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WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK San Jose State's Stephanie Pascucci has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week. Pascucci earned her first career player of the week honor and San Jose State's first honor of the season.
The senior middle blocker hit .568 in three matches last week as San Jose State defeated Saint Mary's, SMU and Rice. Pascucci had 58 kills and four errors in 95 attempts and hit a season-high .629 versus Rice with no errors (22-0-35). She hit .500 or better in all three matches and also had 12 blocks, eight digs and four service aces during the week.
Other nominees included: Christy Burnett, Fresno State; Kim Willoughby, Hawai'i; Brianna Sibley, Louisiana Tech; Michelle More, Nevada; and Briana Cook, Rice.
THIS WEEK IN WAC VOLLEYBALL The 2002 volleyball season enters week eight. All 10 teams will face off with WAC opponents, continuing interdivisional play. Western Division leading Hawaii travels to Eastern Division co-leader UTEP on Oct. 17. Fresno State (5-1) hosts the other Eastern Division co-leader, SMU, on Oct. 17. SMU will also take on Hawaii on Oct. 19 in Dallas. Nevada (4-1) will travel to Tulsa and San Jose State this weekend. The matchup with the Spartans pits two teams with one loss against each other.
SAN JOSE STATE'S HUDSON RECORDS FIRST TRIPLE-DOUBLE San Jose State junior middle blocker Liz Hudson recorded the WAC's first triple-double of the season in a win over Saint Mary's. Hudson had 13 kills, 13 digs and 12 blocks as the Spartans defeated Saint Mary's in five games. The triple-double was the first of Hudson's career. The performance jump-started the Spartans as they went on to capture two WAC wins to even their overall record to 9-9.
NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS WAC teams will face at least 21 teams that participated in last years NCAA Tournament. Hawaii will play the most (6), including San Diego State, UCLA, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Colorado and defending national champion Stanford. San Jose State will face four teams, including Stanford. Fresno State is next (3) along with Nevada (5), Rice (2), SMU (1) and UTEP (1). So far this season, the WAC is 82-47 (.636) against non conference opponents. So far this season, the WAC is 5-3 against teams ranked in the top 25. Hawaii leads the way with a 3-0 record with wins over No. 9 Ohio State, No. 7 UCLA and No. 20 Colorado. Nevada upset then-No. 23 BYU and then No. 25 Colorado State.
HAWAII SECOND IN THE NATION IN TWO CATEGORIES Hawaii is second in the nation in assists and hitting percentage in the latest NCAA statistics (thru 10/6). The Rainbow Wahine are first in kills with an 18.08 kills per game average. Fresno State is 23rd in hitting percentage (.272). Tulsa is 8th in service aces (2.54 sapg), while the Bulldogs are 24th (2.33 sapg). The Rainbow Wahine are also second in assists (16.63 apg), followed by the Wolf Pack who are 12th (15.15 apg). Nevada is also 19th in kills per game (16.63), followed by No. 26 Fresno State (16.28 kpg).
Hawaii's Kim Willoughby, who led the NCAA in kills per game last season, is third this season (6.27 kpg). Nevada's Michelle More (5.58 kpg) drops to seventh, while Hawaii's Lily Kahumoku (5.03 kpg) is 19th. Nevada's Jill Couwenhoven (13.38 apg) is 10th in assists, while UTEP's Jennifer Abbruzzese is 25th in digs with 4.20 dpg.
RICE'S COOK TIES ALL-TIME BLOCK RECORD Rice's Briana Cook tied the Owl all-time total blocks record of 454 with eight total blocks against SanJose State. She also added one solo to bring her career total to 48, fifth-best all-time at Rice. Cook already holds the all-time block assists record with 411. She hit .526, averaging 2.40 kills per game in the loss to San Jose State.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE WAC schools have really taken advantage of playing at home this season. Nevada is 9-0 at home this season and have won 27-of-28 games played in the Virginia Street Gym this year. The Wolf Packs overall home court win streak is 10 matches dating back to the final match of last season when they knocked off UNLV, 3-2.
Hawaii has played all of its matches so far this season at home, winning all 13. At home this season, the Rainbow Wahine have beaten No. 9 Ohio State, No. 11 UCLA and No. 20 Colorado. Last season, the WAC Champions ended the season with a 14-2 record at home. Fresno State also holds a 7-1 mark at home this season, while Louisiana Tech is 4-2.
PACKING THE STANDS Hawaii leads the nation in attendance average this season, averaging 7,197 fans per match. The Rainbow Wahine have drawn over 93,000 fans in 13 home matches this season. Nebraska, the second ranked school, averages 4,851 after four matches.
Hawaii also holds the top nine of the top 10 attendance figures this season, including the top spot with 9,495 fans in the season opening win over Ohio State on August 30. Against UCLA (9/2), Hawaii drew 8,604 for the second spot, and the match with Washington (9/7) took third, drawing 7,365.
Top 10 National Attendance
School Avg. Matches Total
1. Hawai'i 7,197 13 93,561
2. Nebraska 4,745 7 33,216
3. Wisconsin 3,348 7 23,438
4. Arizona 2,817 7 19,920
5. Florida 2,705 9 24,356
6. Penn St. 2,211 10 22,106
7. ISU 2,193 10 21,928
8. Stanford 2,166 7 15,165
9. LBSU 2,137 10 21,367
10. No. Iowa 1,950 5 9,751
TWO WAC TEAMS ACKNOWLEDGED BY POLLS Hawaii is the only WAC team to appear in both the USA Today/AVCA and Volleyball Magazine polls. This week, the Rainbow Wahine are second in both the Volleyball Magazine poll the USA Today/AVCA poll. But this is the first week this season that Fresno State has received votes in both polls. The Bulldogs received 21 votes in the USA Today/AVCA poll and also received votes in the Volleyball Magazine poll.
