NEW MEXICO STATE’S YON
EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
New Mexico State outside hitter Lindsey Yon
has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for
Sept. 29-Oct. 5. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season
for Yon and the second of her career.
The San
Antonio, Texas, (Texas A&M) native averaged 6.92 points, 5.83 kills, 2.83
digs and 1.00 blocks per set while hitting .382 as she led the Aggies to a pair
of road sweeps last week. The senior posted a match-high 15 kills on .407
hitting with nine digs and four blocks at San Jose State.
She then had a match-high 20 kills and eight digs in a sweep of Utah State.
Yon is now averaging 3.98 kills, which ranks third in the conference.
Other
nominees included: Boise State’s Sadie Maughan hit .471 over two matches
last week ... Brianna Clarke of Fresno State had a career-high 22 kills
vs. Boise State ... Idaho’s Haley Larsen posted double-doubles in a pair
of wins last week ... Kylie Harrington of Nevada posted her fifth
double-double of the season against Idaho ... San Jose State’s Kelly Crow
hit .630 with a team-high 17 kills in a win over Louisiana Tech ... Kris Hymas
of Utah State came off the bench to record a match-high 10 kills in a win over
the Lady Techsters.
Boise State Broncos (5-10, 2-3 WAC)
Boise State went
1-1 last week, defeating Fresno State in five sets (27-25, 24-26, 25-19, 25-27,
15-12) before falling at Nevada in four sets (21-25, 16-25, 25-21, 18-25) ...
Sadie Maughan committed just one error on the week for a .471 hitting percentage
... The Broncos currently rank sixth nationally in blocking (2.89) ... Boise
State is just 1-4 at home this year ... Maughan is hitting .314 on the season
and averaging 2.24 kills and 1.15 blocks per set ... As a team, BSU is hitting
.156 on the season as compared to a .190 hitting percentage for its opponents.
Fresno State Bulldogs (5-10, 2-4 WAC)
Fresno State went 0-2 last week, falling to Boise State in
five sets (25-27, 26-24, 19-25, 27-25, 12-15) before being swept by Idaho
(20-25, 21-25, 20-25) ... Brianna Clarke had a career-high 22 kills vs. Boise
State ... Kasey VanGrouw had five service aces over the two matches ... As a
team, the Bulldogs hit just .097 on the week.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (12-2, 5-0 WAC)
UH swept San Jose
State (25-17, 25-20, 25-20) on Monday in its only match last week ... Stephanie
Brandt posted a double-double - 38 assists and 10 digs ... She also had three
blocks and three kills on 1.000 hitting ... UH has won its last 11 matches and
currently has a streak of 15-consecutive sets won ... The Rainbow Wahine lead
the nation in kills per set (15.25) and assists per set (14.17), and rank
seventh in hitting percentage (.293) ... Hawai?i is also tops nationally in
attendance with an average of 6,174 per match thus far this season ... This
week’s ranking at No. 6 is the highest for UH since the Sept. 12, 2005, ranking
at No. 6 that week, as well.
Idaho Vandals (10-6, 3-2 WAC)
The Vandals went
2-0 last week, defeating Nevada in five sets (25-19, 24-26, 23-25, 25-20,
15-10) before sweeping Fresno State (25-20, 25-21, 25-20) ... Haley Larsen
posted double-doubles in both matches - 22 kills and 10 digs vs. Nevada and 12
kills and 10 digs at Fresno State ... Larsen’s 22 kills at Nevada was the fifth
time this season she has surpassed 20 kills ... The win at Nevada was Idaho’s
first since 1997... Larsen, who leads the league in kills per set, is hitting
.228 on the season and averaging 4.47 kills and 2.42 digs per set ... As a
team, Idaho is hitting .210 this year as compared to a .164 hitting percentage
for its opponents.
Louisiana Tech Lady
Techsters (2-10, 0-5 WAC)
The Techsters went 0-2 on the road last week, falling at
Utah State (18-25, 20-25, 11-25) and San Jose State (21-25, 16-25, 22-25) ...
On the season, Louisiana Tech is hitting .109, compared to the .195 of its
opponents ... KC Clayton leads the Lady Techsters with 2.00 kills and 1.20
blocks per set ... Louisiana Tech takes a break from WAC play with a match at
Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (6-9, 2-4 WAC)
The Pack went 1-1 last week, dropping a five-set match to
Idaho (19-25, 26-24, 25-23, 20-25, 10-15) before snapping a five-match losing
skid with a win over Boise State (25-21, 25-16, 21-25, 25-18) ... Kylie
Harrington posted her fifth double-double of the season vs. Idaho with 16 kills
and 12 digs ... Allison Hernandez posted a match- and career-high 15 kills vs.
Boise State ... Jorgan Staker tied her career high with 13 kills vs. Boise
State ... Making her first career start, freshman setter Tatiana Santiago
dished out a career-high 53 assists vs. Idaho ... Hernandez is 20 digs back of
Kerry Haggard’s (1990-92) 953 for eighth on the Nevada career list.
