NEW MEXICO STATE’S PHILLIPS EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
New Mexico State senior libero Kelsi Phillips has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 26-Oct. 1. This is the first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor for Phillips.
The Scottsdale, Ariz., native averaged 6.29 digs per set last week as the Aggies defeated Idaho and Utah State to move to 3-0 in WAC. She opened the week with a career-high 30 digs against Idaho. The 30 digs is the conference high in WAC matches this season. Phillips followed it up with a 14-dig performance in a sweep of defending WAC Tournament champions Utah State. She is the first Aggie to tally 30 digs in a four-set match in nearly six years. Phillips ranks fourth in the league with 4.38 digs per set and has posted double-digit digs in 13 matches with 20-plus digs three times this season.
Other nominees included: Fresno State’s Lauren Albertson averaged 1.50 kills on .385 hitting and 0.75 blocks on the week ... Jenny Feicht of Idaho averaged 9.71 assists and 2.57 digs per set as the Vandals went 1-1 on the week ... Nevada’s Elissa Ji averaged 2.33 kills and 1.83 digs on the week ... Rachel Orr of Utah State averaged 4.00 kills and 4.43 digs as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week.
HAWAI‘I LEADS NATION IN ATTENDANCE
Hawai‘i leads the nation with an average of 6,599 fans per match, more than 1,000 ahead of the second-place team, Nebraska (5,137). All 13 of the Rainbow Wahine’s home matches rank in the top 23 most attended matches this season. Meanwhile, New Mexico State ranks 29th (1,313) and Fresno State ranks 42nd (1,038).
WAC STAT LEADERS
In team statistics, Hawai‘i leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.313), assists (13.56), kills (14.78) and blocks (2.93). Utah State is tops in digs (16.82), while New Mexico State leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.139) and Fresno State is tops in service aces (1.44).
Individually, New Mexico State’s Meredith Hays leads the WAC in kills (4.21), while Kanani Danielson of Hawai‘i is the leader in points (4.75). Hawai‘i’s Emily Hartong, Mita Uiato, Jane Croson and Brittany Hewitt are tops in hitting percentage (.406), assists (11.31), service aces (0.36) and blocks (1.41), respectively. Meanwhile, Stephany Salas of Louisiana Tech is tops in digs (5.12).
In WAC matches, Hawai‘i leads the league in hitting percentage (.308), assists (13.36), kills (14.86) and blocks (3.04). New Mexico State is tops in service aces (1.60) and opponent hitting percentage (.123), while Idaho leads the league in digs (18.71).
Individually, Danielson leads the WAC in kills (4.64) and points (5.29). Idaho’s Alyssa Schultz is tops in hitting percentage (.409), while Korrin Wild of Fresno State leads the league in service aces (0.46). Jennah DeVries and Kelsi Phillips of New Mexico State are the leaders in assists (11.60) and digs (5.90), respectively, while Hawai‘i’s Kalei Adolpho is tops in blocks (1.88).
WAC TOURNAMENT TICKETS ON SALE NOW
All-session tickets for the 2011 WAC Volleyball Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas Nov. 21-23, are on sale. All 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 WAC member institution’s ticket office and the Orleans Arena Box Office. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets from their member institutions to avoid service fees associated with ticket sales through the Orleans Arena site.
Single-session tickets will not be available for purchase until Nov. 21 and can only be purchased through the Orleans Arena. A single-session ticket allows access to one day’s worth of matches
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)
TWO MATCHES TO AIR ON ESPNU
ESPNU will televise two WAC women’s volleyball matches this season as part of its Wednesday Night Women’s Volleyball package.
