HAWAI‘I’S DANIELSON EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Hawai‘i senior outside hitter Kanani Danielson has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 22-28. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and the ninth of her career for Danielson.
The Ewa Beach, Hawai‘i native tallied 40 kills, 28 digs, seven assists and six blocks over three matches en route to earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational last week. Danielson averaged 4.00 kills on .303 hitting, 2.80 digs, 0.70 assists and 0.60 blocks as she led Hawai‘i to the tournament title with wins over San Francisco, Wichita State and Arizona. She opened the week with 13 kills, eight digs and three blocks in a sweep of San Francisco. Against Wichita State, Danielson had 16 kills and 14 digs for the 30th double-double of her career. She closed out the tournament with 11 kills on .500 hitting, six digs and three assists against Arizona. She posted the match-high in kills in all three matches.
Other nominees included: Fresno State’s Korrin Wild was named to the Fresno State Classic all-tournament team after averaging 5.91 digs … Allison Walker of Idaho was named to the all-tournament team at the Shamrock Invitational after averaging 4.42 kills, 3.42 digs and 0.75 blocks over three matches … Louisiana Tech’s Stephany Salas was named to the all-tournament team at the Bearkat Invitational after averaging 5.91 digs over the three matches … Janelle Batista of Nevada was named to the Aztec Invitational all-tournament team after averaging 2.58 kills on .387 hitting in three matches … New Mexico State’s Meredith Hays averaged 4.18 kills and 1.55 digs as the Aggies went 2-1 on the week … Taylor Japhet of San Jose State averaged 3.67 kills and 2.00 digs per set en route to all-tournament team honors at the ASU Sheraton Classic ... Utah State’s Laurel Bodily was named to the Crystal Inn Thunderbird Invitational after averaging 4.45 digs per set.
NUMEROUS WAC PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS IN OPENING WEEKEND
The WAC had 11 of its players named to all-tournament teams in the opening weekend of play. Kanani Danielson, Emily Hartong and Brittany Hewitt of Hawai‘i were all named to the all-tournament team at the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational, with Danielson earning Most Outstanding Player honors. New Mexico State’s Meredith Hays and Jennah DeVries were named to the MCM Elegante all-tournament team, while Korrin Wild was named to the Fresno State Classic all-tournament squad. Allison Walker of Idaho earned Shamrock Invitational all-tournament honors, while Louisiana Tech’s Stephany Salas was named to the Bearkat Invitational all-tournament team. Rounding out the honorees were Nevada’s Janelle Batista (Aztec Invitational), San Jose State’s Taylor Japhet (ASU Sheraton Classic) and Utah State’s Laurel Bodily (Crystal Inn Thunderbird Invitational).
HAWAI‘I STAYS AT NO. 10 IN AVCA POLL
After defeating San Francisco, Wichita State and Arizona last weekend, Hawai‘i remained at No. 10 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I Coaches Poll released Monday.
IDAHO’S CASSIE HAMILTON RECORDS 1,000TH DIG
Idaho senior Cassie Hamilton recorded her 1,000th career dig in the Vandals’ loss to Eastern Michigan last Sunday. She now ranks eighth in Idaho history in that category with 1,009 digs.
DEVRIES CLOSING IN ON 3,000 ASSISTS
New Mexico State senior setter Jennah DeVries currently has 2,943 career assists, good for sixth place all-time in the Aggie record books. She is 57 assists shy of 3,000, 88 away from fifth place and 1,351 shy of the all-time Aggie record of 4,294, held by Christine Jinbo (1993-96).
DANIELSON, McARTHUR SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATES
Two WAC women’s volleyball players – Hawai‘i’s Kanani Danielson and Utah State’s Liz McArthur – are among the 30 student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2011 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.
Danielson, the two-time reigning WAC Player of the Year and a three-time All-American, is an interdisciplinary studies major. McArthur, an honorable mention All-American and the MVP of last year’s WAC Tournament, is a family, consumer and human development major.
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.
HAWAI‘I FAVORED IN WAC PRESEASON POLL
The WAC volleyball coaches selected Hawai‘i to win its 16th-straight WAC regular-season crown in 2011. The Rainbow Wahine received seven of the eight first-place votes with Utah State earning the other first-place vote.
Hawai‘i earned 49 total points followed by New Mexico State with 41. Utah State was picked to finish third with 34 points, followed closely by Idaho in fourth with 33 points. Fresno State was picked fifth with 25 points, while Nevada was selected sixth with 20 points. San Jose State and Louisiana Tech rounded out the poll with 14 and eight points, respectively.
Hawai‘i is coming off a 29-3 season that saw the Rainbow Wahine earn their 15th-consecutive WAC regular-season title with a perfect 16-0 record. Utah State won its first-ever WAC Tournament title with a sweep of Hawai‘i and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC
Hawai‘i senior Kanani Danielson was the unanimous pick for WAC Preseason Player of the Year. It is the seventh-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 and Danielson receiving the accolade for the third year in a row (2009, 2010, 2011).
