HAWAI'I'S DANIELSON EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
HONORS
Hawai'i sophomore outside hitter Kanani Danielson
has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for
the week of Sept. 6-13. It is the second WAC Player of the Week honor of the
season for Danielson and the third of her career.
The 'Ewa Beach, O'ahu (Kamehameha Schools) native tallied
34 kills, 19 digs and seven blocks over three matches en route to earning Most
Outstanding Player honors at the Honolulu Advertiser Volleyball Challenge last
week. Danielson averaged 3.78 kills with a .466 hitting percentage as she led
Hawai'i to the tournament title with wins over Weber State (3-0), UT-San
Antonio (3-0) and No. 10 Stanford (3-0). Danielson had 13 kills and hit .455
against No. 10 Stanford in the championship match. She also hit a career-high
.625 against UT-San Antonio with 10 kills on 16 attempts without an error.
Other nominees included: Alisha Young of Boise
State tallied 25 kills and eight digs in three matches ... Fresno State's Lauren
Berger was named to the Hornet Invitational all-tournament team after
tallying 31 kills and 12 digs ... Louisiana Tech's Natasha Kolunija
collected 47 kills and seven digs in four matches last week ... Kylie
Harrington of Nevada was named to the Circus Circus Invitational
all-tournament team after averaging 3.85 kills, 4.15 points and 2.00 digs with
a .178 attack percentage as the Pack went 1-2 ... Whitney Woods of New
Mexico State averaged 3.17 kills while hitting .417 in two losses at the Notre
Dame Tournament ... San Jose State's Caitlin Andrade became the eighth
Spartan player in history to record a triple-double against St. Mary's with 10
kills, 32 assists and 12 digs ... Utah State's Liz McArthur was named the
MVP of the Fiesta Bowl Tournament after averaging 4.00 kills and 1.44 digs in
helping the Aggies to the tournament championship.
TWELVE WAC PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS IN
WEEK THREE
The WAC had 12 of its players named to all-tournament
teams in the third weekend of play, including two MVPs - Kanani Danielson
of Hawai'i and Liz McArthur of Utah State. Danielson was named MOP of
the Honolulu Advertiser Volleyball Challenge after averaging 4.33 points, 3.78
kills and 2.11 digs per set while hitting .466 over the three matches.
Teammates Amber Kaufman and Dani Mafua were also named to the
all-tournament team. McArthur was named MVP of the Fiesta Bowl Tournament after
she hit .360 and averaged 4.30 kills, 1.00 digs and 0.60 blocks per set.
Joining her on the all-tournament team were Shantell Durrant and Chelsea
Fowles. In addition, Lauren Berger of Fresno State was named to the
Hornet Invitational all-tournament team, while Breann Nesselhuf of Boise
State earned Crowne Plaza LAX Invitational all-tournament honors. Nevada's Lindsay
Baldwin and Kylie Harrington were named to the all-tournament team
at their own Circus Circus Invitational. Rounding out the honorees were New
Mexico State's Whitney Woods, who earned all-tournament honors at the
Notre Dame/adidas Invitational and Kristal Tsukano of San Jose State,
who was named to the Molten/Hilton Garden Inn Classic all-tournament team.
HAWAI'I MOVES BACK UP TO NO. 4 IN NATIONAL POLL
After sweeping all three matches in the Honolulu
Advertiser Volleyball Challenge, Hawai'i moved up two spots to No. 4 in the
American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)national poll, matching its
ranking of two weeks ago, which was its highest since the 2005 preseason poll.
WAC IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Six WAC players rank in the Top 50 nationally in
blocks, led by Idaho's Anna McKinney in seventh with a 1.53 average.
Hawai'i's Brittany Hewitt is ninth (1.52), Fresno State's Brianna
Clarke is 22nd (1.40) and Sadie Maughan of Boise State is 36th
(1.30). Rounding out the group are Kara Jones of Louisiana Tech (42nd,
1.28) and Shantell Durrant of Utah State (49th, 1.26).
In addition, Hawai'i has several players in the Top
50 in other statistical categories. Dani Mafua ranks seventh in assists
(11.75), Amber Kaufman is seventh in hitting percentage (.460), Aneli
Cubi-Otineru ranks 11th in service aces (0.59) and Kanani Danielson is 45th
in kills per set (4.03).
