HAWAI`i NCAA TOURNAMENT After winning the WAC Tournament, Hawaii advances to the NCAA Tournament. The Rainbow Wahine will host Idaho. In the other first round match, BYU will take on New Mexico State.
The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee announced the 64-team field for the 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. Thirty-one conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining 33 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket.
The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and placed within four regions. The teams tabbed as the top four seeds were Southern California, Hawaii, Florida and Pepperdine.
Also in UH's sub-regional are Brigham Young University and New Mexico State University, who will face each other at 5 p.m. on Dec. 4. The winner will face the winner of the Hawaii-Idaho match at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5.
Hawaii received the tournament's No. 2 seed, taking the top seed in their region. Other seeded teams in Hawaii's region are No. 7 Georgia Tech, No. 10 California and No. 15 Illinois.
HAWAII IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT Hawaii is one of the nation's most successful NCAA Tournament teams. The Rainbow Wahine are playing in their 22nd tournament, missing only in 1992, and have compiled a 50-18 (.735) overall record. This is their eighth appearance as a WAC member, compiling a 19-7 (.731) mark. Hawaii has won the NCAA title three times: 1982, 1983 and 1987. The Rainbow Wahine finished second in 2000, 1998 and 1996. In 2002, Hawaii lost to Stanford in the semifinals in New Orleans, La. The Rainbow Wahine defeated Western Kentucky, Washington, North Carolina and Nebraksa en route to their seventh Final Four appearance. The win against the Cornhuskers broke a 29-match winning streak and was Nebraska's first home loss since 1999.
THE WAC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT WAC teams are a combined 112-88 (.560) in the NCAA Tournament since 1981. Current WAC teams are a combined 60-38 (.612) in tournament play. Four of the current league teams have competed in the tournament, including Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada and San Jose State. Since the WAC began the sponsorship of women's athletics in 1990, WAC teams are 20-13 (.606) in the NCAAs. Since 1990, the WAC has had at least two teams compete in the NCAA Tournament every year except 1999. The last two seasons, three teams have advanced to the postseason. This is the most since six teams advanced in 1998.
HAWAII WINS FOURTH-STRAIGHT WAC TOURNAMENT Hawaii defeated San Jose State, 3-0, to take home its fourth-straight WAC Tournament title at Virginia Street Gym in Reno, Nev. The Rainbow Wahine earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans were the surprise team of the tournament, knocking off third-seeded Fresno State and second-seeded SMU en route to the championship match.
San Jose State started out strong, pushing the Wahine to the edge in the first game, but falling 30-28. Game two was no different for the Spartans, as they again fell in a close game, 30-26. With the momentum fully on the Wahine side, they cruised to a 30-20 win and the conference title.
Senior Lily Kahumoku hit .318 for the Wahine on her way to the tournament's MVP. She posted 17 kills on 44 attempts versus San Jose State. Senior Kim Willoughby led all players with 21 kills, hitting .333. For the Spartans, Kimberly Noble was outstanding again, posting 19 kills for the team high.
The all-tournament team was announced at the conclusion of the tournament. Kahumoku earned the tournament MVP, leading the Wahine to a fourth-straight title. The following is a complete list of the team.
AGAINST THE FIELD Hawaii is 7-1 this season against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament with the lone loss coming against No.1 seed USC on Aug. 23. The, 3-0, loss is the Rainbow Wahine's only setback of the season. Hawaii has won 31-straight matches since the loss to the Women of Troy.
Hawaii's wins include fifth-seeded Stanford and eighth-seeded UCLA. Other wins came against No. 13-seeded Minnesota, Loyola Marymount, Arizona, Santa Clara and Louisville.
FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS In the first round, No. 2 seed Hawaii will take on Idaho. This will be the Idaho's fifth trip to the tournament in the championships 23-year history. The Vandal's last appearance was in 1995 when they received an automatic bid after winning the Big Sky Championship. The Vandals were defeated by Iowa State in the first round. Idaho is 19-10 this season and finished tied for fifth in the Big West. Hawaii has a 1-0 record against Idaho with a, 3-0, win in the 1994 NCAA Tournament. The two teams have met four of the same opponents.
