HAWAI‘I’S DANIELSON EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Hawai`i junior outside hitter Kanani Danielson has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 11-17. This is the second WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Danielson and the eighth of her career.
Danielson, from ‘Ewa Beach, O’ahu (Kamehameha Schools), led the Rainbow Wahine to wins over both San Jose State (3-0) and Fresno State (3-0). She hit .338 with 4.67 kills, 2.83 digs, 0.50 service aces and 1.00 blocks per set. The junior hit .387 with 15 kills and four blocks in the win over San Jose State. She then posted her seventh double-double of the season with 13 kills and 12 digs, to go with three aces against Fresno State. On the season, Danielson is averaging 4.54 kills, 2.73 digs and 0.59 blocks per set, adding 15 service aces.
Other nominees included: Alisha Young of Boise State averaged 2.87 kills while hitting .360 as the Broncos went 1-1 last week … Fresno State’s Kelly Mason posted 16 digs against Hawai`i … Allison Walker of Idaho tallied 31 kills in two matches and averaged 1.62 digs as Idaho went 1-1 … Louisiana Tech’s Kara Jones averaged 4.00 kills while hitting .396 for Louisiana Tech in a pair of matches last week … Kylie Harrington of Nevada averaged 4.43 kills and 2.57 digs as the Wolf Pack went 1-1 … New Mexico State’s Kelsey Brennan led the Aggies State to a 3-0 record last week as she averaged 2.54 kills with a .466 hitting percentage … Christine Morrill of Utah State posted 13 digs against Nevada.
HAWAI‘I REMAINS AT NO. 4 IN AVCA POLL
Hawai`i remained at to No. 4 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I Coaches Poll released Monday. The Rainbow Wahine received two first-place votes in the poll.
THIRD OF FIVE WAC MATCHES TO AIR ON ESPNU THIS WEEK
The third of five WAC matches on ESPNU this season will air this Thursday, Oct. 21, when Idaho hosts No. 4 Hawai`i. The Rainbow Wahine have won 31 consecutive WAC matches, dating back to October of 2008.
The complete schedule of 2010 WAC volleyball matches on ESPNU is listed below.
Wednesday, Sept. 29, Hawai`i 3, at New Mexico State 0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-14)
Wednesday, Oct. 6, Utah State 3, at Idaho 1 (25-18, 25-22, 20-25, 25-17)
Thursday, Oct. 21, Hawai`i at Idaho, 8 p.m. (PT)
Monday, Oct. 25, Hawai`i at Utah State, 8 p.m. (MT)
Wednesday, Nov. 25, WAC Tournament Championship Match, 6:30 p.m. (PT)
WAC IN THE NATIONAL STATS
The WAC currently has four teams ranked in the Top 50 nationally in blocking, led by Hawai`i in 11th place with 2.79 per set. Idaho (12th, 2.77), Utah State (16th, 2.73), and Boise State (39th, 2.49) are also ranked.
In other statistics, Hawai`i is third in winning percentage (.941), 25th in kills (14.05), 26th in hitting percentage (.270) and 29th in assists (13.07). New Mexico State is 47th in hitting percentage (.242).
Individually, several WAC players rank in the Top 50 in various categories. Hawai`i’s Brittany Hewitt leads the nation in blocks (1.79), followed by Utah State’s Shantell Durrant (15th, 1.36), Idaho’s Kelsey Taylor (23rd, 1.31) and Fresno State’s Brianna Clarke (26th, 1.29). Boise State’s Breann Nesselhuf is 26th in assists (11.08), while New Mexico State’s Jennah DeVries is 30th (10.88) and Hawai`i’s Dani Mafua is 41st (10.64).
Louisiana Tech’s Lori Hunsucker is 31st in digs (5.19), while Utah State’s Liz McArthur is 37th in service aces (0.41). New Mexico State’s Kelsey Brennan is 38th in hitting percentage (.370), followed by Hewitt (45th, .364) and Clarke (49th, .359). New Mexico State’s Kayleigh Giddens is ninth in kills (4.71), followed by Kanani Danielson of Hawai`i (11th, 4.54) and McArthur (19th, 4.36). Giddens is 11th in points (5.22), followed by Danielson (14th, 5.12) and McArthur (17th, 5.01).
WAC STAT LEADERS
In team statistics, Hawai`i leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.270), opponent hitting percentage (.138), assists (13.07), kills (14.05), blocks (2.79) and service aces (1.54). Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech is tops in digs (15.36).
In WAC matches only, Hawai`i leads the conference in hitting percentage (.308), opponent hitting percentage (.104), assists (13.94), blocks (2.97), service aces (1.72) and digs (15.56). Nevada is tops in kills (14.88).
