PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Nevada outside hitter Teal Ericson has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 23. This is the second career WAC Player of the Week for the junior, earning the award earlier this season.
The Tahoe City, Calif. (North Tahoe) native, averaged 4.70 kills, 1.10 digs, and 4.80 points with an attack percentage of .350 as Nevada twice rallied from 2-1 deficits to win a pair of five-game WAC matches against Boise State and Idaho. In the Boise State, match she posted a career-high 26 kills and hit .300. She followed that with 21 kills and an attack percentage of .425 versus Idaho.
Other nominees included: Alison Pitton of Fresno State had 23 kills as the Bulldogs split matches last week ... Juliana Sanders of Hawai?i averaged 3.00 kills per game and 1.43 blocks per game, as the Rainbow Wahine defeated Notre Dame twice at home ... Shannon Phillips of Louisiana Tech had 31 kills and 28 digs last week ... Amber Simpson of New Mexico State had 22 kills in two sweeps of Fresno State and San Jose State, as the Aggies’ move to 24-1 this season ... Rebecca Anderson of Utah State had 14 block assists in a four-game win over Boise State.
WEEK TEN IN THE WAC ? There is a tie atop the WAC standings with No. 15 Hawai?i and No. 23 New Mexico State sharing identical 7-1 WAC records. Nevada is just a step behind, sporting a 7-2 conference record. This week, the Rainbow Wahine will host Idaho and San Jose State, while the Aggies host Nevada and Utah State. Nevada will also take on Louisiana Tech along with facing New Mexico State.
SHULL REACHES 2,000 DIGS, NCAA MILESTONE ? San Jose State senior libero Jessie Shull recorded her 2,000th career dig in game three against Nevada on October 12 to become just the 18th person in NCAA history to reach 2,000 digs. She is also the only player in WAC history to ever record 2,000 digs. This season, Shull past the former WAC leader in total digs, Tricia Tuley of Fresno State who had 1,864 total digs from 1993-96. Shull enters this week with 2,056 career digs and 472 season digs, 5.83 pg.
DID YOU KNOW??? ? When No. 24 New Mexico State hosted No. 11 Hawai?i on Oct. 13, it was the first time that two ranked teams had a faced each other since the WAC Championship match in 1998 when Hawai?i defeated BYU.
UTAH STATE’S ANDERSON SETS TWO SCHOOL RECORDS IN FIRST COLLEGIATE START ? Sophomore walk-on middle blocker Rebecca Anderson made the most of her first career start for Utah State against Boise State Saturday night and set two school records en route to leading the Aggies to a four-game win against the Broncos. In the contest, Anderson set new school records for a four-game match with 13 block assists and 14 total blocks. The old record for block assists was 10 set by Denae Mohlman in 1997, and the old record for total blocks was 12 set by Amy Bjerke in 1990. Furthermore, the 13 block assists ties the overall school record which was set in 1987 in a five-game match by Amy Olsen.
ERICSON NEARS 1000 KILLS ? Junior Teal Ericson needs just 53 kills to become the eighth Nevada player to record 1,000 kills in a career. Ericson will join senior teammate Carly Sorensen who earlier this season recorded her 1,000th career kill in the Silver & Blue. Ericson totaled 47 kills in last week’s two matches which included a career high 26 versus Boise State and for her efforts was named WAC Player of the Week for the second time this season. Her 947 kills ranks eighth on the Nevada career list while her 1,014.5 points is fourth.
WAC IN THE NCAA STATS ? Several WAC players earned a spot in the top 15 in the most recent NCAA stats. Hawai?i’s Jamie Houston is still sixth in the nation in kills per game, averaging 5.53 kpg. San Jose State’s Jessie Shull is 17th in digs per game (5.83 dpg). Hawai?i’s Kanoe Kamana`o is sixth in assists (13.58 apg). New Mexico State’s Amber Simpson is 12th in hitting percentage (.419), while Kim Oguh is 14th in hitting percentage (.411). As a team, New Mexico State third in win/loss percentage (.960). The Aggies are fourth in hitting percentage (.299).
