AGAINST THE FIELD The three teams that are participating in the 2001 NCAA Tournament have a 17-16 (.515) combined record against the tournament field. Hawai`i is 11-5. All of its losses are to teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including second-seeded Nebraska and fourth-seeded USC. The Wahine posted wins over Utah, Kansas State, Cincinnati, Santa Clara (twice), San Diego State, San Jose State (three times) and Nevada (twice). Nevada is 2-5 against the field with wins against 12-seeded Pacific and San Jose Sate. San Jose State is 4-6 against this year's field. The Spartans have wins against Oregon State, San Diego and Nevada (twice). SJSU's losses came against Hawai`i (three times), Santa Clara, Minnesota and Nevada.
NCAA OPPONENTS Here's a quick look at the WAC's first round opponents: The Broncos of Santa Clara are 19-9 overall and finished second in the West Coast Conference standings. Santa Clara, 2-5 all-time in the NCAA Championships, will be making the programs sixth appearance in the postseason. The Broncos advanced to the second round in 1999 and 2000. Santa Clara is currently ranked No. 22.
Washington State is 17-11 and finished sixth in the Pac-10 Conference. The Cougars are led by juniors LaToya Harris and Holly Harris. LaToya Harris is ninth in the Pac-10 in kills (3.8 kpg) and fourth in service aces (0.40 sapg).
No. 3 Stanford is making its 21st-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal are one of only four teams to have competed in all 21 NCAA Championships. Stanford received an automatic bid as Pac-10 Champions. Stanford won its ninth Pac-10 title by defeating Arizona State, 3-0.
COMMON OPPONENTS All three teams have at least one opponent in common with its first round matchup.
Hawai`i and first round opponent Washington State have six common opponents. The Cougars posted a 2-6 record against teams that Hawai`i has faced. The Wahine have a 3-3 record against the same opponents. Hawai`i defeated Kansas State, while the Cougars lost. Both teams suffered losses to UCLA, USC and Pacific. WSU also faced WAC members, Rice and Boise State, coming away with wins.
Nevada and its first round opponent, Stanford, have three common opponents. The Wolf Pack and the Cardinal have faced Arizona State, Santa Clara and Pacific. Stanford finished 4-0 against the three teams, beating Arizona State twice. Nevada finished 2-1 against the same teams.
San Jose State and Santa Clara have faced six of the same opponents, including Sacramento State, Saint Mary's and San Diego. The two teams met head to head on Sept. 4 with Santa Clara coming away with the 3-0 win in San Jose. The Broncos won each game by no more than four points.
THE WAC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT WAC teams are a combined 105-81 (.565) in the NCAA Tournament since 1981. Current WAC teams are a combined 53-31 (.631) in tournament play. Four of the current league teams have competed in the tournament, including Fresno State, Hawai`i, Nevada and San Jose State. Since the WAC began the sponsorship of women's athletics in 1990, WAC teams are 13-8 (.619) in the NCAA's. Since 1990, the WAC has had at least two teams compete in the NCAA Tournament every year except 1999. The three teams advancing to postseason are the most since six teams advanced in 1998.
HAWAI`I WINS WAC TOURNAMENT
Hawaii earned the Western Athletic Conference automatic bid by winning the first WAC Tournament since 1998, defeating third-seeded San Jose State, 3-0. The Rainbow Wahine won the last WAC Tournament, defeating Brigham Young in five. Hawaii won by game scores of 30-22, 30-27, 30-22. San Jose State with wins over SMU and Nevada, the Spartans advanced to its first WAC Tournament Championship match.
HAWAI`I IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT Hawai`i is one of the nation's most successful NCAA Tournament teams. The Rainbow Wahine are playing in their 20th tournament, missing only in 1992, and have compiled a 41-16 (.795) overall record. This is their sixth appearance as a WAC member, compiling a 13-5 (.722) mark. Hawai`i has won the NCAA title three times: 1982, 1983 and 1987. The Rainbow Wahine finished second in 1998 and 1996. Last season, Hawai`i lost to the eventual national champions Nebraska in the national semifinal match. Hawai`i defeated Davidson, Utah, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara en route to the final four.
NEVADA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT The Wolf Pack return to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history. Nevada made its first NCAA appearance in 1998 when the Wolf Pack traveled to Honolulu. Nevada fell in the first round to Miami of Ohio, 3-0. Head coach Devin Scruggs has led Nevada to the NCAA Tournament two times in five seasons.
