The number of undefeated teams in the WAC was cut in half after New Mexico State and Utah State both suffered their first league losses. Hawai?i and Nevada are the only undefeated teams remaining. That will change this week as the teams will meet in Honolulu on Oct. 8. The Wolf Pack have another tough match against Utah State in Reno on Oct. 4. New Mexico State looks to start another winning streak at home against non-conference rival UTEP and on the road against Louisiana Tech. Three teams look for their first WAC wins. Louisiana Tech (0-4), Fresno State (0-3) and San Jose State (0-3) all look for their first WAC wins this week.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Nevada middle blocker Karly Sipherd has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 2. This is the first career WAC Player of the Week for the junior.
The Auburn, Calif., (Placer) native, averaged 3.00 kills, 1.45 blocks and 3.73 points as the Wolf Pack went 2-1. Nevada was 2-0 in WAC action. In both WAC matches she reached double figures in kills finishing with 11 against Louisiana Tech and 14 in the Wolf Pack’s five-game upset of 22nd-ranked New Mexico State. It was Nevada’s first win against a ranked opponent this season. In the two WAC victories, she totaled 13 blocks, six versus Louisiana Tech and followed that with seven in the New Mexico State match. She hit .316 against the Lady Techsters and improved on that hitting .379 versus the Aggies.
Other nominees included: Angela Wiggins of Fresno State had eight kills and seven digs in a loss to Hawai?i ... Juliana Sanders of Hawai?i had 17 kills and 11 total blocks as the Rainbow Wahine defeated Fresno State and San Jose State ... Kim Oguh of New Mexico State had 21 kills in two matches as the Aggies went 1-1 last week suffering their first loss of the season ... Beth Hodge of Utah State had 29 kills and 14 digs as the Aggies went 1-1 last week.
DID YOU KNOW??? ? San Jose State head coach Craig Choate is in his 14th year at the school and has the longest tenure of any Bay Area coach. He enters this week with a 234-186 school record and a 263-251 coaching record in 16 years.
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 up to eighth in the nation in kills per game, averaging 5.30 kpg. San Jose State’s Jessie Shull is 13th in digs per game (5.97 dpg). Hawai?i’s Kanoe Kamana`o is ninth in assists (13.18 apg). New Mexico State’s Amber Simpson is 11th in hitting percentage (.428) As a team, New Mexico State tied for first in win-loss percentage (1.000). The Aggies are one of six teams that are undefeated this season, including No. 1 Nebraska and No. 3 UCLA. The Aggies are also ninth in hitting percentage (.299).
NEVADA’S SORENSEN REACHES MILESTONE ? Nevada senior Carly Sorensen reached a career milestone recording her 1,000 career kill at the LMU Classic earlier this season. Sorensen became the seventh Pack player to reach 1,000 kills in a career and her 1,079 career kills ranks seventh all-time. She is 93 kills behind Kelly Martin (1991-94) for sixth place on the career list. The Fallon, Nev. native has put together seasons of 255, 266, 407, and 151 kills after 15 matches this season to total 1,079 in her career. The 407 last season ranks as the ninth best single season in Wolf Pack history.
FRESHMAN FRENZY ? Utah State has been off to start in conference play. The fast start is due in part to the play of several underclassmen. Freshman middle blocker Melissa Larson is fourth in the WAC in blocks, averaging 1.34 bpg. In WAC matches, Larson is tied for sixth (1.43 bpg). Fellow freshman Danielle Taylor is eighth in blocks in conference matches, averaging 1.40 bpg. In conference matches, sophomore Heather Hillier is first in service aces (0.57 sapg).
IN THE POLLS ? The Aggies are in the AVCA poll for a second-straight week. They jumped two spots in the polls from No. 24 to No. 22. San Diego, who the Aggies defeated in five games, entered the poll at No. 25 and the only other WAC team ranked is Hawai’i who sits at No. 15. Last week was the first time that the Aggies had been ranked. It was also the first time since the final poll in 2001, that the WAC has two teams ranked in the AVCA/CSTV poll. Hawai?i has been ranked all season.
SENFTLEBEN JOINS 1,000 CAREER KILL CLUB ? With a 24-kill performance against CS Northridge on September 16, Jennifer Senftleben joined the 1,000 career kill club at San Jose State. She recorded her 1,000th kill during game four against the Matadors. She enters the week ninth all-time in kills with 1,070, and needs 31 kills to move into eighth place. Senftleben is the 10th Spartan in school history to record 1,000 kills in her career. Former Spartan Joslynn Gallop owns the career kill record with 1,966 kills from 1997-2000.
HOME SWEET HOME ? A crowd of 2,437 watched New Mexico State sweep Boise State, Sept. 23, giving the Aggies their largest crowd of the season. Currently, New Mexico State is No. 16 in the nation for home attendance.
Hawai?i once again leads the nation in attendance, averaging 7,252. The Rainbow Wahine have nine 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.
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 6.70. She is second in total digs with 134 just behind Louisiana Tech’s Brittany Nakamura.
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. On the year, Larson now ranks third in the WAC with 1.42 blocks per game.
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. Thus far this year, Peterson is averaging 4.20 digs per game, which ranks sixth in the WAC.
