|
|
Related Material
|
11.12.PDF
|
WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK Fresno State's Kristen Fenton has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week. Fenton earned the Bulldogs' first player of the week honor since Diann Aufermaur in 1999.
The sophomore outside hitter averaged 4.71 kpg and 2.57 dpg. Fresno State defeated San Jose State and Boise State, losing only one game in two matches. With the wins, the Bulldogs have 14 points, earning at least a second-place seed in the WAC Tournament.
Fenton led the team in total kills with 33 and aces with six in the two matches. The Marysville, Mich., native was also second on the squad in hitting percentage (.351), block solos (2) and total blocks (6). The sophomore had 14 kills against Boise State and added 19 against San Jose State. Fenton now has 19 double-figure kill matches and 11 double-figure dig matches this season. She has collected double-figure kills in 14 of her last 15 matches.
Other nominees included: Kim Willoughby, Hawai'i; Brianna Sibley, Louisiana Tech; Kristen Peterson, SMU and Jennifer Abbruzzese, UTEP.
THE ELITE EIGHT The 2002 volleyball season enters week 12 and the final week of WAC play. This week, the seeds of the WAC Tournament will be determined. The eight teams that will advance to the WAC Tournament have been set: Hawaii, Fresno State, Nevada, San Jose State, Rice, UTEP, SMU and Louisiana Tech. The Rainbow Wahine need one more win to seal first in the Western Division and the No.1 seed in the tournament. Fresno State has sealed at least the No. 2 seed, while Nevada and San Jose State fight for the No. 3 seed. The Wolf Pack take on Fresno State and Boise State on the road to end the WAC season, while the Spartans face the Broncos and Hawaii at home. Rice and UTEP will fight for the Eastern Division title and position in the WAC Tournament. This week, the Eastern Division leaders will face off on Friday, November 15. Before taking on the Miners, the Owls face SMU on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The Mustangs are only two points behind UTEP and Rice. The Miners will also face Tulsa after taking on Rice.
CURRENT POINT STANDINGS The current point standings for seeding in the WAC Tournament are as follows:
Hawaii 16
Fresno State 14
Nevada 11
SJSU 10
Rice 8
UTEP 8
SMU 6
Louisiana Tech 5
Tulsa 2
Boise State 0
*Ties in alphabetical order
HAWAII SUFFERS FIRST LOSS OF THE SEASON Hawaii lost its first match of the season to the No. 4 Stanford Cardinal 31-29, 30-28 and 30-24 in front of a sold out crowd of 10,252 at the Stan Sheriff Center Sunday. The loss stopped Hawaii's match winning streak at 23 and their game-winning streak at 54. The 54 consecutive games won ranks fourth in NCAA history. The defending national champions are 2-0 against the WAC this season also defeating San Jose State. Last season, the Cardinal ended two WAC seasons in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Nevada in the first round and San Jose State in the second en route to the national championship.
NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS WAC teams faced at least 21 teams that participated in last years NCAA Tournament. Hawaii so far this season has played 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 90-51 (.638) 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 3-1 record with wins over No. 9 Ohio State, No. 7 UCLA and No. 20 Colorado. Hawaii still has No. 6 Stanford on the schedule at home on Nov. 10. Hawaii fell to No. 4 Stanford at home on Nov. 10. Nevada upset then-No. 23 BYU and then No. 25 Colorado State.
WAC AMONG NATION'S LEADERS Hawaii is first in the nation in three categories as of Nov. 3 The Rainbow Wahine lead the country in kills (18.31), assists (16.86) and hitting percentage (.342) in the latest NCAA statistics. Tulsa remains 23rd in service aces (2.16 sapg), while the Lady Techsters are 30th (2.09 sapg). The Rainbow Wahine are also 11th in digs (18.60 dpg). Nevada is also 19th in kills per game (16.46).
