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8.18.03.PDF
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HAWAI`I OPENS SEASON WITH TOUGH COMPETITION - The No. 2 University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team opens their 2003 campaign on Friday, Aug. 22, when they host the 2003 State Farm Women's Volleyball Classic presented by NACWAA at approximately 7 p.m.
UH will play No. 15 Kansas State in their opening match. The match will be preceded by a match between No. 1 Southern California and No. 3 Florida, which will start at 5 p.m. On Saturday, Aug. 23, there will then be a consolation match at 5 p.m. and the classic championship at approximately 7 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL FORMAT There will be two divisions for the 2003 season: West and East. The teams in the West will consist of Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada and San Jose State. The teams in the East will consist of Louisiana Tech, Rice, SMU, UTEP and Tulsa. Each team will play home and home within each division and will play each team from the other division once.
TOP STAT LEADERS The following are the returning statistical leaders in the WAC from 2002. In hitting efficiency, seven of the top 10 hitters are back, led by Hawaiis Lauren Duggins (.396) and Maja Gustin (.350), who finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the WAC, respectively. Duggins .396 is the highest hitting percentage in the WAC since Hawaiis Angelica Ljungquist hit a WAC-record .417 in 1996. Hawaiis Kim Willoughby ranked third (.342), followed by teammate Lily Kahumoku (.333 - sixth), Tulsas Dana Weddle (.310 - seventh), Fresno States Kristen Fenton (.301 - eighth) and Louisiana Techs Megan Rush (.300 - ninth).
Nine of the top 10 kill leaders are back, once again led by Hawaiis Kim Willoughby, who is a two-time WAC leader. After setting the WAC record with a 7.20 kpg average in 2001, Willoughby averaged 6.31 kpg in 2002. Teammate Kahumoku was second, averaging 5.27 kpg. Rices Rebeca Pazo also returns (4.93 kpg - fourth) along with UTEPs Jennifer Abbruzzese (.4.22 kpg - fifth), followed by Fenton (3.84 kpg - sixth). San Jose States Kimberly Noble was eighth, averaging 3.73 kpg, followed by Louisiana Techs Cristine SantAnna (3.58 kpg - ninth) and Weddle (3.55 kpg - tenth).
Nevadas Jill Couwenhoven, Fresno States Whitney Arena and UTEPs Michelle Norman are the only assist leaders missing from this seasons returners. SMUs Jessica Mihm is the top returner in assists (12.28 apg - second), followed by San Jose States Lindsey Rule (11.63 apg - fourth). Rices Rebekah Neal finished fifth with an average of 11.47 apg, followed by Louisiana Techs Lia Mora (11.28 apg - ninth) and Tulsas Vanessa Thon (10.77 apg - eighth).
Six of the top 10 blockers return, including Fresno States Carrie Hartt, who was first in the league, averaging 1.36 blocks per game. Also returning is Duggins (1.33 bpg - second) and Rices Rebecca Kainz (1.27 bpg - third). Nevadas Salaia Salavea, the WACs Freshman of the Year, finished fifth (1.17 bpg), followed by Gustin (1.07 bpg - seventh) and Rices Catherine DuPont (0.98 - tenth).
Eight of the top 10 servers also return led by Willoughby who was just shy of the WAC record. Willoughby was first with an average of 0.70 sapg, followed by Thon (0.48 - second). Also returning are SantAnna (0.46 sapg - fourth), Tulsas Natalie Araujo (0.39 sapg - seventh) and SMUs Allison Holder (0.39 sapg - eighth). Tulsas Lindsay Eaves and Fenton were tied for ninth with 0.34 sapg.
The WAC record for digs was broken last season by SMUs Kristen Peterson (4.38 dpg). She is one of two leaders not returning this season. Eight of the top 10 dig leaders return led by UTEPs Abbruzzese who finished second in the league, averaging 3.67 dpg. Also returning are Tulsas Araujo (3.58 dpg - fourth), Hawaiis Melissa Villaroman (3.52 dpg - fifth), Fresno States Tina Brennan (3.40 - sixth) and Pazo (3.36 dpg - seventh). Tulsas Evyn Bandy and Willoughby were tied for eighth, averaging 3.35 dpg, while Thon finished tenth (3.33 dpg).
RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERS Of the 12 first-team all-WAC players in 2002, six will return for the 2003 season, including Hawaiis Kim Willoughby, the WACs Player of the Year, and teammates Lily Kahumoku and Lauren Duggins. Rices Rebeca Pazo and Fresno States Kristen Fenton and Carrie Hartt also return from the 2002 first team. Seven of the second-team all-WAC performers will also return this season, including Hawaiis Karin Lundqvist and Melissa Villaroman. Louisiana Tech has a pair of all-WAC returnees in Lia Mora and Cristine SantAnna. Also returning are Nevadas Salaia Salavea, UTEPs Jennifer Abbruzzese and Rices Rebecca Kainz.
