WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK Rice's Rebeca Pazo has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week. Pazo earned her second career player of the week honor and Rice's second honor of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Rebecca Kainz earned player of the honors the week of Sept. 16.
The sophomore outside hitter averaged 6.50 kills per game, as the Owls defeated Boise State and Nevada in three games to move to 2-1 in the WAC. Rice and SMU are tied for first place in the Eastern Division. The 2001 WAC Freshman of the Year ended the week with 39 kills and 17 digs in six games. She hit .452 in the two matches.
Against Boise State, Pazo recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 20 kills and 10 digs. Against Nevada, she led all hitters with 19 kills, hitting .366 (19-4-41). Pazo added one solo block and two assists against the Wolf Pack.
OTHERS NOMINATED Other nominees included: Java Johnson, Fresno State; Lily Kahumoku, Hawaii; Megan Rush, Louisiana Tech; Salaia Salavea, Nevada; Stephanie Pascucci, San Jose State; Leslie Lasiter, SMU and Jennifer Abbruzzese, UTEP.
Fresno State's Johnson led the Bulldogs to sweeps over Tulsa and UTEP. Johnson hit . 419 for the weekend with 22 kills and eight total blocks. This season, Johnson now has nine double-figure kill matches.
Hawaii's Kahumoku started strong for the Rainbow Wahine against Louisiana Tech. The junior left-side hitter had seven kills on eight attempts in game one. She ended the match with 15 kills, seven digs and one block. She now averages 5.03 kills per game.
Louisiana Tech's Rush had a career-high blocks against Stephen F. Austin with nine as the Lady Techsters lost a heartbreaker in five. Rush also added 10 kills against Hawaii.
Nevada's Salavea averaged 2.50 kills, 1.88 blocks, and .75 digs per game while hitting .286 in two matches as the Wolf Pack went 1-1 on their swing through Texas. In the match at SMU, she recorded career highs in kills with 16 and blocks with 13, one solo and 12 assisted. The 13 blocks is a Pack individual season-high. In the Rice match she had four kills and two more blocks.
SMU's Lasiter had 26 kills in eight games for the Mustangs, as SMU went 1-1 last week. Against Boise State, Lasiter hit .400 with 14 kills and six blocks. She ended the weekend with seven total blocks.
San Jose State's Pascucci led the team in kills in both the loss to UTEP and the win over Tulsa. Against the Miners she recorded 17 kills and added 14 against the Golden Hurricane. She also added a season-high eight digs and nine blocks against Tulsa.
UTEP's Abbruzzese became the fastest Miner to reach 900 career kills (68 matches), as she led UTEP to its second win over San Jose State in its last eight tries. Abbruzzese averaged 5.29 kills and 4.57 digs last week to go along with five blocks and an ace. For the season, Abbruzzese is averaging 4.51 kills and 4.20 digs this season.
THIS WEEK IN WAC VOLLEYBALL The 2002 volleyball season enters week seven. All 10 teams will face off with WAC opponents, continuing interdivisional play. Western Division leading Hawaii hosts Tulsa this week on Oct. 13. The Golden Hurricane, in search of their first win, will also take on Boise State on the road. The Western Division leaders, SMU and Rice, are both on the road this week. Both schools will face San Jose State. Fresno State, 3-1, and Nevada, 2-1, will both host Louisiana Tech this weekend.
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 81-47 (.633) 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 TOPS IN THE NATION IN TWO CATEGORIES Hawaii leads the nation in assists and hitting percentage in the latest NCAA statistics (thru 9/29). The Rainbow Wahine are first in kills with an 18.26 kills per game average. Hawaii also leads the country with a .334 hitting percentage. Fresno State is 24th in hitting percentage (.272), while Tulsa is 26th (.272). The Rainbow Wahine are also second in assists (16.89 apg), followed by the Wolf Pack who are seventh (15.53 apg). Nevada is also 11th in kills per game (16.91), followed by No. 30 Fresno State (16.20 kpg). Tulsa is ninth in aces (2.65 sapg).
Hawaii's Kim Willoughby, who led the NCAA in kills per game last season, is third this season (6.37 kpg). Nevada's Michelle More (5.81 kpg) remains fifth, while Hawaii's Lily Kahumoku (5.03 kpg) is 19th. Nevada's Jill Couwenhoven (13.64 apg) is seventh in assists, while SMU's Kristen Peterson is 25th in digs with 4.18 dpg and UTEP's Jennifer Abbruzzese is 29th with 4.12 dpg.
MORALES REACHES MILESTONE Rice head coach Julio Morales recorded his 100th victory at the helm of the Owls with a 3-0 win over Boise State on Oct. 3. Earlier this season, Morales reached 150 career wins with a 3-0 win over TCU on Sept. 6.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE WAC schools have really taken advantage of playing at home this season. Nevada is 7-0 at home this season and have won 21-of-22 games played in the Virginia Street Gym this year. The Wolf Packs overall home court win streak is eight 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.
Three other teams who are off fast starts have stellar records at home this season. Fresno State holds a 5-1 mark at home this season, while Louisiana Tech is 4-2.
