LET THE GAMES BEGIN -The 2007 Western Athletic Conference season begins Friday with all nine teams in action. Hawai?i will host Michigan at the ASICS Rainbow Wahine Invite. Nevada is also at home hosting, head coach Devin Scruggs' alma mater, Pacific. Boise State is the final team at home the opening week hosting the Bronco Invitational.
HAWAI?I FAVORED IN WAC PRESEASON POLL - The WAC coaches have selected Hawai?i as the team to beat during the 2007 conference season. The Rainbow Wahine received eight first-place votes, while San Jose State received one vote. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
| 1. |
Hawai`i |
64 |
| 2. |
New Mexico State |
55 |
| 3. |
San Jose State |
44 |
| 3. |
Idaho |
44 |
| 5. |
Nevada |
36 |
| 6. |
Boise State |
30 |
| 7. |
Utah State |
22 |
| 8. |
Fresno State |
20 |
| 9. |
Louisiana Tech |
9 |
VOLLEYBALL FORMAT - For the third-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.
2007 WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
November 15 (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 16 (Semifinals)
Match 6 - Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4
Match 7 - Winner Match 2 vs. Winner Match 5
November 17 (Championship)
Match 8 - Winner Match 6 vs. Winner Match 7
TOP STAT LEADERS - The following are the returning statistical leaders in the WAC from 2006. In hitting efficiency, seven of the top 10 hitters are back, led by New Mexico State’s Amber Simpson (.387) and Kim Oguh (.377), who finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the WAC, respectively. The remaining leaders are Hawai?i’s Juliana Sanders (.350 - third), San Jose State’s Colleen Burke (.336 - fifth), Hawai?i’s Kari Gregory (.336 - sixth), Nevada’s Karly Sipherd (.283 - seventh) and New Mexico State’s Anna Callis (.275 - eighth).
Seven of the top 10 kill leaders are back for the 2007 season. The top returner is Hawai?i’s Jamie Houston who was first last season, averaging 5.49 kpg. Nevada’s Teal Ericson was second averaging 4.09 kpg. Jennifer Senftleben of San Jose State was third, averaging 4.05 kpg, while Utah State’s Amanda Nielson was fourth (4.04 kpg). The other returning leaders are Louisiana Tech’s Shannon Phillips (3.96 kpg - sixth), San Jose State’s Niki Clement (3.64 kpg - eighth) and Fresno State’s Angela Wiggins (3.42 - 10th).
Only six of the top assist leaders from last season return for the 2007 campaign. Hawai?i All-American Kanoe Kamana`o is one of the top four setters who will not return. The top returner is Boise State’s Mandy Klein who was fourth in assists after averaging 10.11 apg, followed by Utah State’s Heather Hillier (9.35 apg - sixth) and Louisiana Tech’s Jillann Walker (8.71 apg - seventh). The remaining leaders are Louisiana Tech’s Jenny Denton (8.09 apg - eighth) and Idaho’s Kelsey James (7.55 apg - 10th).
Nine of the top 10 blockers return, including Hawai?i’s Kari Gregory who was first in the league, averaging 1.59 blocks per game. Hawai?i’s Juliana Sanders finished second (1.48 bpg), followed by New Mexico State’s Kim Oguh (1.39 bpg - third). The remaining block returners are Utah State’s Melissa Larson (1.29 - fifth), New Mexico State’s Amber Simpson (1.24 - seventh), Louisiana Tech’s KC Clayton (1.11 - eighth) and Samantha Crowder (1.03 - ninth) and Utah State’s Amanda Nielson (1.03 - 10th).
Only four of the top 10 servers return. The top returning server is Boise State’s Andrea Kelley who finished fourth last season, averaging 0.36 sapg, followed by Boise State’s Klein (0.36 sapg- fifth) and New Mexico State’s Simpson (0.34 - seventh). The remaining top server is Utah State’s Amanda Nielson (0.34 - ninth).
Four of the top 10 dig leaders return. WAC single-season record holder Jessie Shull of San Jose State has graduated. The top returner is New Mexico State’s Krystal Torres (4.88 dpg - third), followed by Louisiana Tech’s Brittany Nakamura (3.98 dpg - seventh) and Hawai?i’s Jayme Lee (3.80 dpg - eighth). The other top dig returner is Louisiana Tech’s Shannon Phillips (3.42 dpg - ninth).
RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERS - Of the 12 first-team all-WAC players in 2006, five should return for the 2006 season, including three from Hawai?i, Kari Gregory, Jamie Houston and Juliana Sanders. The other two first-team returners are New Mexico State’s Amber Simpson and Kim Oguh. Seven of the second-team all-WAC performers will also return this season, including San Jose State’s Colleen Burke and Niki Clement. Idaho’s Haley Larsen and Utah State’s Amanda Nielson also return from the second team. The other remaining second team honorees from last season are Louisiana Tech’s Shannon Phillips, Nevada’s Karly Sipherd and New Mexico State’s Krystal Torres.
REGIONAL SITE SELECTED - The NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee has announced the following sites for regional competition of the 2007 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships.
Regionals (4) December 7-8, 2007
Host: University of Florida
Stephen C. O’Connell Center
Gainesville, Florida
Host: Pennsylvania State University
Rec Hall
University Park, Pennsylvania
Host: Stanford University
Maples Pavilion
Stanford, California
Host: University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin Field House
Madison, Wisconsin
NEW MEXICO STATE TO HOST WAC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT - The Western Athletic Conference announced, that pending board approval, New Mexico State University will host the 2007 WAC Volleyball Tournament, Nov. 15-17 at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces.
The 2007 Volleyball Tournament marks the third time New Mexico State has hosted a WAC Championship in the past nine months. In March, the Aggies hosted the 2007 WAC Men’s & Women’s Basketball Championships and this April, the University Golf Course hosted the 2007 WAC Women’s Golf Championships.
Throughout the week, WAC teams and fans were treated to a variety of cultural events that showcased what the state of New Mexico and the city of Las Cruces are all about, including Native American and Hispanic Culture Days. Fans also had the chance to experience the newly-renovated Pan American Center first hand, including new concourses, concession stands, restrooms and a brand new center-hung scoreboard, which hangs above Lou Henson Court.
SAN JOSE STATE NAMES CRESO HEAD COACH - San Jose State University has named Oscar Crespo as its new women’s volleyball head coach. Crespo, a 1990 graduate of San Jose State, becomes the sixth head coach in the program’s history.
Crespo spent the past seven years as a member of the University of Nevada volleyball coaching staff. From 2000-01, he was the Wolf Pack’s assistant head coach before being promoted to associate head coach prior to the start of the 2002 season.
His primary areas of focus at Nevada were athlete training and development; opponent scouting and evaluation; recruiting; setter development; drill development and individual and team skill evaluation; development of defensive and offensive systems, and statistical analysis of individual and team play.
His recruiting expertise helped the Wolf Pack sign the 23rd-ranked volleyball recruiting class for 2006 according to PrepVolleyball.com. Crespo was instrumental in Nevada’s recent success of participating in four of the last six NCAA Tournaments.