NEVADA SOLID IN FIVE-GAME MATCHES ? Nevada has played three consecutive five-game matches and has won all three. The Wolf Pack have the best record in the WAC in five-game matches winning four of five. Both Fresno State and New Mexico State are 2-1 in five-game thrillers.
PETERSON SETS NEW DIGS RECORD AT UTAH STATE ? Senior libero Kelsi Peterson set a new school record against Fresno State on Oct. 12 as she recorded 36 digs in the five-game loss to the Bulldogs. Those 36 digs breaks the old school record of 34 set by Peterson at Fresno State during the 2005 season. Overall, the 36 digs are the second-most in the WAC this season. On the year, Peterson is averaging 4.64 digs per game.
IN THE POLLS ? The Aggies moved up in the polls landing at No. 23 in both the AVCA/CSTV and RichKern.com polls. Hawai’i is No. 15 in the AVCA/CSTV poll, while the Rainbow Wahine are No. 16 in the RichKern.com poll.
SENFTLEBEN JOINS 1,000 CAREER KILL CLUB ? San Jose State’s Jennifer Senftleben is eighth all-time in career kills at San Jose State with 1,158. She moved into eighth place on October 7, passing Christa Cook who had 1,101 kills from 1984-87. Senftleben needs 79 kills to move into seventh place which is currently occupied by Barbara Higgins with 1,237 kills from 1984-87. Former Spartan Joslynn Gallop owns the career kill record with 1,966 kills from 1997-2000.
HOME SWEET HOME ? A crowd of 2,803 watched New Mexico State defeat Hawai?i, giving the Aggies their largest crowd of the season. Currently, New Mexico State is No. 17 in the nation for home attendance.
Hawai?i once again leads the nation in attendance, averaging 7,017. The Rainbow Wahine have eight of the top 10 attendances in the nation this season, including the 8,213 that saw Hawai?i host Stanford. There were 8, 138 people when the Gators took on the Rainbow Wahine, while 7,878 packed the Stan Sheriff Center to see Pepperdine Hawai?i is looking to lead the nation for the 13th-straight season.
NMSU HALTS HAWAI?I’S 114-MATCH CONFERENCE WINNING STREAK ? The No. 25 New Mexico State volleyball team upset No. 11 Hawai’i, in five-games, 22-30, 30-28, 27-30, 30-24, 15-13, to break the Rainbow Wahine’s streak of 114 consecutive WAC victories, Friday, Oct. 13 at Las Cruces High in front of a crowd of 2,803. The Aggies improved 5-1 and into a first-place tie with UH in the conference standings while the Rainbow Wahine fell to 7-1. Four Aggies were in double-digits with senior outside hitter Alice Borden providing 17 kills to give NMSU its first victory over Hawai’i school history. Junior outside hitter Anna Callis had 14 kills along with five blocks. Middle hitters junior Kim Oguh and sophomore Amber Simpson contributed 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Hawai?i hadn’t lost a WAC match since 1998.
SAN JOSE STATE’S SHULL BREAKS WAC RECORD ? San Jose State senior libero Jessie Shull broke her own WAC record with 47 digs in a five-game loss to Santa Clara on Sept. 2. Shull initially set the record again on Nov. 3, 2004 with 42 against Fresno State. Shull is first in the WAC in digs per game, averaging 5.88 dpg.
UTAH STATE’S LARSON TIES SCHOOL RECORD ? Freshman middle blocker Melissa Larson tied a school record and set a season-high with 10 block assists against San Jose State Saturday night. Those 10 block assists tie Denae Mohlman for the most in a four-game match in school history. Ironically, Mohlman also accomplished the feat during her freshman season in 1997 against Boise State.
PETERSON HOLDS CAREER DIGS RECORD AT UTAH STATE ? Senior libero Kelsi Peterson is Utah State’s career leader in digs with 1,203. She also holds the school’s single-season record with 510 digs set during the 2005 season. Those 510 digs (3.78 dpg) were the second-most in the Western Athletic Conference in 2005, while 3.78 digs per game average ranked seventh in the league.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME ? Due to multi-million dollar renovations to the Pan American Center, New Mexico State will be displaced for its home matches this season. With the Pan American Center still undergoing renovations, the Aggies are playing their home matches at Las Cruces High School.
