WEEK THREE OF LEAGUE PLAY ?“ WAC play enters its third week with four teams yet to suffer a league loss. Nevada looks to extend its season-high eight-match winning streak. The Wolf Pack will put their streak on the line at home against San Jose State and Hawai'i. The Spartans and the Rainbow Wahine are two of the other undefeated teams. Utah State has started the WAC season 4-0. The Aggies will travel to Fresno State and host San Jose State this week.
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XBOX LIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ?“ Hawai'i?™s Sarah Mason has been named the Xbox Live Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 3. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor for the junior. She is the second Rainbow Wahine to win the award with Victoria Prince getting the honor on Sept. 19
The Hilo, Hawaii native, hit .411 last week as the Rainbow Wahine defeated Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State. The Oregon transfer averaged 3.75 kills per game and 1.25 digs per game in two matches last week. She hit .474 with 11 kills and six digs at Louisiana Tech (Sept. 29). Mason then had 19 kills and four blocks, while hitting .378 at New Mexico State (Oct. 1). The Rainbow Wahine have extended their WAC winning streak to 94-straight matches. The win over New Mexico State was UH?™s first five-game victory of the season.
Other nominees included: Ambra Hayes of Louisiana Tech had 34 kills in two matches as the Lady Techsters won their first WAC match … Ashley Miller of Nevada averaged 11.17 assists per game and 2.50 digs per game in two WAC wins … Amber Simpson of New Mexico State hit .489 with 28 kills as the Aggies went 1-1 last week … Beth Hodge of Utah State had 22 kills and 17 digs in two WAC wins over Boise State and Idaho.
I-10 BATTLE: THE SEQUEL ?“ For the second and final time this season, New Mexico State and UTEP will face off in the Battle of I-10, Wednesday Oct. 5 at the Pan American Center. The Aggies and Miners met back on Sept. 10 at the Sun Bowl Invitational Tournament where NMSU defeated UTEP 3-0.s At the Sun Bowl Invitational, NMSU?™s Kim Oguh was named tournament MVP, while Alice Borden and Tanya Allens were both named to the all-tournament team as the Aggies won the tournament with a 2-0 record.
GOING STREAKING ?“ Hawai'i has a lengthy conference winning streak. Hawai'i has won 94-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.
AGGIES 4-0 IN LEAGUE PLAY FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2000s ?“s In its first year in the WAC, Utah State is off to a 4-0 start in league play for the first time since the 2000 season when that Aggie club won its first four league matches in the Big West Conference. The last time a USU team won its first five league matches was in 1980.
ROAD WARRIORS ?“s One week after the home teams dominated the road teams fought back. Three teams went 2-0 on the road this season. Hawai'i left the island and defeated Louisiana Tech is three games and New Mexico State in five. Nevadas and Utah State both had wins over Idaho and Boise State.
HAWAI'I?™S KAMANA`O CONTIUNES TO CLIMB ?“ In just her third season at UH, Kanoe Kamana`o is already starting to climb the UH career assists list in the record book, and could possibly move all the way up to No. 1 in career assists this season.
With 3,994 total assists, Kamana'o surpassed Jennifer Carey for fourth on the list and is just 310 behind Cheri Boyer for third. She continues to hold the No. 1 spot for career assists per game (13.63).
PACKING THE STANDS ?“ 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.sHawai'i continues to pack the stands with almost 80,000s 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 7,385. New Mexico State is 10th in attendance, averaging 1,848.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK ?“ The three new WAC teams have had early success this season. With its two wins last week, Utah State improved to 11-6 on the season and those 11 wins pass the total number of victories USU had during the 2004 season. In its first year in the WAC, Utah State is off to a 4-0 start in league play for the first time since the 2000 season when that Aggie club won its first four league matches in the Big West Conference. New Mexico State started strong with a 5-0 start. The Aggies lost three of their first four WAC matches against fellow-newcomer Utah State and Nevada. Idaho is 1-3 in league matches after a strong non-conference start.
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 (4-7, 0-4 WAC)
Boise State will face instate rival Idaho on Oct. 8 ... this is the first time that the Vandals and the Broncos have faced each other as WAC opponents ... both team are looking to get back on track after slow WAC starts ... the Broncos have lost their first four WAC matches ... the Vandals have lost two-straight league matches ... after 11 matches, the Broncos?™ top three hitters are senior Telia Peterson (3.11 kpg),s junior Cameron Flunder (3.39 kpg) and freshman Jeanette Jenkinss (2.94 kpg) ... Peterson also averages 2.89 digs.
