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10.28.03.PDF
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WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SMU outside hitter Jacky Niederstadt has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 27. This is the first player of the week honor for SMU this season. The last Mustang to earn the honor was Leslie Lasiter in October of 2001.
Niederstadt, a native of Austin, Texas, guided the Mustangs to two big wins over Western Division foes, Nevada and Fresno State. SMU moved to 8-1 in the WAC, increasing its first-place lead in the Eastern Division. SMU takes a one-point lead over Fresno State for the second seed in the WAC Tournament with four matches remaining.
The junior posted double-doubles in both matches, including a 23-kill, 19-dig performance in the Mustangs, 3-2, win over Fresno State. Niederstadt also added 16 kills and 17 digs in the Mustangs' win over Nevada. She has had double-doubles in seven of nine WAC matches this season. She ended the week with 39 kills, 36 digs and three blocks.
Other nominees included: Robyn Keune, Fresno State; Nohea Tano, Hawai'i; Cristine Sant'Anna, Louisiana Tech; Salaia Salave'a, Nevada; Rebecca Kainz, Rice; Dana Rudd, San Jose State.
DIGGING IN (WEEK 10) The 2003 WAC season enters its sixth week with seeding in the WAC Tournament on the line. Hawaii is close to clinching the No. 1 seed in its fourth WAC Tournament. The Rainbow Wahine need to win two more WAC matches to earn the top seed. SMU is on the heels of Hawaii with 12 points with Fresno State close behind with 11. All three teams have four WAC matches remaining. Nevada, San Jose State and Rice are all within one point of each other for the middle seeds. The seeding will become more clear after this week's matches. SMU faces Rice and Tulsa on the road, while Fresno State takes on Nevada at home. Hawaii has only one WAC match this week against Boise State at home.
LEADERS OF THE PACK In the WAC's main six individual statistical categories Hawaii leads in two categories. The Rainbow Wahine lead in kills (Kim Willoughby, 6.62 kpg) and service aces (Willoughby, 0.61). Rice leads the league in three categories, including assists (Kristina Hoban, 12.98), blocks (Tessa Kuykendall, 1.49 bpg) and hitting percentage (Kuykendall, .406). San Jose State's Jessie Shull leads the WAC in digs, averaging 4.26 dpg. In WAC matches, the Rainbow Wahine lead in three categories, while the Owls, Mustangs and Golden Hurricane lead in one. Hawaii's Nohea Tano leads in hitting percentage (.469), while Willoughby leads in service aces (0.76 sapg) and kills (6.10 kpg). Rice's Kuykendall leads in blocks (1.55 bpg). Tulsa's Nathalia Araujo leads in digs(4.29 dpg), while SMU's Jessica Mihm leads in assits (13.82 apg).
WEST LEADS EAST In the third 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 17 of 25 matches against the Eastern Division this season. Both the Wolf Pack and the Bulldogs are 4-1 against the East, while the Rainbow Wahine hold a 5-0 mark. San Jose State is 3-2. SMU has captured four interdivisional wins, defeating Nevada, Fresno State, San Jose State and Boise State. SMU and Rice are the only Eastern Division squads to earn at least two wins against the West. Last week, the East fared much better winning four of nine matches against the West.
SMU NEARS SCHOOL RECORD With a stellar 8-1 start in league play this season, SMU is one WAC win away from tying its best WAC record. In 1999, the Mustangs were 9-5 in the WAC, 20-13 overall and finished fourth in the league. The 20 wins is a program record and the 2003 Mustangs are three wins away from tying that mark. This season, SMU is 17-5 and has a solid lead in the Eastern Division of the WAC. The Mustangs only WAC loss this season is to undefeated and nationally ranked Hawaii. For seven-straight season's head coach Lisa Seifert's Mustangs have finished with at least 11 wins. SMU looks to become the first team besides Rice to win the Eastern Division of the WAC. Last week, SMU defeated Fresno State and Nevada to move to 8-1. It was the program's first win against Fresno State. The Mustangs came back from being down 2-0 to defeat the Bulldogs, 3-2.