The first match is Wednesday, Oct. 12, when Hawai‘i plays at New Mexico State at 8 p.m. (MT). In addition, the network will air the championship match of the WAC Tournament at 6 p.m. (PT) Wednesday, Nov. 23.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (7-8, 2-1 WAC)
Fresno State defeated San Jose State in five sets (25-17, 26-28, 25-17, 21-25, 15-10) last Thursday, then fell at No. 11 Hawai‘i (25-14, 25-16, 25-18) on Saturday ... Against the Spartans, Korrin Wild posted her second double-double of the season with 16 kills and 13 digs ... Barbara Alcantara also had a double-double with 46 assists and 12 digs ... Wild tallied a match-high 15 kills vs. the Rainbow Wahine ... Wild ranks third in the WAC in service aces (0.35) and fifth in digs (3.56) ... Alcantara is eighth in assists (7.29) and 10th in service aces (0.25), while Cecilia Agraz is fifth in aces (0.31) ... Brianna Clarke is sixth in the WAC with a .319 hitting percentage ... As a team, Fresno State leads the WAC in service aces per set (1.44), ranks third in assists (11.73), and fourth in both kills (12.29) and hitting percentage (.185) ... In WAC matches only, Fresno State ranks second in the league in hitting percentage (.234), third in blocks (1.96) and fourth in service aces (1.23) ... In conference-only stats, Wild leads the WAC in service aces (0.46), is second in points (4.88) and fourth in kills (4.15) ... 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 Nevada (25-15, 25-15, 25-14) on Thursday and Fresno State (25-14, 25-16, 25-18) on Saturday ... The Rainbow Wahine hit a season-high .486 vs. the Bulldogs and committed just nine hitting errors in both matches last week ... The Fresno State match was the first time all season that no UH player reached double-digit kills ... Hawai‘i ranks second nationally in hitting percentage (.313), fourth in kills (14.78), sixth in winning percentage (.933), and eighth in both assists (13.56) and blocks (2.93) ... As a team, Hawai‘i leads the WAC in hitting percentage, assists, kills and blocks ... Emily Hartong leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.406), while Brittany Hewitt is second (.395), Chanteal Satele is seventh (.314) and Kanani Danielson is eighth (.310) ... Danielson leads the WAC in points (4.75) and is second in kills (4.15) ... Hewitt leads the league in blocks (1.41), while Jane Croson is tops in service aces (0.36) ... Hawai‘i leads the nation in attendance with an average of 6,599 fans per match. The Rainbow Wahine had a season-high 9,692 fans Sept. 17 vs. Pepperdine ... Hawai‘i hosts Nevada on Thursday and Fresno State on Saturday.
IDAHO VANDALS (7-9, 2-2 WAC)
Idaho fell at New Mexico State (18-25,25-14, 23-25, 22-25) last Thursday and swept Louisiana Tech (25-17, 25-19, 25-13) on Saturday ... Jenny Feicht had her fourth double-double of the season with 32 assists and 10 digs against New Mexico State ... Idaho held a team to less than .100 hitting for the third time this year and second time in three matches when LA Tech hit just .058 against the Vandals ... Allison Walker has had a double-double in four straight matches ... Cassie Hamilton had her streak of 20-plus dig matches snapped at four when she had 14 digs against LA Tech ... Idaho won its sixth 3-0 match of the season when it played LA Tech. The Vandals are 6-4 in three-setters this year and a combined 1-5 in four and five set matches ... As a team, the Vandals rank second in the WAC in hitting percentage (.201), third in kills (12.71), blocks (2.46) and digs (15.56), and fourth in assists (11.67) ... Alyssa Schultz ranks second in the WAC in blocks per set (1.40), while Walker is third in points (4.35) and fourth in kills (3.89) ... Alicia Milo is fifth in both kills (3.77) and points (4.18) ... Idaho plays at Eastern Washington on Tuesday, then hosts Utah State on Friday.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (8-10, 0-3 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 0-2 last week, falling to Utah State (19-25, 14-25, 25-21, 12-25) and Idaho (17-25, 19-25, 13-25) ... Bianca Bin had a season-high three service aces against Utah State ... Ana Rodriguez posted a career-high 18 digs against Idaho ... As a team, LA Tech ranks second in the WAC in digs (15.91) and service aces (1.40), and fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.171) ... Stephany Salas leads the WAC and ranks 29th nationally with 5.12 digs per set ... Clara Vido ranks seventh in the WAC in digs (3.24), eighth in kills (3.02) and 10th in points (3.35) ... Bin ranks seventh in the WAC with 8.08 assists per set ... Emily Maher ranks ninth with 0.26 service aces per set ... In WAC play, Bin ranks second in the league with 0.40 aces per set, while Marcella Braz is eighth in kills (3.67) ... In WAC matches, Rodrigues is fourth and Nataliya Panova is eighth in digs with 4.17 and 3.25 per set, respectively ... As a team, LA Tech ranks fourth in WAC matches with 13.70 digs per set ... Vido is third in the WAC with eight double-doubles on the season ... The Techsters play at Grambling on Tuesday, at Fresno State on Thursday and at Nevada on Saturday.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (2-12, 0-3 WAC)
