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9.16.02.PDF
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WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK Rice's Rebecca Kainz has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week.
Kainz, a 6-3 middle blocker, earned her first career player of the week honor, hitting .491 in three matches at the Lady Vol Classic. She finished with 30 kills on 55 attempts and only three errors. Kainz led the Lady Owls to their first tournament win since 1999. For her performance, Kainz earned all-tournament honors.
A sophomore from Austin, Texas, Kainz averaged 3.33 kpg and 2.11 bpg. Kainz posted 18 block assists and one solo block. Against East Carolina, she had a career-high 10 block assists. She also recorded a career-high with 12 kills against Virginia.
OTHERS NOMINATED Other players nominated include: Carrie Hartt, Fresno State; Lauren Duggins, Hawaii; Lia Mora, Louisiana Tech; Michelle More, Nevada; Megan Brock, UTEP and Nathalia Araujo, Tulsa.
Fresno State's Hartt earned tournament MVP honors after guiding the Bulldogs to their second tournament win of the year. Hartt was second among all players in hitting percentage (.356) and kills per game (4.30), tied for third in service aces (3) and fourth in blocks (12). In the tournament opener against Denver, Hartt posted a then career-best and match-high 17 kills and hit .577 (17-2-26) while adding an ace, four digs and two blocks.
Hawaii's Duggins had 10 kills in two sweeps over Cal Poly, hitting over .430 each night. She also had a strong defensive weekend with eight digs on Sept. 13 and nine on Sept. 14, adding four blocks in the first meeting.
Louisiana Tech's Mora earned her third all-tournament honor in as many weeks at the Mean Green Classic in Denton, Texas. She recorded a career-high 68 assists in a five-game win against North Texas. She also added double-doubles against North Texas and TAMU-Corpus Christi.
Nevada's More earned her second tournament MVP honor of the season as the Wolf Pack won their seventh-straight match. The senior middle blocker hit .439 in six matches, as Nevada did not lose a game. More added 32 kills and nine total blocks.
UTEP's Brock also had a solid weekend as the Miners went 2-1. The junior middle blocker earned all-tournament honors for her efforts.
Tulsa's Araujo had 25 kills in 10 games to lead the Golden Hurricane to a tournament win at home. The junior outside hitter added 43 digs and 10 aces as Tulsa lost only one game in three matches.
THIS WEEK IN WAC VOLLEYBALL The 2002 volleyball season enters week four with tournament play winding down. Three schools look to extend winning streaks of over five. Both Tulsa and Hawaii boast eight-match winning streaks, while Nevada has won seven in a row. Hawaii remains at home to face Houston (Sept. 20) and Saint Mary's (Sept. 21). Tulsa travels to the TAMU-Corpus Christi Tournament, while Nevada takes a break from tournament play to take on instate rival UNLV (Sept. 17) before traveling to the Colorado State Tournament.
Fresno State and Rice both boast three-match winning streaks. The Bulldogs take on San Diego State on Sept. 20 and UNLV and Sacramento State on Sept. 21. Rice once again heads to the tough Southeastern Conference for the Georgia Tournament in Athens. UTEP travels to the Northern Arizona Tournament, while SMU heads to the New Mexico Tournament. Boise State faces Idaho State and Weber State at home, while Louisiana Tech plays at the Southern Mississippi Tournament. San Jose State takes on CS Sacramento (Sept. 17) and San Francisco (Sept. 18).
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 young season, the WAC is 60-33 (.645) against non conference opponents. Last week, the WAC had a strong showing with a 20-8 record. So far this season, the WAC is 4-3 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.
WELCOME WAGON The WAC welcomes UTEPs Scott Swanson who begins his first season as the Miners head coach. Swanson comes to UTEP after spending six seasons at Arizona State. Boise States Scott Sandel also begins his first season as the Broncos head coach. Sandel comes to Boise State after two season as head coach at Northern Michigan.
NATIONAL POLL WATCH 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. San Jose State is still receiving votes in the Volleyball Magazine poll.
PACKING THE STANDS Hawaii leads the nation in attendance average this season, averaging 7,380 fans per match. The Rainbow have drawn nearly 60,000 fans in eight matches this season. Nebraska, the second ranked school, averages 4,075 after three matches.
Hawaii also holds 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 7,380 8 59,040
2. Nebraska 4,075 3 12,226
3. Wisconsin 2,690 2 5,380
4. Florida 2,623 5 13,113
5. Penn St. 2,423 6 14,537
6. Ill. St. 2,372 6 14,230
7. LBSU 1,995 6 11,970
8. Minnesota 1,678 8 13,427
9. Pacific 1,619 2 3,238
10.Ball St. 1,612 2 3,224
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 In Boise State's three matches last weekend against George Washington, No. 10 Utah and Eastern Washington, junior Megan Tranter led the team with 31 kills and 25 digs in nine games. This week, Boise State looks to get back on track, hosting Idaho State on Wednesday (Sept. 18) and Weber State on Friday (Sept. 20). The Broncos look to break their six-match losing streak.
Fresno State The Bulldogs are 23-10 all-time against the opponents that they will battle this weekend. Fresno State and the University of San Diego, which has received votes in all three polls released by USA Today/AVCA, are squaring off for the ninth time. Holding a 5-3 series lead, Fresno State and USD last met two years ago in Fresno as the Toreros picked up a sweep over the Bulldogs. Even though the series is tied at 3-3 in the last six meetings, University of San Diego has captured the last three contests. Fresno State and UNLV will be facing each other for the fourth time. Holding a 2-1 advantage, the Bulldogs and the Rebels last met four years ago in Las Vegas.
