UTAH STATE’S
KORTSEN EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Utah State opposite hitter Emily Kortsen
has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for
Nov. 3-9. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor for Kortsen.
Kortsen
helped the Aggies notch a four-set win over San Jose State
last week when she hit .522 with 12 kills and no hitting errors. She also added
a career-high seven block assists in the win as Utah
State out-blocked San Jose State
14-4 on the match. For the week, she averaged 3.00 kills and 1.75 blocks per
set. The win helped the Aggies remain in fourth place in the WAC standings with
just one week left in the regular season.
Other
nominees included: Alisha King of Boise State averaged 3.50 kills and
2.50 digs on the week ... Fresno State’s Lacey Gera recorded 10 kills,
two service aces and five digs in a four-set loss to New Mexico State ... Kanani
Danielson of Hawai?i averaged 3.17 kills and 5.00 digs in a pair of wins
... Nevada’s Allison Hernandez became the eighth player in school
history to reach 1,000 digs vs. New Mexico State ... Amber Simpson of
New Mexico State averaged 2.78 kills on .500 hitting and 1.33 blocks per set in
a pair of wins ... Kelly Crow of San Jose State posted a pair of
double-doubles as the Spartans went 1-1 on the week.
HAWAI?I,
NEW MEXICO STATE BATTLING FOR TOP SEED
With
just one week left in the regular season, Hawai?i and New Mexico State
are battling for the top seed in the WAC Tournament. Both teams currently have
one conference loss (to each other at home). Hawai?i wraps up WAC play Monday
night at Fresno State, while the Aggies have home matches vs. Utah State and
San Jose State later this week. Should both teams finish with 15-1 WAC records
and Idaho finish in third place, NMSU would get the top seed by virtue of set
record vs. the Vandals this season (NMSU went 6-0 vs. Idaho, while Hawai?i was
6-1).
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.
2008 WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Nov. 20 (Quarterfinals)
Match 1 - No. 8 vs. No. 9, 9:30 a.m.
Match 2 - No. 3 vs. No. 6, noon
Match 3 - No. 2 vs. No. 7, 2:30 p.m.
Match 4 - No. 4 vs. No. 5, 5 p.m.
Match 5 - Winner Match 1 vs.
No. 1, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 21 (Semifinals)
Match 6 - Winner Match 2 vs.
Winner Match 3, 5 p.m.
Match 7 - Winner Match 4 vs.
Winner Match 5, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 23 (Championship)
Match 8 - Winner Match 6 vs.
Winner Match 7, 3 p.m.
2008 WAC TOURNAMENT TICKETS
Tickets packages for the
Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament went on sale to the general
public on Nov. 3. All-session ticket packages for the entire three-day
tournament (Nov. 20, 21, 23) are $45 for lower level seats and $40 for upper
level seats. Single-day tickets will be available for sale on Monday, Nov. 17.
Prices for the single-day tickets are $16 for upper level seats and $19 for
lower level seats. In addition to purchasing tickets online at
HawaiiAthletics.com, fans can visit the Stan Sheriff Center Box Office, Monday
through Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., or call (808) 944-2697 during the same hours.
WAC TOURNAMENT WEBSTREAMING
The WAC, in conjunction with
its Web site partner JumpTV Sports, will stream all of the matches of the 2008
WAC Volleyball Tournament. Viewers can sign up by visiting www.WAC.tv. Single
matches can be viewed on WAC.tv for $9.95 or fans can subscribe to the full
volleyball tournament package (all eight matches) for $19.95.
TIEBREAKING PROCEDURES
Tiebreaking procedures for
purposes of seeding for the WAC Tournament are as follows:
[i] Two-Way Tie
[a] The
winner of the head-to-head competition is the higher seed.
[b] If
the tie is for first place, compare the tied teams’ records against the next
highest finishing team and continue through the standings. The team with the
best record/winning percentage against the next highest finishing team or group
of tied teams advances. If the tie is for any position other than first place,
the comparison shall begin at the top of the standings.
[c] If
a tie still remains, it will be broken by comparing the number of sets won vs.
the number of sets lost against teams beginning at the top of the standings.
[d] If
a tie still remains, the Conference office shall conduct a draw. The drawn team
shall receive the higher seed.
[ii] Three or More-Way Tie. Once a tie has been reduced to two
teams, the two-team tie-breaker is implemented.
[a]
Compare the records of the tied teams against each other. The team(s) with the
best record(s) vs. the other tied teams receives the higher seed or advances to
the next tie-breaker; the team with the next best record vs. the other tied
teams receives the next highest seed or advances to the next tie breaker, etc.