Hawai‘i placed the most players on the preseason all-WAC team with four, while New Mexico State and Utah State had three apiece. Joining Danielson on the preseason team are teammates Emily Hartong, Brittany Hewitt and Chanteal Satele, New Mexico State’s Kelsey Brennan, Jennah DeVries and Desiree Scott, Utah State’s Liz McArthur, Shay Sorensen and Josselyn White, Fresno State’s Brianna Clarke and Idaho’s Allison Walker.
Nine of the 12 student-athletes selected to the preseason all-WAC team were named to the 2010 all-WAC teams. Seven members were first team all-WAC honorees a year ago (Brennan, Danielson, DeVries, Hewitt, McArthur, Satele and Walker), while two 2010 second team honorees are on the team (Clarke and Hartong).
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 (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State went 1-2 at the Fresno State Classic, where it fell to Cal Poly (25-18, 18-25, 25-21, 19-25, 7-15) and No. 20 San Diego (23-25, 16-25, 16-25) and defeated Long Island (25-21, 25-23, 25-20) ... Libero Korrin Wild was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 5.91 digs per set over the three matches. She had a career-high 29 digs in the season opener vs. Cal Poly ... Marissa Brand posted double-doubles in all three matches – she had 18 kills and 11 digs vs. Cal Poly, 12 kills and 13 digs vs. Long Island and 10 kills and 12 digs vs. San Diego ... Setter Barbara Alcantara had double-doubles against Cal Poly (21 assists, 13 digs) and Long Island (21 assists, 11 digs) ... As a team, the Bulldogs rank third in the WAC in service aces (1.45) and digs (16.00), and fourth in assists (12.09) ... Brianna Clarke ranks third in the conference in hitting percentage (.394) and seventh in blocks (1.09) ... The Bulldogs travel to the Sacramento State Invitational this weekend, where they will face Cal State Northridge, Marist and the host Hornets.
HAWAI‘I RAINBOW WAHINE (3-0, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i went a perfect 3-0 at the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational, defeating San Francisco (25-22, 25-12, 25-23), Wichita State (21-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-18) and Arizona (25-12, 25-16, 25-20) ... Kanani Danielson was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after averaging 4.00 kills on .303 hitting, 2.80 digs, 0.70 assists and 0.60 blocks over the three matches ... Emily Hartong and Brittany Hewitt were also named to the all-tournament team. Hartong averaged 2.56 kills on .514 hitting, 1.00 blocks and 0.67 service aces, while Hewitt averaged 2.50 kills on .392 hitting, 0.90 blocks and 0.70 digs per set ... As a team, Hawai‘i leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.317), assists (14.10), kills (14.90) and service aces (2.20) ... The Rainbow Wahine have four players ranked in the top 10 in the WAC in hitting percentage – Hartong (first, .514), Hewitt (fourth, .392), Chanteal Satele (eighth, .358) and Danielson (ninth, .303) ... Setter Mita Uiato leads the WAC with 12.00 assists per set ... The Rainbow Wahine host the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic this weekend, where they will face No. 22 Ohio State, No. 23 Long Beach State and No. 12 UCLA.
IDAHO VANDALS (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho went 1-2 at the Shamrock Invitational, defeating Butler (25-21, 25-14, 21-25, 22-25, 15-11), before falling to Notre Dame (22-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-25) and Eastern Michigan (19-25, 22-25, 21-25) ... Allison Walker earned all-tournament team honors after averaging 4.42 kills, 3.42 digs and 0.75 blocks per set. She posted double-doubles in all three many matches – 20 kills and 11 digs vs. Butler, 23 kills and 16 digs at Notre Dame and 10 kills and 14 digs vs. Eastern Michigan ... Against Eastern Michigan, Alex Sele hit a career-high .583 ... The Vandals led the Shamrock Invitational with a .227 hitting percentage ... Cassie Hamilton recorded her 1,000th career dig in Idaho’s match against Eastern Michigan. With 1,008, she ranks eighth in Idaho history in that category ... The Vandals rank second in the WAC in hitting percentage (.227), third in assists (12.42), and fourth in blocks (1.96), digs (15.75) and kills (12.75) ... Walker leads the league in kills and ranks ninth in digs ... Idaho travels to Manhattan, Kan., for the Kansas State Invitational this weekend, where it will face Brigham Young, Georgia Southern and the host Wildcats.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 1-2 at the Bearkat Invitational, defeating Rutgers (25-23, 24-26, 20-25, 25-19, 15-12) and falling to Texas Pan-American (27-29, 21-25, 23-25) and Sam Houston State (24-26, 9-25, 20-25) ... Junior transfer Stephany Salas recorded a career-high 28 digs vs. Rutgers and was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 5.91 digs per set over the three matches ... Tech is 7-17 in season openers after falling to UTPA ... Clara Vido recorded her first double-double of the season against Rutgers, posting 21 kills and 11 digs ... Bianca Bin also recorded a double-double against Rutgers as she totaled 43 assists and 10 digs ... Louisiana Tech is now 3-3 against Big East opponents after defeating Rutgers ... Salas is tied for first in the WAC in digs per set (5.91) ... Vido is second in the WAC in points (4.61), third in kills (4.11) and ninth in service aces (0.33) ... The Techsters travel to Mobile, Ala., for the South Alabama Tournament this weekend, where they will face Southeastern Louisiana, Alabama A&M, Samford and the host Jaguars.