THIS WEEK IN THE WAC ?“ WAC play enters its eighth week with Hawai'i inching toward clinching its 10th-straight regular season title. With one more win, the Rainbow Wahine (12-0) will clinch a tie for the WAC title. With two wins this week, Hawai'i will be WAC champions and take the top seed in the WAC Tournament.s This week, the Rainbow Wahine travel to second-place Utah State on Nov. 9. Hawai'i swept the Aggies in Honolulu. Last season before Utah State joined the WAC, the Aggies took the Rainbow Wahine to five games before losing. Utah State will continue its tough week against third-place New Mexico State on Nov. 12.
Click Here for a PDF of the Week 12 Volleyball Notes
XBOX LIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ?“s New Mexico State?™s Amber Simpson has been named the Xbox Live Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 7. This is the second WAC Player of the Week honor for the freshman.
The Quincy, Ill., native, had 24 kills and 18 block assists in the Aggies?™ wins over Nevada and San Jose State last week. The Aggies are now in third place with a 9-4 WAC record in their first season in the WAC. She averaged 3.00 kills per game and 2.25 blocks per game in the two matches.s Against Nevada, the freshman tied a New Mexico State record for block assists in a four-game match with 13, while hammering nine kills and picking up three digs.s Against San Jose State, Simpson had 15 kills in 27 attempts with only two errors for a .481 hitting percentage while putting up five block assists.
Other nominees included: Kanoe Kamana`o of Hawai'i had 41 assists and eight digs as the Rainbow Wahine swept Idaho at home … Meghan Haas of Louisiana Tech had 48 digs in two matches, including 34 in a loss to Nevada … Salaia Salave`a of Nevada averaged 4.89 kills per game and 6.17 points per game as the Wolf Pack split matches … Erin Graybill of Utah State led the Aggies to a 2-0 record last week with 35 kills and 10 total blocks.
CSTV TO TELEVISE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH ?“ The match time for the WAC Championship match has been changed from 4:30 to 5:00 p.m. PT on Nov. 26. The change is due to the fact that College Sports Television (CSTV) will be televising the match live. CSTV televised last year?™s championship match live also.
NEARING DOUBLE DIGITS ?“ This week, several WAC teams look to reach double-digit wins in league play. Utah State and New Mexico State, both WAC newcomers, have nine wins. Nevada has WAC eight wins.s This week, Utah State has the unenviable task of having to face No. 7 Hawai'i and New Mexico State. Both Aggies are looking to take sole possession of second place. Nevada looks to get to double digits this week at home against Idaho and Fresno State.
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 an 12-match winning streak, Hawai'i is back in the top 10 in the CSTV/AVCA top 25. With a brutal non-conference schedule and several injuries in the past, the Rainbow Wahine are back on track. This week, the Rainbow Wahine jumped to No. 7 in the RichKern.com poll.s The Rainbow Wahine is still No. 9 in the AVCA/USA Today Coaches poll. 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.
KAMANA`O MOVES UP TO SECOND IN CAREER ASSISTS ?“ In just her third season at Hawai'i, Kanoe Kamana'o is already climbing the Rainbow Wahine career assists list in the record book, and could possibly move all the way up to No. 1 in career assists this season.ssKamana'o moved past Cheri Boyer and Robyn Ah Mow to second on the list. Kamana'o now has 4,387 assists, just 230 behind Martina Cincerova for first. She continues to hold the No. 1 spot for career assists per game (13.71).
SALAVE`A SOARS AGAIN ?“ Senior Salaia Salave`a returned to full time action last week after serving as a defensive specialist the previous three matches as a result of spraining her ankle in game two against Utah State on Oct. 15. She missed the rest of the Utah State match and the entire UNLV match (Oct. 17). The UNLV match was the first match
she has missed in her four-year Wolf Pack career. The all-WAC honoree came back with a vengence, posting her second triple-double of the season and her career, finishing with 26 kills, 12 digs, and 12 blocks at Louisiana Tech (Nov. 5) in the Wolf Pack?™s last match.
RAINBOW WAHINE KEEP WINNING STREAK ALIVE ?“ Hawai'i has a lengthy conference winning streak. The Rainbow extended their WAC winning streak to 103-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.
IDAHO?™S BROWN BREAKS ANOTHER RECORD ?“ Idaho senior Meghan Brown added one more record to her resume on Nov. 5 when she passed Mandy Becker for the UI career double-figure dig match record. Brown recorded her 68th career double-figure dig match with 14 digs against Hawai?™i, beating the record of 67 set by Becker in 2004. Brown also owns the UI career dig record with 1,325 digs and counting and has the top marks for single season digs (519) and single season digs per game (4.68).
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 10 with New Mexico State taking the 10th 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 22,377 in 10 matches.
sHawai'i continues to pack the stands with 115,753 fans packing the Stan Sheriff Center this season for an average of 7,235. The 8,499 that saw Hawai'i?™s match against No. 10 UCLA on Sept. 10 was the seventh-highest attended match in the nation this season. Idaho is 33rd 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 ?” 5:00 p.m. (CSTV)
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.
