SAN JOSE STATE’S AMIAN EARNS WAC
PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
San Jose State sophomore outside
hitter Brianna Amian has been named Western Athletic Conference
Volleyball Player of the Week for Oct. 27-Nov. 2. This is the first WAC Player
of the Week honor for Amian.
Amian recorded
double-doubles in both matches for the week, doubling her season tally as the
Spartans went 1-1 in WAC play. She finished with 12 kills on .423 hitting, a
career-best 19 digs, three service aces and two blocks in a sweep of Fresno State.
In a four-set loss to Idaho,
she had team highs of 15 kills and three blocks to go along with 18 digs and three
aces. For the week, she hit .290 and averaged 3.86 kills, 5.29 digs, 0.86
service aces, 0.71 blocks and 5.14 points per set.
Other nominees included:
Jeanette Jenkins of Boise State hit .375 with 15 kills in a win over
Utah Valley ... Fresno State’s Baylee Platt had a career-high 24 kills
in a win over Louisiana Tech ... Jamie Houston of Hawai?i hit .560 with
5.33 kills and 2.50 blocks per set ... Idaho’s Haley Larsen led the
Vandals with 54 kills in two matches and tied the Idaho record with her 81st
career double-figure kills match ... Taylor Fritz of Louisiana Tech
averaged 2.56 kills and led the Lady Techsters to a win over Houston Baptist
... New Mexico State’s Krystal Torres averaged 5.17 digs and 0.83
service aces per set in a pair of wins ... Melissa Osterloh of Utah
State averaged 4.38 kills and 1.62 digs in a pair of matches.
Boise State Broncos (7-16, 3-9 WAC)
Boise State went 1-1 last week,
defeating Utah Valley in five sets (25-13, 21-25, 25-16, 13-25, 19-17)
before being swept by New Mexico State
(25-23, 25-11, 25-9) ... Jeanette Jenkins hit .375 with 15 kills against Utah
Valley ... Jenkins now has 972 career kills, just 28 away from 1,000 ... Boise
State defeated Utah Valley for the first time in school history, bringing the
all-time series to 4-1 in favor of UVU ... With the win, the Broncos moved to
seven victories this season, bettering their 2007 finish of 6-23.
Fresno State Bulldogs (6-15, 3-9 WAC)
Fresno State went 1-1 last week, falling in three
sets to San Jose State (16-25, 14-25, 23-25) before defeating Louisiana Tech in
four sets (26-24, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17) ... Against the Techsters, Baylee Platt
set career highs in kills (24), hitting percentage (.348) and points (24) ...
For the week, she averaged 4.57 kills and 3.00 digs ... The Bulldogs defeated
Louisiana Tech for the sixth-straight time, its longest current win streak over
an opponent in the WAC ... The win gave the Bulldogs six victories for the
season, exceeding their win total from last season, and three WAC wins,
equaling last year’s win total in the conference.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (19-3, 12-1 WAC)
UH went undefeated last week,
sweeping Nevada (25-12, 25-23, 25-16) and Utah State (25-19, 25-14, 25-13) ...
Jamie Houston hit .560 over the two matches while averaging 5.33 kills and 2.50
digs per set ... Hawai?i hit a season-high .458 vs. Utah State, the second time
in the last three matches that it hit above .450 as a team ... Houston passed
three-time All-American Teee Williams for second on the UH career kill list and
now has 1,895 ... UH is hitting .299 as a team, averaging 15.00 kills and 14.04
assists per set, all ranking in the Top 10 nationally.
Idaho Vandals (15-8, 8-4 WAC)
The Vandals went 1-1 last week, falling in five sets to Utah
State (25-23, 22-25, 25-18, 23-25, 11-15) before defeating San Jose State in
four sets (25-21, 20-25, 30-28, 25-15) ... Haley Larsen led the Vandals with 54
kills on the week and posted double-doubles in both matches ... Larsen tied the
Idaho record with her 81st career double-figure kills match at San Jose State
... Idaho has guaranteed itself a winning record for the first time since 2005,
when the Vandals finished 16-14 overall ... Anna McKinney is three block
assists from No. 10 on Idaho’s all-time records lists with 249 ... Kelsey
Yonker currently ranks eighth on Idaho’s all-time career digs list with 965, 35
away from seventh place and 1,000.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (4-19, 0-12 WAC)
The Techsters went 1-2 last week, defeating Houston
Baptist in four sets (19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-17) in non-conference play before
dropping WAC matches to New Mexico State (17-25, 11-25, 18-25) and Fresno State
(24-26, 22-25, 25-23, 17-25) ... Taylor Fritz averaged 2.56 kills and 2.33 digs
per set on the week ... Tech is in the middle of a four-match WAC road swing to
close out the regular season.
Nevada Wolf Pack (11-11, 6-6 WAC)
The Pack fell in three sets (12-25, 23-25, 16-25) at
Hawai?i in their only match last week ... Lindsay Baldwin and Kylie Harrington
finished with eight and seven kills, respectively ... Sonnie Sei dished out 18
assists in the loss ... Allison Hernandez is two digs short of reaching 1,000
for her career and becoming the eighth player in school history to reach the
plateau.