PERSONNEL CAPSULE Every team returns at least three starters for the 2003 campaign. Fresno State, Hawaii and Rice return the most letterwinners with 11. The Rainbow Wahine and UTEP return the most starters with six. SMU and Tulsa also bring back a double-digit number of letterwinners with 10, including five starters. Boise State and San Jose State bring back the smallest number of letterwinners with the Broncos returning three and the Spartans bringing back five. The following is a breakdown of each teams letterwinners returning and lost and starters returning and lost.
Team LR LL SR SL
Boise State 3 5 3 4
Fresno State 9 5 3 4
Hawaii 11 1 6 1
Louisiana Tech 8 2 5 1
Nevada 8 4 5 3
Rice 11 3 5 1
San Jose State 5 7 2 4
SMU 10 2 5 1
UTEP 7 3 6 2
Tulsa 10 2 5 1
NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS WAC teams could face at least 27 non-conference teams that participated in last years NCAA Tournament. Hawaii could play the most (10), including defending national champion USC, 2001 champion Stanford, as well as Florida, UCLA and Minnesota. Nevada could face six teams, including California, Utah and Long Beach State. Fresno State is next (4) along with Louisiana Tech (3), Rice (3), San Jose State (2), SMU (2) and UTEP (1).
HAWAI'I RANKED SECOND IN USA TODAY/AVCA PRESEASON POLL The University of Hawai'i is ranked second in the 2003 USA Today/AVCA volleyball preseason poll. The Rainbow Wahine, who ended the 2002 season with a 34-2 record, are behind only defending national champion Southern California who earned 64 of 65 first place votes with UH taking the remaining first place vote.
The four national semifinalist teams from 2002 hold the top four spots in the preseason poll. Fresno State is the only other WAC school to receive votes, earning seven.
The Rainbow Wahine ended the 2002 season ranked third in the final USA Today poll. The Rainbow Wahine also earned their third Western Athletic Conference Tournament title. This season, Hawai'i has six starters back, including two AVCA All-America first-team selections in seniors Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku. Hawai'i also returns third-team All-American Lauren Duggins.
The Rainbow Wahine and the Bulldogs were picked by the WAC coaches to finish first and second, respectively, in the WAC this season. The 2003 WAC volleyball season begins on Friday, Aug. 22 when Hawai'i hosts Kansas State at the NACWAA/State Farm Women's Volleyball Classic. No. 1 USC and No. 3 Florida will also be in action in Honolulu on Aug. 22.
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 dig.
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.
FIVE EARN ALL-WEST REGION HONORS The WAC placed five players on the 2002 American Volleyball Coaches Associations all-West Region. Two-time WAC Player of the Year Kim Willoughby led the way along with teammates Lily Kahumoku and Lauren Duggins. Fresno States Kristen Fenton and Nevadas Michelle More were also honored. The Bulldogs Java Johnson and Whitney Arena earned honorable mention honors.
Willoughby ranks in the top 10 nationally in both kills per game (6.25) and service aces per game (0.76), while also ranking in the top 30 in hitting percentage (.356). The junior was the only UH player on the all-Region and All-America team last season. Kahumoku was an all-Region and All-America team member in 2000. Duggins made the team for the first time in her collegiate career.
More a member of the first team for the first time was also named to the all-West Region team. More helped guide the Wolf Pack to a 22-10 mark and its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2002. The three named to the West Region was the most ever by the Bulldog program. More, Fenton, Arena and Johnson were all first-team all-WAC honorees this season. This is the first appearance on the all-Region team for all four.
IMPROVEMENTS Tulsa and Louisiana Tech had the WAC's biggest overall record improvements. The Golden Hurricane ended the 2001 season with an overall record of 11-14. This season, Tulsa was 20-13. The Lady Techsters finished their first season in the WAC 8-20 in 2001. One season later, Louisiana Tech ended the season 19-16. Fresno State also made an improvement, ending this season 23-7 and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Bulldogs ended the season 14-10.
HAWAII PASSES 100,000 IN ATTENDANCE Hawaii ended the season strong averaging over 7,000 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.
Hawaii drew the two biggest crowds for the NCAA first and second round matches. Hawaii drew 6,496 for its match against Washington on Dec. 7 in the second round. There were 6,099 for the Western Kentucky match on Dec. 6. The Rainbow Wahine are now averaging 7,309, which is the school's best average since the 1996 season when Hawaii averaged 8,378. For the year, Hawaii drew 156,596 fans.