teams in the Western Division has already notched double-digits in wins ... Boise State's Megan Tranter had 20 kills and 16 digs against Tulsa ... Rice has out-blocked their opponents in 11 of 13 matches ... Rice's Elizabeth Davenport Pollock hit .526 (10-0-19) against Fresno State ... Hawai`i's Lauren Duggins and Maja Gustin hit .487 and .491, respectively for the week. Duggins notched 24 kills, including only five errors, while Gustin added 30 kills and only three errors.
UNDERCLASSMEN MAKING THEIR MARK Several underclassmen are making their mark in the WAC statistics. In kills, Hawai`i's Kim Willoughby leads the WAC, averaging 6.35 kills per game. Willoughby was first in the nation last week in kills. Also ranked are San Jose State sophomore Kimberly Noble (3.82 kpg - 6th), Rice freshman Rebeca Pazo (4.13 kpg - 3rd) and Hawai`i sophomore Maja Gustin (3.63 kpg - 7th). In service aces, four of the top 10 leaders are underclassmen, including Noble (0.73 sapg - 1st), Tulsa freshman Vanessa Thon (0.45 sapg - T-2nd), San Jose State sophomore Liz Hudson (0.49 sapg - T-2nd), and Louisiana Tech sophomore Tanya Jarvis (0.39 sapg - 8th). In digs, Boise State sophomore Jacqueline Heler leads the WAC, averaging 3.89 dpg with Willoughby (3.39 dpg - 4th), Thon (3.07 dpg - T-7th) and UTEP's Jennifer Abbruzzese (3.07 dpg- T-7th).
SHOJI MOVING UP NCAA LISTS Since taking over the coaching duties at Hawai`i in 1975, head coach Dave Shoji has won 747 matches and boasts an .837 winning percentage, both which rank among the all-time leaders in NCAA coaching history. His overall record stands at 747-143-1, 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.
WAC EXPANDS TO TEN After just one year as a nine-team league, the WAC expanded to 10 for the 2001-02 season. The Boise State Broncos and Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters joined the conference July 1, 2001, while TCU left for Conference USA.
WAC VOLLEYBALL ON THE WEB The WAC site on the world wide web (www.wacsports.com) includes extensive volleyball information. It includes the latest notes, statistics, standings and Players of the Week.