WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK Rice's Rebeca Pazo has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week. Pazo earned her third career player of the week honor and second honor of the season. Pazo was named player of the week on Oct. 7. Sophomore Rebecca Kainz also earned the honor the week of Sept. 16.
The sophomore outside hitter averaged 6.22 kills per game, as the Owls defeated Louisiana Tech and Tulsa in WAC action and McNeese State in non-conference play. The Caracas, Venezuela, native ended the week with 56 kills, 24 digs and six blocks in nine games. The 2001 WAC Freshman of the Year hit .423 in three matches, hitting a stellar .471 against the Lady Techsters. Pazo had double-digit kills in all three matches.
Behind Pazo's play, Rice made the leap to first place in the WAC Eastern Division with the wins over Louisiana Tech and Tulsa. Rice, 6-4, passed UTEP, 4-5, who held the top spot in the East. In three matches, the Owls did not lose a game.
Other nominees included: Kristen Fenton, Fresno State; Kim Willoughby, Hawai'i; Brianna Sibley, Louisiana Tech; Salaia Salavea, Nevada; Stephanie Pascucci, San Jose State; Leslie Lasiter, SMU and Sarah Davis, UTEP.
THIS WEEK IN WAC VOLLEYBALL The 2002 volleyball season enters week 11 with two weeks of WAC play remaining. This week WAC teams are in action Tuesday-Sunday. Western Division leader Hawaii (9-0) takes on third-place Nevada (7-3) and Boise State (0-9) before taking on No. 6 Stanford to close out the home season. Stanford is the defending national champions and the highest ranked team that Hawaii has faced this season. Fresno State (7-2) will put second place in the Western Division on the line against San Jose State on Nov. 8. Eastern Division leading SMU takes to the road to face Tulsa and UTEP.
HAWAII NUMBER ONE IN THE NATION The University of Hawai'i volleyball team earned the No. 1 ranking in the most recent AVCA/USA Today coaches' poll. With two wins last week, the Rainbow Wahine, 21-0, took the top spot from Southern California who lost to No. 4 Stanford.
Hawai'i earned 49 first place votes, while former No. 1 USC took 12 of the first place votes and this week's No. 2 spot. Florida is ranked third, while Stanford, who the Rainbow Wahine will play later this week is ranked fourth. The Cardinal also picked up three first place votes this week. Nebraska checks in fifth and UC Santa Barbara, the only other unbeaten team in the country, is ranked sixth with one first place vote.
This is the first time that the Rainbow Wahine has topped the AVCA/USA Today coaches' poll since Oct. 28, 1996. Hawai'i was ranked at No. 1 in the Volleyball Magazine poll on Nov. 13, 2000.
UH will be put to the test this week, facing Western Division rivals Nevada and Boise State at home. Hawai'i will then take on defending champions and fourth-ranked Stanford on Nov. 10 for its final home match of the season.
NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS WAC teams have 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. Hawaii still has No. 6 Stanford on the schedule at home on Nov. 10. 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 89-50 (.640) 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.
WAC AMONG NATION'S LEADERS Hawaii is first in the nation in three categories as of October 27. The Rainbow Wahine lead the country in kills (18.34), assists (16.97) and hitting percentage (.340) in the latest NCAA statistics. Fresno State is 26th in hitting percentage (.268). Tulsa drops to 23rd from 19th in service aces (2.24 sapg), while the Bulldogs remain 27th (2.15 sapg). The Rainbow Wahine are also 8th in digs (18.81 dpg). Nevada is also 13th in kills per game (16.70).
Hawaii's Kim Willoughby, who led the NCAA in kills per game last season, is third this season (6.36 kpg). Nevada's Michelle More (5.61 kpg) remains sixth, while Hawaii's Lily Kahumoku (5.37 kpg) is 12th. Nevada's Jill Couwenhoven (13.61 apg) is still eighth in assists.
