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Weekly Volleyball Release
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK San Jose State sophomore Jessie Shull has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 8. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor this season for the libero.
The Downey, Calif., native set a San Jose State and WAC record with 42 digs in a four-game match against Fresno State. Nevada's Suzanne Stonebarger who had 38 digs in a five-game match against San Jose State on Sept. 29, 2000 held the previous record. Shull set the overall WAC record and the WAC matches only record. Shull's previous dig high this season was 35 against San Francisco in the first match of the season. For the week, Shull averaged 7.43 dpg with 52 digs in two matches. For the season, she averages 5.33 dpg to lead the league.
Other nominees included: Tuli Peters, Fresno State; Kanoe Kamana`o, Hawai'i; Salaia Salave`a, Nevada; Tessa Kuykendall, Rice; Beth Karasek, SMU and Joyce Silva, Tulsa.
FINAL WEEK OF ACTION In the final week of the WAC season, Hawaii and Rice have secured the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the WAC Tournament, respectively. UTEP and Louisiana Tech have been eliminated. This week, Boise State and Nevada will meet head-to-head in Reno on Nov. 11. Nevada will then make the long trek to Hawaii to take on first-place Hawaii. The Wolf Pack have won nine-straight matches. Eastern Division champions Rice end the season on the road against Tulsa.
TOURNEY TIME For the third-straight season, the WAC Volleyball Tournament returns to Virginia Street Gym and the campus of the University of Nevada. The tournament will be played Nov. 19-21 with the top eight teams advancing.
SAN JOSE STATES SHULL SMASHES WAC RECORD Sophomore libero Jessie Shull had a record 42 digs for the San Jose State volleyball team, but the Spartans fell in four games to Fresno State, 30-27, 30-28, 22-30, 34-32, on Nov. 3 in a WAC match at The Event Center.
Shulls 42 digs breaks the old San Jose State match record of 38 set by Lisa Ice against Hawaii in 1986 and against Cal Poly in 1986. Shull also broke the WAC single match record of 38 set by Suzanne Stonebarger against the Spartans during the 2000 season.
FAST STARTS This marks the third time in five years that Hawaii got off to at least an 18-0 start, also doing it in 2000 and 2002. Both of those seasons ended with a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Rainbow Wahine lost the second match of the season and then won 35-straight matches before falling to Florida in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. With a 22-3 record in the 2004 campaign, Rice is off to its best start in program history behind first-year head coach Genny Volpe. The teams 11-1 WAC record marks the best record ever.
BOISE STATE BIG TURNAROUND Boise State is having its best season in several years and its best conference season since joining the WAC. Before the 2004 season, the Broncos had never won more than one match in conference play in any given WAC season. With a record of 17-9, the 2004 Bronco program is in its first season of double-digit wins since 1998. In the three seasons before 2004 (in other words 2001, 2002 and 2003), the Broncos combined for just eight wins total (one in 2001, one in 2002 and six in 2003). Among Boise State's landmarks this season - the program's historical first victories over SMU, Tulsa and Fresno State, and the program's first WAC Athlete of the Week (Cameron Flunder - Sept. 6).
NCAA LEADERS Hawaii setter Kanoe Kamana`o is still seventh in the country in assists per game (13.91 apg), while Rices Kristina Hoban is 19th (13.28 apg) and SMUs Jessica Mihm is 20th (13.28 apg). Rices Tessa Kuykendall is 10th in blocks per game (1.63 bpg). Boise States Heather Malaschak is 14th (1.63 bpg), while Hawaii transfer Victoria Prince is 21st (1.56 bpg). Prince continues to climb the charts in hitting percentage. She is 11th, hitting .407. Tulsas Joyce Silva was 19th in kills per game (5.01 kpg), and Beth Karasek is 20th (5.01 kpg). Nevadas Salaia Salave`a is 25th (4.98 kpg). Tulsa freshman Kassiana Urnau is 9th in the nation this week in service aces per game, averaging 0.65 sapg, while Rices Rebeca Pazo is 20th (0.58 sapg).
