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Week 5 Volleyball Notes

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    PLAYER OF THE WEEK Rice setter Kristina Hoban has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 20. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the year for the junior and the second-straight for the Owls.

    The San Diego, Calif., native posted her first career triple double on Sept. 24 against Fresno State with 10 kills, 35 assists and 12 digs to lead Rice to a 3-0 victory. It was the first triple double by an Owl since the 2000 season and the first in the WAC this season. Hoban's .562 (10-1-16) hitting percentage in the match was also a career high. She followed that performance with her seventh double-double of the year in Rice's, 3-0, victory against Nevada, posting 38 assists and a match-high 13 digs. Hoban also got in on three blocks for her best blocking performance in a three-game match this season and helped the Owls rally from a 29-23 deficit in the final set to win 32-30. Over the two matches, she averaged 4.17 digs per game, 1.38 over her average heading into the matches.

    Other nominees included: Cameron Flunder, Boise State; Kristen Fenton, Fresno State; Kanoe Kamana`o, Hawai'i; Salaia Salave`a, Nevada; Ashley Zener, SMU and Joyce Silva, Tulsa.

    WEEK TWO OF WAC ACTION The second week of WAC play has several feature matches. Hawaii and San Jose State both make their 2004 WAC debuts this week. Hawaii will play its first road matches of the season, traveling to Fresno State and Nevada in two intra-division battles. Western division leader, Boise State, hosts Eastern Division leader Rice, as the only two 2-0 teams faceoff. Tulsa and UTEP, both 0-2, will meet on Sept. 30.

    SHOJI COACHES 1,000TH MATCH In head coach Dave Shoji's 1,000th career match, No. 6 Hawaii (10-0) defeated Pepperdine (2-7) 30-17, 27-30, 30-25 and 30-23 in front of a season-high crowd of 8,656. The Rainbow Wahine gave Shoji his 850th win in his 1,000th match, pushing his winning percentage to .851 (850-149-1), the highest amongst active coaches.

    BOLD BRONCOS Boise State is off to an explosive start this season with a 13-2 record. The Broncos are an impressive 6-1 at home this season, twice as many as last seasons home total. At 13-2, Boise State has tallied more victories this season than they had all of the previous three years combined, winning one in both 2001 and 2002 and six in 2003.

    WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES Last season at this time, Boise State was 5-11 overall and 1-1 in WAC play. This season, the Broncos are already 13-2 with a 2-0 mark in league play. Eastern Division leader, Rice, was 8-7 and 0-2 in the WAC after two league matches last season. Under new head coach Genny Volpe, the Owls are off to a 11-2 start, 2-0 in the WAC. San Jose State is also off to a quick start. In 2003, the Spartans started the season 2-10. This year, San Jose State is 9-4 through 13 matches.

    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 4-5 (.444) 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 Nevada also went the distance with then No. 6-Stanford. Boise State lost to then-No. 3 Washington.

    ON WATCH With 1,338 career kills and 964 career digs, senior Honorable Mention All-America outside hitter Kristen Fenton is looking to become just the fifth Bulldog to record 1,000 career kills and digs. She is 36 digs shy of becoming the fifth Bulldog to join the elite 1,000/1,000 club. Having moved up to No. 3 all-time in the career kill list at Fresno State, Fenton has her eye next on the No. 2 spot held by outside hitter Diana Nalbandian, who totaled 1,495 kills (1994-97).

    ATTENDANCE Hawaii continues to pack the stands early this season. The Rainbow Wahine have already drawn over 67,659 fans in eight matches for an average 6,766. Hawaii also has the top 10 attended games, led by the season-high 8,656 that saw Hawaii defeat Pepperdine in three games. There were also 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.

    This season, New Mexico State is 11-1. The Aggies have won nine-straight matches. The other Aggies, Utah State, have started the season 2-7. The Idaho Vandals are 8-3 so far this season.

    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.

    RICE NAMES NEW HEAD COACH The WAC welcomes one new coach this season. Genny Volpe, formerly an assistant coach at Texas A&M University, has been named Rices new head volleyball coach. Volpe spent the past three seasons at Texas A&M, where the Aggies were 70-26 and appeared in the NCAA tournament each season. Texas A&M finished the 2003 season ranked 16th in the final AVCA poll and advanced to the NCAA regional semifinals where it lost to eventual national champion Southern California.

    This is not Volpes first stint at Rice. She spent the 1995 season as an assistant coach for the Owls under former head coach Henry Chen. She helped direct Rice to its first postseason bid as the Owls were selected to play in the NIVC tournament.

    Boise State Broncos (13-2, 2-0 WAC)
    Boise States win over SMU capped a four-win week ... the victory gives the Broncos a four-match winning streak as they return home to host Rice and Tulsa, a 13-2 overall record and a 2-0 record after the opening weekend of WAC play ... the Broncos had never beaten SMU before ... in addition, Boise State has never reached the milestone of two wins in conference play in any of the three previous years the volleyball program has been in the WAC ... Boise States 13-2 record marks the program's first year with double-digits in the overall win column since 1998.

