PLAYER OF THE WEEK Hawaii setter Kanoe Kamana`o has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 13. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor for the sophomore, who is the only remaining starter from last years Rainbow Wahine squad that advanced to the Final Four.
The Honolulu, Hawaii, native, was named the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Volleyball Challenge Most Outstanding Player, averaging 14.31 assists per game. She also averaged 3.38 digs per game with 0.69 blocks per in wins over Southwest Missouri State, No. 17 Santa Clara and No. 3 UCLA. The sophomore had three double-doubles in assists and digs, and has had a double-double in every match this season.
Against No. 17 Santa Clara, Kamana`o had 64 assists in the four-game win over the Broncos. She also added four kills and 11 digs in the match. Against No. 3 UCLA, she added 60 assists in the thrilling five-game match against the Bruins. She also added 18 digs in the match against the UCLA.
The Rainbow Wahine won three matches to win the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Volleyball Challenge. The team extended their winning streak against unranked teams to 179.
Other nominees included: Christianna Reneau, Fresno State; Salaia Salave`a, Nevada; Rebeca Pazo, Rice; Jennifer Senftlben, San Jose State; Kelly Larkan, SMU; Brittany Stowers, UTEP and Lindsay Eaves, Tulsa.
UPSET WEEKEND Hawaii led the surge against top-ranked teams last week. The Rainbow Wahine defeated then-No. 3 UCLA in five games in Honolulu. Then-No. 1 and defending NCAA National Champion, Southern California, lost to Illinois. The most improbable upset came at the hands of Florida A&M which defeated then- No. 2 Nebraska, 3-1. The Rainbow Wahine moved up to a season-high No. 7 in the USA Today/CSTV poll after the win. The Illini are now ranked No. 9 after the win. The Lady Rattlerettes received 105 votes this week.
DIG THAT Freshman libero Brittany Stowers set a UTEP record and landed herself a spot in the NCAA recordbooks, as the Miners split two matches at the Texas Tech Roundup in Lubbock, Texas on Friday. UTEP downed North Texas 3-0 (30-25, 30-28, 30-19) then fell to Texas Tech, 30-16, 30-23, 30-29. Stowers recorded 36 digs against the Mean Green, breaking the UTEP record held by Mascha Van Wynen since 1991 and placing her in a three way tie at No. 4 in the NCAA recordbooks for digs in a three-game match. Topping the list was Dayle Hammontree of Morehead State with 49.
FATHER KNOWS BEST? Tulsa head coach Matt Sonnichsen will face head coach Tom Sonnichsen (his father) on Sept. 17. This will be the first time meeting between the two on the volleyball court. The elder Sonnichsen coaches at Grinnell College.
ATTENDANCE Hawaii continues to pack the stands early this season. The Rainbow Wahine have already drawn over 38,000 fans in six matches for an average 6,398. Hawaii also has the top six attended games, led by the 7,954 fans that saw the Rainbow Wahine upset No. 3 UCLA 3-2. There were 6,661 fans that saw Hawaii defeat Arizona on Sept. 5.
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.
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.
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 feam 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 was 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. It was the second first-team honor for DuPont, as she was named to the district team in 2002, and was also named a third-team academic all-America that season. Pazo was a second-team all-district selection in 2002, and this was the first honor for Kainz. DuPont, a junior, owned a 4.00 grade point average in sports medicine and Spanish. Pazo was 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 owned a 3.442 GPA in English and policy studies.
Nevada outside hitter Christine Harms was named to the Academic all-District VIII second team. Harms carried a 4.00 grade point average in civil engineering.
Boise State Broncos (7-1, 0-0 WAC)
The Broncos have had their best two-week start to a volleyball season since 1990 .... last weekend, the Broncos, currently 7-1, defeated Buffalo, Montana State and Dartmouth, and lost to Portland in the Montana State Bobcat Classic ... the week before, the Broncos defeated Albertson College, Gonzaga, Weber State and New Mexico State ... after the first two weeks of play, the Broncos are averaging 15.47 kills, 13.57 assists, 2.03 service aces, 13.73 digs, and 3.13 blocks per game ... the team is hitting .201 (464 kills, 232 errors, 1157 attempts) ... the Broncos seven wins are won more than last years team won all season.
Fresno State Bulldogs (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
While the program started in 1965, the Bulldog volleyball program is two wins shy of notching its 500th victory since records have been kept 1971 ... Fresno State is 48-17 overall the last three years combined ... the Bulldogs are 30-6 in their last three years at home ... Fresno State is 14-2 in non-conference play in its last three years at home ... the Bulldogs will look for their 100th WAC win next week ... with 909 career digs, senior Honorable Mention All-America outside hitter Kristen Fenton is two digs shy of cracking the school's Top 10 career digs list and 91 short of 1,000 ... with 1,251 career kills and 909 career digs, she is looking to become just the fifth Bulldog to record 1,000 career kills and digs.
Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (6-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine won three matches to win the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Volleyball Challenge ... the team extended their winning streak against unranked teams to 179 ... along with Kanoe Kamana`o, Victoria Prince and Alicia Arnott were named to the all-tournament team ... Hawaii is now 6-0 with four wins over teams currently ranked in the USA Today/CSTV Top 25 (UCLA, Arizona, Santa Clara and San Diego) ... with wins over Santa Clara and UCLA the Rainbow Wahine moved from No. 11 to No. 7 in the latest poll with a team that has lost three All-Americans from its starting lineup ... this week, Hawaii will host No. 14 California and UC Irvine.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (3-5, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech extended its winning streak to three games on Sept. 10 before dropping the final two matches of the Texas Tournament to fall to 3-5 on the season .. head coach Heather Mazeitis moved into a tie for second place on the all-time career win list at Tech with her 46th win on Sept. 10 against Liberty Tech had 12 blocks against Liberty four players are averaging more than one block per game, led by freshman Shannon Phillips with 1.53 Joy Okpa was named to her second straight all-tournament team and is averaging 3.83 kills and 2.48 digs per game through eight contests Carly Moyers saw her first action at Tech on Sept. 11 after missing her previous two years with injuries Kristen Fairbanks had a career high seven kills on Saturday against LSU.
Nevada Wolf Pack (4-2, 0-0 WAC)
Salaia Salave`a was named the MVP of the UC Davis Tournament as the Pack captured the title without dropping a game winning all 9 games played. ... she averaged 4.00 kills, 3.56 digs, and 1.22 blocks per game with a .391 attack percentage ... the junior middle blocker posted double figures in all three matches.
Rice Owls (6-1, 0-0 WAC)
Senior Rebeca Pazo was named MVP of the Roadrunner Invitational ... joining Pazo on the all-tournament team were Tessa Kuykendall and Yvette Kirk... at 6-1, the Owls are off to their best start since 2000, when they opened the season 7-1... Kuykendall recorded 12 blocks against Iowa State, the best blocking day for an Owl since 1999 ... The mark ties for fourth on Rice's single-match top 10 ... Pazo is sixth in the WAC in kills per game, averaging 4.33 kpg ... she is also fourth in service aces per game, averaging 0.54 sapg.
San Jose State Spartans (5-1, 0-0 WAC)
Freshman Jennifer Senftleben leads the team in kills (101) and hitting percentage (.309) ... she is tied for the team lead in blocks with 20 ... she is the only freshman on the team to have played in every game so far this season ... senior Carrie Nash started the first four matches of the season with double-doubles ... her fourth game was a 16-kill, 18-dig performance against Idaho State ... sophomore Sarah Christensen already has 90 kills this season after only 13 her freshman season ... she had 21 kills in the 3-2 win over Idaho State.
SMU Mustangs (4-2, 0-0 WAC)
All-WAC honoree Jessica Mihm continues her stellar play this season ... Mihm leads the WAC in assists per game, averaging 14.00 apg ... she recorded 80 assists in an epic five-game loss to Cal State Northridge on Sept. 11 ... senior Beth Karasek is fifth in the WAC in kills per game with an average of 4.71 kpg ... Karasek is also eighth in digs per game (3.81 dpg).
UTEP Miners (2-2, 0-0 WAC)
The Miners fell to South Dakota State in their season opener at home on Sept. 8 ... up 12-6 in the fifth game, the Jackrabbits tallied nine unanswered points to steal the match from the Miners, 20-30, 30-25, 31-33, 30-28, 12-15 ... UTEP split two matches on day one of the Texas Tech Roundup in Lubbock, Texas ... led by freshmen Brittany Stowers (36 digs) and Chrisite Murphy (eight kills) and junior Kari Stacy (21 kills), UTEP downed North Texas 3-0 fell to Texas Tech, 0-3 ... Stacy is leading the WAC in kills per game, averaging 5.21 kpg ... Stowers leads the WAC in digs, averaging 8.07 dpg.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (7-1, 0-0 WAC)
Tulsa finished second at the Sam Houston State Invitational with a 3-1 record ... last season Tulsa played only three five-game matches out of 28 this year, Tulsa has already tied that mark in just nine matches ... in those matches, TU was 1-2 in 2003, while this year the Hurricane is 2-1 ... head coach Matt Sonnichsen will face head coach Tom Sonnichsen (his father) on Friday night for the first time meeting between the two on the volleyball court ... the elder Sonnichsen coaches at Grinnell College ... the Hurricane is off to the second best start in school history winning eight of its first nine matches to start the year is second to only the 2000 start that saw TU win its first 11 matches.