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HAWAII TAKES WAC TOURNAMENT TITLE The No. 2 University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (28-1) defeated the Nevada Wolf Pack (21-8) 30-19, 30-32, 30-13 and 30-23 in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship match in front of a crowd of 1,023 at the Virginia Street Gym, winning their third straight WAC Tournament title. The win gives the Wahine the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Lauren Duggins had an outstanding match with 15 kills and seven blocks while hitting a tournament-record .789. Kim Willoughby earned the tournament's MVP with a match-high 26 kills, while Lily Kahumoku had 19 kills and 13 digs. Nevada opened up their first lead of the match early in the second game, going up 4-2.
Nevada got another point on a Michelle More block before UH responded with a 5-1 run to tie the game at 9. Nevada pushed the lead back up to 13-9 and 17-13 before a Duggins kill and two aces by Kahumoku cut the Wolf Pack lead to 17-16. UN continued to lead until two Willoughby kills tied the game again at 19. It continued to be tight before a couple of aces by Maja Gustin put the Rainbow Wahine up 24-21, forcing another timeout by Scruggs. The Wolf Pack came back as kills by Laura Wooley and Cristine Harms tied the game again at 25 before the teams traded small runs to give Nevada game point at 29-28. Willoughby responded with two kills to give Hawai`i game point at 30-29, but a block and a UH hitting error ended game two 32-30.
Nevada Knocks Off Second Seeded Fresno State, 3-1; Advances to WAC Championship The third-seeded Nevada Wolf Pack (20-7) defeated second seeded Fresno State (23-5) 18-30, 30-28, 30-24, 40-38 in the second semifinal match of the WAC Tournament at the Virginia Street Gym. Nevada advances to the championship match in only its second season in the WAC.
Laura Wooley led the Wolf Pack in kills with 21, hitting .191. Kellie Burton added nine kills, hitting .381. WAC Freshman of the Year Salaia Salavea hit .200 with 15 kills, while Christine Harms had 13 kills. Nevada added great defense stopping a very powerful Fresno State attack, with four athletes having double digit digs.
For Fresno State, Kristen Fenton led with 24 kills and a .392 hitting percentage. The Bulldogs came out firing, hitting a match high .424 in the first game with 17 kills. Although they matched their game one kill total, they fell short in the second game, despite a late raley. With two more kills than Nevada in game three, it was a few late mistakes that gave the Wolf Pack the 2-1 advantage heading into game four.
Up two points late in the fourth game, the Bulldogs failed to put Nevada away. With Fresno State fighting off match point after match point, the Wolf Pack found away to string two points together, giving them their first trip to the WAC Championship.
HAWAII SWEEPS SAN JOSE STATE TO ADVANCE TO FIFTH FINAL The top-seeded University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (27-1) defeated the fourth seeded San Jose State Spartans (14-15) 30-24, 30-25 and 30-24 in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament at the Virginia Street Gym, advancing to their fifth straight WAC tournament final.
Kim Willoughby led the way for Hawaii with 25 kills, eight digs and two aces. Lily Kahumoku added 12 kills, a match-high 15 digs and four blocks while Maja Gustin had 10 kills and a tournament record .625 hitting percentage. Duggins also came up big at the net with six blocks, while Hedder Ilustre and Melissa Villaroman played well in the back row with 13 and 11 digs, respectively.
San Jose State again started out well in the second game, jumping out to a 8-6 lead early on. But Kahumoku then responded with two kills and block in a 4-0 Hawaii run that forced a SJSU timeout. Willoughby came out of the timeout on fire, scoring all six of the remaining Rainbow Wahine points, one block and five kills, to give UH the 30-25 game two victory. Willoughby had 14 kills in the second game alone.
Stephanie Pascucci and Kimberly Noble led the way for the Spartans with 11 kills apiece. Liz Hudson had a great all-around match with eight kills, two aces, 13 digs and three blocks while hitting a team-high .333. Libero Jeanine Haldi led the way for the Spartans in the back row with 14 digs.