SAN JOSE STATE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT This is the 12th appearance for San Jose State in the NCAA Tournament, its third under head coach Craig Choate.The Spartans own a 7-12 (.368) all-time record in tournament play, 0-2 as a WAC member. Last season, the Spartans faced Long Beach State, losing, 3-1. In 1998, SJSU lost to Colorado, 3-0. The Spartans have never met Santa Clara in the NCAA Tournament, but hold the overall series lead 27-6.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK San Jose States Liz Hudson has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week.
Hudson, a sophomore middle blocker, earned her first player of the week honor of the season by breaking a San Jose State blocking record. The Fountain Valley, Calif., native broke the Spartan record for block assists in a match with 14 in SJSUs 3-1 win over Idaho.
Hudson averaged 3.29 kills, 1.71 digs and 2.71 blocks per game as the Spartans defeated Idaho and Auburn. Hudson added 14 kills against Idaho to secure the win.
The middle blocker is the third Spartan to win the Player of the Week award this season. Senior Savannah Smith and senior Brianna Blair have been honored.
Other nominees included: Kim Willoughby, Hawaii; Rebeca Pazo, Rice and Jennifer Abbruzzese, UTEP.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Hawai`i sophomore Kim Willoughby broke the single-season record for kills in a season against Fresno State with her 654th kill of the season in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament. She now has 758 total kills, heading into NCAA Tournament play. Willoughby also averages 7.08 kpg. She is on pace to finish in the top five all-time in kills per game.
WAC TOURNAMENT NOTES
Several WAC tournament records were broken. UTEP's Ana Beatriz Fontes set a new WAC Tournament record with her seven service aces. The previous record was four. Hawai`i set the record for hitting percentage in a match by hitting .438 against Tulsa.
WAHINE FIRST IN THE NATION IN ASSISTS Hawai`i rose to first in the nation in assists (16.32) last week (11/18). No WAC team has ever finished higher than third in assists (New Mexico, 1990). As a team, the Wahine are in the national rankings in three other categories. The Wahine rank second in the country in kills (17.62 kpg) and sixth in hitting percentage (.313). Hawai`i is also 15th in win-loss percentage (.867).
Kim Willoughby (Hawai`i) remains the national leader in kills (as of 11/18) with 7.08 kpg. The sophomore retains the top spot for the seventh-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.
Tara Hatfield (SMU) and Suzanne Stonebarger (Nevada) are also among the national leaders. Hatfield is now 28th in blocks with 1.44 bpg. Stonebarger moved up to 23rd in digs with an average of 3.95 dpg.
SINGLE SEASON LEADERS This season, several single season records have broken. Hawai`i sophomore Kim Willoughby set new records for kills per game (7.08) and total kills 758. She also set the same record in WAC only matches with 7.19 kpg. She stands in third in total kills in WAC matches with 291.
Nevada senior Suzanne Stonebarger tied for eighth in digs per game with 3.95, while UTEP's Jennifer Abbruzzese is 10th in digs per game in WAC matches with 4.10. Abbruzzese is also 10th in total service aces (25) and total digs (209)
Rice's Alison Broadfoot finished the season ranked fifth in service aces in WAC matches (0.60).
IN the POLLS Hawai`i is the only WAC team to be ranked in both the USA Today/AVCA and Volleyball Magazine polls. This week, Hawai`i slipped in both polls after its first loss since Sept. 7. In the USA Today/AVCA poll, Hawai`i landed in the No. 11 spot and No. 13 in the Volleyball Magazine poll. San Jose State also received votes in this week's Volleyball Magazine and USA Today/AVCA polls.
HAWAI`I breaks 100,000 mark For the seventh-straight season Hawai`i has passed the 100,000 mark in attendance. With three remaining home matches the Rainbow Wahine needed to draw 10,145 to reach 10,000. Hawai`i exceeded that mark ending the regular season drawing 104,222. The Wahine are the only team in the nation this season to surpass 100,000.
Hawai`i is averaging 6,514 fans in 16 home matches. The next closest school is Nebraska with an average of 4,528. The Rainbow Wahine own eight of the nation's top 10 attendance figures this season. Hawai`i set the WAC high for attendance in its last home match of the season when 7,836 fans watched the Wahine defeat Fresno State. The Hawai`i match with the Bulldogs was the 30th best in WAC history and third highest in the nation this season. The Rainbow Wahine drew 153,688 fans in 2000 and is the only program in the country to draw more than 100,000 for seven-consecutive years.
WINNING WAYS After starting the season 3-4, Hawai`i rebounded to win 24-straight matches before falling to No. 12 Pacific in a tough five-game match. 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 now 4-4 against ranked opponents with a 3-0 win over No. 22 UCSB at home. The Wahine has also defeated Big Ten foe Michigan. Hawai`i is in the midst of a 52-match WAC regular season winning streak that dates back to 1998.