Four WAC teams rank in the Top 50 in blocks per set,
led by Idaho in sixth place (3.05). Fresno State (19th, 2.74), Louisiana Tech
(34th, 2.60) and Utah State are also ranked (45th, 2.47).
BOISE STATE BRONCOS (0-9, 0-0
WAC)
The Broncos went 0-3 at the Crowne Plaza LAX Invitational,
falling to No. 20 UC Irvine (25-12, 25-17, 25-14), host Loyola Marymount
(22-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-21) and Houston (25-20, 25-15, 25-22) ... Sophomore
setter Breann Nesselhuf was named to the all-tournament team after averaging
6.40 assists, 2.30 digs and 0.50 blocks over the three matches ... Alisha Young
led the Broncos offensively, averaging 2.50 kills per set, including 14 vs. LMU
... Sadie Maughan averaged 1.70 blocks per set and matched her season-high of
eight vs. the Lions ... Maughan ranks 36th nationally in blocks per set with a
1.30 average on the season ... Boise State is now 0-9 on the season, having won
only three sets out of 30 played this season ... The Broncos host Utah Valley
on Thursday in their only match this
week.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (6-3, 0-0
WAC)
The Bulldogs went 1-2 at the Hornet Invitational last weekend,
defeating Alabama (25-16, 28-26, 16-25, 20-25, 19-17) and falling to Sacramento
State (22-25, 25-15, 25-16, 19-25, 15-12) and San Francisco (25-23, 25-20,
25-23) ... Lauren Berger was named to the all-tournament team after averaging
2.30 kills, 0.92 digs and 0.54 blocks ... Berger had a career-high 17 kills and
hit .577 with only two errors vs. Alabama ... The win over Alabama was the
Bulldogs' fourth-straight win and put them at 6-1 on the season, their best
record since 2004 ... As a team, the Fresno State ranks 19th nationally in
blocks per set (2.74), while Brianna Clarke ranks 22nd with a 1.40 average ...
The Bulldogs play at Cal State Northridge on Friday before heading to the Galen
Center to battle with Portland and No. 15 USC on Saturday.
HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (7-2, 0-0
WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine claimed the title at The Honolulu Advertiser
Volleyball Challenge, defeating Weber State (25-13, 25-13, 25-17), UT-San
Antonio (25-15, 25-9, 25-14) and No. 10 Stanford (27-25, 25-21, 25-22) ... Kanani
Danielson was named Most Outstanding Player after averaging 3.78 kills on .466
hitting, 2.11 digs and 0.78 blocks ... Joining her on the all-tournament team
were Amber Kaufman and Dani Mafua. Kaufman averaged 3.25 kills on .590 hitting
to go along with 0.75 blocks and 0.62 service aces per set. Mafua averaged
12.33 assists, 1.33 digs and 1.11 blocks ...
Danielson hit a career-high .625 against UTSA ... The win over Stanford was the
program's 1000th victory ... As a team, Hawai'i ranks seventh nationally
in hitting percentage (.301), 10th in assists (13.31) and 16th in kills (14.13)
... The Rainbow Wahine host No. 25 Pepperdine for a pair of matches this
weekend.
IDAHO VANDALS (4-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals went 0-2 at the Nike Cougar Challenge, falling to
Washington State (26-24, 26-28, 25-20, 14-25, 15-11) and Cal State Northridge
(25-13, 19-25, 25-10, 28-26) ... Debbie
Pederson tallied 10 block assists at WSU, tied for 10th on Idaho's single-match
record list ... As a team, the Vandals had 32 block assists in the match, which
ties for sixth on the single-match records ... Idaho ranks sixth nationally in
blocks per set (3.05) ... Anna McKinney, who ranks seventh nationally with 1.53
blocks per set this season, is currently tied for ninth at Idaho in career
block assists with 319, seven shy of eighth ... Pederson is closing in on
Idaho's all-time career block assists list. Her current total of 284 is 35 shy
of 10th place ... The Vandals play in the Mission Inn of Pismo Beach Invitational
this weekend, where they will face No. 29 Santa Clara, UC Santa Barbara and
host Cal Poly.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (8-4,
0-0 WAC)
The Techsters went 2-2 to finish in third place at the Sugar Bear
Classic last weekend, falling to Central Arkansas (25-16, 20-25, 25-17, 25-21)
and Air Force (23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 21-25, 19-17) before defeating
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (25-14, 25-10, 25-17) and Louisiana-Monroe (25-22, 25-10,
25-17) ... Natasha Kolunija, who started for the first time this season, posted
double-digit kills in all four matches ... As a team, Louisiana Tech ranks 34th
in the nation in blocks per set (2.60) and 36th in digs per set (15.98) ...