Individually, New Mexico State’s Kayleigh Giddens leads the WAC in kills (4.71) and points (5.22), while teammate Kelsey Brennan is tops in hitting percentage (.370). Breann Nesselhuf of Boise State leads the league in assists (11.07), while Liz McArthur of Utah State leads the WAC in service aces (0.41). Hawai`i’s Brittany Hewitt leads the league in blocks (1.79), while Lori Hunsucker of Louisiana Tech is tops in digs (5.19).
In conference matches only, Giddens leads the WAC in kills (5.21) and points (5.78), while Brennan is tops in hitting percentage (.408). Tatiana Santiago of Nevada leads the league in assists (12.08), while McArthur is tops in service aces (0.61). Hewitt leads the WAC in blocks (1.88), while teammate Elizabeth Ka’aihue leads the league in digs (5.11).
MORRILL BECOMES UTAH STATE ALL-TIME DIGS LEADER
Utah State’s Christine Morrill recorded 13 digs in a four-set loss to Nevada last Friday to become the school’s all-time leader in digs. Morrill finished the match with 1,617 digs in her career to move ahead of Kelsi Peterson (2003-06), who held the record with 1,614 career digs.
RAINBOW WAHINE LEAD NATION IN ATTENDANCE
Hawai`i currently leads the nation in attendance with an average of 6,215 fans per match, just under 1,000 fans ahead of the second-place team, Nebraska (5,218). Meanwhile, New Mexico State ranks 21st (1,603) and Fresno State is 44th (871). All 15 of Hawai`i’s home matches this season rank in the Top 25 nationally for individual match attendance. The Rainbow Wahine have led the nation in average attendance in each of the last 16 seasons.
HAWAI‘I BOASTS LONGEST CONFERENCE WINNING STREAK IN THE NATION
With 31 consecutive WAC wins, Hawai`i currently boasts the longest active conference winning streak in the nation, just ahead of Central Arkansas and Lipscomb with 30. The Rainbow Wahine had been behind North Dakota State, which had a streak of 42 straight conference victories until it fell to IPFW Oct. 1.
2010 WAC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO LAS VEGAS
The 2010 WAC Volleyball Tournament will be held Nov. 22-24 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., 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 through each institution’s ticket office. For more information about the 2010 WAC Volleyball Tournament, visit www.wacsports.com.
2010 WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday, Nov. 22 (Quarterfinals)
No. 3 Seed vs. No. 6 Seed, 5 p.m.
No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 23 (Semifinals)
Winner Match 1 vs. No. 2 seed, 5 p.m.
Winner Match 2 vs. No. 1 Seed, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 24 (Championship)
Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
BOISE STATE BRONCOS (17-6, 4-4 WAC)
The Broncos fell in five sets (25-20, 19-25, 12-25, 25-21, 7-15) at New Mexico State last Thursday and swept Louisiana Tech (25-17, 25-21, 25-19) on Saturday ... In the loss to the Aggies, Cailin Fellows led the team with 13 kills, while Alisha Young added 11 ... Amanda Remy finished with a match-high 18 digs ... Against LA Tech, Young led the team with 12 kills, while Fellows added 10 ... The Broncos earned their ninth sweep of the season over LA Tech, tying the most sweeps in a season (nine) since 2004 ... With 17 wins, Boise State has tied the most wins by a Bronco team since 2004 ... As a team, Boise State ranks 39th nationally in blocks (2.49) ... Breann Nesselhuf ranks 26th in the nation in assists (11.08) ... The Broncos play a non-conference match at Utah Valley on Wednesday and host No. 4 Hawai`i on Saturday.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (7-11, 2-5 WAC)
Fresno State fell in straight sets (18-25, 18-25, 17-25) at No. 4 Hawai`i on Sunday ... Marissa Brand led the Bulldogs with seven kills and Brianna Clarke added six ... Kelly Mason recorded a match-high 16 digs ... The Bulldogs rank 62nd nationally in blocks (2.32) ... Clarke ranks 26th in the nation in blocks (1.29) and 49th in hitting percentage (.359) ... Fresno State is in the midst of its longest road trip of the season (four matches) ... The Bulldogs play a non-conference match at Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday and play at San Jose State on Saturday.
HAWAI‘I RAINBOW WAHINE (16-1, 6-0 WAC)
Hawai`i swept San Jose State (25-16, 25-12, 25-15) and Fresno State (25-18, 25-18, 25-17) last week ... In the win over the Spartans, Kanani Danielson led UH with 15 kills ... In the sweep of Fresno State, Danielson posted her seventh double-double of the season with 13 kills and 12 digs, to go with three aces ... The Rainbow Wahine are on a 26-set winning streak ... Hawai`i ranks third nationally in winning percentage (.941), 11th in blocks (2.79), 25th in kills (14.05), 26th in hitting percentage (.270), 29th in assists (13.07) and 52nd in service aces (1.54)... Brittany Hewitt leads the nation in blocks per set (1.79) and is 45th in hitting percentage (.364) ... Danielson ranks 11th in kills (4.54) and 14th in points (5.12) ... Dani Mafua is 41st in assists (10.64) ... The Rainbow Wahine play at Idaho on Thursday in a nationally-televised match on ESPNU and at Boise State on Saturday.
