AND THEN THERE WAS ONE ?“ WAC play enters its fourth week with only one undefeated team remaining. Utah State, San Jose State and Nevada all suffered their first league losses last week, Hawai'i is the lone remaining team with a spotless 5-0 record. This week, the Rainbow Wahine will be challenged on the road against Idaho and Boise State. Utah State and Nevada are tied for second with 5-1 records. The two teams will meet on Oct. 15. Nevada will also host Boise State. The Broncos are the only team to have not won a league match yet. Utah State has already defeated Utah Valley State this week.
Click Here for Week Eight Volleyball Notes
XBOX LIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ?“ New Mexico State?™s Alice Borden has been named the Xbox Live Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 10. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor for the junior. She is the second Aggie to win the award with Kim Oguh getting the honor the second week of the season.
The Anthony, N.M. native, played in two matches for the Aggies last week as she totaled 33 kills for a .403 hitting percentage and averaged 5.50 kills per game. She also had a total of six blocks in the two matches (2 solo, 4 assisted). Against UTEP, she had a career-high 19 kills and only two errors for a hitting percentage of .500, while tallying two solo blocks, two block assists and three digs. In the Aggies 3-0 win over Louisiana Tech, Borden had 14 kills and two block assists.
Other nominees included: Fresno State?™s Allison Pitton had 26 kills in a three-game win against Utah State, a career-high and a season-high for the Bulldogs ... Shannon Phillips of Louisiana Tech had 23 kills in two matches for the Lady Techsters … Sarah Mason of Hawai'i hit .444 with 6.20 kpg, 2.20 dpg and 0.80 bpg last week … Megan Brown of Idaho had 23 kills and 30 digs in two wins … Carly Sorensen of Nevada averaged 4.33 kills per game and 4.58 digs per game in two matches … Zuzana Cernianska of Utah State had 54 kills and 16 digs in two WAC matches.
AND THEN THERE WAS ONE ?“ WAC play enters its fourth week with only one undefeated team remaining. Utah State, San Jose State and Nevada all suffered their first league losses last week, Hawai'i is the lone remaining team with a spotless 5-0 record. This week, the Rainbow Wahine will be challenged on the road against Idaho and Boise State. Utah State and Nevada are tied for second with 5-1 records. The two teams will meet on Oct. 15. Nevada will also host Boise State. The Broncos are the only team to have not won a league match yet. Utah State has already defeated Utah Valley State this week.
DOUBLE TROUBLE ?“ Also, just wanted to let you know for your notes that junior setter Jackie Choi (Corpus Christi, Texas) recorded our first double-double of the year against Louisiana Tech with 39 assists, 11 digs.
GOING STREAKING ?“ Hawai'i has a lengthy conference winning streak. Hawai'i has won 96-straight conference matches, the longest streak in the nation. The Rainbow Wahine?™s streak became the longest after Florida?™s NCAA-record conference winning streak of 145 was broken last season.
IDAHO RECORDS ?“ Senior Meghan Brown has already etched her name in the Vandal record books but will add more accolades to her resume during the 2005 season. Brown currently has 1,239 career digs and owns the top spot in that category. Brown needs 3 double-figure dig matches to become the all-time leader in that category. Outside hitter Kati Tikker needs two double-figure kill matches this season to enter the top 10 in that category. She currently has 54 career double-figure kill matches. Tikker should also enter the top 10 in career kills this season. She currently has 1,068 kills and needs 71 to reach the No. 10 spot. Junior Saxony Brown currently has 91 career service aces and needs 12 more this season to overtake the No. 10 spot.
AGGIES OFF TO FAST START IN THE WAC ?“ In its first season in the WAC, Utah State is off to a fast start with a 5-1 league record.s The last time a USU team started its conference season this well was during the 1981 season when that team won five of its first six league matches in the Intermountain Athletic Conference.
PACKING THE STANDS ?“ The WAC has two teams in the top 10 nationally in attendance. Hawai'i is first and New Mexico State is sixth. New Mexico State set a school record in attendance on Oct. 1 against Hawai'i when 7,115 packed the stands. It more than doubled their previous school record. There were 3,183 fans in the Pan American Center to see the Aggies season opener on Aug. 29. The Aggies have drawn 16, 768 in six matches.
sHawai'i continues to pack the stands with almost 95,000s fans packing the Stan Sheriff Center this season. The 8,499 that saw Hawai'i?™s match against No. 10 UCLA on Sept. 10 was the fifth-highest attended match in the nation this season. Hawai'i is first in the nation in attendance with an average of 7,247.
