THIS WEEK IN THE WAC ?“ WAC play enters its sixth week with Hawai'i as the one undefeated team. The Rainbow Wahine moved to 9-0 with two home wins last week.s Nevada looks to get back on track after suffering two five-game WAC losses last week. The Wolf Pack host No. 10 Hawai'i in a rematch of the 2002 and 2004 WAC Championship. Hawai'i will also travel to Fresno State on Oct. 29. New Mexico State puts its six-match winning streak on the line on the road at Idaho and Boise State. Utah State has already defeated Fresno State this week and looks to rise above fourth place this week on the road against San Jose State.
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XBOX LIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ?“s Hawai'i?™s Juliana Sanders has been named the Xbox Live Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 24. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor for the sophomore. She is the third Rainbow Wahine to win the award with Victoria Prince and Sarah Mason getting the honors earlier this season.
The Kaneohe, Oahu, native, led the Rainbow Wahine to their 100th-straight WAC win, the longest active conference winning streak in the nation. sSanders hit .439 with 3.83 kpg and 2.00 bpg last week. She had 10 kills, four blocks and a .500 hitting percentage against Utah State on Oct. 20, then hit .400 with 13 kills and eight blocks versus San Jose State on Oct. 22.The sophomore is now averaging 2.65 kpg and 1.15 bpg while hitting .351 on the season.
Other nominees included: Alison Pitton of Fresno State had 29 kills against Nevada in a 3-2 win over the Wolf Pack … Shannon Phillips of Louisiana Tech had 26 kills in the Lady Techsters?™ losses to Boise State and Idaho … Teal Ericson of Nevada averaged 3.47 kills per game and 3.50 points per game as the Wolf Pack went 1-2 … Tanya Allen of New Mexico State had 25 kills in two WAC wins over Idaho and Boise State also adding 17 digs …Jennifer Senftleben had a season-high 26 kills in a five-game win over Nevada … Erin Graybill of Utah State had nine kills and four block assists in the Aggies three-game loss to Hawai'i.
TICKETS FOR WAC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT AVAILABLEs ?“ Tickets for the 2005 Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament to be held at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev., from Nov. 24-26 are now on sale. All-session ticket prices are $34 for adults and $19 for senior citizens, children and students. Single-session tickets are also available for $10 for adults and $6 for senior citizens, children and students. Tickets may be purchased by calling 800-225-2277 or on-line at www.tickets.com. WAC fans can also obtain a discounted room rate for the tournament at Circus Circus Hotel by calling 800-894-3588.
BACK IN THE TOP 10 ?“ On the heels of a nine-match winning streak, Hawai'i is back in the top 10 in the AVCA/USA Today top 25. With a brutal non-conference schedule and several injuriess in the past, the Rainbow Wahine are back on track. The current top three teams, Nebraska (No. 1), Washington (No. 2) and Penn State (No. 3) were three of the four teams to hand Hawai'i losses this season. Both the Huskers and Huskies are still undefeated this season. New Mexico State received one vote in the RichKern.com top 30.
ENDURANCE CHAMPIONS ?“ Louisiana Techs has earned almost half of its wins the hard way. Of its 15 wins, seven have come in five-games. The Lady Techsters are 7-2 in five-game matches. Last week, the Lady Techsters lost one of its few five-game matches to Boise State.
RAINBOW WAHINE EARN 100TH-STRAIGHT WAC WIN ?“ Hawai'i has a lengthy conference winning streak. The Rainbow extended their WAC winning streak to 100-straight matches, becoming just the second team in NCAA history to record 100 consecutive conference wins. It is 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. The Gators streak ran from Sept. 20, 1995 to Nov. 12, 2004.
VOLLEYBAL POLLSs?“
AVCA http://www.avca.org
RichKern.com http://www.RichKern.com
LOOKING BACK ?“ Last year at this time, Hawai'i had a perfect 18-0 record. This season, the Rainbow Wahine are only 15-6, but they still have the same perfect WAC record. Nevada is on track with last season too, having seven WAC wins both years. New Mexico State was in the Sun Belt last year and boasted a 20-2 overall record. After a slow start, the Aggies are again rising to the top of the conference with a 6-3 WAC record. An injury-riddled Utah State team was 7-11 at this point of October last season. The much healthier Aggies are 13-9 this season.
MILESTONES ?“ Idaho boasts a 595-446 record all-time. Just five more wins this season will give the program 600 wins all-time. Idaho 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 1,259 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.
sUtah State junior setter Dominique Arsenault currently ranks eighth all-time at Utah State with 1,394 assists, while senior middle blocker Ingrid Roth currently ranks second all-time in block assists with 313 and third all-time in total blocks with 344.
PETERSON SETS SCHOOL RECORD ?“ Utah State junior libero Kelsi Peterson set a new school record on Oct.s 5s against Fresno State with 34 digs.s The old school record was 32 digs set by Stacey Blackburn against Cal State Fullerton in a four-game match during the 1994 season.