DIGGING INTO THE RECORD BOOKS Taking advantage of the new Libero position, SMU's Kristen Peterson and UTEP's Sarah Davis are digging their way to new WAC records. If Peterson and Davis finish with better that four digs per game, it would mark the first time since 1996, that two WAC players had averaged better than four digs per game in the same season. Jenny Pavley (UNM) and Christy Crank (UTEP) did it in 1996, when Pavley averaged 4.18 and Crank averaged 4.03 In overall matches this season, Peterson is averaging 4.19 digs per game with Davis slightly behind with 4.01 dpg. San Jose State's Christina Lukens is also have a strong season. Lukens became the fourth Spartan to record 1,000 digs. With seven digs against Nevada, she now has 1,002 career digs.
HAWAII PASSES 100,000 IN ATTENDANCE With four home matches last week all drawing over 6,000 fans Hawaii surpassed the 100,000 attendance mark for the eighth-straight season. The Rainbow Wahine have drawn 120,511 in 17 home matches this season. Last season, Hawaii ended the season drawing 104,222. The Rainbow Wahine are looking to top their 2000 attendance of 153, 688
Hawaii also holds the top seven 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. On the road, the Rainbow Wahine are also drawing a crowd. Two weeks ago, both SMU and UTEP had their biggest crowds of the season when Hawaii came to town. The Mustangs had 500 come to the 3-0 Rainbow Wahine win, while 1,325 fans packed the stands when the Miners and the Rainbow Wahine met.
Top 10 National Attendance
School Avg. MP Total
1. Hawaii 7,089 17 120,511
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. Penn St. 2,198 12 26,376
7. Illinois St. 2,141 13 27,839
8. LBSU 2,081 12 24,974
9. Minnesota 2,078 13 27,020
10. Stanford 1,977 11 21,748
Bold= WAC Teams
Italics=WAC opponents
CURRENT POINT STANDINGS The current point standing for seeding in the WAC Tournament are as follows:
Hawaii 14
Fresno State 12
Nevada 11
SJSU 10
Rice 8
UTEP 6
SMU 5
Louisiana Tech 4
Tulsa 2
Boise State 0
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 took the top spot in the the USA Today/AVCA poll after Southern California fell to Stanford. This is the third week that Fresno State has received votes in both polls. The Bulldogs received three votes in the USA Today/AVCA poll.
COACHES NEARING MILESTONES Sixth-year Nevada head coach Devin Scruggs needs just one victory to reach the 100-win plateau. Scruggs career mark of 99-64 has all come at Nevada. Under her direction the Pack qualified for NCAA Tournaments in 1998 and 2001.
Fresno State head coach Lindy Vivas is five wins away from her 300th career win, while Rice head coach Julio Morales reached his 150th career win earlier this season.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE WAC schools have really taken advantage of playing at home this season. Nevada is 10-1 at home this season, dropping its first home match last week to No. 1 Hawaii.
Hawaii has played 17 of its 19 matches at home, winning all 17 at home. 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.
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.
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 taking on the top two teams in the Western Division, Fresno State and Hawaii. Last week, the Rainbow Wahine defeated the Broncos, 3-0, on the island.
Fresno State Sophomore outside hitter Kristen Fenton was the only Bulldog to post a double-double in Fresno States last regular-season road trip, which yielded a 1-1 mark. Averaging 4.10 kills per game and 3.10 digs per game last week, Fenton collected 15 kills and 15 digs to go along with three blocks versus CS Northridge (the 15 kills tied her then career-high mark). She followed that performance up with a career- and match-high 26 kills, while adding 16 digs and six blocks against San Jose State in WAC play as the Bulldogs maintain second place in the league standings.
Hawaii Hawaii is currently 21-0 and have lost just two games during the season. UH extended its conference winning streak to 61 matches. The Rainbow Wahine have now won their last 48 games, a new school record. This week, the Rainbow Wahine took the No. 1 spot in the AVCA poll for the first time since 1996. All-American Lily Kahumoku played well in the wins, averaging 4.50 kpg and 3.50 dpg on the week. Lauren Duggins also came up big, averaging 2.33 kpg, 1.00 bpg and hitting .440 on the week. Maja Gustin is moving back into the UH lineup, as she averaged 2.20 kpg, 1.20 bpg and hit .474 on the week.
Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech has won three straight-home matches against WAC opponents. Louisiana Tech hit .714 in game five to seal the win over UTEP. The Lady Techsters hit .740 in game one at Texas Southern on Oct. 30. Setter Lia Mora became only the fourth player in Tech history to post more than 2,000 assists in a career as she moved past the milestone last week. Mora had 65 assists and 18 digs in a win over UTEP, her second match with 60 or more assists. Sophomore Megan Rush tied a career high with 16 kills and posted a career high with 12 digs against UTEP. Six players had double figures in digs versus UTEP as Louisiana Tech out dug the Miners 94-77 in the match.
Nevada Senior Michelle More has a single-season career high 431 kills this year leaving her just 42 kills shy of setting the Nevada single-season mark. Tiffany Neumeier (1994-97) holds the single season mark of 472 set in 1996 and she repeated the feat again in 1997. Mores 1,372 kills ranks second on the career list behind Neumeiers 1,779. She began the season fifth in career kills but has moved past Jennifer White (1,317, 1990-93), Kelly Martin (1,172, 1991-92) and Suzanne Stonebarger (1,198, 1998-01) this year. More became the Wolf Pack career leader in solo blocks (82), block assists (323), and total blocks(405) earlier this season. She passed Jaime Keith(1993-96) who had held all three records.
Rice The Owls did not drop a game last week, sweeping McNeese State, Louisiana Tech and Tulsa. Rice was led by setter Rebekah Neal who reached the double-double mark for the 12th time this season with 35 assists and 12 digs against Tulsa. She averaged 12.33 assists per game in three matches and led the team in digs (4.56 dpg). The Owls served up nine aces against McNeese State, 11 aginast Louisiana Tech and seven against Tulsa. Rice is now 5-0 at home against conference opponents, 8-1 overall.
San Jose State Junior outside hitter Kimberly Noble had 21 kills against Nevada as the Spartans defeated the Wolf Pack to close in within one point of third place. San Jose State defeated Nevada, 3-1 to move to 6-4 in the WAC. This week, the Spartans look to move up in the WAC point standings with a match on the road against Fresno State. Last week the Bulldogs defeated the Spartans, 3-2, in San Jose. Freshman Jessica Wlodarcyzk had a solid performance against Fresno State with 19 kills. She added eight kills in the win over Nevada.
SMU Senior Kristen Peterson, who has played at libero in every match this season, has moved into third place all-time in the SMU records for career digs. Her total, which stands at 1,120 is just 48 behind second place. Peterson has been in and out of the national rankings for digs per game all season, with her highest ranking at 15th. Also, Peterson is edging closer to the season record for digs, needing only six more to overcome Mariah Ohlsen's 375, which is currently the SMU best.
UTEP Senior Sarah Davis is on pace to break the WAC record for digs in conference matches, averaging 5.25 digs per game this season in league play. Jai Bruno of Wyoming set the league record in 1991, when she averaged 4.65 digs per game. Overall, Davis leads the Miners with 4.01 digs per game. She became the seventh Miner to reach 1,000 career digs, when she recorded 28 against Louisiana Tech and now ranks sixth on the UTEP chart. Davis is battling with SMU's Kristen Peterson for the WAC lead in digs. Peterson has the WAC lead in all matches, averaging 4.19 digs per game to Davis' 4.01, while Davis has the lead in WAC matches, where she is averaing 5.25 digs per game to Peterson's 4.35.
Tulsa Tulsa is still is in search of its second WAC win. This week, the Golden Hurricane play host to one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Division, SMU. On Sunday, Nov. 10, Tulsa will face Centenary in a non-conference matchup. Despite the recent slide, the Hurricane are still tied with Louisiana Tech for most wins in the Eastern Division.