New Mexico State Aggies (10-7, 5-1 WAC)
The Aggies went
undefeated on the road last weekend, sweeping San Jose State (25-23, 25-20,
25-21) and Utah State (25-19, 25-20, 25-21) ... Against Utah State, Lindsey Yon
posted her first 20-kill match of the year, which was also a match high ...
With the wins, the Aggies took sole possession of second place in the WAC
standings ... In the two matches last week, NMSU averaged 14.2 kills and 3.92
blocks per set ... The Aggies lead the WAC in opponent hitting percentage,
holding their opponents to .155 ... Amber Simpson leads the WAC and is ninth
nationally in blocks (1.41) ... Kystal Torres leads the conference in digs
(4.36).
San Jose State Spartans (7-10, 3-4 WAC)
The Spartans went
1-2 last week, falling to Hawai?i in three sets (17-25, 20-25, 20-25) last
Monday before being swept by New Mexico State (23-25, 20-25, 21-25) and
sweeping Louisiana Tech (25-21, 25-16, 25-22) ... Kelly Crow had no hitting
errors as she hit a season-best .630 against Louisiana Tech with a team-high 17
kills ... She also recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 17
kills and 13 digs ... San Jose State had a season-best 11 service aces against
Louisiana Tech ... Colleen Burke led the team with five aces in the match,
including three in a row in the second set.
Utah State Aggies (5-11, 3-2 WAC)
Utah State went 1-1
last week with a sweep of Louisiana Tech (25-18, 25-20, 25-11) and a three-set
loss to New Mexico State (19-25, 21-25, 22-25) ... Kris Hymas came off the
bench to record a match-high 10 kills against the Lady Techsters ... Melissa
Osterloh had a career-high five service aces vs. LTU ... USU out-hit Louisiana
Tech .188 to .025 in the match ... Against NMSU, the Southern Aggies out-hit
Utah State .220 to .082 in the match ... Utah State ranks third in the WAC in
service aces (1.33) ... Osterloh ranks second in service aces (0.38), and
fourth in points (4.32) and kills (3.65).
AND
THEN THERE WAS ONE
After
three weeks of conference play, Hawai?i remains the only undefeated team in WAC
play. Hawai?i swept past San Jose State last Monday in its only match of the
week to move to 5-0 in WAC play. The Rainbow Wahine have gone undefeated in WAC
play nine times (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005).
HAWAI?I
LEADS NATION IN KILLS, ASSISTS
In the
most recent NCAA statistics (Oct. 6), the Rainbow Wahine are tops in the nation
in kills and assists per set, with averages of 15.25 and 14.17, respectively.
Hawai?i also ranks seventh in hitting percentage (.293) and 21st in won-loss
percentage (.857).
WAC
PLAYERS IN BLOCKING TOP 50
Four
WAC players are currently ranked in the Top 50 nationally in blocks per set - Amber Simpson, New Mexico State, 9th (1.41), Anna McKinney, Idaho, 11th (1.35), Lydia Blaha, Boise State,
38th (1.23) and KC Clayton, Louisiana Tech, 44th (1.20).
WAC
STAT LEADERS
In
overall team stats, Hawai?i leads the conference in hitting percentage (.293),
assists (14.17), kills (15.25) and service aces (1.40). Boise State is tops in
blocks per set (2.89), while New Mexico State boasts the lowest opponent
hitting percentage (.155) and Idaho leads the league in digs per set (15.13).
In
conference only statistics, Hawai?i currently leads the WAC in hitting
percentage (.304), assists (15.06) and kills (16.56) New Mexico State is tops
in blocks (3.08), opponent hitting percentage (.118) and digs (15.56), while
San Jose State leads the league in service aces (1.72).
Individually,
Idaho’s Haley
Larsen leads the league in kills (4.47) and points (4.89) per set.
Hawai?i’s Nickie Thomas leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.407),
while teammates Dani Mafua and Amber Kaufman are tops in assists
(11.25) and service aces (0.55), respectively. New Mexico State’s
Amber Simpson and Krystal Torres lead the league in blocks per
set (1.41) and digs per set (4.36), respectively.
In
conference matches only, Hawai?i’s Jamie Houston leads the league in
kills (5.00), while teammates Mafua and Aneli Cubi-Otineru are tops in
assists (12.08) and service aces (0.54), respectively. Katie Astle of
Utah State leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.431), while Boise State’s Sadie
Maughan is tops in blocking (1.55). Meanwhile, Lindsey Yon of New Mexico State
leads the conference in points (5.39) and Christine Morrill of Utah State
is tops in digs (4.57).
HAWAI?I
RANKED FIRST IN PRESEASON POLL
In a
poll of the league’s coaches, defending Western Athletic Conference champion
Hawai?i was the unanimous favorite to defend its crown in 2008 and take home
its 13th-straight regular-season title. The Rainbow Wahine received eight of
the nine first-place votes (coaches can’t vote for their own team) and 64
points, with New Mexico
State earning the other
first-place vote and 57 points.
