UTAH STATE’S McARTHUR EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Utah State senior outside hitter Liz McArthur has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 10-16. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and third of her career for McArthur.
The St. George, Utah, native averaged 4.86 kills on .409 hitting, 2.29 digs, 0.29 service aces and 5.29 points per set as the Aggies went 2-0 on the week. Against Fresno State, McArthur posted her 10th double-double of the season and 22nd of her career with 16 kills and 10 digs to go along with two service aces. Against Nevada, she had a match-high 18 kills and six digs and hit a career-high .680. The .409 hitting percentage over the two matches was more than .250 above her season average of .144 heading into the week.
Other nominees included: Fresno State’s Christina Lee averaged 4.89 digs per set over two matches ... Kanani Danielson of Hawai‘i averaged 3.62 kills and 2.38 digs per set as the Rainbow Wahine remained unbeaten in WAC play ... Idaho’s Alyssa Schultz averaged 1.44 kills on .346 hitting to go with 0.78 blocks ... Tessa Lea‘ea of Nevada averaged 3.14 kills and 0.86 blocks on the week ... New Mexico State’s Meredith Hays averaged 4.88 kills, including a career-high 22 in a five-set loss to Hawai‘i ... Savanah Leaf of San Jose State averaged 4.00 kills and .183 digs per set as the Spartans went 1-1 on the week.
WALKER EXTENDS DOUBLE-DOUBLE STREAK TO EIGHT
Idaho sophomore Allison Walker has posted double-doubles in eight straight matches, dating back to Sept. 22. The WAC leader in the category, she has posted double-doubles in 11 of 20 matches on the season and 17 of the 48 matches during her career.
CLARKE SURPASSES 400 TOTAL BLOCKS
Fresno State senior Brianna Clarke recorded her 400th career block Oct. 13 at Utah State. With 66 blocks this season, she now has 403 on her career, good for fourth place all-time at Fresno State. She is 13 shy of third place, 21 away from second place and 34 blocks shy of the career record of 437, held by Suzie Regul (1989-92).
SANTIAGO MOVES INTO FIFTH PLACE AT NEVADA IN CAREER ASSISTS
After her 34-assist performance at Utah State, Nevada senior setter Tatiana Santiago moved past Alanna Whitnack (1997-98) into fifth place on the Pack’s career assists list with 2,387. She is 855 assists shy of fourth place.
BUCHANAN SET TO BECOME ALL-TIME WINS LEADER AT IDAHO
When the Vandals defeated Fresno State in five sets last Saturday, it was career win number 174 for Idaho head coach Debbie Buchanan, all at Idaho. In her 12th year at the helm, she is currently tied with Tom Hilbert (1989-1996) for most wins in program history and needs one more victory to become the all-time leader in the 38-year history of the program.
DANIELSON FINALIST FOR LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Hawai‘i’s Kanani Danielson is one of 10 student-athletes selected as finalists for the 2011 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
The finalists were chosen by a media committee from 30 candidates. Nationwide fan voting has begun to determine the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Web site or the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Facebook fan page through Nov. 21. Fan votes will be combined with media and head coaches’ votes to determine the winner.
Utah State’s Liz McArthur was one of the 30 initial candidates for the award.
WAC STAT LEADERS
In team statistics, Hawai‘i leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.315), assists (13.18), kills (14.46) and blocks (2.87). Utah State is tops in digs (16.25), while New Mexico State leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.151) and Fresno State is tops in service aces (1.49).
Individually, New Mexico State’s Meredith Hays leads the WAC in kills (4.39) and points (4.87). Hawai‘i’s Emily Hartong, Mita Uiato and Brittany Hewitt are tops in hitting percentage (.398), assists (11.00) and blocks (1.42), respectively. Fresno State’s Korrin Wild leads the WAC in service aces (0.39), while Stephany Salas of Louisiana Tech is tops in digs (4.65).