Kara Jones ranks 42nd nationally with 1.28 blocks per set ... The Techsters
host Southeastern Louisiana, Grambling State and Chattanooga in the Louisiana
Tech Tournament this weekend.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (3-6,
0-0 WAC)
The Wolf Pack went 1-2 at the Circus Circus Invitational last
weekend, falling to UC Davis (25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 25-12) and Portland State (25-23,
25-14, 19-25, 25-23) and defeating Sam Houston State (22-25, 21-25, 25-9,
25-18, 15-6) ... Lindsay Baldwin and Kylie Harrington were named to the
all-tournament team. Baldwin averaged 2.45 kills and 1.23 blocks per set, while
Harrington averaged 3.85 kills and 2.00 digs per set ... Harrington posted her
second double-double of the season vs. Sam Houston with 17 kills and 14 digs
... Jorgan Staker recorded her 200th career block assist vs. Sam Houston State
and her total of 206 ranks eighth all-time at Nevada ... The Wolf Pack face
Loyola Marymount, Pacific and Cal State Bakersfield in the Stockton Hilton
Invitational this weekend.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (4-4, 0-0
WAC)
The Aggies defeated UTEP (25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-13) last
Tuesday before going 0-2 at the Notre Dame/adidas Invitational last weekend,
falling to Wisconsin (25-21, 25-19, 25-23) and Notre Dame (25-18, 25-19, 25-19)
... In the win over UTEP, Kelsey Brennan posted her first career double-double
with a career-high 18 kills and 10 blocks ... Whitney Woods was named to the
all-tournament team after averaging 3.17 kills on .417 hitting and 1.83 blocks
over the two matches ... Woods hit a season-high .617 with 12 kills against
Notre Dame ... The Aggies have posted 24 aces on the season, led by senior
Krista Altermatt with eight ... Kelsi Phillips has posted double-digit digs in
seven of eight matches ... Head coach Mike Jordan has 250 career wins ... The
Aggies are idle this week.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (0-8, 0-0
WAC)
The Spartans lost at No. 24 Saint Mary's (25-18, 25-22, 25-17)
last Wednesday before going 0-2 at the Molten/Hilton Garden Inn Classic,
falling to Eastern Washington (21-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-20) and No. 13
California (25-13, 22-25, 25-15, 25-14) ... Caitlin Andrade recorded a
triple-double against Saint Mary's with 10 kills, 32 assists and 12 digs. She
is the second setter and eighth player ever in school history to accomplish the
feat ... Kristal Tsukano was named to the Molten/Hilton Garden Inn Classic all-tournament
team after averaging 3.50 digs and 1.88 kills per set. She recorded her first
career double-double against Eastern Washington, leading the team with 11 kills
and 18 digs ... The Spartans travel to San Diego for the USD Invitational this
weekend, where they will face No. 18 UC Irvine and No. 23 San Diego.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (6-3, 0-0
WAC)
The Aggies fell to No. 27 Utah (23-25,
25-14, 25-20, 21-25, 15-10) and swept Idaho
State (25-13, 25-20, 25-18) before taking
the title at the Fiesta Bowl Tournament over the weekend, defeating The Citadel
(25-12, 25-15, 25-19), Wyoming (25-11, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23) and host Northern
Arizona (25-18, 25-16, 18-25, 25-19) ... Liz McArthur was named tournament MVP
after she hit .360 and averaged 4.30 kills, 1.00 digs and 0.60 blocks per set
... Shantell Durrant and Chelsea Fowles were also named to the all-tournament
team. Durrant hit .353 and averaged 1.60 kills and 1.70 blocks per set. Fowles
averaged 9.36 assists, 1.00 digs, 0.82 kills, 0.45 service aces and 0.36 blocks
per set ... As a team, Utah State ranks 45th in the nation in blocks (2.47),
while Durrant ranks 49th nationally with 1.26 blocks per set ... The Aggies
play in the Kent State/Mizuno Open this weekend.