The Rainbow Wahine were 4-0 against those teams, while the Vandals were 4-3. Hawaii defeated UCLA, Boise State, Utah State and Pacific. Idaho defeated Boise State twice, Pacific and Utah State. Idaho also lost to UCLA, Utah State and Pacific.
If the Rainbow Wahine advance to the second round of the tournament, they would face either New Mexico State or former WAC rival BYU. The Aggies are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance. Hawaii is 16-0 against New Mexico State. Entering the tournament, New Mexico State was 30-4. The Aggies finished a perfect 15-0 in the Sun Belt Conference this season.
The Rainbow Wahine own a 14-5 advantage over the Cougars of BYU. The Cougars are 23-8 and finished third in the Mountain West Conference behind Colorado State and Utah. Hawaii and BYU played in three of the six WAC Tournament finals (1996-1998) with BYU taking the 1996 and '97 titles.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK Hawai'i left-side hitter Lily Kahumoku has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 1. This is the second player of the week honor for the senior this season and her fifth overall.
Kahumoku, a native of Lubbock, Texas, led the Rainbow Wahine to two road wins over Weber State and Kentucky at the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament. The WAC Tournament MVP had two double-doubles in the tournament. She had 16 kills and 11 digs in three games against Weber State and 16 kills and 12 digs in three games against Kentucky.
The two-time All-American raised her season totals to 4.48 kpg, 3.40 dpg and a .300 hitting percentage. Kahumoku is currently fifth in kills in WAC games (4.48 kpg). She is also eighth in hitting percentage (.300).
REMATCH OF 2001 FINAL AS HAWAII AND SAN JOSE ADVANCE San Jose State posted its second upset in as many days, advancing to the finals of the 2003 WAC Championship in Reno, Nev. The sixth-seeded Spartans knocked off second-seeded SMU, 3-1, on the strength of Kimberly Noble's 30 kills. Top-seeded Hawaii played one of its best matches of the year, defeating fourth-seeded Nevada (16-15, 7-6), 3-0.
The Spartans have been in the conference semifinals the past four years, but advance to their first finals since 2001. San Jose State fell to Hawaii, 3-0 that season. The win over second-seeded SMU was the biggest upset in the tournament's history, based on seed.
Top-seeded Hawaii played one of its best matches of the year, defeating fourth-seeded Nevada (16-15, 7-6), 3-0. Nohea Tano led the way for the Rainbow Wahine (29-1, 13-0), as she hit .857 with six kills. Senior Kim Willoughby posted a match high 18 kills on 33 attempts.
WAC TOURNAMENT RECORDS Several records were broken at the 2003 WAC Tournament. Fresno State outside hitter Kristen Fenton set the record for attempts with 96 in a five-game loss against San Jose State in the quarterfinals. The previous record was 78 by San Diego State's Martina Vitkova-Engels against Wyoming. Fenton also tied the record for service aces in a match with four against San Jose State in the quarterfinal on Nov. 21. In team records, both Louisiana Tech and SMU tied the team record with five ball handling errors in their quarterfinal match on Nov. 21.
ACADEMIC AWARDS Several WAC volleyball players were honored with district academic awards.
Fresno State's Tina Brennan was named to her first Academic All-District VIII Team, as voted by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Brennan was named to the six-member First Team All-District VIII Team, which encompasses the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and the province of British Columbia. Majoring in liberal studies with a cumulative 4.0 GPA, Brennan has been an integral part of the Bulldogs' defense since her arrival in 2001.
Catherine DuPont, Rebeca Pazo and Rebecca Kainz were named to Academic all-District VI teams as selected by CoSIDA. This is the second first-team honor for DuPont, as she was named to the district team last season, and was also named a third-team academic all-America in 2002. Pazo was a second-team all-district selection last year, and this is the first honor for Kainz. DuPont, a junior, owns a 4.00 grade point average in sports medicine and Spanish. Pazo is an economics and Spanish major with a 3.417 GPA. The junior is a two-time all-WAC selection, and was twice named to the academic all-WAC team. Kainz owns a 3.442 GPA in English and policy studies.