Boise State Broncos (6-14, 2-11 WAC)
Boise State will host Eastern Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 9, and then travels to Idaho Saturday, Nov. 12) ...sss after 20 matches, the Broncos?™ top three hitters ares senior Telia Peterson (2.84 kpg),s junior Cameron Flunders (3.73 kpg), and freshman Jeanette Jenkins (2.70 kpg) ... Peterson also averages 2.90 digs ... Flunder averages 1.04 digs, 0.89 blocks and 0.39 aces ... sophomore Tiffany Starring backs up the others with 1.91 kills and leads the teams in block average at 0.94.
Fresno State Bulldogs (6-17, 3-9 WAC)
With four conference games remaining, the Bulldogs are currently in seventh place with a one game lead over Boise State and Louisiana Tech ...s if the standings remain the same, the Bulldogs would face Utah State in the first round, a team that they are 1-1 against, splitting home and home with the Aggies in 2005 ... Fresno State also has a chance to catch Idaho for the sixth spot ... the Bulldogs remain two games behind Idaho, but play the Vandals head-to-head on Nov. 17 in the final week of regular season play.s
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (18-6, 12-0 WAC)
No. 9 Hawai'i won its ninth-straight sweep over Idaho, running their consecutive games streak to 30 while pushing their nation-long conference winning streak to 103 ... Hawai'i will now head out on its final regular season road trip, facing Utah State on Wednesday, Nov. 9, and San Jose State on Saturday, Nov. 12 ... the Rainbow Wahine can clinch the regular season conference title with a win over Utah State, who is currently second in the WAC standings ... Victoria Prince remains UH?™s top scorer, leading the team in all scoring categories (240 kills, 28 aces, 115 blocks, 332 points) ... she leads the conference in hitting (.410) and blocks per game (1.60).
Idaho Vandals (13-12, 5-7 WAC)
The Vandals recorded 34 block assists in their five-game loss at Utah State and nearly broke the single match record in that category ... the 34 block assists ranks third ... the record is 36 achieved back in 1990 against Boise State and the Vandals tied that record in 2001 against Utah State ... Idaho increased its all-time record to 597-446 and need just three more wins this season to give the program 600 wins all-time ... Saxony Brown currently ranks fifth in the WAC in assists with an average of 11.63 per game and ninth in aces with 0.30 per game ... Sarah Loney is fifth in blocks with 1.22 per game ... Stacy Sode ranks 10th in digs with 3.32 per game.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (15-14, 2-11 WAC)
Louisiana Tech lost its third five-game match in its last six when it fell to Nevada on Nov. 5 ... the Lady Techsters have lost six-straight matches, the longest current streak in the league ... this week, the Lady Techsters look to get back on track on the road against New Mexico State ... it is their only match of the week ...s setter Jillann Walker?™s 70 assists against Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 6 are the highest assist total in the league this season ... Meghan Haas is also tied for the highest dig total in a match this season ... has recorded 34 digs in a five-game loss to Nevada last week.
Nevada Wolf Pack (14-10, 8-5 WAC)
Nevada snapped its season-high four match losing skid defeating L ouisiana Tech, 3-2 on Nov. 5 ... the Pack are 5-4 in five-game matches and have played four, five-game matches in the last six outings ... senior Salaia Salave`a posted her second career triple-double this season with 26 kills, 12 digs, and 12 blocks at Lousiana Tech on Saturday night ...s Salave`a?™s triple-doubles were the only two in the league this season ... Salave`as had 34 pointss in the win at La Tech (28 kills, four blocks solos and four blocks assists) ... this was the second-highest single-match point total of the season just behind Utah State?™s Zuzana Cernianska?™s 34.5s points against San Jose State on Oct. 8.
New Mexico State Aggies (17-5, 7-4 WAC)
Freshman phenom Amber Simpson has the two best hitting performances of the season ... she hit .750 against San Jose State on Oct. 15 and hit .720 against Fresno State on Sept. 29 ... junior Tanya Allen continues to lead the WAC in service aces per game (0.49 sapg) ... she has a total of 37 aces ...s junior Jackie Choi is second in the WAC in assists per game behind All-American Jackie Choi (12.10 apg) ...s this week, the Aggies look to reach double-digit wins in the WAC at home against Louisisna Tech and Utah State.
San Jose State Spartans (11-13, 6-6 WAC)
Redshirt-freshman Niki Clement recorded eight blocks and six kills for San Jose State, but the Spartans lost at New Mexico State, 30-14, 30-21, 22-30, 30-24, on Nov. 5 ... this week, the Spartans look to get back on track at home against Fresno State and Hawai'i ... San Jose State has a win against the Bulldogs and a loss to the Rainbow Wahine already this season ... junior libero Jessie Shull is second in the WAC in digs per game (4.66) ... the WAC record holder for digs in a season has 429 this year which is also second.
Utah State Aggies (17-9, 9-3 WAC)
Utah State is 7-27 all-time against Hawai'i, which includes a 4-8 home record ... Hawai'i defeated the Aggies earlier in the year in Honolulu in three games ... overall, USU has lost 15 straight matches against Hawai'i and the last time the Aggies defeated the Rainbow Wahine was on Nov. 12, 1981 in Logan in five games ... Utah State is 23-28 all-time against New Mexico State, which includes an 8-14 road record ... Utah State defeated NMSU earlier this year in Logan in three games and has won four of the last six matches played in the series.