IDAHO VANDALS (10-10, 5-4 WAC)
The Vandals swept Louisiana Tech (25-22, 25-17, 26-24) last Thursday and fell in five sets (25-16, 25-18, 17-25, 16-25, 8-15) at New Mexico State on Saturday ... The win over Tech marked the fourth time this season the Vandals have won back-to-back matches ... The five-set match at New Mexico State marked the third five-setter out of four WAC road contests, with the Vandals falling 3-2 in all three ... In the win over the Lady Techsters, Alicia Milo and Allison Walker had 13 kills apiece ... In the loss to NM State, Walker had a double-double with a match-high 18 kills to go along with 11 digs ... As a team, Idaho ranks 12th nationally in blocks (2.77) ... Kelsey Taylor ranks 23rd in the nation in blocks (1.31), while Walker is 61st in kills (3.86) ... The Vandals host No. 4 Hawai`i on ESPNU on Thursday in their only match this week.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (10-12, 0-7 WAC)
Louisiana Tech fell to Idaho (22-25, 17-25, 24-26) and Boise State (17-25, 21-25, 19-25) last week ... In the loss to Idaho, Kara Jones led the team with 14 kills on .481 hitting ... Lori Hunsucker has eclipsed the 20-dig plateau on five occasions this season after surpassing 20 only four times in 2009 ... Jones now has 343 career blocks, ranking third on the Louisiana Tech all-time list, 40 shy of KC Clayton in second place ... Hunsucker leads the WAC and ranks 31st nationally with 5.19 digs per set ... The Lady Techsters play at Utah State on Thursday and at Nevada on Saturday.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (10-10, 4-3 WAC)
Nevada defeated Utah State (26-24, 22-25, 25-19, 25-16) last Friday and fell at New Mexico State (26-28, 25-27, 20-25) on Sunday ... In the win over the Aggies, Kylie Harrington posted a season-high 20 kills to go with 12 digs for her fifth double-double of the season ... In the loss at NM State, Harrington and Erin Garvey had 11 kills each ... Harrington has led or tied for the team lead in kills in 14-of-20 matches this season ... Harrington now has 1,101 kills on her career, which ranks 10th all-time at Nevada ... Lindsay Baldwin recorded her 400th career block assist on Sunday, which ranks third in school history ... Nicole Link is seven digs from 1,300 in her career, which ranks third in Pack history ... Link has led the team in digs in 16-of-20 matches this season ... The Wolf Pack host New Mexico State on Thursday and Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (13-9, 7-1 WAC)
New Mexico State defeated Boise State (20-25, 25-19, 25-12, 21-25, 15-7), Idaho (16-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-16, 15-8) and Nevada (28-26, 27-25, 25-20) last week ... Kelsey Brennan had 13 kills on .650 hitting against Boise State ... In the win over Idaho, Kayleigh Giddens (18 kills, 10 digs) and Rocio Gutierrez (11 kills, 11 digs) both posted double-doubles ... Giddens had a match-high 17 kills against Nevada ... The Aggies have won five straight matches ... As a team, the Aggies rank 47th nationally in hitting percentage (.242), 57th in assists (12.56) and 70th in kills (13.35) ... Giddens ranks ninth in the nation in kills (4.71) and 11th in points (5.22) ... Jennah DeVries ranks 30th in assists (10.88) ... The Aggies play at Nevada on Thursday and at Utah State on Saturday.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (8-13, 3-5 WAC)
San Jose State fell in straight sets (16-25, 12-25, 15-25) at Hawai`i last Friday in their only match ... The team managed just 23 assists in the loss, the lowest since tallying just 16 in a season-opening loss to North Dakota ... San Jose State plays six of its nine matches in October at Spartan Gym, including the next four in a row ... The Spartans are 3-1 in five-set matches this season ... San Jose State hosts Pacific for its final non-conference match of the season on Tuesday and Fresno State on Saturday.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (14-5, 2-4 WAC)
Utah State fell at Nevada (24-26, 25-22, 19-25, 16-25) last Friday ... Liz McArthur led the Aggies with 17 kills ... Christine Morrill finished with 13 digs to move her career total to 1,617, making her the all-time leader at Utah State ... The Aggies are just 3-5 in their last eight matches after starting the season with 11 straight wins ... Katie Astle ranks sixth all-time at Utah State in block assists with 275 and seventh all-time in total blocks with 285 ... Liz McArthur ranks ninth all-time at Utah State in total attacks with 2,406 and 10th all-time in kills with 848 ... Utah State ranks 16th in the country in blocks per set (2.73) ... McArthur ranks 17th in the nation in points per set (5.01) and 19th in kills per set (4.36), while Shantell Durrant ranks 15th in blocking (1.36) ... The Aggies host Louisiana Tech on Thursday and New Mexico State on Saturday.