Nevada fell at No. 11 Hawai‘i (15-25, 15-25, 14-25) last Thursday and at San Jose State (21-25, 20-25, 21-25) on Saturday ... Kelly Chang had a career-high 22 kills at San Jose State. It was her second 20-plus dig match of the season ... As a team, Nevada ranks second in the conference in service aces (1.55) in WAC matches and fourth in overall matches (1.35) ... Grace Anxo ranks second in the conference with 0.35 service aces per set, while Tatiana Santiago is fifth in assists (9.14) and Change is sixth in digs (3.49) ... Janelle Batista ranks fourth in the WAC in hitting percentage (.326), and ninth in both kills (2.96) and points (3.48) ... In WAC matches only, Batista is fourth in service aces (0.36), sixth in hitting percentage (.333), and ninth in both kills (3.09) and points (3.55) ... In conference matches, Santiago ranks fourth in service aces (0.36) and sixth in assists (8.91) , while Brianna Heinen is fourth in service aces (0.36) and Chang is
fifth in digs (4.09) ... Santiago has five of Nevada’s nine double-doubles on the season, while Anxo and Elissa Ji have two each ... The Wolf Pack host New Mexico State on Thursday and Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (13-4, 3-0 WAC)
New Mexico State defeated Idaho (25-18, 14-25, 25-23, 25-22) last Thursday and Utah State (25-13, 25-22, 25-18) on Saturday to remain unbeaten in WAC play ... Meredith Hays had 19 kills and 10 digs vs. the Vandals for her seventh double-double of the season ... Kelsi Phillips had a career-high 30 digs against Idaho ... NM State ranks 33rd nationally in assists (12.98), 35th in winning percentage (.765) and 36th in kills (13.84) ... Hays leads the WAC in kills (4.21) and ranks second in points (4.66) ... Jennah DeVries ranks second in the conference and 48th nationally in assists (10.78) ... Kelsey Brennan is third in the league in hitting percentage (.358), while Phillips is fourth in digs (4.38) and seventh in service aces (0.29) ... Michelle Kuester is fifth in the WAC in blocks (1.15) ... As a team, NM State leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.139), is second in assists (12.98) and kills (13.84), third in hitting percentage (.198) and fourth in digs (15.53) ... In WAC matches, NM State is tops in service aces (1.60) and opponent hitting percentage (.123) ... The Aggies host instate rival New Mexico on Tuesday, then play at Nevada on Thursday and at Fresno State on Saturday.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (6-10, 1-3 WAC)
San Jose State went 1-1 last week, falling to Fresno State (17-25, 28-26, 17-25, 25-21, 10-15) last Thursday and sweeping Nevada (25-21, 25-20, 25-21) on Saturday ... Against the Bulldogs, Caitlin Andrade recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 36 assists and 11 digs ... Savanah Leaf led the Spartans with 12 kills in the win over the Wolf Pack ... Caitlin Andrade remains in eighth place on the Spartan career assists list with 2,324. She needs six assists to move into seventh place and is 137 away from sixth ... Andrade ranks fourth in the WAC with 9.33 assists per set, while Alex Akana is eighth in blocks (1.11) and ninth in hitting percentage (.309) ... Katie Turner ranks ninth in the conference in digs (3.12) ... As a team, SJSU ranks fourth in the WAC in blocks (2.27), and fifth in hitting percentage (.176), assists (11.22), kills (11.98) and digs (14.48) ... In WAC matches only, San Jose State ranks fourth in the conference in blocks (1.82) and fifth in hitting percentage (.178) ... Akana ranks third in WAC matches with a .403 hitting percentage and fifth in blocks (1.00) ... The Spartans host Sacramento State on Tuesday and play at No. 9 Hawai‘i on Saturday.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (7-10, 2-2 WAC)
Utah State went 1-1 last week, defeating Louisiana Tech (25-19, 25-14, 21-25, 25-12) last Thursday before falling at New Mexico State (25-13, 25-22, 25-18) on Saturday ... Rachel Orr recorded her first-ever double-double against Louisiana Tech with season highs of 14 kills and 23 digs ... Liz McArthur had 20 kills and 13 digs for her WAC-leading ninth double-double of the season ... Orr led the team with 14 kills vs. NM State ... As a team, the Aggies rank second in the WAC and ninth nationally in blocks (2.90) and lead the league and rank 35th nationally in digs (16.82) ... Utah State boasts four of the top 10 blockers in the WAC – Alyssa Everett (3rd, 1.33), Kaitlyn VanHoff (4th, 1.21), Nicole Gneiting-Theurer (6th, 1.14) and Josselyn White (7th, 1.14) ... McArthur ranks sixth in the WAC in kills (3.75) and seventh in points (4.12), while White is eighth in points (3.76) and 10th in kills (2.94) ... In WAC play, Utah State is third in digs (15.79) ... McArthur ranks third all-time at Utah State in career attempts (3,789), sixth in kills (1,265) and 10th in service aces (84) ... The Aggies play at Idaho on Friday in their only match this week.