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Hawai`i, Nevada and Rice Prepare for NCAA Tournament

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Hawai`i, Nevada and Rice Prepare for NCAA Tournament



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    THREE TEAMS ADVANCE TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP For the first time since 2002, three WAC teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Rice and Nevada join the No. 3 seed Hawaii in the 2004 NCAA Volleyball Championship. The Rainbow Wahine, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, will travel to Fort Collins, Colo., and take on the University of Colorado in the first round. Nevada will face Wichita State in Lincoln, Neb. Rice will stay instate and face Michigan in Austin, Texas.

    This is the Owls first NCAA appearance since joining the WAC. Rice won the WAC's Eastern Division and head into the NCAA Tournament with a 25-4 record. Nevada (21-9) is making its fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament also advancing in 1998, 2001 and 2002.

    Hawaii advanced to the Final Four last season and are making their 24th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. For only the second time in school history, the Rainbow Wahine enter postseason undefeated (28-0). Although UH was awarded the top seed in the Green Bay Regional, they will not host the first and second rounds for the first time since 2001, when the team was shipped to Pullman, Wash., as the top seed in the subregional.

    AGAINST THE FIELD The three WAC teams have a record of 12-9 against the 64 teams in the tournament field. Nevada has a loss on Sept. 4 to No. 11 seed Stanford. They have a 1-1 record against the No. 10 seed Saint Marys. Hawaii defeated Gaels, while Nevada fell to Saint Marys on Sept. 3. Hawaii also defeated the No. 15 seed UCLA. Ninth-seeded Arizona also fell victim to the undefeated Rainbow Wahine. Rice lost in five games to fourth-seeded Minnesota on Sept. 14 at the GlaxoSmithKline Carolina Classic.

    FIRST ROUND OPPONENTS Hawaii faces Colorado in the first round. Colorado was one of seven teams from the Big 12 Conference to advance to the tournament, tying the Big Ten for the most in the nation. Colorado ended the regular season tied with Kansas for sixth place in the league standings at 9-11. The Buffaloes make their 14th overall NCAA Tournament appearance and the 13th in the past 14 seasons. Colorado is one of only 14 teams to qualify for at least 13 NCAA Tournaments since 1991. Hawaii holds a 3-0 series edge over Colorado. They are also 1-0 against the Buffaloes in the postseason. The Rainbow Wahine last defeated the Buffaloes, 3-0 on Sept. 1, 2002.

    Nevada takes on Wichita State in the first round. Wichita State advanced to its first NCAA Tournament with a thrilling 3-2 victory over SMS in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship match in front of a school record crowd of 2,046. With the win, the Shockers earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. WSU won by scores of 22-30, 30-27, 28-30, 30-24, and 15-11.

    Rice will take on Michigan (19-12) in the first round on Friday, Dec. 3 at 5:00 p.m. at Gregory Gym in Austin, Texas. It is the fifth bid to the tournament in the last six seasons and the third-straight appearance for Michigan. Michigan lost to No. 4 Penn State 3-0 on Nov. 28 to end the regular season, as the Nittany Lions captured the Big Ten title. The Maize and Blue are led by Katie Bruzdzinski who is hitting .278 and is averaging 2.98 kpg. Michigan is coached by Mark Rosen who is in his sixth season with the Wolverines.

    COMMON OPPONENTS Hawaii shares one opponent with the University of Colorado. Both the Rainbow Wahine and Buffaloes defeated San Diego, 3-2. Hawaii beat the Torreros on Sept. 3 in the Hawaiian Airlines Volleyball Classic. Michigan defeated San Diego in Boulder on Sept. 10. San Diego is now ranked No. 12.

    Nevada and Wichita State did not share any common opponents. The only common opponent between Rice and Michigan is Minnesota. The Owls took the Gophers to five games in a 3-2 loss on Sept. 17 when Minnesota was the No. 1 team in the nation. Michigan was 0-2 against Minnesota in 2004, falling in three games in Minneapolis on Sept. 25 and losing in five-games in Ann Arbor on Nov. 12. Rice is 0-1 in its only meeting with Michigan, losing in three games in 1991.