AGAINST THE BEST ?“ The WAC is 4-13 against non-conference ranked teams this season. Hawai'i captured the league?™s first win against a top 25 opponent when it swept then No. 7 USC. Hawai'is also has a win against No. 10 UCLA, 3-1. The Rainbow Wahine have two losses to Penn State and a loss to top-ranked Nebraska. Hawai'i also lost twice to No. 2 Washington. Nevada is 1-2 with losses to then-No. 18 San Diego and then-No. 13 UCLA. San Jose State fell to then-No. 10 Wisconsin and then-No. 15 Santa Clara. At the Circus Circus/Molten Invitational, the Wolf Pack defeated then-No. 21 California in five games. Fresno State lost twice to ranked teams at the Santa Clara Tournament to No. 18 UC Santa Barbara and No. 15 Arizona. This week, several teams will take on ranked opponents. Utah State faced three ranked teams at the Stanford Invitational coming away with a win against then-No. 24 UCSB and losses to Stanford and Saint Mary?™s.
WELCOME TO THEs WAC ?“ This season, Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State join the WAC.
sLast year, New Mexico State was 30-3, 15-0 in the Sun Belt and won the conference tournament. The other Aggies, Utah State, were 9-18, 5-13 in the Big West. The Idaho Vandals were 17-13 last season, 9-9 in the Big West.
sBoth New Mexico State and Idaho lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies lost to San Diego in the opening round, while the Vandals lost to Washington in the first round
s In 2003, both Idaho and New Mexico State advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Vandals lost to Hawai'i 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.
TWO CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS ?“ This season, the WAC will have two 2004 conference champions vying for the title. Both Hawai'i and New Mexico State won conference titles and tournaments last season. The Rainbow Wahine had a perfect 13-0 season as the WAC champion. The Aggies had their second-straight 15-0 perfect season as the Sun Belt champs.
VOLLEYBALL FORMAT ?“ For the first time since 2001 the WAC will not compete in divisions. The teams competing in the WAC this season are: Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State and Utah State. This season?™s format will be a double-round robin. Each team will face the other eight at home and on the road.
2005 WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
November 24 (Quarterfinals)s
Match 1 - No. 8 vs. No. 9 ?” 9:30 a.m.ss
Match 2 - No. 4 vs. No. 5 ?” 12:00 p.m.
Match 3 - No. 3 vs. No. 6 ?” 2:30 p.m.
Match 4 - No. 2 vs. No. 7 ?” 5:00 p.m.
Match 5 - Winner Match 1 vs. No. 1 ?” 7:30 p.m.
November 25 (Semifinals)
Match 6 - Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 ?” 4:00 p.m.
Match 7 - Winner Match 2 vs. Winner Match 5 ?” 6:30 p.m.
November 26 (Championship)
Match 8 - Winner Match 6 vs. Winner Match 7 ?” 4:30 p.m.
REGIONAL SITES SET ?“ The 2005 NCAA Volleyball Championship will be the 25th. The NCAA Division I Women?™s Volleyball Committee has announced the following sites for regional competition of the 2005 NCAA Division I Women?™s Volleyball Championships. The first sight is the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., along with thes Recreation Building in University Park, Pa.; the Maples Pavillion in Stanford, Calif., and the G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station, Texas. The University ofs Nebraska, Penn State University, Stanford University and Texas A&M University are the hosts for the regionals, which will be held December 8-11. The first and second rounds will be held December 1-4 in sites yet to be determined. The Final Four will be held December 15-17 in San Antonio, Texas.
RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERS ?“ Of the 12 first-team all-WAC players in 2004, seven should return for the 2004 season, including Hawai'i?™s Kanoe Kamana`o, the WAC?™s Player of the Year and Tara Hittle, the WAC?™s Freshman of the Year. Hawai'i also returns first-team all-WAC selections Alicia Arnott and Victoria Prince. Nevada?™s Salaia Salave`a, San Jose State?™s Jessie Shull and Boise State?™s Cameron Flunder also return from the 2004 first team. Four of the second-team all-WAC performers will also return this season, including Nevada?™s Tristin Johnson and Karly Sipherd. Hawai'i has a duo returning, including Susie Boogaard and Ashley Watanabe.
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Boise State Broncos (4-8, 0-5 WAC)
Boise State looks for its first WAC win after starting 0-5 ... this week, Boise have an interesting schedule ... the Broncos will travel to Reno to face Nevada on Oct. 13 ... Boise State then returns home to host No. 11 Hawai'i ... junior Cameron Flunder is tied for third in the WAC in service aces per game, averaging 0.40 ... she has a total of 16 aces this season.