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (0-3, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada went 0-3 at the Aztec Invitational, falling to Portland (24-26, 25-23, 21-25, 25-23, 12-15), UC Irvine (14-25, 26-24, 25-27, 18-25) and host San Diego State (20-25, 14-25, 18-25) ... Janelle Batista was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 2.58 kills on .387 hitting and 0.67 blocks over the three matches ... Against Portland, Batista led five Nevada players in double-figure kills with a career- and match-high 20. Grace Anxo (17), Tessa Lea‘ea (14), Erin Garvey (12) and Elissa Ji (12) rounded out the group. Ji added 10 digs to record a double-double ... Tatiana Santiago’s match-high 63 assists was one off her career high, while Kelly Chang posted a career- and match-high 17 digs ... Against UC Irvine, Anxo (11 kills, 10 digs) and Santiago (31 assists, 14 digs) both posted double-doubles ... Batista ranks sixth in the WAC in hitting percentage (.387), followed by teammate Tessa Lea’ea in seventh (.370) ... Grace Anxo leads the conference with 0.67 service aces per set ... The Wolf Pack travel to Portland, Ore., for the Nike Invitational this weekend. They play Washington State, Butler, Texas A&M and the host Portland Pilots.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (2-1, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went 1-1 at the MCM Elegante Tournament, dropping a heartbreaker to No. 5 Nebraska (25-20, 26-24, 13-25, 12-25, 8-15) before sweeping South Florida (25-18, 25-18, 25-17) ... Meredith Hays and Jennah DeVries were named to the all-tournament team. Hays averaged 3.75 kills and 1.62 digs, while DeVries averaged 9.62 assists and 3.62 digs over the two matches ... On Sunday, the Aggies swept Nicholls State (25-18, 25-18, 25-15) in their home opener ... Hays finished with a match-high 16 kills ... DeVries has tallied double-doubles in all three matches this season (40 assists and 17 digs vs. Nebraska, 37 assists and 12 digs vs. USF, and 33 assists and 12 digs vs. McNeese State ... Hays ranks second in the WAC in kills (4.18) and third in points (4.55) ... Deirdre Pajares is second in the WAC in hitting percentage (.421), while Kelsey Brennan is fifth (.390) ... Michelle Kuester ranks fourth in the conference in blocks (1.36) ... NM State ranks second in the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.145), and third in kills (12.82) and blocks (2.00) ... The Aggies host the Hotel Encanto Classic this weekend, where they will face Grambling State, Arkansas-Little Rock and LSU.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State went 1-2 at the Arizona State Classic, falling to UW-Milwaukee (22-25, 20-25, 25-20, 22-25) and Denver (22-25, 22-25, 25-16, 19-25) before defeating the host Sun Devils (25-22, 25-22, 16-25, 25-23) ... Taylor Japhet was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 3.67 kills and 2.00 digs over the three matches ... Japhet posted her first double-double of the season with 19 kills and 10 digs against Denver ... Freshman Savanah Leaf recorded her first two collegiate double-doubles with 11 kills and 14 digs against Denver and 21 kills and 14 digs against Arizona State ... In the win over Arizona State, the Spartans out-blocked the Sun Devils 11-8 ... Setter Caitlin Andrade ranks third in the WAC with 10.92 assists per set ... Japhet ranks fifth in the conference in kills (3.67), while Leaf is eighth (3.33) ... Alex Akana ranks fifth in the WAC with 1.20 blocks per set ... As a team, San Jose State ranks second in the WAC in both assists (12.92) and kills (13.67) ... The Spartans travel to Flagstaff, Ariz., this weekend for the Fiesta Bowl Tournament, where they will face New Mexico, Hampton and host Northern Arizona.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State went 1-2 at the Southern Utah Tournament, sweeping Drake (25-20, 25-16, 25-22) and falling to Pacific (13-25, 18-25, 17-25) and the host Thunderbirds (25-23, 24-26, 25-13, 18-25, 13-15) ... Libero Laurel Bodily was named to the all-tournament team as she averaged 4.45 digs per set. Bodily began the tournament with 15 digs against the Tigers, had 16 digs against the Bulldogs and then recorded a career-high 18 digs against SUU. It is the first time in her career that Bodily has been named to an all-tournament team ... As a team, the Aggies lead the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.142) and blocks (3.55), and ranks second in digs (16.91) ... Utah State boasts the top three blockers in the WAC – Josselyn White (1.56), Nicole Gneiting-Theurer (1.40) and Alyssa Everett (1.38) ... Kassi Hargrove ranks third in the conference in digs (4.75) and fifth in assists (9.38) ... Bodily is fourth in the WAC in digs (4.45), while White is sixth in service aces (0.44) and Liz McArthur is 10th in kills (3.18) ... The Aggies host the Utah State Invitational this weekend, where they will face Idaho State, Syracuse and Texas State.