RAINBOW WAHINE TOPS 100,000 ?“s For the 11th-straight season, Hawai'i leads the nation in attendance. The WAC has another team in the top five with New Mexico State taking the fifth spot. 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 108,187 fans packing the Stan Sheriff Center this season for an average of 7,212. The 8,499 that saw Hawai'i?™s match against No. 10 UCLA on Sept. 10 was the sixth-highest attended match in the nation this season. Idaho is 34th in attendance, averaging 929 this season.
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.
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.
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 (4-10, 0-7 WAC)
Boise State picked up its first WAC win of the season last week with a hard-fought five-game win over Louisiana Tech, winning 16-14 in the fifth ... this week, the Broncos look to add to their WAC win total at home against Louisiana Tech in a re-match of last week?™s battle ... the Broncos will also take ons New Mexico State at home, trying to break the Aggies?™ six-match winning streak ... Cameron Flunder is tied for first in service aces in a match with six against Georgia on Sept 9.
Fresno State Bulldogs (4-14, 2-6 WAC)
Fresno State had its third five-game match of the season, and for the second time came out victorious as the Bulldogs won their only match last week,s 28-30, 32-30, 30-23, 24-30, 18-16 ... the match was filled with extended runs and momentum shifts, in one of the most exciting matches of the year ... freshman middle blocker Kasie Spencer joined the Fresno State freshman record books last week, recording her 11th solo block on the season, tying her for fifth place with Christianna Reneau and Lesli Lopes.
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (15-6, 9-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine have won 21-straight games dating back to winning games three-five against New Mexico State on Oct. 1 ... Hawai'i swept six-straight matches and has won all nine of its WAC matches this season ... after being extended to five games against New Mexico State in its third WAC match of the season, Hawai'i has not dropped a game ... setter Kanoe Kamana'o had a strong week, averaging 15.17 assists per game with 2.50 digs per game and 1.33 blocks per game ... senior Ashley Watanabe put up 6.17 dpg on the week including 24 in just three games against San Jose State (Oct. 22).
Idaho Vandals (11-10, 3-5 WAC)
Freshman Haley Larsen has stepped up her performance against conference foes ... the outside hitter is averaging 4.04 kills per game on .205 hitting percentage against WAC opponents ...s against non-conference opponents she is averaging 3.10 kills per game ... the Vandals are used to winning at Memorial Gym but the 2005 season has been a different story ... Idaho has won only one match at Memorial Gym this season and is 0-3 at home versus conference opponents ... the Vandals actually have a better road record this season against conference foes ... Idaho is 3-2 away from Memorial Gym.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (15-10, 2-7 WAC)
Before Louisiana Tech?™s five-game loss Boise State last week, the Lady Techsters had overcome a record seven out of eight five-game breathtakers throughout the course of this season ...s Louisiana Tech has already doubled its conference win total from last season, standing at 15-9 overall and 2-6 in the WAC ... last season, the Lady Techsters won only six total matches and one in league play ... sophomore setter Maria Romanowski hads career-high 64 assists against Boise State ... Tech hit .228 against the Broncos which was its highest team attack percentage since defeating Fresno State on Oct. 1.
Nevada Wolf Pack (13-8, 7-3 WAC)
Nevada lost back-to-back to matches for the first time since the Wolf Pack lost three-straight matches to UCLA, Sacramento State and LMU on Sept 9-10 ... all three of the Wolf Pack?™s matches last week went the distance ... in non-conference action, Nevada defeated instate rival, UNLV in five ... in WAC matches, the Wolf Pack lost to both San Jose State and Fresno State in five games on the road ... senior Salaia Salave`a?™s 28 kills against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 22 is tied for the second highest kill total in WAC matches this season ... Nevada?™s 79 kills against New Mexico State on Sept. 24 was the most in a five-game conference match this season.
New Mexico State Aggies (13-4, 6-3 WAC)
After a slow WAC start, New Mexico State is back above .500 in league matches ... the Aggies have won six-straight matches ... that streak is second behind Hawai'i?™s nine-match winning streak ... freshman Amber Simpson has the two highest hitting percentage?™s in the WAC this season ... Simpson hit .750 against San Jose State on Oct. 15 and added as .720 performance against Fresno State on Sept. 29 ... overall she is fourth in the league in hitting percentage, hiting .329 ... junior Tanya Allen leads the league in service aces per game (0.51).
San Jose State Spartans (9-11, 4-4 WAC)
San Jose State earned its fourth five-game win last week with a hard earned come-from-behind win over second-place Nevada ...s the Spartans lost games one and two against the Wolf Pack before beginning the comeback ... the Spartans were led by sophomore Jennifer Senftleben who had 26 kills and 11 digs in the epic match ... Colleen Burke hit .323 last week with 19 kills in the win over Nevada ... Burke also hit .514 with only one error in 35 attempts ... against Hawai'i in Honolulu, she added 10 kills and six blocks.
Utah State Aggies (14-9, 6-3 WAC)
With over half the season complete, the 2005 Aggies are on pace to become the best hitting team in school history ... the school record for hitting percentage is .233 set by the 2000 and 2003 teams ... as of Oct. 24, Utah State is hitting .247 on the season and an even better .257 in WAC matches ... of the 22 matches Utah State has played thus far this year, only five have been at home ... in October, Utah State had eight matches on its schedule with only two of those contests at home ... however, the Aggies end the regular season by playing four of its final six contests at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.