San Jose State
and Idaho finished tied for third with 42
points, while Utah
State was picked fifth
with 40. Nevada was sixth with 34 points,
followed by Boise State (20) and Fresno State
(16). Louisiana Tech rounded out the poll with nine points.
2008 PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM
The WAC Preseason all-WAC
volleyball team, as voted on by the nine coaches, was announced Aug. 8. Hawai?i
All-American Jamie Houston was named WAC Preseason Player of the Year. The
reigning WAC Player of the Year, this is Houston’s
second-straight honor and the fourth-straight season that a Rainbow Wahine
player earned the preseason honor.
New Mexico State placed
the most athletes on the 12-player team with four. Seniors Krystal Torres and
Amber Simpson, and juniors Krista Altermatt and Lindsey Yon earned preseason
honors. Simpson, Yon and Torres were all first-team all-WAC selections in 2007.
Two other Hawai?i players,
juniors Aneli Cubi-Otineru and Amber Kaufman, joined Houston on the preseason team. Both Houston and Cubi-Otineru
were first team all-WAC selections last season. San Jose State
also had two players make the team with seniors Niki Clement and Colleen Burke
earning nods.
Chelsea Fowles of Utah State,
the 2007 WAC Freshman of the Year, and Idaho’s
Haley Larsen were also named to the team, while Nevada’s Lindsay Baldwin rounded out the
preseason squad. Six teams placed at least one player on the preseason all-WAC.
Eight players are returning first-team all-WAC honorees.
WAC VOLLEYBALL FORMAT
For the fourth-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.
2008 WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Nov. 20 (Quarterfinals)
Match 1 - No. 8 vs. No. 9, 9:30 a.m.
Match 2 - No. 4 vs. No. 5, noon
Match 3 - No. 3 vs. No. 6, 2:30 p.m.
Match 4 - No. 2 vs. No. 7, 5 p.m.
Match 5 - Winner Match 1 vs.
No. 1, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 21 (Semifinals)
Match 6 - Winner Match 3 vs.
Winner Match 4, 5 p.m.
Match 7 - Winner Match 2 vs.
Winner Match 5, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 23 (Championship)
Match 8 - Winner Match 6 vs.
Winner Match 7, 3 p.m.
HAWAI?i
TO HOST 2008 WAC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
The 2008 WAC Volleyball
Tournament will be hosted by Hawai?i, Nov. 20-23, at the Stan
Sheriff Center
in Honolulu. It
marks the first time Hawai?i has hosted the WAC Volleyball Championship.
SONNICHSEN
AND NETHERBY-SEWELL JOIN THE WAC FAMILY
Louisiana Tech and Fresno State
both added new head coaches this off season. Former Tulsa head coach Matt Sonnichsen become the
Lady Techsters’ new head coach, while former Hofstra head coach Lauren
Netherby-Sewell takes the reins for the Bulldogs.
Sonnichsen was the head coach
at Newberry College in 2007. Prior to his stay at
Newberry, Sonnichsen was an assistant at Grinnell
College in Grinnell, Iowa,
where he coached the 2006 season under his father, Tom. Sonnichsen’s longest
tenure as head coach came during his eight seasons at the helm of the University of Tulsa Hurricanes. Under his guidance, Tulsa had its first
winning season in over 20 years in 2000 while finishing with 20 wins or better
three separate seasons. His team finished second in the Eastern Division WAC in
2004 and earned a third place finish in C-USA in 2005.
In her two years at Hofstra,
Netherby-Sewell led the Pride to their first-ever Colonial Athletic Association
Championship in 2006 with a 17-1 conference record. That team was ranked No. 32
in the country, the highest ever ranking in school history. They also won their
schools’ first NCAA Tournament game and advanced to the second round. Her
overall record as a head coach is 43-19. Before being named head coach at
Hofstra, Netherby-Sewell was an assistant for the Pride for two seasons,
following two years as an assistant at Columbia,
where she also earned her master’s in physical education.
RETURNING
ALL-WAC PLAYERS
Of the 12 first-team all-WAC
players in 2007, six returned for the 2008 season, including two from Hawai?i,
Jamie Houston and Aneli Cubi-Otineru. There are three returning from New Mexico State, Amber Simpson, Krystal Torres and
Lindsey Yon. Idaho’s Haley Larsen and San Jose State’s Colleen Burke also return from
the first team.
Six of the second-team all-WAC
performers returned this season, including San Jose State’s
Niki Clement. Idaho’s Sarah Loney and Utah State’s
Danielle Taylor and Melissa Osterloh also return from the second team. The
other remaining second-team honorees from last season are Hawai?i’s Stephanie
Brandt and Tara Hittle.
NCAA
REGIONAL SITES SELECTED
The following are the sites for
regional competition of the 2008 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball
Championships.
Regionals (4) December 12-13,
2008
Host: Colorado State
University
Moby Arena
Fort Collins, Colorado
Host: Pennsylvania State
University
Rec Hall
University Park, Pennsylvania
Host: University of Texas
Gregory Gymnasium
Austin, Texas
Host: University of Washington
Bank
of America
Arena