[b] If
the tie is for first place, compare the tied teams’ records against the next
highest finishing team and continue through the standings. The team with the
best record against the next highest finishing team or group of tied teams
advances. If the tie is for any position other than first place the comparison
shall begin at the top of the standings.
[c] If
a tie still remains, it will be broken by comparing the number of sets won vs.
the number of sets lost against teams beginning at the top of the standings.
[d] If
a tie still remains, the Conference office shall conduct a draw. The first team
drawn shall receive the higher seed, the second team drawn shall receive the
next highest seed, etc.
Boise State Broncos (8-17, 4-10 WAC)
Boise State went
1-1 last week, falling in three sets to Hawai?i (15-25, 13-25, 17-25) before
sweeping Louisiana Tech (25-21, 25-12, 25-22) ... The Broncos hit a season-best
.356 in the win over the Lady Techsters ... Jeanette Jenkins recorded a
match-high 17 kills on .375 hitting, while Alisha King tallied 16 kills and
nine digs vs. Louisiana Tech ... Boise State’s eight wins on the season is two
better than last season’s record of 6-23.
Fresno State Bulldogs (6-16, 3-10 WAC)
Fresno State went 0-1 last week, falling in four sets
(25-19, 16-25, 14-25, 18-25) to New Mexico State in its only match ... Baylee
Platt led the Bulldogs with 14 kills and eight digs, while Lacey Gera recorded
10 kills, two service aces and five digs ... For the first time in three years,
Fresno State took a set from the Aggies.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (21-3, 14-1 WAC)
UH went undefeated
last week, sweeping Boise State (25-15, 25-13, 25-17) and Idaho (25-17, 25-13,
25-21) ... In the win over the Broncos, Jamie Houston finished with 11 kills on
.556 hitting, posting her fourth-straight match hitting at least .500 with
double-digit kills ... Amber Kaufman led all players with 11 kills on .381
hitting, while Kanani Danielson had 10 kills and 12 digs for her seventh
double-double of the season at Idaho ... Hawai?i won its ninth-straight road match,
sweeping all seven matches on the road this season ... UH is now 60-2 on the road since the 2002 season, with the only two
road losses coming at New Mexico State in 2006 and at Nebraska in 2007.
Idaho Vandals (16-9, 9-5 WAC)
The Vandals
went 1-1 last week, sweeping Louisiana
Tech (25-16, 25-13, 25-14) before falling in three sets to Hawai?i (17-25,
13-25, 21-25) ... In the win over the Lady Techsters, Haley Larsen recorded 11
kills for her 82nd career double-digit kills match, a new Idaho record. She
bested the previous record of 81 set by Jessica Moore (1995-98) ... In the loss
to the Rainbow Wahine, Idaho
hit .078 to finish under .100 for just the second time this season.
Louisiana Tech Lady
Techsters (4-21, 0-14 WAC)
The Techsters went 0-2 last week, falling to Idaho (16-25,
13-25, 14-25) and Boise State (21-25, 12-25, 22-25) ... Kara Jones finished
with eight kills on .412 hitting vs. the Broncos ... LTU is hitting .105 on the
season as compared to a .212 hitting percentage for its opponents.
Nevada Wolf Pack (11-13, 6-8 WAC)
The Pack went 0-2 last week, falling to New Mexico State
(25-19, 25-17, 13-25, 9-25, 10-15) and San Jose State (25-19, 16-25, 14-25,
18-25) ... Allison Hernandez became the eighth player in school history to
reach the 1,000-dig plateau after her nine vs. NMSU ... Kylie Harrington posted
her team leading eighth double-double with a career-high 21 kills and 13 digs
vs. San Jose State ... Harrington joined Lindsay Baldwin as the only Pack
player to record 20 or more kills in a match this season ... Nevada has lost
its last three matches.
New Mexico State Aggies (19-7, 13-1 WAC)
The Aggies went 2-0
last week, coming from behind to defeat Nevada in five sets (19-25, 17-25,
25-13, 25-9, 15-10) and beating Fresno State in four sets (19-25, 25-16, 25-14,
25-18) ... Amber Simpson tallied 10 kills and a match-high eight blocks vs.
Nevada and 15 kills on .682 hitting vs. Fresno State ... The Aggies are on an
11-match winning streak, winning 15 of their last 16 ... The Aggies have swept
every team in the WAC at least once this season ... NMSU is hitting .210 while
holding their opponents to a .119 hitting percentage ... Krystal Torres leads
the WAC in digs (4.61), while Simpson is first (1.42) and Erin Birmingham is
sixth (1.07) in blocks.