Hawaii The Rainbow Wahine had to turn to other sources in their 3-0 sweep of Cal Poly on Sept. 13 as Hawaii was missing All-American Lily Kahumoku (illness) and all-region Maja Gustin (injury). Lauren Duggins gave a much-needed second option on Friday night in the win. The Rainbow Wahine also got help from All-American Kim Willoughby who had another great weekend, averaging 7.00 kpg and 4.00 dpg, while hitting .344. Willoughby had 21 kills each night, but hit also .606 in Saturday's sweep of Cal Poly.
Louisiana Tech The Lady Techsters will face their first ever PAC-10 opponent when they take on Washington on Saturday, Sept. 21. Last week, Becky Valdez recorded seven aces in Louisiana Tech's win over TAMU-CC which is one short of the school record. Six of those aces came in game one. With the help of Valdez, Tech took a second place finish for the second-straight week at North Texas.
Nevada The Wolf Pack have won seven matches in a row since losing the season opener at Washington State. During the streak Nevada has won 21-of-23 games played, including the last 19 games. Nevadas match at UNLV will be its first this season that is not part of a tournament. The Wolf Pack have opened the season playing three tournaments in three weekends with a fourth on the horizon.
Rice Rice won its first tournament since 1999, capturing the Toyota of Knoxville Lady Vol Classic. Sophomore and all-WAC honoree Rebeca Pazo was named tournament MVP, hitting .222 for the weekend with 44 kills (4.89 kpg). Against Tennessee in the championship match, Pazo had 19 kills. Setter Rebekah Neal recorded her second double-double of the season against the Lady Vols with 45 assists and 19 digs. Over the weekend, Neal averaged 12.12 assists per game.
San Jose State After nine road matches, the Spartans finally return home with a home match against instate rival Sacramento State on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Last week, San Jose State moved to 5-4 with wins over Stephen F. Austin and host school TCU at the TCU Invitational. The Spartans were led by junior outside hitter Kimberly Noble who led the tournament with 64 kills (5.33 kpg). She had a season-high 26 kills against Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 14. For her efforts, Noble and teammate Fran Pozzi were named to the all-tournament team.
SMU Senior Kristen Peterson recorded 24 kills against UT-San Antonio and 17 against California to move into fourth place all-time in Mustang history. For her efforts, Peterson was named to the all-tournament team.
UTEP Jennifer Abbruzzese recorded 22 kills and 24 digs, as UTEP
defeated New Mexico, 30-26, 29-31, 30-28, 30-19, Sept. 14. It was the junior outside hitter's sixth double-double of the season and the fourth time in her career that she has reached the 20-20 plateau. Abbruzzese helped led the Miners to 2-1 record on the weekend and a 4-5 record overall.
Tulsa With its 11-1 start, Tulsa is one win away from being off to its fastest start in school history. On Sept. 14, the Golden Hurricane made history again by defeating instate rival Oklahoma for the first time in school history, 3-1 at home. Tulsa capture its first win over the Sooners in 26 years and 33 total meetings. With the win, the Hurricane also captured its second-straight tournament win. Tulsa also holds the second-best winning percentage in the WAC (.917) behind No. 2 Hawaii (1.000).
TOURNAMENT TAKERS So far this season, WAC schools have captured nine tournament titles. Hawaii has won two titles at home this season. Fresno State has captured two road titles with Tulsa and Nevada also taking home 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.
The WAC also added to its all-tournament honorees. The following players have been named to all-tournament teams:
Megan Tranter , BS Montana Invitational
Carrie Hartt, FS Fresno State Invitational
Pioneer Classic*
Christy Burnett, FS Fresno State Invitational
Java Johnson, FS W&M Hi-IQ Tournament
Fresno State Invitational
Pioneer Classic
Kristen Fenton, FS W&M Hi-IQ Tournament
Fresno State Invitational
Kim Willoughby, UH Wahine Classic*
Aston Imua Wahine Classic*
Lauren Duggins, UH Wahine Classic
Lily Kahumoku, UH Wahine Classic
Aston Imua Wahine Classic
Margaret Vakasausau, UH Aston Imua Wahine Classic
Cristine Sant'Anna, LT NOKIA VB Classic
Lia Mora, LT Lamar Tournament
NOKIA VB Classic
Mean Green Classic
Brianna Sibley, LT Mean Green Classic
Michelle More, UN WSU Tournament
SBC Invitational*
Nevada Invitational*
Jill Couwenhoven, UN WSU Tournament
SBC Invitational
Nevada Invitational
Kellie Burton, UN Sands Regency/SBC Invitational
Salaia Salavea, UN Nevada Invitational
Rebeca Pazo, Rice Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational
Lady Vol Classic*
Rebecca Kainz, RU Lady Vol Classic
Kristina Hoban, RU Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational
Stephanie Pascucci, SJSUCalifornia Tournament
Kimberly Noble, SJSU California Tournament
Stanford Tournament
TCU Invitational
Fran Pozzi, SJSU TCU Invitational
Jessica Mihm, SMU Best Western Invitational
Spring Hill Suites Tournament
Leslie Lasiter, SMU Spring Hill Suites Tournament
Kristen Peterson, SMU SMU Invitational
Nathalia Araujo, Tulsa Ewing-Grover Olds/GMC Invite
Dana Weddle, Tulsa White Eagle Tournament
Olds/GMC Invite
Vanessa Thon, Tulsa White Eagle Tournament
Olds/GMC Invite
Jennifer Abbruzzese, UTEPLonghorn Classic
Borderland Invitational
Megan Brock, UTEP Borderland Invitational
*Most Outstanding/Valuable Player