Hawaii's Kim Willoughby, who led the NCAA in kills per game last season, is third this season (6.43 kpg). Nevada's Michelle More (5.531 kpg) is seventh, while Hawaii's Lily Kahumoku (5.28 kpg) is 13th. Nevada's Jill Couwenhoven (13.45 apg) is ninth in assists.
HAWAII PASSES 100,000 IN ATTENDANCE Hawaii had a strong final home weekend with three matches over 7,500 fans a match. The Rainbow Wahine ended the regular season drawing 146,001 in 20 home matches this season. Last season, Hawaii ended the season drawing 104,222. The Rainbow Wahine came just short of topping their 2000 attendance of 153,688
Hawaii also holds eight of the top 10 attendance figures this season, including the top spot with 10,252 fans in the loss to Stanford on Nov. 10. In the season opener, 9,495 fans saw Hawaii defeat Ohio State. Against UCLA (9/2), Hawaii drew 8,604 for the second spot, and the match with Washington (9/7) took third, drawing 7,365. On the road, the Rainbow Wahine are also drawing a crowd.
Top 10 National Attendance
School Avg. MP Total
1. Hawai'i 7,300 20 146,001
2. Nebraska 4,548 10 45,479
3. Wisconsin 3,402 11 37,427
4. Florida 2,512 12 30,146
5. Arizona 2,380 10 23,798
6. Minnesota 2,343 15 35,149
7. Penn St. 2,310 14 32,333
8. LBSU 2,081 12 24,974
9. Illinois St. 2,069 15 31,036
10. Stanford 1,977 11 21,748
WAC IN REGIONAL RANKINGS The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee released the NCAA Division I women's volleyball regional rankings.
West Region rankings
As of November 6, 2002
1. Hawaii 21-0
2. UC Santa Barbara 23-0
3. Long Beach State 20-3
4. San Diego State 18-10
5. Fresno State 19-4
6. Colorado State 16-8
7. Utah 19-6
8. Pacific (California) 14-8
9. Nevada 18-5
10. Cal Poly 11-10
Bold= WAC Teams
Italics= WAC opponents
WEST LEADS EAST In the second year that the WAC has had divisional play for volleyball, the Western Division holds a dominating record over its Eastern Division foes. The West, led by Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada, have won 19 of 26 matches this season. Last season at this point, the West had won 19 of 25. Both the Rainbow Wahine and the Bulldogs have won all five matches against Eastern Division foes. Nevada is 4-1 against the East. Rice captured two interdivisional wins, defeating Nevada and Boise State. The Mustangs are the only Eastern Division squad earn at least two wins against the West.
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.
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 fell to No. 3 in the USA Today/AVCA poll after losing to Stanford. This is the eighth week that Fresno State has received votes in the coaches poll, receiving nine this week. Volleyball Magazine has not had a new poll since Oct. 21.
TOURNAMENT TIME The NCAA announced that ESPNEWS will air nine different NCAA Championship team selection announcements. The NCAA Division I womens volleyball bracket will be announced on Dec. 1, 3:00 p.m. (EST). ESPNEWS reaches 40 million households and will have the exclusive right to have the first announcement of the nine team brackets. The official NCAA championship web site, www.ncaasports.com, will post the team brackets immediately following the television announcement.
AROUND THE COURT News and notes from around the league:
Boise State Boise State takes to the road in search of its first WAC win of the season. The Broncos will face tough competition again this week. Boise State will host San Jose State on Nov. 14. The Broncos will end the season with Nevada in Reno.
Fresno State With the 900th match in the program's history being played on Thursday, the Bulldogs and Nevada will be squaring off for the 20th time overall and for the second time this season in WAC play. In the first meeting of the year on Sept. 26, which was the WAC opener for both schools, Nevada snagged a four-game decision in Reno, Nev., as the Bulldogs fell to 12-2 overall and 0-1 in league play. Led by middle blocker Java Johnson's 15 kills, three Bulldogs tallied double-figure kills. Fresno State, which is 2-3 versus Nevada in WAC play, holds a 13-6 series lead but is 3-4 against the Wolf Pack in the last seven. The Bulldogs and third-ranked Hawai'i will be tangling with each other for the 30th time and for the second time this year in WAC play.
