United Athletic Conference

IDAHO’S TAYLOR EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Idaho senior middle blocker Kelsey Taylor has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 27-Oct. 3. This is the first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor for Taylor.

The Moscow, Idaho, native hit .439 with just one attack error in Idaho’s matches against Boise State last week. In the first match against the Broncos, Taylor posted the first double-double of her career with 11 kills and a career-high 11 blocks. She followed it up with eight kills, seven digs and seven blocks in the second match against Boise State, a four-set win. For the week, Taylor averaged 2.11 kills, 2.0 blocks and 1.0 digs per set.

Other nominees included: Alisha Young of Boise State averaged 4.33 kills on .368 hitting, 0.8 blocks and 0.7 digs as the Broncos went 1-1 last week … Fresno State’s Marissa Brand averaged 4.29 kills last week … Brittany Hewitt of Hawai`i averaged 3.20 kills on .842 as the Rainbow Wahine went 2-0 on the week … Nevada’s Kylie Harrington averaged 3.33 kills, 1.83 digs and 0.50 service aces per set last week … Kayleigh Giddens of New Mexico State averaged 4.00 kills and 1.57 digs per set last week … San Jose State’s Hanah Blume averaged 2.71 kills and 2.43 digs as the Spartans went 1-1 on the week ... Shay Sorensen of Utah State averaged 3.0 kills on .381 hitting as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week.

SECOND OF FIVE WAC MATCHES TO AIR ON ESPNU THIS WEEK
The second of five WAC matches on ESPNU this season will air this Wednesday, Oct. 6, when Utah State plays at Idaho. The Aggies have a better overall record (13-3) than the Vandals (8-8), but Idaho has a better WAC record (3-2) than Utah State (1-2).

The complete schedule of 2010 WAC volleyball matches that will air 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 at Idaho, 7 p.m. (PT)
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)

HAWAI`I BOASTS LONGEST CONFERENCE WINNING STREAK IN THE NATION
With 29 consecutive WAC wins, Hawai`i currently boasts the longest active conference winning streak in the nation, just ahead of Central Arkansas and Lipscomb with 27. The Rainbow Wahine had been behind North Dakota State, which had a streak of 42 straight conference victories until it fell to IPFW last week.

HEWITT BREAKS UH RECORD FOR HITTING PERCENTAGE IN A MATCH
Hawai`i’s Brittany Hewitt broke the school rally-scoring record with a .917 hitting percentage at New Mexico State last Wednesday. Hewitt posted 11 kills on 12 swings, breaking Victoria Prince’s rally-scoring record of .867 (vs. SMU on Nov. 19, 2004), while falling one attempt short of becoming just the second UH player ever to have a perfect hitting night with at least 10 attempts.

HAWAI‘I MOVES UP TO NO. 5 IN AVCA POLL
After sweeping New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech last week, Hawai`i moved up one spot to No. 5 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I Coaches Poll released Monday.

WAC IN THE NATIONAL STATS
The WAC currently has five teams ranked in the Top 50 nationally in blocking, led by Idaho in 15th place with 2.79 per set. Utah State (16th, 2.74), Hawai`i (18th, 2.72), Boise State (35th, 2.53) and Fresno State (50th, 2.41) are also ranked.

In other statistics, Boise State is 33rd in hitting percentage (.257) and 43rd in winning percentage (.778). Hawai`i is third in winning percentage (.933), 26th in hitting percentage (.263), 30th in kills (13.98) and 36th in assists (12.94). Utah State is 31st in winning percentage (.813).

Individually, several WAC players rank in the Top 50 in various categories. Hawai`i’s Brittany Hewitt leads the nation in blocks (1.77), followed by Fresno State’s Brianna Clarke (16th, 1.35), Utah State’s Shantell Durrant (20th, 1.32) and Idaho’s Kelsey Taylor (37th, 1.25). Boise State’s Breann Nesselhuf is 21st in assists (11.27), while New Mexico State’s Jennah DeVries is 36th (10.75) and Hawai`i’s Dani Mafua is 43rd (10.55). Louisiana Tech’s Lori Hunsucker is 38th in digs (5.11). Boise State’s Sadie Maughan is 20th in hitting percentage (.394), followed by Clarke (22nd, .389) and Hewitt (27th, .386). New Mexico State’s Kayleigh Giddens is seventh in kills (4.73), followed by Kanani Danielson of Hawai`i (12th, 4.53) and Utah State’s Liz McArthur (19th, 4.35). Giddens is 12th in points (5.22), followed by Danielson (15th, 5.06), McArthur (16th, 4.99) and Boise State’s Alisha Young (46th, 4.50).

WAC STAT LEADERS
In team statistics, Hawai`i leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.263), assists (12.94), kills (13.98) and opponent hitting percentage (.145). Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech is tops in digs (15.13) and service aces (1.52), while Idaho leads the league in blocks (2.79).