2002 All-Tournament TeamWhitney Arena, Fresno State
Lily Kahumoku, Hawaii
Jennifer Carey, Hawaii
Rebeca Pazo, Rice
*Jill Couwenhoven, Nevada
Lindsey Rule, San Jose State
*Lauren Duggins, Hawai'i
Salaia Salavea, Nevada
Kristen Fenton, Fresno State
*Kim Willoughby, Hawaii
Carrie Hartt, Fresno State
Laura Wooley, Nevada
MVP: *Kim Willoughby, Hawaii*2001 Tournament Team
STILL IN ACTION With one week remaining until the NCAA selection show, four WAC teams will try to earn a few more wins. No. 2 Hawaii remains on the mainland, traveling to Utah to face BYU on Nov. 26 at 7:00 p.m. and Utah on Nov. 27 at 7:00 p.m.
San Jose State, Nevada and Rice will all travel to tournaments. San Jose State stays instate and plays at the Long Beach Tournament where LBSU, UT Pan-American and UC Irvine will compete Nov. 29-30. Nevada will also travel to California to play in Banker's Classic in Stockton. The Wolf Pack will face head coach Devin Scruggs' alma mater, Pacific. Nevada will then face either Washington or SW Missouri State. Rice will play at the New Mexico Tournament Nov. 29-30. Butler, New Mexico and UCLA will also compete in the tournament.
TOURNAMENT RECORDS TOPPLE Several tournament records fell at the WAC Tournament. Tournament champion Hawaii was involved in all of the records. Junior Maja Gustin set the record for hitting percentage in a match, hitting .625 in a three-game win over San Jose State on Nov. 23. The previous record was .484 by Jessica Zehr of Wyoming in 1996.
In the Rainbow Wahine's match with Louisiana Tech, six records were broken. Hawaii set the record for team hitting percentage (.495) against the Lady Techsters on Nov. 22. Louisiana Tech had the fewest kills (27), attempts (92), digs (25) and blocks (2). The Hawaii defense also held Louisiana Tech to a .065 hitting percentage.
TOTAL TURNAROUND Tulsa and Louisiana Tech completed two of the biggest one season turnarounds in the nation this season. Last season, the Golden Hurricane ended the season 9-15. This season the Hurricane finished 20-13 for an 11-match turnaround. The Lady Techsters finished 2001 8-20 and won 19 matches this season for an 11-match turnaround.
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 faced four teams, including Stanford. Fresno State was next (3) along with Nevada (5), Rice (2), SMU (1) and UTEP (1). So far this season, the WAC is 91-51 (.641) 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.
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. During the last week of the regular season both Fresno State and San Jose State drew season-high crowds for their matches with the Hawaii.
Top 10 National Attendance
School Avg. MP Total
1. Hawai'i 7,300 20 146,001
2. Nebraska 4,432 13 57,611
3. Wisconsin 3,643 15 54,644
4. Florida 2,520 14 35,281
5. Minnesota 2,430 17 41,302
6. Penn St. 2,310 14 32,333
7. Arizona 2,178 13 26,142
8. Illinois St. 2,069 15 31,036
9. LBSU 2,021 15 30,314
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 20, 2002
1. Hawaii 25-1
2. UC Santa Barbara 26-1
3. Long Beach State 24-3
4. Colorado State 20-8
5. Fresno State 22-5
6. San Diego State 20-11
7. Utah 21-7
8. Cal Poly 13-11
9. Pacific 16-10
10. Nevada 19-7
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.
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 is No. 2 in the USA Today/AVCA poll. This is the ninth 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.
THE BIG DANCE 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 ended the 2002 season fifth in the Western Division. The Broncos finished the season with a 1-23 record overall and 0-12 in the WAC. The win came against Eastern Kentucky, 3-0, on Aug. 31.
Fresno State After a tough loss to Nevada in the WAC Tournament semifinals, the Bulldogs and their 23-6 record take the week off before the NCAA selection show on Dec. 1. Fresno State placed three players on the WAC all-Tournament team: Whitney Arena, Kristen Fenton and Carrie Hartt. The three helped lead the Bulldogs to their second-straight WAC Tournament semifinal.