OFF TO A GOOD START Rice first-year head coach Jon Wilson has gotten the Owls off to a good start. Last season, Rice won 18 matches overall and eight WAC matches. This season, the Owls have already won 14 matches and five WAC matches. Wilson was a successful coach at Duke University for 15 years. Wilson won 301 matches as the Blue Devil head coach, including finishing first in the ACC his last four seasons.
BEST OF THE BEST Hawaii is second behind defending national champion Southern California for the most wins against ranked teams this season. The Rainbow Wahine are 7-1 against top 25 teams this season, while the Women of Troy are 9-0. Pepperdine is the next team with a 6-1 mark against ranked teams this season. Hawaii is ranked second and sports a 20-1 record this season. The Rainbow Wahine have won 22-straight matches.
W
AC TOURNAMENT CREDENTIAL DEADLINE Request forms for credentials to the 2003 WAC Volleyball Tournament in Reno, Nev., are now available through the league office. Media requesting hotel rooms must have their credential forms in by Monday, Nov. 3. If no room is requested, the deadline is Monday, Nov. 17. The WAC Volleyball Tournament is slated for Nov. 21-23 at the Virginia Street Gym.
CURRENT POINT STANDINGS The current point standing for seeding in the WAC Tournament are as follows:
Hawaii 14
SMU 12
Fresno State 11
Nevada 9
SJSU 8
Rice 7
Tulsa 3
Boise State 2
Louisiana Tech 2
UTEP 2
HAWAII AND NEVADA INCLUDED IN 2003 CSTV VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE College Sports Television (www.cstv.com), the first 24-hour college sports network, and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is presenting a national volleyball match of the week package, Sunday Night Spike 2003, this fall that will boast 15 teams who competed in the 2002 NCAA Championships, including national semifinalists Florida, Stanford and Hawaii. The schedule began on Sunday, Sept. 7 with Florida at Stanford and will include an October 26 doubleheader featuring Santa Clara-Pepperdine and Utah-Colorado State.
The WAC will have at least two teams featured. Hawaii defeated Santa Clara on Sept. 28 in California. The Rainbow Wahine also defeated Nevada on Oct. 5 in Honolulu. Finally, the WAC Tournament Championship match will be televised on Nov. 23 in Reno, Nev.
Five teams featured within the Sunday Night Spike 2003 schedule have won volleyball national championships (Hawaii in 1982, 1983, 1987; Nebraska in 1995, 2000; Pacific in 1985, 1986; Stanford in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001; Texas in 1988) and seven won conference titles in 2002 (Florida, Hawaii, Northern Iowa, Notre Dame, Pepperdine, Sacramento St., Utah). In addition, Colorado State and Eastern Washington won regular season conference titles.
Sunday Night Spike 2003 (all times ET)
Sept. 7 Florida def. Stanford, 3-0
Sept. 14 Pepperdine def. Pacific, 3-1
Sept. 21 Illinois State def. No. Iowa, 3-1
Sept. 28 Hawaii def. Santa Clara, 3-0
Oct. 5 Hawaii def. Nevada, 3-0
Oct. 12 E. Washington def. Sacramento State, 3-0
Oct. 19 Kansas State def. Texas, 3-2
Oct. 26 Pepperdine def. Santa Clara, 3-1
Oct. 26 Colorado State def. Utah, 3-1
Nov. 2 Northern Iowa at Nebraska, 6:00 p.m.
Nov. 9 Miami (Fla.) at Notre Dame, 6:00 p.m.
Nov. 16 Best of Sunday Night Spike, 6:00 p.m.
Nov. 23 WAC Championship, 6:00 p.m.
FRESNO STATE OPENS SAVE MART CENTER The Fresno State volleyball team will get a bigger stage in November when the Bulldogs host Hawai'i at the brand-new Save Mart Center (16,116) on Sun., Nov. 9, 12:00 p.m.
After turning away fans last year as nearly 1,400 packed the standing-room only North Gym last November, the Fresno State Athletics Department announced a new venue and a new date as the Bulldogs push for another postseason appearance. The Bulldog volleyball team was scheduled to play the Rainbow Wahine on Sat., Nov. 8, 7:00 p.m.
Being the first true athletic competition in the Save Mart Center, the volleyball team will follow the lead of the Bulldog Basketball Extravaganza (Nov. 5) and a concert by Andrea Bocelli ( Nov. 7) as the first week of Grand Opening activities.
NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS So far this season, the WAC is 80-60 (.571) against non-conference opponents. The WAC is 7-7 against ranked teams. Hawaii is 7-1 with wins over Louisville, UCLA, Kansas State, Stanford, Minnesota, LMU and Santa Clara. San Jose State fell to No. 20 Santa Clara, and Nevada fell to No. 15 Long Beach State. Boise State and Louisiana Tech also have losses to ranked teams. Rice has lost to formerly ranked Ohio State, and Fresno State lost to No. 23 Long Beach State.
AROUND THE COURT News and notes from around the league:
Boise State is tied with Louisiana Tech and UTEP in points that determine the seeding the WAC Tournament. With two points the Broncos, Lady Techsters and Miners will fight with Tulsa for the last two spots in the tournament. The Broncos look to return to the WAC Tournament after not making the cut last season. If the Broncos advance to the tournament, they will look for their first tournament win. Boise State is 0-1 in one tournament appearance in 2001. In its remaining four matches, Boise State will face Western Division foes, San Jose State, Hawaii, Nevada and Fresno State, respectively. The Broncos lost to all four teams earlier this season with their lone WAC win coming against Louisiana Tech in five games.
Fresno State and Nevada have both been tough this season. When it comes to playing each other on one another's home court, the home team had won every time except last time out when Fresno State traveled to Reno, Nev., and recorded a four-game win on Oct. 11. Improving to 2-4 all-time at Nevada, the Bulldogs were winless in WAC play at the Virginia Street Gym until earlier in the month; Fresno State's last win at Nevada was Sept. 22, 1984 in a non-conference match up. The Wolf Pack are winless in Fresno as they have gone 0-5 since first playing the Bulldogs on their home court in 1983. With a current career total of 989 kills, Junior outside hitter Kristen Fenton is just 11 kills shy of being just the ninth Bulldog to amass 1,000+ career kills and will become the second-fastest Bulldog to reach the historic milestone. She is averaging 3.69 kills per game in her career, a mark that currently ranks No. 5 all-time at Fresno State. While currently hitting at a career mark of .285 (No. 6 all-time), Fenton has a .320 hitting percentage on the season and is one of eight players in school history to hit at least .300 in a season Last year she finished at .301 to rank No. 6.
Hawaii has now won 74-straight WAC matches, dating back to 1998. The Rainbow Wahine are in the midst of a 22-match winning streak. The Rainbow Wahine can clinch the top seed on the WAC Tournament with two more WAC wins. Hawaii has one match this week with Boise State at home followed by a tough road trip to Nevada and Fresno State. The Rainbow Wahine defeated both the Wolf Pack and the Bulldogs earlier this season at home. All-American Kim Willoughby moved to third all-time in the WAC in service aces. Willoughby currently has 163 services aces. The all-time leader is San Diego State's Gracie Schutt (1999-92) who had 237 aces.
Louisiana Tech returns to the road this week at Tulsa and at Rice. Louisiana Tech won for the 19th time in 20 all-time meetings at Northwestern State on Oct. 21. The Lady Techsters are 20-3 against instate opponents under the direction of head coach Heather Mazeitis. Senior middle blocker Tanya Jarvis moved into second place on the career block list at Tech with 329. Louisiana Tech fell to Nevada in five games on Oct. 25, despite recording more digs and kills while, posting a higher hitting percentage than the Wolf Pack. Senior Cristine SantAnna is now up to 995 career digs, just five short of becoming the 4th person ever at Tech to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. SantAnna has 1,352 kills, third all time at Louisiana Tech. She also has 39 career double-doubles.
Nevada has gone 3-1 after freshman Carly Sorensen returned to the lineup. Sorensen had missed six matches due to injury but returned to the lineup on Oct. 16 against UTEP. With her in the lineup the Wolf Pack posted sweeps over UTEP and Boise State and a, 3-2, win over Louisiana Tech. The only setback came at SMU, 3-1. In all four matches Sorensen has reached double figures in kills: UTEP (12), BSU (13), SMU (12), and Louisiana Tech (18). In the SMU match she posted a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs. Overall, she is averaging 3.67 kills, 2.13 digs, and is hitting .273 since her return. Sophomore middle blocker Salaia Salave`a took two steps up to fifth on the Nevada solo block and total blocks career lists after recording 12 blocks last week, eight solo and four assisted. Salave`as 54 career solo blocks ties her with Erin Hewko (1992-95) and her 224 total blocks is all alone in fifth. She also moved up one spot to sixth in block assists (170).