In WAC matches, Hawai‘i leads the league in hitting percentage (.315), assists (12.48), kills (14.00), blocks (2.84) and service aces (1.48). Idaho is tops in opponent hitting percentage (.133) and digs (15.65).
Individually, Hays leads the WAC in kills (4.62) and points (5.15). Idaho’s Alyssa Schultz is tops in hitting percentage (.432), while Wild leads the league in service aces (0.50). Jennah DeVries of New Mexico State is the leader in assists (11.12), while Hawai‘i’s Kalei Adolpho is tops in blocks (1.40) and Idaho’s Cassie Hamilton is the leader in digs (4.50).
WAC TOURNAMENT TICKETS ON SALE NOW
All-session tickets are on sale for the WAC Volleyball Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas Nov. 21-23. Tickets are general admission seating. The 2011 tournament will consist of five matches in three sessions.
Ticket prices are as follows: All-Session: $45
Single-Session Adult: $20
Single-Session Students/Youth: $10
All-session tickets are on sale through each institution’s ticket office. Single-session (one day) tickets will not be available for purchase until Nov. 21 and can only be purchased through the Orleans Arena. To purchase tickets, go to wacsportsvolleyballtournament.com.
2011 WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday, Nov. 21 (Quarterfinals)
No. 3 Seed vs. No. 6 Seed, 5 p.m.
No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 22 (Semifinals)
Winner Match 1 vs. No. 2 seed, 5 p.m.
Winner Match 2 vs. No. 1 Seed, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 23 (Championship)
Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (8-11, 3-4 WAC)
Fresno State fell at Utah State (23-25, 25-22, 20-25, 14-25) last Thursday and at Idaho (16-25, 25-15, 21-25, 25-19, 11-15) on Saturday ... Against the Aggies, freshmen Maci Murdock and Christina Lee posted career highs of 16 kills and 27 digs, respectively ... Against the Vandals, Korrin Wild posted her third double-double of the season with 11 kills and 19 digs ... Barbara Alcantara also had a double-double, finishing with 48 assists and 12 digs ... Wild leads the WAC in service aces (0.39) and ranks sixth in digs (3.40) ... Alcantara is fifth in service aces (0.31) and seventh in assists (7.90), while Cecilia Agraz is seventh in aces (0.30) ... Clarke is sixth in the WAC with a .319 hitting percentage ... As a team, Fresno State leads the WAC in service aces per set (1.49), and ranks fourth in assists (11.63), and kills (12.23) ... In conference-only stats, Wild leads the WAC in service aces (0.50), is fifth in points (4.21) and sixth in kills (3.54) ... In WAC matches only, Fresno State ranks second in service aces (1.46) ... The Bulldogs play at Cal State Bakersfield for a non-conference match on Wednesday, then host Nevada on Saturday.
HAWAI‘I RAINBOW WAHINE (17-1, 7-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i defeated NM State (17-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-27, 15-5) last Wednesday and Louisiana Tech (25-9, 25-9, 25-14) on Friday ... Against the Aggies, Kanani Danielson posted her 10th double-double of the season with 22 kills and 10 digs, while Mita Uiato dished out a career-high 53 assists ... Hawai‘i leads the nation in hitting percentage (.315), ranks fourth in winning percentage (.944), eighth in kills (14.46), 12th in blocks (2.87) and 18th in assists (13.18) ... Uiato ranks 30th nationally in assists (11.00), while Brittany Hewitt ranks 11th in blocks (1.42) and 47th in hitting percentage (.363) ... Emily Hartong ranks 13th in the nation in hitting percentage (.398), while Danielson is 41st in points (4.63) and 48th in kills (4.03) ... As a team, Hawai‘i leads the WAC in hitting percentage, assists, kills and blocks ... Hartong leads the WAC in hitting percentage, while Hewitt is second and Chanteal Satele is fourth (.337) ... Danielson ranks second in the WAC in points and kills ... Hewitt leads the league in blocks, while Jane Croson is sixth in both service aces (0.31) and kills (3.62) ... Hawai‘i hosts Notre Dame for matches on Monday and Tuesday, then hosts Utah State on Friday and Idaho on Sunday.