WOLF PACK WINNING STREAK REACHES NINE Nevada won a season high ninth consecutive match following a 3-2 win over UNLV on Nov. 7. With the victory the Wolf Pack improved to 17-6 overall and 9-2 in WAC action. This week, the Wolf Pack its final two WAc matches. Nevada is at home against Boise State and end league play on the road against No. 2 Hawaii.
Nevada is in its fifth year in the WAC and have posted a 43-23 overall conference match record. The Wolf Pack have not posted a losing record since joining the conference going 10-6 (2000), 9-4 (2001), 8-5 (2002), 7-6 (2003) and 9-2 (2004).
CURRENT POINT STANDINGS The current point standings for seeding in the WAC Tournament are as follows:
Hawaii 16
Rice 15
Nevada 13
Boise State 10
San Jose State 9
Fresno State 8
Tulsa 5
SMU 4
UTEP 2
Louisiana Tech 1
NCAA SELECTION SHOW ESPNEWS will present exclusive live national announcement of the 2004 NCAA Championship field for six Fall sports. The networks NCAA Fall Sports Championship Selection series will be presented within the one-hour programming windows listed and will feature video highlights, interviews with select coaches and analysis by insiders in each sport. The volleyball selection show will be aired Sunday, Nov. 28 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
AGAINST THE BEST Hawaii leads the way this season against ranked teams. The Rainbow Wahine are 4-0 against teams that were ranked at the time of the match. Hawaii has wins over No. 17 Arizona, No. 17 Santa Clara, No. 3 UCLA and No. 14 California. The WAC is 5-5 (.500) against non-conference ranked teams. Three teams have losses to teams in the top 10. Rice lost in five games to No. 1 Minnesota, while defeating No. 20 LMU. Nevada also went the distance with then No. 6-Stanford. Boise State lost to then-No. 3 Washington.
TOURNAMENT CREDENTIAL DEADLINES Request forms for credentials for the 2004 WAC Volleyball Tournament are now available through the league office. Media requesting hotel rooms must have their credential forms in by Wednesday, Nov. 3. If no room is requested, the deadline is Monday, Nov. 15. The WAC Volleyball Tournament is slated for Nov. 19-21 at the Virginia Street Gym in Reno, Nev.
PACKING THE STANDS Hawaii continues to pack the stands this season. The Rainbow Wahine have already drawn 104,096 fans in 15 matches for an average 6,940. Hawaii also has eight of the top 10 attended games, including the second highest attendance of the season when 8,656 saw Hawaii defeat Pepperdine in three games. There were also 7,954 fans that saw the Rainbow Wahine upset No. 3 UCLA 3-2.The highest attended match this season is the 10,921 that saw Minnesota defeat Illinois on Oct. 16. Last week, 8,048 fans saw Hawaii defeat Fresno State.
WELCOME TO THE WAC Next season, Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State will join the WAC. Both Idaho and New Mexico State advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. The Vandals lost to Hawaii in Honolulu in the first round. New Mexico State lost to BYU in the first round. The Aggies were a perfect 15-0 in the Sun Belt in 2003.
This season, New Mexico State is 25-2, 13-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Aggies have won 31-straight Sun Belt matches. NMSU has defeated future league partner UTEP, 3-0. The other Aggies, Utah State, are 7-15, 3-11 in the Big West. The Idaho Vandals are 15-9 so far this season, 7-7 in the Big West Conference.
REGIONAL SITES SET The NCAA Division I Womens Volleyball Committee has announced the following sites for regional competition of the 2004 NCAA Division I Womens Volleyball Championships. The first sight is the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky., along with the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn.; Bank America Arena in Seattle, Wash., and the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis. Louisville, Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin-Green Bay are the hosts for regionals, which will be held December 9-12.