Hawaii All-American Kim Willoughby played well this week, as she moved past all-American Angelica Ljundquist to No. 2 on the UH career kill list. She had a match-high 17 kills while hitting .500 against Nevada. The junior had 20 kills and 15 digs in UH's loss to No. 4 Stanford. Hawaii extended its conference winning streak to 63 matches. The Rainbow Wahine ended their game-winning streak at 54, fourth longest in NCAA history. Lily Kahumoku played well averaging 5.12 kills and 3.50 digs on the week. Lauren Duggins also came up big, averaging 2.38 kpg, 1.00 bpg and hitting .455 on the week.
Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech qualified for the WAC Tournament with its win over Rice on Nov. 9. The win was Louisiana Tech's first ever over Rice in eight meetings. The Lady Techsters closed the WAC home schedule by winning four straight. Sophomore Lia Mora posted two matches with 50 or more assists during the week averaging 14.12 per game. Megan Rush averaged 3.75 kills with a .364 hitting percentage last week . Cristine Sant'Anna posted a career high 21 digs in win over Rice with 19 kills. Louisiana Tech is insured of its first winning season since 1996 and will attempt to win 20 for the first time in eight years this week .
Nevada Nevada will try and end its season high three match losing skid Thursday Nov. 14 at Fresno State. Two of the three losses came on the road and two were versus Hawaii. UH was ranked second in the first meeting and number one in the second match. The Wolf Pack have lost 9-of-10 games during the losing streak. As a team the Wolf Pack are hitting just .112 in the three matches. In the latest West Region Poll the Wolf Pack dropped four spots from fifth to ninth. WAC schools Hawaii and Fresno State hold down spots one and five respectively.
Rice Rice had a rough week on the road, falling at Stephen F. Austin State in five games on Tuesday, and then losing its first-ever match to Louisiana Tech on Saturday. Setter Rebekah Neal notched two more double-doubles to bring her season total to 14. With her 30 assists against Louisiana Tech, Neal eclipsed the 2,000 mark for her career, bringing her total to 2,003. Rebeca Pazo's 21 kills and 17 digs against SFA marked her 14th double-double of the season as well. Briana Cook had eight block assists in the match against SFA before being sidelined due to an ankle injury. Elizabeth Davenport Pollock added seven block assists in two matches to bring her career total to 255, moving into eighth all-time at Rice.
San Jose State San Jose State looks to rebound after a loss to Fresno State last week and challenge Nevada in the points race. The Spartans, who currently have 10 points, face Boise State on the road on Nov. 14. After the Broncos, San Jose State will take on No. 3 Hawaii to end the WAC season.
SMU Senior Kristen Peterson is having one of the strongest defensive seasons in Mustang history. Peterson, a libero, has now taken the season dig record with 405, 30 more than the previous leader. Peterson has also moved into the third spot in career digs and needs only 14 more to take over second place.
UTEP Jennifer Abbruzzese averaged 5.12 kills and 3.12 digs, while hitting .316 (41-11-95) to lead UTEP to a pair of wins over Louisiana Tech and SMU to move into a tie for first place in the Eastern Division of the WAC. Abbruzzese recorded 20 kills, eight digs and two aces in UTEP's win over Louisiana Tech and then notched her 15th double-double of the year after recording 21 kills and 17 digs against SMU. She also moved into second on UTEP's career kills list with 1,086. She now trails only Cynthia Ruelas-Macis, who recorded 1,181 kills from 1993-97. Abbruzzese is averaging a school-record 4.27 kills per game to go along with 3.70 digs per game this season.
Tulsa Sophomore Vanessa Thon broke the Golden Hurricane record for services aces in a season against SMU on Nov. 7. She now has 49 aces. The previous record was held by Kristen Can Lierop who had 48 aces in 1997. With 18 wins Tulsa is assured of it second winning season in three years. The last time Tulsa finished above .500 was 1980.