Nevada outside hitter Christine Harms has been named to the Academic All-District VIII second team. Harms carries a 4.00 grade point average in Civil Engineering.
SINGLE-SEASON LEADERS Several WAC players are among the single-season leaders this season. So far this season, Hawaii senior Kim Willoughby is tied for fourth in total kills with 630. She holds the No. 1 spot (850) and the No. 2 spot (688). She is nine kills away from TCU's Jill Pape who had 639 kills in 1996. Willoughby is also currently seventh in aces with 61.
San Jose State freshman Jessie Shull ended the season tied for fifth with 473 digs. SMU's Beth Karasek was sixth with 468 digs. In digs per game, Shull ended the season second averaging, 4.30 dpg with Karasek ending the season sixth with a 4.11 dpg average. Rice's Rebecca Neal avergaged 4.00 dpg, good for eighth.
Hawaii setter Kanoe Kamana`o is currently 10th in assists per game with a 13.33 apg average. Several players are currently among the leaders in kills per game and hitting percentage.
NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS So far this season, the WAC is 87-67 (.565) 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 lost to formerly ranked Ohio State, and Fresno State lost to No. 23 Long Beach State.
FENTON REACHES 40-KILL MARK Fenton made history when she recorded her first career 40-plus kill match. With 41 notched against CS Northridge on Nov. 12, she tied the national mark for most kills collected this fall, became just the fifth player in the country to post a 40-kill match this season and became just the ninth player overall in Division I history to total at least 40 kills since rally scoring was introduced in 2001 at that point in time. Against CS Northridge, Fenton collected a match-high 41 kills and hit .323 (41-10-96) with two assists, 14 digs and three blocks. The 41 kills was a new rally scoring school record for a five-game match as well as a breaking a 12-year old school record and North Gym record (old mark was 36 by Paola Paz-Soldan, 36 vs. New Mexico, Sept. 5, 1991). Since Fenton's mark was established, there now are seven Division I players to have reached the 40-kill plateau this fall since Nov. 16.
WAC POSTSEASON AWARDS The WAC 2003 postseason award winners were announced today as selected by the leagues head coaches.
Hawaii left side hitter Kim Willoughby earned her third-straight WAC Player of the Year honor. The senior is the first three-time winner of the honor. Hawaiis Kanoe Kamanao is the fourth Wahine to win Freshman of the Year honors, while SMUs Lisa Seifert captured Coach of the Year accolades.
Six different schools were represented on the first team and eight overall. Hawaii, the first seed in the WAC Tournament, had six players named to the first team and one to the second team. Third-seeded Fresno State had two named to the first team and added two more on the second team. Second-seeded SMU had one player on the first team, while placing four on the second.
For the eighth-straight year, Hawaii boasts the Player of the Year. Willoughby has been among the nations leaders in kills per game, hitting percentage and aces all season. The senior finished conference play leading the WAC in kills per game (6.24 kpg) and service aces with 27 (0.79 sapg).
Hawaiis Kamanao earned the schools fourth Freshman of the Year honor, finishing second in the WAC in assists per game with 12.92. She guided the Wahine, who as a team, are ranked in the top five in the nation in both hitting percetage and kills per game.
This is the first Coach of the Year honor for Lisa Seifert, as she led SMU to its best season in school history. The Mustangs posted 22 wins to only six losses during 2003. They were 11-2 in conference play, a turnaround of five wins, earning them the Eastern Division Championship. SMU earned the second-seed in the conference tournament, defeating both Fresno State and Nevada, both of whom were 2002 NCAA Tournament participants.
AROUND THE COURT News and notes from around the league:
Boise State played its final match of the season losing to Fresno State in three games. The Bulldogs upped their record to 21-6 overall and 10-3 in the conference with the 30-18, 30-26, 30-23 win. Kelsey Young led the Broncos with 10 kills. Cameron Flunder and Christina Moore each added nine kills. Christina Melvin added 34 assists. Megan Tranter had seven digs.