In WAC matches only, Hawai`i leads the conference in hitting percentage (.297), digs (16.83) and opponent hitting percentage (.118), while New Mexico State is tops in assists (14.00). Nevada leads the WAC in kills (15.10), Utah State is tops in and service aces (1.6) and Idaho leads the league in blocks (3.15).

Individually, New Mexico State’s Kayleigh Giddens leads the WAC in kills (4.73) and points (5.22), while Boise State’s Sadie Maughan is tops in hitting percentage (.392). Breann Nesselhuf of Boise State leads the league in assists (11.25), while Hawai`i’s Brittany Hewitt leads the WAC in blocks (1.77). Liz McArthur of Utah State leads the WAC in service aces (0.37), while Lori Hunsucker of Louisiana Tech is tops in digs (5.11).

In conference matches only, Giddens leads the WAC in kills (6.44) and points (7.06), while Hewitt is tops in blocks (1.82) and hitting percentage (.434). Tatiana Santiago of Nevada leads the league in assists (11.90), while McArthur is tops in service aces (0.60). Hawai`i’s Elizabeth Ka’aihue leads the WAC in digs (5.75).

RAINBOW WAHINE LEAD NATION IN ATTENDANCE
Hawai`i currently leads the nation in attendance with an average of 6,186 fans per match, just under 700 fans ahead of the second-place team, Nebraska (5,401). All 13 of Hawai`i’s home matches this season rank in the Top 20 nationally for individual match attendance. The Rainbow Wahine have led the nation in average attendance in each of the last 16 seasons. Meanwhile, New Mexico State ranks 18th (1,868) and Fresno State is 32nd (1,145).

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 on the WAC Volleyball Tournament, click here.
   
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 (14-4, 2-2 WAC)
The Broncos defeated Idaho (25-22, 25-22, 24-26, 19-25, 15-10) at home last Wednesday and fell in four sets on the road at Idaho (12-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-27) last Saturday ... In the first match, Alisha Young led all players with 21 kills, while Sadie Maughan posted her first career double-double with 14 kills and 10 blocks ... In the second match, Young led all players with 18 kills ... As a team, Boise State ranks 33rd nationally in hitting percentage (.257) ... Breann Nesselhuf leads the WAC and ranks 21st in the nation with 11.27 assists per set ... Maughan leads the WAC and ranks 20th nationally in hitting percentage (.394) ... Young ranks 46th in the nation in points per set (4.50) ... The Broncos host Idaho State for a non-conference match on Tuesday, then host Nevada on Thursday and Utah State on Saturday.

FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (6-9, 1-3 WAC)
Fresno State went 0-2 last week, falling at Utah State (19-25, 17-25, 14-25) and at Nevada (16-25, 22-25, 31-29, 26-28) ... In the loss at Utah State, Brianna Clarke recorded a team-high eight kills with no errors for a .800 hitting percentage ... Against the Wolf Pack, Marissa Brand finished with career highs of 23 kills and 16 digs for her fifth double-double of the season ... Erin Stock tied her career high, dishing out 47 assists ... Clarke currently ranks 16th nationally in blocks per set (1.35) and 22nd in hitting percentage (.389) ... The Bulldogs host Louisiana Tech on Thursday and New Mexico State on Saturday.

HAWAI‘I RAINBOW WAHINE (14-1, 4-0 WAC)
Hawai`i swept New Mexico State (25-16, 25-14, 25-14) and Louisiana Tech (25-17, 25-14, 25-23) last week to move their conference winning streak to 29 matches, the longest active streak in the nation ... In the sweep of the Aggies, Brittany Hewitt hit .917 to break the school rally-scoring record ... Against LA Tech, Kanani Danielson hit .353 with 14 kills, while Elizabeth Ka‘aihue led the team with 16 digs ... As a team, Hawai`i ranks 26th nationally in hitting percentage (.263), 30th in kills per set (13.98) and 36th in assists per set (12.94) ... Hewitt leads the nation with 1.77 blocks per set and ranks 27th with a .386 hitting percentage ... Danielson is 12th in the nation in kills per set (4.53) and 15th in points per set (5.06) ... Dani Mafua ranks 43rd nationally with 10.55 assists per set ... The Rainbow Wahine are idle this week.

IDAHO VANDALS  (8-8, 3-2 WAC)
The Vandals fell in five sets (22-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-19, 10-15) at Boise State last Wednesday before defeating the Broncos in four sets (25-12, 16-25, 25-23, 27-25) last Saturday ... In the first match, Kelsey Taylor posted the first double-double of her career with 11 kills and a career-high 11 blocks ... In the second match, Allison Walker led the Vandals with 17 kills, while Taylor posted eight kills, seven digs and seven blocks ... Taylor currently ranks 37th nationally with 1.25 blocks per set ... On Monday, Idaho swept San Jose State (25-21, 25-19, 25-19) ... The Vandals hit over .300 for the third time this season ... Walker tied her career high for kills in a three-set match with 16 on .378 hitting ... The Vandals host Utah State for a nationally-televised match on ESPNU on Wednesday, then host Nevada on Saturday.

LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (10-8, 0-3 WAC)
Louisiana Tech fell in three sets (17-25, 14-25, 23-25) to No. 6 Hawai`i last Friday and swept past Grambling State (25-10, 25-18, 25-18) on Saturday ... Gabryel Ording converted five attacks into five kills against the sixth-ranked Rainbow Wahine ... Jennifer Goodwin tied a season high with three service aces against Grambling State ... Tech improved to 20-1 all-time against Grambling State ... Lori Hunsucker currently ranks 38th nationally with 5.11 digs per set ...  As a team, Louisiana Tech leads the WAC in service aces per set (1.52) and digs per set (15.13) ... Kara Jones currently has 335 career blocks, good for third place all-time at LA Tech and 48 shy of KC Clayton in second place ... The Lady Techsters play at Fresno State on Thursday and at San Jose State on Saturday.

NEVADA WOLF PACK (8-8, 2-1 WAC)
Nevada fell in five sets (20-25, 21-25, 28-26, 25-21, 10-15) to UNLV last Monday, swept San Jose State (25-15, 25-22, 25-17) last Thursday and defeated Fresno State 3-1 (25-16, 25-22, 29-31, 28-26) on Saturday ... The win over the Spartans snapped a five-match losing skid for the Wolf Pack ... Kylie Harrington has led or tied for the team lead in kills in 10-of-16 matches this season ... Libero Nicole Link has 1,231 career digs and is 13 from moving into third place on the Nevada career list ... Link has led or tied for the team lead in digs in 12-of-16 matches this season ...  Lindsay Baldwin needs one solo block to give her 43 in her career and move into a tie for 10th on the Pack career list. Baldwin is also 14 block assists from 400 in her career ... The Wolf Pack play at Boise State on Thursday and at Idaho on Saturday.

NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (8-9, 2-1 WAC)
New Mexico State fell in three sets (16-25, 14-25, 14-25) to No. 6 Hawai`i last Wednesday and lost 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 16-25, 17-25) to Arizona on Sunday ... Kayleigh Giddens had a match-high 12 kills in the loss to No. 6 Hawai`i and added 16 kills against Arizona ... NM State is averaging 13.15 kills per set while out-hitting its opponents .236 to .207 ... The Aggies have served up 67 service aces with Kayleigh Giddens leading the way with 15 on the year ... Setter Jennah DeVries leads the WAC and ranks 21st nationally with 11.27 assists per set ... Giddens leads the WAC and ranks seventh in the nation with 4.73 kills per set. She also ranks 12th nationally with 5.22 points per set ... The Aggies play at San Jose State on Thursday and at Fresno State on Saturday.

SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS  (7-11, 2-3 WAC)
San Jose State fell in straight sets (15-25, 22-25, 17-25) at Nevada last Thursday before defeating Utah State 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 13-25, 25-16) on Saturday ... In the loss at Nevada, the Spartans managed just 28 kills ... Hanah Blume led the team with a double-double of 15 kills and 16 digs at Utah State, SJSU’s first win in Logan since the 1995 season when both teams were members of the Big West Conference ... The win over the Aggies also ended San Jose State’s 10-match WAC road losing streak. The Spartans had not won a WAC road match since Nov. 13, 2008, when the team won at Louisiana Tech, 3-2 ... On Monday, the Spartans fell in straight sets at Idaho (21-25, 19-25, 19-25) ... Blume led SJSU with 12 kills and 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season ... The Spartans host New Mexico State on Thursday and Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

UTAH STATE AGGIES (13-3, 1-2 WAC)
Utah State swept Fresno State (25-19, 25-17, 25-14) last Thursday before falling to San Jose State (23-25, 20-25, 25-13, 16-25) on Saturday ... Shay Sorensen hit a career-high .526 with 12 kills in the win over Fresno State ... As a team, Utah State currently ranks 16th nationally in blocks (2.74) and 31st in winning percentage (.813) ... Shantell Durrant ranks 20th in the nation in blocks (1.32), while Liz McArthur is 16th in points (4.99) and 19th in kills (4.35) ... Chelsea Fowles ranks second all-time at Utah State and 10th in the WAC with 3,901 assists.  She is just 41 assists shy of tying Carrie Steverson (1988-91) for the school record with 3,942 career assists ... Christine Morrill ranks second all-time at Utah State and fourth in the WAC with 1,568 career digs ... The Aggies play at Idaho in front of a national television audience on ESPNU on Wednesday, then play at Boise State on Saturday.