HAWAI'I FAVORED IN WAC PRESEASON POLL
Hawai'i, which shared the regular-season crown with New Mexico
State a year ago, has been selected in a poll by the league's coaches to defend
its crown in 2009 and take home its 14th-straight regular-season title.
The Rainbow Wahine received eight of the nine first-place votes
with New Mexico State earning the other first-place vote. Hawai'i earned 64
total points followed by New Mexico State with 57. Utah State was picked to
finish third with 45 points, followed by Idaho in fourth with 41 points. Nevada
was picked fifth with 37 points, while Fresno State was selected sixth with 29
points, just ahead of San Jose State with 28 points in seventh place. Boise
State and Louisiana Tech rounded out the poll with 12 and 11 points,
respectively.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC
Hawai'i sophomore Kanani Danielson was named WAC Preseason
Player of the Year. This is the fifth-straight season that a Rainbow Wahine
player has earned the preseason honor with All-Americans Kanoe Kamana'o (2005,
2006) and Jamie Houston (2007, 2008) each earning the honor in back-to-back years.
Hawai'i placed the most student-athletes on the 12-player team
with five. Along with Danielson, seniors Aneli Cubi-Otineru and Amber
Kaufman, junior Dani Mafua and sophomore Stephanie Ferrell
earned preseason honors. Cubi-Otineru and Kaufman were all first-team all-WAC
selections in 2008, while Mafua was a second-team pick and Ferrell was on the
All-Freshman Team.
Nevada placed two players on the preseason team in juniors Lindsay
Baldwin and Kylie Harrington, as did New Mexico State with seniors Krista
Altermatt and Kelli Goodan. Utah State also had two selections in
juniors Chelsea Fowles and Christine Morrill. Senior Anna
McKinney of Idaho rounded out the preseason squad.
2009 WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN LAS
VEGAS
The 2009 WAC Volleyball Tournament will be held Nov. 23-25, at the
Orleans Arena in Las Vegas and will include the top six teams in the
regular-season standings. The championship match will be televised live on
ESPNU.
All-session tickets are $45 and can be purchased over the phone (888-234-2334)
or online (www.orleansarena.com/event-calendar/wac-volleyball-tournament).
Hawai'i and Brigham Young are the only teams to have claimed the
WAC Tournament title in the event's 11 years. The Rainbow Wahine own the most
titles with nine, including the last eight in a row.
The WAC Volleyball Tournament is a single-elimination event with
the top two seeds receiving first-round byes and the champion earning the
conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
2009 WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday, Nov. 23 (Quarterfinals)
No. 3 Seed vs. No. 6 Seed 5
p.m.
No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed 7:30
p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 24 (Semifinals)
Winner Match 1 vs. No. 2 seed 5
p.m.
Winner Match 2 vs. No. 1 Seed 7:30
p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 25 (Championship)
Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 6:30
p.m. (ESPNU)
*times local and subject to change
RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERS
Of the 12 first-team all-WAC players in 2008, five returned
for the 2009 season, including three from Hawai'i, Aneli Cubi-Otineru, Kanani
Danielson and Amber Kaufman. Krista Altermatt of New Mexico State and Lindsay Baldwin of
Nevada also return from the first team. Eight of the second-team all-WAC
performers return this season, including Katie Astle, Chelsea Fowles and
Christine Morrill of Utah State. The other returning second-team
honorees are Brianna Amian of San Jose State, Kylie Harrington of
Nevada, Dani Mafua of Hawai'i, Sadie Maughan of Boise State and Anna
McKinney of Idaho.
TOP STAT LEADERS
The following are the returning statistical leaders in the WAC
from the 2008 season.