Fresno State junior Kristen Fenton was named to her second straight WAC all-tournament team. Pounding out a match-high 35 kills to go along with 14 digs, two assists, four service aces and four blocks, Fenton tallied her 28th consecutive double-figure kill match, third 30+ kill performance and 15th double-double of the season. Senior middle blocker Carrie Hartt and Fenton were named to their second-straight first team all-WAC team, while junior middle blocker Tiffany Bishop and sophomore setter Robyn Keune were selected second team. This marks the fourth time in the history of the Bulldog volleyball program in which at least four all-conference selections were honored in the same season as well as it being the third time under head coach Lindy Vivas in which at least four Bulldogs were honored.
Hawaii ended the regular season with wins over Weber State and Kentucky at the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament. The Rainbow Wahine thankfully return home for the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament. Hawaii had been on the road since the WAC Tournament. Hawaii has now won 31 straight matches. With their selection to the NCAA tournament, The Rainbow Wahine has made 22 of the 23 NCAA Tournaments (missing only the 1992 NCAAs).The Rainbow Wahine has now won 78-straight WAC matches, dating back to 1998.
Louisiana Tech finished the regular season at the WAC Tournament. The seventh-seeded Lady Techsters fell to the second-seeded SMU Mustangs, 3-0. For the second-straight season, the Lady Techsters finished the season with at least 15 wins. It is also the second-straight season that Louisiana Tech has finished with a winning record (16-15).
Nevada junior Salaia Salave`a was named to the 2003 all-WAC tournament team. It was the second consecutive year Salave`a was named to the team. The Wolf Pack went 1-1 in the tournament hosted at Nevada's Virginia Street Gym this past weekend. The Pack won 3-0 over Rice on Nov. 21 and fell 3-0 to second-ranked and top-seed Hawaii on Nov. 22. Salave`a averaged 4.17 kills, 1.17 blocks, 1.17 digs and hit .321 in the two tournament matches. In the Rice match she had 13 kills, five digs, five blocks and hit .417. She followed that with 12 kills, two service aces, five digs, two blocks, and a .241 attack percentage versus Hawaii.
Rice had a five-match win streak stopped at the WAC tournament. With a 30-18, 33-31, 30-21 victory on Nov. 21, Nevada ended Rices volleyball season in the first round of the tournament. Rice entered the match looking for its first win in the WAC tournament since the 1998 season, when the Owls defeated New Mexico in the first round.
San Jose State became the lowest seeded team to reach the finals, as the sixth-seeded team faced Hawaii in the WAC Tournament final. The Spartans defeated No. 3 Fresno State in five games and No. 2 SMU in four in games to reach the finals. Senior Kimberly Noble led the Spartans, ending the tournament with 73 kills and 37 digs in three matches. Noble and teammates Jessie Shull and Allison Dillion were named to the all-tournament team.
SMU completed one of its winningest regular seasons in school history since the program's inception, eight years ago. The Mustangs are 23-7, 11-2 in WAC play. The last time the Mustangs won 20 games was in the 1999 season. SMU fell to San Jose State in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament.
UTEP wrapped up its season last week as it was swept by the SMU Mustangs. In failing to win at least two games over its final two matches the Miners did not make the 2003 WAC Tournament in Reno, Nev. UTEP finished the season 8-22, 2-11 in the WAC. Although the Miners had three points during the season to tie Tulsa, they were edged from the tournament due to the WAC tie-breaker.
Tulsa ended its regular season on Nov. 28 with a loss to Arkansas, 3-1. Tulsa's loss in the WAC Tournament was the first time Golden Hurricane had lost in the first round of the tournament. Tulsa now holds a 1-2 record in two tournament appearances. The Golden Hurricane were 1-1 in the 2001 tournament held in San Jose, Calif. Tulsa did not advance to the 2002 WAC Tournament.
*Most Outstanding/Valuable Player
PACKING THE STANDS Once again, Hawaii is leading the nation in attendance. The Rainbow Wahine have drawn 140,144 in 19 home matches so far this season for an average of 7,376. 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, 10,300 fans that saw No. 2 Hawaii defeat San Jose State. 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.