San Jose State Spartans (11-15, 6-8 WAC)
The Spartans went
1-1 last week, falling to Utah State (15-25, 20-25, 25-22, 22-25) before
defeating Nevada (25-15, 25-23, 18-25, 25-22) ... Kelly Crow recorded
double-doubles in both matches, finishing with 23 kills and 18 digs vs. Nevada
and 13 kills and 10 digs at Utah State ... With her 12 digs against Nevada,
Kristal Tsukano jumped from ninth to sixth place in the San Jose State record
book with 984 career digs. She needs
just 16 digs to become the sixth player in school history to record 1,000
career digs ... Brittany Collet recorded two double-doubles on the week ? 28
assists and 11 digs at Utah State and 45 assists and 13 digs vs. Nevada.
Utah State Aggies (10-15, 8-6 WAC)
Utah State went 1-0 last week, defeating San Jose State
in four sets (25-15, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22) ... Emily Kortsen hit .522 with 12
kills and no hitting errors. She also added a career-high seven block assists
... The Aggies have won four of their last six matches and five of their last
eight ... Utah State has a 6-1 record in five-set matches, including a 5-1 mark
in five-set WAC matches with wins against Boise State, Fresno State, Idaho,
Nevada and San Jose State, and a loss to Fresno State ... Utah State is hitting
.178 on the season as compared to a .220 hitting percentage for its opponents.
HAWAI?I
RANKS IN TOP 5 NATIONALLY IN ASSISTS, KILLS, HITTING PERCENTAGE
In the
most recent NCAA statistics (Nov. 10), the Rainbow Wahine rank third in the
nation in assists per set (14.04) and kills per set (15.00), and fifth in
hitting percentage (.297). The Rainbow Wahine also rank seventh in won-loss
percentage (.875).
WAC
PLAYERS IN TOP 50 IN KILLS, BLOCKS
Three
WAC players are currently ranked in the Top 50 nationally in kills per set ? Haley
Larsen, Idaho, 10th (4.47), Jamie Houston, Hawai?i, 30th (4.05), and
Lindsey Yon, New Mexico State, 50th (3.81). In blocks per set, two WAC
players appear in the Top 50, led by Amber Simpson of New Mexico State
in 13th place with 1.42 per set and Idaho’s
Anna McKinney in 18th place with a 1.37 average.
WAC
STAT LEADERS
In
overall team stats, Hawai?i leads the conference in hitting percentage (.297),
assists (14.04), kills (15.00) and service aces (1.48). Idaho is tops in blocks
per set (2.87) and digs per set (15.40), while New Mexico State boasts the
lowest opponent hitting percentage (.119).
In
conference only statistics, Hawai?i currently leads the WAC in hitting
percentage (.304), assists (14.26), kills (15.28) and service aces (1.64). New Mexico State
is tops in opponent hitting percentage (.075) and digs (15.52), while Idaho leads the WAC in
blocks (2.96).
Individually,
Idaho’s Haley
Larsen leads the league in kills (4.47) and points (4.87) per set.
Hawai?i’s Nickie Thomas leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.378),
while teammates Dani Mafua and Amber Kaufman are tops in assists
(11.59) and service aces (0.53), respectively. New Mexico State’s
Amber Simpson and Krystal Torres lead the league in blocks per
set (1.42) and digs per set (4.61), respectively.
In
conference matches only, Hawai?i’s Mafua and Kaufman are tops in assists
(12.07) and service aces (0.47), respectively. Larsen leads the conference in
kills (4.49) and points (4.85), while Simpson is tops in both hitting
percentage (.382) and blocking (1.46). Torres leads the league in digs (4.80).
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 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.
SONNICHSEN
AND NETHERBY-SEWELL JOIN THE WAC FAMILY
Louisiana Tech and Fresno State
both added new head coaches in the 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 Tulsa
Hurricanes. Under his guidance, Tulsa
had its first winning season in more than
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 match and advanced to the second round. 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. Three returned from New Mexico State, Amber Simpson, Krystal
Torres and Lindsey Yon. Idaho’s Haley
Larsen and San Jose
State’s Colleen Burke
also returned 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 returned 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, Colo.
Host: Pennsylvania State
University
Rec Hall
University Park, Pa.
Host: University of Texas
Gregory Gymnasium
Austin, Texas
Host: University of Washington
Bank of America Arena
Seattle, Wash.