IDAHO VANDALS (11-9, 5-2 WAC)
Idaho defeated Nevada (23-25, 25-18, 25-14, 25-15) last Thursday and Fresno State (25-16, 15-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-11) on Saturday to extend its win streak to five matches ... With the win over the Bulldogs, head coach Debbie Buchanan tied the program wins record with 174 career victories ... Allison Walker extended her streak of double-doubles to eight, as she finished with 17 kills and 10 digs vs. Nevada and 11 kills and 13 digs vs. Fresno State ... As a team, the Vandals rank 50th nationally in blocks (2.45) ... Alyssa Schultz ranks 19th in the nation in blocks (1.33), while Jenny Feicht is 32nd in assists (10.92), and Walker is 49th in kills (4.03) and 66th in points (4.44) ... The Vandals rank second in the WAC in digs (15.50), third in hitting percentage (.205), assists (11.73), kills (12.73) and blocks (2.45), and fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.178) ... Schultz ranks second in the conference in blocks and fifth in hitting percentage (.320), while Walker is third in kills and points (4.44) and ninth in digs (2.84) ... Feicht is second in the league in assists and third in service aces (0.35), while Cassie Hamilton is second in digs (4.44) ... Idaho plays at San Jose State on Friday and at No. 8 Hawai‘i on Sunday.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (9-14, 0-7 WAC)
Louisiana Tech fell to San Jose State (19-25, 11-25, 14-25) last Thursday and No. 8 Hawai‘i (9-25, 9-25, 14-25) last Friday ... Stephany Salas recorded 10 digs, while Bianca Bin recorded 13 assists against San Jose State ... The team hit -.074 against the Rainbow Wahine. It was just the second time all season the Lady Techsters had a negative hitting percentage ... The team also posted season lows in kills (15) and assists (13) ... As a team, LA Tech ranks third in the WAC in service aces (1.36) and digs (14.95), and fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.195) ... Salas leads the WAC with 4.65 digs per set ... Clara Vido ranks seventh in the WAC in digs (3.12) and 10th in kills (2.85) ... Bin ranks eighth in the WAC with 7.80 assists per set, while Ana Rodrigues is 10th with 0.26 service aces per set ... In WAC play, Bin ranks eighth in the league in assists (6.35), while Salas is 10th in digs (2.58) ... Vido is tied for fifth in the WAC with eight double-doubles on the season ... The Techsters host Northwestern State for a non-conference match on Wednesday, then host New Mexico State on Saturday.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (3-15, 1-6 WAC)
Nevada fell at Idaho (25-23, 18-25, 14-25, 15-25) last Thursday and at Utah State (20-25, 18-25, 18-25) on Saturday ... Against the Vandals, Tessa Lea‘ea had 12 kills, while Erin Garvey posted a double-double of 11 kills and 13 digs ... Against the Aggies, Lea‘ea had a team-best 10 kills ... Tatiana Santiago moved into fifth place on the Nevada career charts with 2,387 career assists ... Santiago moved into fifth in career assists at Nevada with her 2,387 ... As a team, Nevada ranks fourth in the conference in service aces (1.28) ... Grace Anxo ranks second in the conference with 0.35 service aces per set, while Santiago is fourth in assists (9.61) and Kelly Chang is fifth in digs (3.41) ... Lea‘ea is seventh in the league in hitting percentage (.318), while Janelle Batista ranks eighth in hitting percentage (.316) and ninth in points (3.37) ... In WAC matches only, Nevada ranks third in assists (11.71), and fourth in both hitting percentage (.206) and service aces (1.25) ... In conference matches, Santiago is third in assists (10.29), while Chang is
fourth in digs (3.54) ... The Wolf Pack host Seattle for a non-conference match on Thursday, then play at Fresno State on Saturday.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (17-5, 6-1 WAC)