Hawaii Hawaii extended its conference winning streak to 68 matches. Last week, the Rainbow Wahine won their seventh-straight WAC regular season title and eighth-straight conference regular season title (one in the Big West). This week, Hawaii added its third-straight WAC Tournament title. Junior left-side hitter Kim Willoughby won her second-straight MVP award with her play in wins over Louisiana Tech, San Jose State and Nevada. The Rainbow Wahine lost only one game in three matches a hard-fought 30-32 game to Nevada. Hawaii placed four players on the all-Tournament team: MVP Willoughby, Jennifer Carey, Lily Kahumoku and Lauren Duggins.
Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech posted the fifth-biggest turnaround in wins this season in the country by posting 11 more wins that last year. The 19 wins are tied for the fifth most in school history. Cristine Sant'Anna broke the school record with 56 aces in a single season. The two all-WAC selections mark the first time in school history two Tech players have been named all-conference. Lia Mora finishes the season with the fourth best assists per game average in school history (11.40) and the fifth most assists in a single season (1,354). She also is fourth on Tech's career-assists list with 2,299. Sant'Anna recorded the fourth most kills in a single season with 433 and enters next season with 975 kills in her career .
Nevada Setter Jill Couwenhoven has 3,077 career assists. She became just the third Wolf Pack setter to surpass 3,000 career assists. Nevada won 20 matches for the second time under head coach Devin Scruggs . The first time came in 1998 when the Pack posted a 22-7 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Nevada reached the WAC Tournament title match in just its third year in the WAC and second in the tournament. The WAC did not have a tournament in Nevada's first year in the conference. Nevada had three players on WAC All-Tournament squad, Jill Couwenhoven, Salaia Salavea, and Laura Wooley.
Rice Despite falling to fifth-seeded San Jose State in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament, sophomore all-WAC honoree, Rebeca Pazo, was still named to the WAC all-tournament team. This is Pazo's first time on the all-tournament team. She adds this honor to her 2001 WAC Freshman of the Year award and being a two-time first-team all-WAC honoree. The match between Rice and San Jose was the only five-game match of the tournament.
San Jose State San Jose State ended a rocky season on a high note by advancing to the semifinals of the WAC Tournament. For the second-straight season, the Spartans were taken out by eventual champions Hawaii. Last season, the Rainbow Wahine defeated the Spartans in the finals in San Jose. This year, Hawaii eliminated San Jose State in a tough 3-0 match. San Jose State setter Lindsey Rule was named to the all-tournament team for her performance in the Spartans' two matches.
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 473. Peterson also broke the WAC record for digs per game. She finished the regular season averaging 4.38 dpg (108 games, 473 digs), while the record is 4.29 dpg by Diana Nalbandian of Fresno State in 1997.
UTEP The Miners are still in search of their first WAC Tournament win after losing to host Nevada in the quarterfinals, 3-0. UTEP has been to four WAC Tournaments and holds an 0-4 record. First-year head coach Scott Swanson ends the regular season with a 11-14 record.
Tulsa Tulsa ended the season with a bang winning three of its last four WAC matches. The Golden Hurricane ended the season just one point shy of making the tournament. Tulsa ended the last week of the regular season with sweeps of both Louisiana Tech and UTEP at home. Tulsa ends the season as one of only three WAC schools to reach the 20-match win plateau.
TOURNAMENT TAKERS So far this season, WAC schools have captured 11 tournament titles. Hawaii has won two titles at home this season. Fresno State has captured two road titles, adding a home title last week. Tulsa and Nevada have both won two titles. Tulsa's titles are the Golden Hurricanes first tournament wins since 2000. Rice took home its first tournament win of the season, winning the Lady Vol Classic in Knoxville. The win was the Owls first tournament win since 1999. Louisiana Tech won its first title in nine year, capturing the Southern Mississippi Tournament.