    THE WAC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT WAC teams are a combined 114-89 (.562) in the NCAA Tournament since 1981. Current WAC teams are a combined 62-39 (.614) in tournament play. Four of the current league teams have competed in the tournament, including Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada and San Jose State. This is Rices first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Since the WAC began the sponsorship of womens athletics in 1990, WAC teams are 22-14 (.611) in the NCAAs. Since 1990, the WAC has had at least two teams compete in the NCAA Tournament every year except 1999 and 2003. In 2001 and 2002, three teams advanced to the postseason. That was the most since six teams advanced in 1998. In 2003, Hawaii was the only WAC school to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

    HAWAII IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT The Rainbow Wahine are playing in their 23nd tournament, missing only in 1992, and have compiled a 54-19 (.740) overall record. This is their ninth appearance as a WAC member, compiling a 23-8 (.742) 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 Nebraska en route to their seventh Final Four appearance. Last season, the Rainbow Wahine had wins over Idaho and BYU in the early rounds. Hawaii defeated Illinois and Georgia Tech to reach the national semifinals. UH lost to Florida in the semifinals, 3-1.

    NEVADA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT The Wolf Pack return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history. The Wolf Pack are 0-3 in the tournament. Nevada made its first NCAA appearance in 1998 when the Wolf Pack traveled to Honolulu. Nevada fell in the first round to Miami of Ohio, 3-0. In 2001, the Wolf Pack fell to eventual champion Stanford, 3-0, in Stanford University, Calif. In 2002, Nevada lost to Pacific in five games. Head coach Devin Scruggs has led Nevada to the NCAA Tournament four times in eight seasons.

    RICE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT This is the programs second national post-season tournament appearance. In 1995, the Owls competed in the National Invitational Volleyball Championships when the NCAA Championship included 32 teams in the field. The NCAA bracket expanded to include 48 teams in 1997, then expanded in 1998 to the current 64 team format. This is head coach Genny Volpes first season as the helm of the Owl program.

    HAWAII WINS FIFTH-STRAIGHT TOURNAMENT TITLE No. 2 Hawaii won its fifth-straight WAC Tournament title with a 30-21, 28-30, 30-22 and 30-27 win over Nevada in Virginia Street Gym in Reno, Nev.

    Victoria Prince continued her amazing tournament with 16 kills, seven digs, two aces and a .577 hitting percentage. Prince finished the tournament hitting .657, earning the WAC Tournament's MVP. Susie Boogaard added 19 kills and 10 digs while Alicia Arnott had 17 kills, 11 digs and six blocks. Tara Hittle added 14 kills and a .310 hitting percentage while Ashley Watanabe broke the WAC Tournament record with five aces and 11 digs.

    HAWAII HAS NATIONS LONGEST CONFERENCE WINNING STREAK AND ENTERS POSTSEASON UNDEFEATED Hawaii finished the regular season undefeated for just the second time. The Rainbow Wahine will be the 14th team to enter the NCAA Tournament with an undefeated record in the tournaments 24 years of existence. Hawaii entered the 1995 NCAAs undefeated at 29-0, but fell to Michigan State in the Regional Finals in five-games.

    With Floridas loss to Tennessee on Nov, 14, Hawaii has the longest conference winning streak (91), along with the longest overall win streak (28) and the longest home winning streak (38). The Gators had 145-match regular season winning streak (an NCAA record), snapped by the Lady Vols, 3-2.

    NCAA LEADERS Hawaii setter Kanoe Kamana`o is 12th in the country in assists per game (13.67 apg), while Rices Kristina Hoban is 20th (13.19 apg), Rices Tessa Kuykendall is up to fifth in blocks per game (1.74 bpg). Hawaii transfer Victoria Prince is 13th (1.62 bpg), while Boise States Heather Malaschak is 15th (1.59 bpg). Prince is now fifth, hitting .421. Tulsas Joyce Silva was 15th in kills per game (5.22 kpg), Nevadas Salaia Salave`a is 28th (4.93 kpg). Tulsas Kassiana Urnau is 14th in aces per game (0.60 sapg).

    PLAYER OF THE WEEK San Jose State senior Carrie Nash has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 29. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor this season for the outside hitter.