In hitting efficiency, seven of the top 10 hitters are back, led
by Hawai'i's Amber Kaufman (.380), who led the league a year ago.
Teammate Stephanie Ferrell (.292), who ranked fifth last year, also
returns. The remaining leaders are Idaho's Anna McKinney (.287- sixth),
Hawai'i's Kanani Danielson (.286 - seventh), Boise State's Sadie
Maughan (.275 - eighth), Utah State's Katie Astle (.275 - ninth) and
Hawai'i's Aneli Cubi-Otineru (.268 - 10th).
Four of the top 10 kill leaders are back for the 2009 season. The
top returner is Fresno State's Baylee Platt, who ranked sixth last year
with 3.46 kills per set. Danielson was seventh, averaging 3.02 kps. Kylie
Harrington of Nevada was eighth, averaging 2.90 kps, while Fresno State's Brianna
Clarke rounds out the returning leaders in ninth place with 2.87 kps.
Six of the top assist leaders from last season return for the 2009
campaign. Hawai'i's Dani Mafua is the top setter to return, finishing
last season first in the WAC (11.20 aps). Chelsea Fowles of Utah State
was third in assists, averaging 9.49 aps, followed by Fresno State's Allanah
Munson (9.43 - fourth). The remaining leaders are Nevada's Sonnie Sei
(8.90 - sixth) and Louisiana Tech's Bianca Bin (7.24 - eighth).
Six of the top blockers return, led by Idaho's McKinney, who was
first with 1.42 blocks per set. Nevada's Lindsay Baldwin was fourth,
averaging 1.14 blocks per set, followed by New Mexico State's Erin
Birmingham (1.06 bps - fifth). The remaining block returners are Idaho's Debbie
Pederson (1.05 - sixth), Louisiana Tech's KC Clayton (1.05 -
seventh) and Boise State's Maughan (1.04 - eighth).
Six of the top 10 servers return, including the top two. Hawai'i's
Kaufman led the WAC in service aces per set, averaging 0.47, followed by
teammate Cubi-Otineru (0.32 - second). Fresno State's Kasey Van Grouw was
sixth, averaging 0.27 saps, followed by Nevada's Nicole Link (0.26 -
seventh) and Lauren Kelly (0.26 - eighth). The remaining top server is
Utah State's Lori Wilson (0.26 - 10th).
Five of the 10 dig leaders return for the 2009 season. Utah
State's Christine Morrill is the top returner (3.79 dps - fourth),
followed by Nevada's Link (3.57 - fifth) and Boise State's Lauren Hamm
(3.49 - sixth). Rounding out the group are San Jose State's Kristal Tsukano (3.28
- seventh) and Hawai'i's Danielson (2.91 - 10th).
GARUS JOINS THE WAC FAMILY
Shawn Garus was named head coach at Boise State on June 30,
becoming the ninth head coach in program history. He came from UNC-Greensboro,
where he was head coach for the past four seasons. There he recorded three
straight winning seasons with 20 or more victories while also leading his team
to the Southern Conference finals twice. He also produced five all-SoCon
players and 13 SoCon All-Academic honorees in his four-year tenure.
Prior to UNCG, Garus served as the top assistant coach at San
Francisco during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Garus also spent time as an
assistant at Texas Tech in 2002, helping the Red Raiders to a 14-14 record.
His first collegiate head coaching experience came from 1998-2002,
when he directed the program at UC-Colorado Springs. During his time there, he
led his team to its best school record of 22-9 in 2001 and first ever
postseason appearance, as well as a regional ranking of No. 6.
REGIONAL, SEMIFINAL/CHAMPIONSHIP SITES
SELECTED
The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee announced the
following sites for regional and semifinal/championship competition of the 2009
NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championships.
Regionals (4): Dec. 11-12, 2009
Host: University of Florida
Stephen C. O'Connell Center
Gainesville, Fla.
Host: University of Minnesota
Sports Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
Host: University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Qwest Center
Omaha, Neb.
Host: Stanford University
Maples Pavilion
Stanford, Calif.
Semifinals and Championship: Dec. 17 and 19, 2009
Co-Hosts: University of South Florida and
Tampa Bay Sports Commission
St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa Bay, Fla.