PACKING THE STANDS Hawaii leads the nation in attendance average this season, averaging 7,228 fans per match. The Rainbow Wahine have drawn over 85,000 fans in 12 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. Hawaii 7,228 12 86,731
2. Nebraska 4,851 6 29,104
3. Wisconsin 3,348 7 23,438
4. Florida 2,523 7 17,633
5. Penn St. 2,438 8 19,508
6. Illinois St. 2,193 10 21,928
7. Stanford 2,166 7 15,165
8. LBSU 2,112 8 16,897
9. No. Iowa 1,940 3 5,820
10. Arizona 1,900 5 9,502
HOLDING STEADY 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. Fresno State (17) its third appearances, receiving votes in the USA Today/AVCA poll.
SANT'ANNA TO BE FEATURED IN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Louisiana Tech junior outside hitter Cristine Sant'Anna is expected to be featured in next week's edition of Sports Illustrated. Sant'Anna will be in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of Sports Illustrated.
A photographer was on the Ruston campus Oct. 1 to take pictures of Sant'Anna for the magazine. Sant'Anna attracted the attention of the publication after being named WAC player of the week after leading Louisiana Tech to its first tournament title in nine years two weeks ago. For the season, Sant'Anna is averaging 3.62 kills per game and has a .293 hitting percentage. The week Sant'Anna earned player of the week award she led Tech to its first tournament title in nine years and posted 4.0 kills per game and 1.9 digs per game. The junior also posted career highs in blocks and hitting percentage against Grambling State
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 Boise State is 1-14 overall and 0-3 in the WAC. The Broncos average 12.54 kills, 11.21 assists, 0.90 serves, 12.46 digs and 1.58 blocks per game. The team is led by junior Megan Tranter who averages 3.15 kills and 2.35 digs. She is followed by junior Christina Moore who averages 2.17 kills and 1.98 digs. Sophomore Mindy Bennett averages 9.08 assists.
Fresno State Fresno State was on the road last week for WAC play for the second-straight week and recorded a pair of sweeps over Tulsa and UTEP. With 12 of the team's 15 wins being sweeps, the Bulldogs are also now 10-1 away from home. The Bulldogs have won 15 of their first 17 contests and still tie the program's best start. Three teams (1976, 1998 and 2002) have raced out to a 15-2 start. Fresno State's 9-1, 12-1 and 13-2 starts also tied the program's best starts set in 1976 and 1998.
Hawaii Hawaii is currently 12-0 and have lost just two games during the season. Hawaii extended its conference winning streak to 54 matches. The Rainbow Wahine have now won their last 21 games. The Rainbow Wahine retained their No. 2 ranking, earning six first place votes behind No. 1 USC. Junior Lauren Duggins played well against Louisiana Tech, with eight kills, six blocks and a .389 hitting percentage.
Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech dropped two matches last week. The Lady Techsters fell to Stephen F. Austin in five and lost to No. 2 Hawaii in three. The second-ranked Rainbow Wahine are the highest ranked team that Louisiana Tech has ever played. It was also the Lady Techsters first visit to the Island.
Nevada Nevada had its four match win streak snapped by Rice last weekend. The Owls were the first team to sweep the Wolf Pack this season. Nevada remains 7-0 at home this season and have won 21-of-22 games played in the Virginia Street Gym this year. The Wolf Pack are 2-0 in five game matches this season. Senior, Michelle More has led Nevada in kills in 14-of-16 matches this season. Ten of the Packs 13 victories this year have been in 3-0 sweeps.
Rice Rice out-blocked both Boise State and Nevada to mark the 11th and 12th times this season the Owls have out-blocked their opponent. Senior Briana Cook recorded 11 total blocks in two matches,including two solos, bringing her career total to 47,fifth-best in Rice history. She needs just nine total blocks to tie the record of 454 set by Tricia Bowen from 1986-90. Freshman Erica Scott averaged 4.00 kpg over the weekend with 14 kills against Nevada. Setter Rebekah Neal averaged 14.83 assists per game,after putting up 89 in six games.
San Jose State The Spartans snapped its five-match losing streak with a 3-1 win over Eastern Division foe Tulsa. San Jose State evened out its WAC record to 1-1. This week, the Spartans face Saint Mary's in a non-conference matchup before taking on SMU and Rice at home in WAC action.
SMU The Mustangs spilt WAC matches last week with Nevada and Boise State, extending the Spartans to five games and sweeping the Broncos. The Mustangs were once again led by senior middle blocker Leslie Lasiter who recorded 26 kills in the two matches along with seven total blocks.
UTEP UTEP takes to the road for the first time since Sept. 7. The Miners take on Nevada on Thursday, Oct. 10 in Reno, Nev., and Boise State on Saturday, Oct. 12 in Boise, Idaho. The Miners are 11-23 (.324) in WAC road matches over the past five years. The Miners will have to pull out a win this week to stay in the hunt with Eastern Division teams SMU and Rice, who are each 2-1 in league play.
Tulsa Tulsa lost back-to-back matches for the first time this season, falling in three to Fresno State and losing to San Jose State, 3-1. Tulsa is now 0-2 in WAC play and look to get back on track this weekend against Boise State and Hawaii. The Hurricane will continue to battle Western Division teams this week.