Fresno State Bulldogs (2-11, 0-3 WAC)
Fresno State splits two conference matches this week, facing two teams that have both emerged unscathed in conference competition so far ... beginning at home, Fresno State welcomes new WAC member Utah State to the North Gym ... the Aggies are currently on top of the WAC standings with four conference wins, including a 2-0 road trip through Idaho last week, defeating both Boise State and Idaho ... the Bulldogs have played the Aggies five times, winning three of them, but Utah State won the last meeting in five games.
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (9-6, 3-0 WAC)
UH is in its 10th season as a member of the WAC ... Hawai'i has won all nine conference championships and hold an impressive 128-1 record, including 94 in a row ... UH?™s last lost in conference play came to BYU on Oct. 10, 1998 ...s the Rainbow Wahine have also won five WAC tournaments (1998, 2001-?™04), running their overall streak against teams in the WAC to 109 ... with Hawai'i?™s loss to LMU on Sept. 23, the Rainbow Wahine clinched the worst start in school history, going 6-6 ... this is just the 10th times that UH has reached six losses in a year ... this season?™s total of six losses is already more than any of the players have lost in the rest of their careers at Hawai'i.
Idaho Vandals (8-7, 1-3 WAC)
After opening the season with a 7-2 record the Vandals have dropped five of their past six matches, including three to WAC opponents ... Idaho has struggled offensively as of late, including a combined .066 hitting percentage in two matches last week ...s 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 1,209 career digs and owns the top spot in that category ... Brown needs 6 double-figure dig matches to become the all-time leader in that category.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (13-5, 1-3 WAC)
After earning their first WAC win of the season, the Lady Techsters will take a trip to Nacogdoches, Texas for a non-conference match-up with Stephen F. Austins ... Tech snapped its three-match losing streak with the 3-1 victory over Fresno State, while S.F.A. stands at 12-2 overall, including a perfect 5-0 record at home ... juniors Ambra Hayes and Anielle Da Silva, along with sophomore Shannon Phillips, continue to lead the Lady Techsters offense ... Hayes posted two double-doubles in conference action last week, including 17 kills and 11 digs against No. 11 nationally-ranked Hawai'i.s
Nevada Wolf Pack (9-5, 4-0 WAC)
Nevada has won a season-high eight matches in row after dropping a season-high three ... Nevada is 4-0 in WAC play for the second time since joining the league in 2000 with the other coming in 2001 when the team started the conference season 5-0 ... the Wolf Pack top the conference with a .255 attack percentage ... Nevada?™s 75 assists against NMSU (Sept. 24) are the most by a team in a WAC match this season ... the Wolf Pack?™s 3-2 victory over No. 21 Cal (Sept. 17) was the first win by the Nevada volleyball team over a ranked team since it won 3-0 at No. 25 Colorado State in 2002, the same year it defeated No. 23 BYU.
New Mexico State Aggies (7-4, 1-3 WAC)
The Aggies (7-4, 1-3 WAC) are coming off a heartbreaking loss to No. 11 Hawai?™i as they fell 2-3 on Saturday night after winning the first two games ... the Rainbow Wahine extended their WAC winning streak to 94 matches as the Aggies were unable to pull off the upset ... two nights earlier, NMSU defeated Fresno State 3-1 in its home conference opener as red shirt freshman Amber Simpson set an NMSU record for hitting percentage in a four-game match as she hit an amazing .720 ... she finished the night with 18 kills in 25 attempts with no errors.
San Jose State Spartans (7-6, 2-0 WAC)
Junior Jessie Shull continues to lead the WAC in digs per game, averaging 5.09 ... in league matches she is also first averaging 5.38 dpg ... sophomore Jennifer Senftleben is first in WAC matches in kills per game, averaging 5.50 kpg ... San Jose State head coach Craig Choate is in his 13th year at the school with a 220-169 coaching record ... in 16 years as a head coach, he has a 249-234 record ... this week, the Spartans will travel to Nevada and Utah State, looking tos extend their two-match winning streak.
Utah State Aggies (11-6, 4-0 WAC)
Utah State is riding a season-high five-match winning streak dating back to Sept. 19 when it defeated Idaho State in four games ... USU?™s last loss was on Sept. 17 against then 23rd-ranked Saint Mary?™s in five games ... Utah State?™s five-match winning streak is its longest since 2003 when that team won its first five matches of the season ... Utah State went 2-0 last week as it won a pair of road matches at Boise State (3-0) and at Idaho (3-1) ...s against the Broncos, Zuzana Cernianska notched 18 kills and hit .484 in the match, while Beth Hodge added 11 kills and hit .375 ... USU hit .363 in the match and held BSU to a .162 hitting percentage.
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