New Mexico State fell in five sets to No. 8 Hawai‘i (25-17, 21-25, 20-25, 27-25, 5-15) last Wednesday before sweeping San Jose State (25-14, 25-15, 25-19) on Saturday ... Against the Rainbow Wahine, Meredith Hays had a career-high 22 kills, while Stephanie Ziegler had her first double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs ... Jennah DeVries had her ninth double-double of the season with 48 assists and 20 digs ... Hays added 17 kills in the win over the Spartans ... NM State ranks 31st nationally in winning percentage (.773), 35th in kills (13.79) and 43rd in assists (12.79) ... Hays leads the WAC and ranks 19th nationally in kills (4.39) and tops the conference and ranks 23rd in the nation in points (4.87) ... DeVries ranks third in the conference and 40th nationally in assists (10.80) ... Michelle Kuester ranks fourth in the WAC and 40th nationally in blocks (1.24) ... Kelsey Brennan is third in the league in hitting percentage (.349), while Kelsi Phillips is fourth in digs (4.14) and eighth in service aces (0.28) ... As a team, NM State leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.151), and is second in hitting percentage (.216), assists (12.79) and kills (13.79) ... The Aggies play at Louisiana Tech on Saturday in their only match this week.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (7-13, 2-5 WAC)
San Jose State swept Louisiana Tech (25-19, 25-11, 25-14) last Thursday before falling at New Mexico State (14-25, 15-25, 19-25) on Saturday ... Against LA Tech, Savanah Leaf led the Spartans with 14 kills on a season-best .314 hitting, followed by Kylie Miraldi with 11 and Alex Akana with 10 ... Leaf again paced SJSU against NM State with 10 kills ... The win at LA Tech was the first time the Spartans had won in Ruston since 2008 ... Caitlin Andrade ranks seventh on the Spartan career assists list with 2,427. She needs 10 assists to move into sixth place ... Andrade ranks fifth in the WAC with 9.33 assists per set, while Akana is 10th in hitting percentage (.311) ... Katie Turner ranks eighth in the conference in digs (2.95), while Leaf is ninth in kills (2.90) and 10th in points (3.33) ... As a team, San Jose State ranks fourth in the conference in hitting percentage (.183), and fifth in assists (11.37), blocks (2.02), kills (12.13) and digs (14.54) ... In WAC matches only, Krista Miller is second in the conference in hitting percentage (.390), while Akana is fourth (.355) ... In conference play, SJSU ranks fifth in the WAC in digs (13.17) ... The Spartans host Utah State on Wednesday and Idaho on Friday.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (9-11, 4-3 WAC)
Utah State defeated Fresno State (25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 25-14) last Thursday and Nevada (25-20, 25-18, 25-18) on Saturday ... Against the Bulldogs, Liz McArthur finished with 16 kills and 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the season, while Paige Neves tallied 34 assists and 14 digs for her eighth double-double of the season ... In the sweep of Nevada, McArthur had 18 kills on a career-high .680 hitting ... McArthur ranks third all-time at Utah State in career attempts (3,891), fifth in kills (1,308) and 10th in service aces (88) ... As a team, the Aggies rank second in the WAC and 13th nationally in blocks (2.84) ... Utah State leads the league in digs (16.25) and ranks third in opponent hitting percentage (.167) ... Utah State boasts four of the top 10 blockers in the WAC – Alyssa Everett (3rd, 1.32), Kaitlyn VanHoff (5th, 1.17), Josselyn White (6th, 1.14) and Nicole Gneiting-Theurer (7th, 1.13) ... McArthur ranks fifth in the WAC in kills (3.82) and points (4.22), while White is eighth in kills (2.94) and points (3.76) ... Laurel Bodily is third in the WAC in digs (4.43), while Neves is sixth in assists (9.00) ... The Aggies play at San Jose State on Wednesday and at No. 8 Hawai‘i on Friday.