Fresno State Bulldogs (3-12, 1-4 WAC)
Fresno State looks to even the score with two previous WAC opponents this week as the team returns to their normal conference schedule with a match on Thursday and then one on Saturday ...s first up for the Bulldogs is New Mexico State ...s the Aggies are coming off of a win against Louisiana Tech, beating the Lady Techsters in three games ... the second conference match of the week features Louisiana Tech ...s the Lady Techsters also won a four game match against the Bulldogs on Oct. 1 in Ruston, but enter Saturday?™s match with a 1-4 conference record, the same as Fresno State.
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (11-6, 5-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine?™s, 3-0 win over Nevada was the most lopsided victory for the Rainbow Wahine since the inception of rally scoring in 2001 ...s Hawai'i held Nevada to just 40 total points ... the previous record was 42 points (30-13, 30-17, 30-17) on Nov. 3, 2001, against Boise State ... it also marked the first time Hawai'i swept the Wolf Pack since the 2003 WAC Tournament semifinal match in Reno ... the Rainbow Wahine extended their WAC winning streak to 96 matches.
Idaho Vandals (10-7, 2-3 WAC)
Each of the Idaho, Eastern Washington and Hawai?™i rosters feature a player who graduated from Kamiakin High School at Kennewick, Wash.s ... Idaho?™s Lauren Mathis is a redshirt freshman this season and graduated from KHS in 2003 ... Hawai?™i?™s Victoria Prince graduated from Kamiakin in 2001 and Eastern Washington?™s Emily Otto is a 2004 graduate ... the Vandals have not had great success against teams ranked in the top 25 ... all-time Idaho is 4-31 against ranked opponents and are 0-1 this season after falling to Santa Clara ... the last time the Vandals defeated a ranked opponent was on Oct. 9, 2004 when they beat No. 13 UC Santa Barbara in five-games.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (13-7, 1-4 WAC)
The Ladys Techsters look to get back on track this week after a non-conference loss to Stephen F. Austin and a league loss to New Mexico State ... Louisiana Tech was swept in both matches ... this week, the Lady Techsters look to rebounds with a non-conference road match against Northwestern State and league road matches against San Jose State and Fresno State.
Nevada Wolf Pack (10-6, 5-1 WAC)
Nevada had its season-high nine-match winning streak stopped by No. 11 Hawai'i in Honolulu last week, 3-0 ... the Wolf Pack are tied for second in the WAC with Utah State with a 5-1 record ...s after losing five of their first six matches, the Wolf Pack have now won nine of their last 10 ...s Nevada?™s 5-0 WAC start equaled the best start in school history since joining the league in 2000 ... in 2001, the Wolf Pack also started 5-0 in WAC action ... senior middle blocker Salaia Salave`a is second in the WAC in points per game, averaging 5.35 ... she has a total of 331.5 points.
New Mexico State Aggies (9-4, 2-3 WAC)
Aggie junior setter Jackie Choi recorded New Mexico State?™s first double-double of the year against Louisiana Tech with 39 assists, 11 digs ... junior Tanya Allen leads the WAC in services aces again, averaging 0.60 ... the Aggies have won two-straight WAC matches and look to even out their league record this week on the road against Fresno State and San Jose State.
San Jose State Spartans (7-9, 2-2 WAC)
San Jose State is now 7-9 on the season and 2-2 in the WAC ... the Spartans return home for three matches in the next two weeks ... the Spartans host Louisiana Tech on Thursday, October 13, New Mexico State next Saturday, October 15, and Nevada on Thursday, October 20 ... all three matches will be played in newly refurbished Spartan Gym ... San Jose looks to break a three-match losing streak ... libero Jessie Shull has led the WAC in digs per game every week of the 2005 season ... Shull is averaging 4.87 dpg with a total of 307 digs.
Utah State Aggies (13-7, 5-1 WAC)
Utah State is 12-7s with a 5-1 record after losing at Fresno State (3-2) and defeating San Jose State (3-1) last weekend ... the Aggies are led by senior opposite side hitter Zuzana Cernianska who is hitting .261 and averaging 4.91 kills and 2.72 digs per game ...s redshirt sophomore outside hitter Beth Hodge is hitting .241 and averaging 3.15 kills and 2.68 digs per game, while senior middle blocker Erin Graybill is hitting .300 and averaging 2.49 kills and a team-best 1.23 blocks per game ...s as a unit, USU is hitting .249 this year and holding its opponents to a .188 hitting percentage.
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