Rice defeated San Jose State, 3-1, marking the first time the Owls have defeated the Spartans. Rices 14-8 block advantage over San Jose State was the 15th time this season that Rice has out-blocked its opponent. Rice is now 9-1 this season at home, 18-2 in the last two seasons at Autry Court. Junior Rebeca Pazo hit .311 on the week (40-12-90) and averaged 5.71 kpg. Her 28 kills against San Jose State, coupled with 23 digs, is her 10th double-double this season. This week, the Owls remain at home to face WAC Eastern Division leading SMU on Oct. 30 before hosting Louisiana Tech on Nov. 1.
San Jose State freshman Jessie Shull is having a solid rookie season for the Spartans. Shull is first in the WAC in digs, averaging 4.26 dpg this season. She has a total of 315 which is 50 short of 10th all-time at San Jose State. Kim Hicks holds the Spartan record with 435 in 1988. Senior Kimberly Noble is also among the WAC leaders this season. The outside hitter is third in the WAC in kills per game, averaging 5.34. The San Jose State season kills per game record is held by former Spartan assistant coach Joslynn Gallop who averaged 5.60 kpg in 1999.
SMU has passed last season's total league win total. Last season, the Mustangs were 6-7 in WAC matches and 12-17 overall. SMU is currently 17-5 and 8-1 in WAC matches. The Mustangs had a 10-match winning streak broken by Hawaii two weeks ago. SMU increased its first-place lead in the Eastern Division. SMU takes a one-point lead over Fresno State for the second seed in the WAC Tournament with four matches remaining. The resurgence of the Mustangs is due in part to their young team. Jacky Niederstadt guided the Mustangs to two big wins over Western Division foes, Nevada and Fresno State.
UTEP snapped an season-high, 11-match losing streak with a sweep of Boise State in its only match of the week. The win also ended an 11-match WAC skid which dating back to last season. Senior Jennifer Abbruzzese led all players with 18 kills, while notching 11 digs for her 13th double-double of the season. The League City, Texas, native hit a team-high .378 and was one of three Miners to hit over .300 for the match as Brittney Bennett and Heather Brisnahan checked in at .364 and .312, respectively. As a team, the Miners hit .297 (53-18-118), a new season-high. With the win, the Miners earned their first two points towards the WAC postseason tournament and moved into a three-way tie for eighth place with the Broncos and Louisiana Tech, while Tulsa is in seventh with three points. Only the top eight teams qualify for the tournament in Reno, Nev. UTEP has just four conference matches left on its schedule and will face both Tulsa and Louisiana Tech during that stretch.
Tulsa has won five of its eight home matches this season. Tulsa has also out hit its opponents in the friendly confines of the Donald W. Reynolds Center. In the eight home matches, Tulsa has recorded a .231 hitting percentage and 499 kills, as well as averaged 16.63 kills per game. Tulsa opponents have posted a .196 hitting percentage, and 422 kills, to go along with 14.07 kills per game. The 2003 edition of Golden Hurricane is balanced not only on offense, but defense as well. On the offensive side of the net, four TU players have recorded over 400 attacks, with three players recording over 200 kills. Junior Kristin Bailey leads the squad in kills with 227 on the season. Fellow junior Lindsay Eaves and freshman Brie Penaluna are just behind the leader with 200 and 201 kills, apiece. Defensively, a sextet of Hurricane players have recorded over 100 digs on the season. Senior Nathalia Araujo leads the team with 287 digs on the season. In addition to Thon and Penaluna, sophomore Evyn Bandy, freshmen Amy Meyer and Kasi Dickson have also broken triple digits in digs.