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 (7-8, 1-2 WAC)
The Broncos are in their third week of WAC action ... after three-straight WAC matches on the road, the Broncos will host two matches this week, hosting San Jose State on Thursday, Oct. 5 in Bronco Gym and then hosting Fresno State on Saturday, Oct. 7 in Bronco Gym ... the Broncos then hop on a plane and travel to Hawai?i Sunday to play the Rainbow Wahine on Monday, Oct. 9.
Fresno State Bulldogs (2-12, 0-3 WAC)
Fresno State will hit the road this week to play in two conference matches against Idaho on Oct. 5 and Boise State on Oct. 7 ... the Bulldogs are still looking for their first WAC win of the season ... last week, Fresno State was swept by No. 15 Hawai’i the Bulldogs ... the Idaho Vandals are 2-1 in conference play and 3-10 overall ... the Boise State Broncos are 1-2 in the conference and 7-8 overall ... the Bulldogs have tallied 626 kills on the year with 2054 team attacks on a percentage of .111 ... Fresno State has played good defense combining for a total of 750 digs while the opponent has registered for 840 digs.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (9-4, 3-0 WAC)
No. 15 Hawai?i took their show to the road last week, earning sweeps at Fresno State and San Jose State to move their record to 9-4 overall with a 3-0 record to start WAC play ... Hawai?i will now start a stretch where they will play seven matches in 11 days, including the longest road trip of the season (by distance) in the middle of it ... the long stretch starts with conference matches against Utah State, Nevada and Boise State on Friday, Oct. 6, Sunday, Oct. 8 and Monday Oct. 9, respectively ... senior Kanoe Kamana`o is first in the league in assists, averaging 13.18 apg ... sophomore Jamie Houston is first in the WAC in kills per game, averaging 5.30 kpg.
Idaho Vandals (3-10, 2-1 WAC)
After a slow start in non-conference action, the Vandals have rebounded nicely in WAC play ... Idaho won its only match last week, defeating instate rival Boise State, 3-1 ... this week, the Vandals will play a non-conference match at Gonzaga before taking on Fresno State and San Jose State in Moscow ... senior Stacy Sode is still second in the league in digs per game, averaging 4.83 ... Sode has 222 total digs this season ... sophomore Haley Larsen is seventh in the WAC in kills, averaging 3.52 kpg.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (5-15, 0-4 WAC)
Louisiana Tech looks to break a five-match losing streak this week at home against New Mexico State ... last week, the Lady Techsters were swept by Utah State and Nevada ... junior Shannon Phillips is fifth in the WAC in kills per game, averaging 4.05 kpg ... she is also sixth in points per game (4.47 ppg).
Nevada Wolf Pack (9-6, 3-0 WAC)
Nevada is 3-0 to start WAC play for the third time since joining the conference in 2000, the Pack went 5-0 in 2001 and 2005 ... Nevada knocked off 22nd ranked and previously unbeaten New Mexico State 3-2 last Saturday, the last time the Wolf Pack defeated a ranked opponent was last season downing Cal 3-2 on Sept. 16 ... after defeating SJSU 3-1 to open WAC play Nevada is now 7-0 in WAC season openers ...Nevada has been very streaky this season winning four in a row followed by a four-game skid and a three-match win streak before falling 3-1 at UNLV but again the Pack have responded winning the last two matches.
New Mexico State Aggies (17-1, 3-1 WAC)
The Aggies lost their first match of the season, losing a hard-fought five-game match on the road to Nevada ... New Mexico State ranks first in the conference in team hitting percentage (.295), opponent hitting percentage (.100), and service aces (139) ... individually, Amber Simpson (.428) and Kim Oguh (.392) are first and second in the league in hitting percentage ... Simpson is second in blocks per game (1.42) with Oguh ranking sixth (1.29) ... Alice Borden is sixth in kills per game (3.65) while Jackie Choi ranks second in assists per game (11.85).
San Jose State Spartans (9-7, 0-3 WAC)
San Jose State looks to break a four-match losing streak this week on the road against Boise State and Idaho ... the Spartans are also looking for their first WAC win of the season ... San Jose State is third in the conference in hitting percentage (.230) ... the Spartans are also fourth in assists (13.42 apg) ... Jessie Shull is 13th in the country in digs per game, averaging 5.97 dpg ... Shull leads the WAC in digs at 5.97 dpg and is fifth in service aces at 0.47 sapg ... Jennifer Senftleben is second in kills at 4.17 kpg and third in points at 4.70 kpg ... Kristina Conrad is third in assists at 11.46 apg.
Utah State Aggies (10-8, 3-1 WAC)
Junior outside hitter Beth Hodge recorded a season-high 20 kills in Utah State’s three-game win against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 30 ... Hodge hit .400 in the match (20-4-40) and added 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the season ... Hodge has had some solid games since WAC play began ... four matches into the WAC schedule, Hodge leads the team in hitting (.365) and kills per game (4.29), and ranks third on the team in digs per game (2.36) ... the Aggies have a tough week traveling to Hawai?i and Nevada ... Utah State is 7-31 all-time against Hawai’i, which includes a 2-15 record in Honolulu ... Utah State is 7-15 all-time against Nevada, which includes a 1-9 record in Reno.