NEVADA'S COUWENHOVEN NEAR ASSIST MILESTONE Jill Couwenhoven has 2,593 career assists leaving her just seven short of 2,600 in her three plus seasons in a Wolf Pack uniform. Couwenhoven is currently third on the career assist list and will prob-ably end her career in third as Monica Petrilli(1993-96) is 874 assists ahead in second place. Carla Busalacchi(1990-93) is first with 4,550 assists.
MAJOR RULE CHANGE One major rule change this season is the addition of the Libero (pronounced: LEE-bah-ro). The Libero is a designated back row player who can replace any player in the back row without counting as a substitution. The Libero will wear a different uniform and has limitations. She cannot serve or attack a ball if contact is made while the ball is above the height of the net. The libero also cannot block or attempt a block.
VOLLEYBALL FORMAT There are two divisions for the 2002 season: West and East. 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.
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.
AROUND THE COURT News and notes from around the league:
Boise State Despite winning a game against UTEP, the Broncos dropped their 14th and 15th-straight matches to Tulsa and UTEP, respectively. The game that Boise State won against UTEP was its first since capturing two games against Idaho on Sept. 24. Boise State's last win came against Eastern Kentucky on Aug. 31.
Fresno State When the Bulldogs opened at 9-1, they won nine of their first 10 for the third time overall (1976, 1998, 2002). At 12-1, Fresno State won 12 of its first 13 for the first time since 1998 and for the third time overall in school history (1976, 1998, 2002). At 13-2, the Bulldogs are still tied for the best start in school history with the 1976 and 1998 teams. At 15-2, the 'Dogs still remained tied for the best start in school history (1976 and 1998). Now at 17-2, the Bulldogs officially have recorded the best start in the program's history.
Hawaii Hawaii is currently 13-0 and have lost just two games during the season. UH extended its conference winning streak to 55 matches. The Rainbow Wahine have now won their last 24 games as well. All-American Lily Kahumoku also had 14 kills, to go with nine digs against Tulsa. Junior Karin Lundqvist added nine kills, four blocks and a .438 hitting percentage, while junior Lauren Duggins hit .400 with eight kills, six digs and three blocks.
Louisiana Tech Sophomore outside hitter Heather Anderson posted a season-high 17 digs in a loss to Fresno State. Cristine Sant'Anna posted her 10th double double of the season with 16 kills and 11 digs at Fresno State. The Lady Techsters have been earning their frequent flyer miles, having spent only two of the past 11 days in the central time zone. Louisiana Tech returned home from Nevada on Monday afternoon after traveling 14,000 air miles in the past 11 days.
Nevada Senior Michelle More began the season fifth in career kills, but her 340 kills so far this season gives her 1,282 for her career and has moved her into third on the Wolf Pack career list. The 340 kills is just 11 short of her career high of 351 set during the 2001 campaign. More has passed Kelly Martin (1,172, 1991-92) and Suzanne Stonebarger (1,198, 1998-01) this season. Well within her sights just 35 ahead is Jennifer White who totaled 1,317 kills from 1990-93. Tiffany Neumeier (1994-97) is first with 1,779 kills.
Rice Rice out-blocked the Spartans 17.0-4.5, marking the 13th time the Owls have out-blocked their opponent this season. Rice recorded 32 block assists and one solo, courtesy of senior Briana Cook. Sophomore Rebeca Pazo had a match-high 24 kills on 60 attempts (.267)and hit the court for 17 digs,securing her eighth double-double on the year. Rebecca Kainz knocked down a personal-best 13 kills and assisted on six blocks. Freshman Erica Scott hit .500 (13-1-24),to help lead the Owls to a .298-.263 hitting advantage. Rebekah Neal tied her career-high in assists with 65.
San Jose State With three wins last week, the Spartans have now won four-straight matches. Last week, San Jose State won five-game matches against Saint Mary's and Rice. Against Saint Mary's, the Spartans set a school record for block assists with 37, breaking the old record of 35 set during the 2001 season. In a 3-1win over SMU, junior outside hitter Kimberly Noble became the ninth Spartan to ever record 1,000 career kills. She now has 1,029 kills.
SMU In a win against Boise State, senior Kristen Peterson recorded her 1,000th career dig. Early in game one, Peterson notched two digs and became the fourth player in SMU history to record 1,000 digs. Peterson is ranked 25th nationally and is fourth all-time in digs for the Mustangs. Peterson went on to record eight digs in the win over the Broncos.
UTEP UTEP looks to win its second-straight WAC match after defeating Boise State in four last week. This week, the Miners face No. 2 Hawaii (Oct. 17) in Honolulu after a non-conference matchup with New Mexico State (Oct. 15).
Tulsa Tulsa won its first WAC match of the season with a sweep of Boise State on Oct. 10. Tulsa then traveled to Honolulu and fell to No. 2 Hawaii in three. Leading the way for the Golden Hurricane is sophomore Dana Weddle. The middle hitter is eighth in the WAC in hitting percentage, hitting .333. She is also 10th in the league in kills per game (3.64 kpg).