TERRIFIC TOURNAMENTS The WAC performed very strong in tournaments this season. Fresno State traveled to the Northern Arizona Invitational and went 3-0 en route to the tournament win. SMU capture another title, winning the Loyola-Chicago Invitational. Last week, the WAC had a very good week at tournaments, Hawaii and Tulsa both won tournaments that they hosted. Louisiana Tech won its second tournament title of the season, capturing the Drake Tournament. The following players have also been named to all-tournament teams:
Cameron Flunder, BS Montana Invitational
Boise State Invitational
Gonzaga Invitational
Davidson Invitational
Tiffany Bishop, FS Northern Arizona Invitational
Kristen Fenton, FS Fresno State Invitational
Sacramento State Invitational*
San Diego Invitational
Northern Arizona Invitational*
Carrie Hartt, FS Northern Arizona Invitational
Robyn Keune, FS Sacramento State Invitational
Lily Kahumoku, UH State Farm Women's Volleyball Classic
Hawaiian Airlines Volleyball Classic
Aston Imua Volleyball Challenge
Sprint Invitational
Kanoe Kamana`o, UH Hawaiian Airlines Volleyball Classic
Lauren Duggins, UH Aston Imua Volleyball Challenge
Sprint Invitational
Kim Willoughby, UH State Farm Women's Volleyball Classic
Hawaiian Airlines Volleyball Classic*
Aston Imua Volleyball Challenge*
Sprint Invitational*
Lia Mora, LT UL-Lafayette Tournament
Texas State Tournament
Drake Tournament*
Tulane Tournament
Joy Okpa, LT Drake Tournament*
Cristine Sant'Anna, LT UL-Lafayette Tournament*
Drake Tournament*
Tulane Tournament
Tristin Adams , UN CS-Fullerton Tournament
SBC/Sand Regency Tournament
Lauren Galler, UN SBC/Sand Regency Tournament
Christine Harms, UN Cal Golden Bear Tournament
Salaia Salave`a, UN CS-Fullerton Tournament
Lindsey Carter, RU Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational
Rebeca Pazo, RU Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational*
BYU Mizuno Classic
Kimberly Noble, SJSU Cowgirl Classic
SJSU Invitational
Jessie Shull, SJSU SJSU Invitational
Beth Karasek, SMU SMU Invitational
Kelly Larkan, SMU SMU Invitational
Jacky Niederstadt, SMU Loyola-Chicago Invitational
Jessica Mihm, SMU Loyola-Chicago Invitational*
Jennifer Abbruzzese, UTEPFiesta Bowl Tournament
Nina Reeves, UTEP Borderland Invitational
Fiesta Bowl Tournament
UMKC Kangaroo Classic
Ashley Ripple, UTEP Mean Green Classic
Kari Stacy, UTEP Borderland Invitational
UMKC Kangaroo Classic
Natalia Araujo, TU Dayton Flyer Classic
Kristin Bailey, TU Stephen F. Austin Tournament*
Lindsay Eaves, TU Stephen F. Austin Tournament Ewing-Grover Olds/GMC Truck Invite*
Sam Rutherford, TU Ewing-Grover Olds/GMC Truck Invite
Brie Penaluna, TU Stephen F. Austin Tournament
Vanessa Thon, TU Ewing-Grover Olds/GMC Truck Invite
*Most Outstanding/Valuable Player
PACKING THE STANDS Once again, Hawaii is leading the nation in attendance. The Rainbow Wahine have drawn 123,194 in 14 home matches so far this season for an average of 7,165. The Rainbow Wahine have led the nation in attendance the last eight years. Hawaii also holds 14 of the top 15 single-match highs this season, including the nation's second best, 9,345 fans that saw No. 1 USC defeat No. 2 Hawaii. The attendance for UH's win over Stanford was 8,740 on Sept. 13. On Oct. 4, 8,529 fans saw the Rainbow Wahine sweep Nevada.
2003 Division I Volleyball Attendance
School Avg. Total Matches
1. Hawaii 7,246 123,194 17
2. Nebraska 4,338 39,039 9
3. Wisconsin 4,164 45,807 11
4. Florida 2,834 28,341 10
5. Penn State 2,598 18,188 7
6. Minnesota 2,373 23,733 10
7. Stanford 1,889 15,110 8
8. Texas A&M 1,840 16,556 9
9. Kansas State 1,833 18,326 10
10. Pacific 1,733 17,333 10