VOLLEYBALL FORMAT ? For the second-straight year the WAC will not compete in divisions. This season’s format will be a double-round robin. Each team will face the other eight at home and on the road. All nine teams will compete in the WAC Volleyball Tournament.
2006 WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
November 22 (Quarterfinals)
Match 1 - No. 8 vs. No. 9
Match 2 - No. 4 vs. No. 5
Match 3 - No. 3 vs. No. 6
Match 4 - No. 2 vs. No. 7
Match 5 - Winner Match 1 vs. No. 1
November 23 (Semifinals)
Match 6 - Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4
Match 7 - Winner Match 2 vs. Winner Match 5
November 24 (Championship)
Match 8 - Winner Match 6 vs. Winner Match 7
WAC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO LAWLOR ? For the second-straight season, the WAC Volleyball Tournament will be played at the Lawlor Events Center on the campus of the University of Nevada. This is the fifth-straight year that the WAC Tournament has been played in Reno. Before playing in the Lawlor Events Center, the tournament was played in the regular season home of the Wolf Pack, Viriginia Street Gym.
HAWAI?I TO HOST VOLLEYBALL REGIONAL ? Hawai?i will host one of the four 2006 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Regionals, on Dec. 8 and 9. The other three sites will be Seattle, Wash. (University of Washington), Austin, Texas (University of Texas), and Gainesville, Fla. (University of Florida). Hawai?i will be hosting a regional for the second time since the NCAA switched to predetermined regional sites in 2003, and the eighth time overall. UH last hosted a regional in 2003, when the Rainbow Wahine defeated Illinois and Georgia Tech to advance to the NCAA Championships.
UH has hosted at least one NCAA match in 16 of the 24 NCAA tournaments they have qualified for, but haven’t had an NCAA match in Honolulu in the past two seasons. Hawai?i has led the country in attendance every year since moving into the Stan Sheriff Center in 1994, averaging over 7,000 fans a match in the 11 years at the facility. In the 2003 Honolulu Regional, each session drew crowds in excess of 9,000.
FAMILY AFFAIR? San Jose State’s Jessie Shull is not the only libero in her family. Her younger sister Jenny is in her third season as the libero for the Duke Blue Devils. Jenny, an honorable mention All-American last season, currently has 67 digs, 6.70 dpg and was named the Outstanding Libero of the Duke Invitational last weekend. The two sisters have an older brother, Jimmy, who was drafted and signed by the Oakland Athletics, in the fourth round of the 2005 MLB Draft.
Boise State Broncos (8-12, 2-6 WAC)
Boise State returns to Bronco Gym to host the University of Idaho on Oct. 25 and North Dakota State University on Oct. 29 ... the Broncos are looking to get back on track at home after dropping each if their last three road games at Hawai?i, Nevada and Utah State ... Boise State is led by senior Cameron Flunder, who ranks fourth in the WAC with a .344 hitting percentage ... Flunder’s 3.38 kills per game ranks 10th in the WAC ... sophomore Mandy Klein ranks fifth in the WAC in both assists
(9.59 per game) and service aces (0.39 per game) ... senior Jackie Stroud ranks sixth in the WAC with 4.35 digs per game.
Fresno State Bulldogs (4-16, 27 WAC)
The Bulldogs have moved up to seventh place in the WAC and with two more conference wins it will potentially place them tied for fifth. San Jose State has a 4-5 mark in the conference placing it right in front of Utah State (4-6 WAC) and Boise State (2-6 WAC) ... in 2006, Fresno State was picked to finish in sixth place ... this week, the Bulldogs will take on San Jose State in an instate conference battle ... Fresno State will then take on Cal State Northridge on Saturday, Oct. 28, taking a break from conference action.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (14-5, 7-1 WAC)
Hawai?i returns to WAC action this week after defeating Notre Dame twice last week at home ... the Rainbow Wahine will host Idaho and San Jose State this week ... Jamie Houston is the WAC leader in kills per game in both overall and conference matches ... overall she averages 5.53 kpg and in conference matches she averages 6.18 kpg ... senior All-American Kanoe Kamana`o is also first in both overall and conference matches in assists per game ... she averages 13.58 apg in overall matches, while averaging 14.08 apg in WAC matches ... she is sixth in the nation on assists per game.