    Fresno State Bulldogs (8-5, 1-1 WAC)
    After opening the year at 3-0, Fresno State is playing .500 ball with a 5-5 record in its last 10 matches ... in preseason play, the Bulldogs were a tournament runner-up twice and finished third once ... of the five losses, 11 of the 20 games played were lost by three points or less ... of the five losses, three have come to teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago ... while the Bulldogs are showcasing as many as four first-year players on the floor at one time, Fresno State continues to gain valuable playing experience for a young starting squad.

    Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (10-0, 0-0 WAC)
    The Rainbow Wahine extended their winning streak against unranked teams to 182 ... for the second-straight week, Hawaii takes the No. 6 spot in the CSTV/USA Today top 25 coaches poll ... Hawaii set a school rally-scoring record for digs in a match with 119 against Pepperdine on Sept. 25 ... transfer Victoria Prince tied the rally-scoring record for blocks in a four-game match with nine versus Pepperdine on Sept. 25 ... head coach Dave Shoji coached his 1,000th collegiate women's volleyball match against Pepperdine on Sept. 25 all of which were coached at Hawaii.

    Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (4-9, 1-1 WAC)Joy Okpa now has five double-doubles on the season Louisiana Tech has won four-straight against UTEP with the win on Sept. 25 Shannon Phillips posted her first double- figure kill match with 10 against UTEP ... Ambra Hayes had five aces against UTEP the Lady Techsters face Lamar and Oral Roberts in non-conference action before playing SMU on Sept. 25 Louisiana Techs solid defense has continued in league play, averaging 2.17 blocks and 20.33 digs per game in two WAC contests Tech has now started 1-1 the last two years in WAC play.

    Nevada Wolf Pack (7-5, 1-1 WAC)
    Salaia Salave`a averaged 5.25 kills, 1.38 digs, 1.38 blocks, and 6.44 points with a .305 attack percentage, as Nevada went 1-1 in two road matches the opening week of WAC play ... she posted double-doubles in both matches with 28 kills and 10 digs at Tulsa and 14 kills and 11 digs at Rice ... her kill totals were match highs both nights and her 28 kills at Tulsa established a new career high.

    Rice Owls (11-2, 2-0 WAC)
    With their 2-0 start in WAC action, the Owls are off to their best league start since going 3-0 in 1996 ... their 11-2 overall record matches the start of the 1998 season and is the best opening since Rice went 14-2 to start the 1989 season ... Kristina Hoban had here first-career triple double with 10 kills, 35 assists and 12 digs against Fresno State ... Tessa Kuykendall notched nine blocks against Nevada, recording eight or more blocks in a match for the fifth time this season ... with the Owls trailing 29-23 against the Wolf Pack in game three, Rice stormed back to take the frame 32-30 with Lindesy Carter, scoring four of the team's final five points.

    San Jose State Spartans (9-4, 0-0 WAC)
    The Spartans will play their first WAC match of the season this week, traveling to Nevada and Fresno State ... San Jose State was 0-2 against Frenso State last season and 1-1 against Nevada in the regular season ... during their charge in the WAC Tournament, the Spartans defeated the Bulldogs, 3-2 ... sophomore Jessie Shull is second in the league in digs, averaging 5.15 dpg ... freshman Jennifer Senftleben is 10th in the league in hitting percentage (.289).

    SMU Mustangs (6-5, 1-1 WAC)
    All-WAC honoree Jessica Mihm continues her stellar play this season ... Mihm is second in the WAC in assists per game, averaging 13.67 apg ... Mihm has a total of 533 assists this season ... she recorded a season-high 80 assists in an epic five-game loss to Cal State Northridge on Sept. 11 ... senior Beth Karasek is sixth in kills per game, averaging 4.44 kpg ... senior Jackie Erazmus is tied for sixth in service aces per game with Louisiana Techs Ambra Hayes (0.46 sapg).

    UTEP Miners (5-5, 0-2 WAC)
    The Miners look to rebound after losing their first two WAC matches to Lousiana Tech and SMU ... UTEP is three wins away from tying last seasons win total of eight ... freshman Brittany Stowers still leads the WAC in digs, averaging 6.79 dpg ... junior Kari Stacy is third in kills per game, averaging 4.74 kpg ... Stacy has 166 kills this season ... Stacy also leads the Miners with five double-doubles this season.

    Tulsa Golden Hurricane (11-3, 0-2 WAC)
    The Golden Hurricane has won the second game of all 14 contests this season ... last season, Tulsa played only three five-game matches out of 28 this year, Tulsa has already played in four ... Tulsa was 1-2 in 2003 in five-game matces, while this year the Golden Hurricane is 2-2 ... the Hurricane is 9-1 in those matches.