New Mexico State Aggies (17-7, 11-1 WAC)
The Aggies went 2-0 last week,
sweeping Louisiana Tech (25-17, 25-11, 25-18) and Boise State (25-23, 25-11,
25-9) ... Krystal Torres averaged 5.17 digs per set on the week ... Torres also
served a season-high four aces against the Lady Techsters ... Kelli Goodan had
a season-high nine kills vs. the Lady Techsters ... Lindsay Yon posted her
eighth double-double of the season vs. the Broncos with 10 kills and 12 digs
... The Aggies are currently on a nine-match winning streak and have won 13 of
their last 14 matches ... The Aggies have swept every team in the WAC at least
once this season ... NMSU is hitting .209 while holding their opponents to a
.122 hitting percentage.
San Jose State Spartans (10-14, 5-7 WAC)
The Spartans went 1-1 last week,
sweeping Fresno State (25-16, 25-14, 25-23) before falling to Idaho in four
sets (21-25, 25-20, 28-30, 15-25) ... Brianna Amian recorded double-doubles in
both matches ? 12 kills and a career-best 19 digs against Fresno State and 15
kills and 18 digs vs. Idaho ... As a team, SJSU is hitting .227 on the season
as compared to a .229 hitting percentage for its opponents.
Utah State Aggies (9-15, 7-6 WAC)
Utah State went 1-1 last week with a
five-set win against Idaho (23-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 15-11) and a three-set
loss at Hawai?i (25-19, 25-14, 25-13) ... Melissa Osterloh recorded a
season-high 29 kills vs. the Vandals, including 17 in the final two sets to
lead USU to the come-from-behind win ... She added10 digs for her fifth
double-double of the season ... Christine Morrill had 24 digs vs. Idaho, while
Emily Kortsen notched a career-high 13 kills and hit .312 ... In the loss at
Hawai?i, the Rainbow Wahine hit .458 in the match and held the Aggies to a .159
hitting percentage ... Morrill has recorded double-digit digs in 11 of her last
13 matches and 18 matches overall ... Utah State has a 6-1 record this season
in five-set matches.
UNDEFEATED NO MORE
New Mexico State handed
Hawai?i just its second WAC home defeat in the 12 years it has been in the
league in front of a crowd of 6,619 Oct. 12. The Aggies held the Rainbow
Wahine, which came into the match ranked in the Top 10 nationally in hitting
percentage, to a .023 hitting percentage, the lowest for the program in the
rally-scoring era (since 2001). Hawai?i currently sits in first place in the league
standings with a 12-1 WAC record, having played one more conference match than
the Aggies.
HAWAI?I RANKS IN TOP 5
NATIONALLY IN ASSISTS, KILLS, HITTING PERCENTAGE
In the most recent NCAA
statistics (Nov. 3), the Rainbow Wahine rank second in the nation in assists
per set (14.04), fourth in kills per set (15.00) and fifth in hitting
percentage (.299). The Rainbow Wahine also rank 10th in won-loss percentage
(.864).
WAC PLAYERS IN TOP 50 IN
BLOCKS, KILLS
Four WAC players are
currently ranked in the Top 50 nationally in blocks per set ? Amber Simpson, New Mexico State, 10th (1.51), Anna McKinney, Idaho, 16th (1.39), Lindsay Baldwin, Nevada, 48th (1.16) and Lydia Blaha, Boise State,
50th (1.16). In kills per set, three WAC players appear in the Top 50, led by Idaho’s Haley Larsen in
eighth place with a 4.55 average. Jamie Houston of Hawai?i ranks 23rd
(4.18), while Lindsey Yon of New
Mexico State
is 36th (3.94).
WAC STAT LEADERS
In overall team stats,
Hawai?i leads the conference in hitting percentage (.299), assists (14.04),
kills (15.00) and service aces (1.47). Idaho is tops in blocks per set (2.90)
and digs per set (15.30), while New Mexico State boasts the lowest opponent
hitting percentage (.122).
In conference only
statistics, Hawai?i currently leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.308),
assists (14.29) and kills (15.32). New Mexico State is tops in opponent hitting
percentage (.073) and digs (15.97), while Idaho leads the WAC in blocks (3.03)
and San Jose State is tops in service aces (1.64).
Individually, Idaho’s Haley Larsen
leads the league in kills (4.55) and points (4.94) per set. Hawai?i’s Nickie
Thomas leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.396), while teammates Dani
Mafua and Amber Kaufman are tops in assists (11.51) and service aces
(0.51), 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 Thomas, Mafua and Kaufman are tops in hitting percentage
(.383), assists (12.00) and service aces (0.44), respectively. Larsen leads the
conference in kills (4.64) and points (4.99), while Simpson is tops in blocking
(1.49) and Torres leads the league in digs (4.86).
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. 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.
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.
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.