Idaho Vandals (6-13, 5-2 WAC)
After a slow start in non-conference action, the Vandals have rebounded nicely in WAC play ... the Vandals are fourth in the league winning five of their first WAC seven league matches ... Idaho is three WAC wins away from matching last season’s win total when the Vandals were 8-8 in conference action ... in conference matches, senior Stacy Sode leads the WAC in digs per game, averaging 5.67 ... she has a total of 153 digs in WAC action ... in overall matches, Sode is second just behind WAC leader Jessie Shull of San Jose State ... Sode averages 4.93 dpg overall ... this week, the Vandals travel to Boise State and Hawai?i.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (6-19, 0-8 WAC)
The Lady Techsters will look for their first WAC win of the season this week at home against Utah State and Nevada ... last season, the Lady Techsters were 0-4 against both the Wolf Pack and the Aggies winning five games in the four matches ... Shannon Phillilps has the second-highest kill total in an individual match this season ... she is one of only two people to have at least 30 kills in a match in the WAC this season when she had 30 against Boise State on Sept. 21 in a five-game loss.
Nevada Wolf Pack (13-8, 7-2 WAC)
Nevada has played three consecutive five-game matches and has won all three ... Pack head Devin Scruggs recorded her 170th career victory all coming at Nevada when Nevada defeated Boise State on Oct. 19 ... twice last week the Pack rallied from 2-1 deficits to win 3-2 over Boise State and Idaho ... the Pack sit in third place in the conference with a 7-2 mark while New Mexico State and Hawai?i are tied for first with 7-1 marks ... Nevada won its first WAC road match of the season at Fresno State defeating the Bulldogs 3-2 on Oct. 14 ... Nevada started WAC play 4-0 for third time in school history since joining the conference in 2000, the Pack went 5-0 in 2001 and 2005.
New Mexico State Aggies (24-1, 7-1 WAC)
New Mexico State swept Fresno State, Oct. 19, 30-22, 30-20, 30-16, with senior outside hitter Alice Borden and junior middle hitter Kim Oguh recording 12 and 11 kills, respectively ... Borden became only the 10th Aggie in school history to surpass the 1,000 career-kill plateau after her fourth kill in game one ... all 12 Aggies that made the trip played in the match ... the Aggies continued their winning ways with a sweep over San Jose State, Oct. 21, 30-16, 33-31, 30-23 ... NMSU had three players in double-digits with Borden collecting a match-high 15 kills ... sophomore middle hitter Amber Simpson had 14 kills while Oguh added 11 kills.
San Jose State Spartans (13-9, 4-5 WAC)
Senior libero Jessie Shull leads the WAC in digs in overall matches, averaging 5.83 dpg ... Shull is second in the WAC in digs per game in league matches, averaging 5.25 dpg ... she has 168 digs in conference matches this season ... junior Jennifer Senftleben is second in the WAC in kills per game in league matches, averaging 4.69 kpg ... in conference matches, Senftleben is third in kills per game, averaging 4.17 kpg ... the Spartans are three conference matches wins away from matching last season’s seven wins ... the 13 overall wins are the most since the 2004 season when San Jose State won 15 matches.
Utah State Aggies (11-13, 4-6 WAC)
Junior opposite side hitter Amanda Nielson recorded her first career triple-double on Oct. 21 against Boise State as she had 18 kills, 11 digs, and a career-high 11 blocks in the match ... Utah State set two school records against Boise State Saturday night with 42.0 block assists and 23.0 team blocks (in a four-game match), breaking the old records of 32.0 block assists and 22.0 team blocks set in 2005 and 1990 respectively ... freshman Rebecca Anderson’s 14 blocks against Boise State was the most in a WAC match this season ... teammates Monarisa Ale and Amanda Nielson are tied for second in the WAC this season with 11 blocks ... Anderson had 13 blocks assists in the match.