    The Kaytena, Ariz., native led the San Jose State Spartans to a 3-0 win over Cal Poly to end the season. Nash had 20 kills and hit .366 in the three game sweep, scoring 23.5 points in the match. This was the fourth time that she had 20 or more kills in a match. Her 20th kill was the match-winning kill for the Spartans. The senior also added nine digs, one block assist and one block solo. San Jose State finished the season 15-13.

    Other nominees included: Ashley Watanabe, Hawai'i; Carly Sorensen, Nevada and Joyce Silva, Tulsa.

    SAN JOSE STATES SHULL SMASHES WAC RECORDS 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.

    Shull also leads the WAC in digs with 561 which is a new WAC record. The previous record was Fresno States Tricia Tuley who had 535 digs in 1995. She averaged, 5.34 per game which is a WAC record. She set the WAC matches only record for digs in a season with 287. She has 1,031 career digs after recording her 1000th digs at Hawaii on Nov. 12.

    STRONG SEASONS With its 13-0 WAC season, Hawaii has now finished undefeated in the league eight times. The Rainbow Wahine are the final undefeated team in the nation at 28-0. 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. Rices 12-1 WAC record is its best league record. In 2001, the Owls were the Eastern Division Champions with a 10-3 record. The Owls have now won the Eastern Division three of the last four seasons. The 25 wins is the most for the Owls since joining the WAC.

    AGAINST THE BEST Hawaii leads the way this season against ranked teams. The Rainbow Wahine are 5-0 against teams that were ranked at the time of the match. On Nov. 24, the Rainbow Wahine defeated No. 19 Utah, 3-1. Hawaii has wins over No. 17 Arizona, No. 17 Santa Clara, No. 3 UCLA and No. 14 California. The WAC is 6-5 (.545) 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.

    PACKING THE STANDS Hawaii continues to pack the stands this season. The Rainbow Wahine have already drawn 121,292 fans in 17 matches for an average 7,135. Hawaii also has eight of the top 10 attended games, including the second highest attendance of the season when 9,875 saw Hawaii defeat Western Division rival Nevada in five games on Nov. 13. There were also 8,656 fans that saw the Rainbow Wahine defeat Pepperdine.The highest attended match this season is the 10,921 that saw Minnesota defeat Illinois on Oct. 16. There were 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 30-2, 15-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Aggies won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. NMSU has defeated future league partner UTEP, 3-0. The other Aggies, Utah State, are 9-18, 5-13 in the Big West. The Idaho Vandals are 17-12 so far this season, 9-9 in the Big West Conference.

    Both Idaho and New Mexico State advance to the NCAA Championship. New Mexico State won the Sun Belt Tournament.

    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.

    Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (28-0, 13-0 WAC)
    With wins over Utah State and No. 20 Utah last week, Hawaii becomes the 14th team to enter the postseason undefeated ... WAC Tournament MVP Victoria Prince capped off a great regular season with a big match at then-No. 19 Utah on Nov. 24, putting up 18 kills, nine blocks and a .500 hitting percentage ... this season, shes hitting a team-high .421 with 1.62 blocks per game, 3.46 kills per game and a team-leading 36 service aces ... her .421 hitting percentage puts her on pace to break the WAC single-season hitting record, currently held by AVCA Player of the Year Angelica Ljungquist of Hawaii, at .417 in 1996.

    Nevada Wolf Pack (21-9, 10-3 WAC)
    All four of Nevadas NCAA Tournament appearances have come under the direction of head coach Devin Scruggs ... the Wolf Pack will be seeking their first NCAA Tournament win against the Shockers of Wichita State on Dec. 3 ...Nevada beat George Washington, 3-0 in the final regular season match of the season on Nov. 27 to finish third at the Bankers Classic being hosted by Pacific University in Stockton, Calif.

    Rice Owls (25-4, 12-1 WAC)
    Rice, behind first-year head coach Genny Volpe, has produced the best record in the history of the program with its .862 overall winning percentage and 12 league victories ... of the Owls four losses on the year, two were against teams seeded in the top four of the tournament ... an unprecedented six Owls earned all-WAC honors this season with four-time first-team honoree Rebeca Pazo leading the way ... Rice had four players on the first team and two on the second team ... after taking first-team honors, sophomore Tessa Kuykendall was also named to the WAC all-tournament team last weekend.