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 Sept. 19-25. This is the second WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and 10th of her career for Danielson.
The Ewa Beach, O‘ahu, native posted a pair of double-doubles as she led the Rainbow Wahine to WAC wins over Idaho and Utah State. She opened the week with a season-high 24 kills and 10 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. In the fourth and final set, she recorded her 1,000th career dig, becoming the seventh player in Hawai‘i history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs for her career. On Saturday, Danielson nearly posted a triple-double, finishing with 19 kills, 11 digs and eight blocks. It was her WAC-leading ninth double-double of the season. For the week, she averaged 5.38 kills on .383 hitting, 2.62 digs, 1.25 blocks and 6.19 points per set.
Other nominees included: Fresno State’s Korrin Wild averaged 4.00 kills and 2.20 digs on the week ... Allison Walker of Idaho 5.14 kills and 4.14 digs per set as the Vandals went 1-1 on the week ... Louisiana Tech’s Bianca Bin averaged 7.00 assists, 1.33 blocks, 1.00 kills and 1.00 digs ... Janelle Batista of Nevada averaged 3.38 kills and 0.50 service aces per set last week ... New Mexico State’s Desiree Scott posted a season-high .714 hitting percentage in a win over Louisiana Tech ... Liz McArthur of Utah State averaged 4.71 kills and 2.14 digs as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week..
DANIELSON JOINS 1,000-KILL, 1,000-DIG CLUB
In the fourth and final set of a win at Idaho on Sept. 22, Hawai‘i’s Kanani Danielson recorded her 1,000th career dig. In doing so, she became the seventh player in Rainbow Wahine history to surpass 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. The senior now has 1,487 kills and 1,013 digs on her career.
WAC STAT LEADERS
In team statistics, Hawai‘i leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.302), assists (13.65) and kills (14.85). Utah State is tops in blocks (3.02) and digs (16.79). Meanwhile, New Mexico State leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.142), while Fresno State is tops in service aces (1.45).
Individually, New Mexico State’s Meredith Hays leads the WAC in kills (4.22), while Kanani Danielson of Hawai‘i is the leader in points (4.83). Hawai‘i’s Emily Hartong and Mita Uiato are tops in hitting percentage (.396) and assists (11.46), respectively, while Idaho’s Alyssa Schultz is tops in blocks (1.47). Grace Anxo of Nevada leads the WAC in service aces (0.40), while Stephany Salas of Louisiana Tech is tops in digs (5.12).
In WAC matches, New Mexico State leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.148), assists (14.00) and service aces (3.00). Hawai‘i leads the WAC in blocks (3.19) and kills (15.38), while Fresno State leads the league in hitting percentage (.289). Meanwhile, Idaho is tops in digs (17.43).
Individually, Danielson leads the WAC in kills (5.38) and points (6.19). Fresno State’s Brianna Clarke is tops in hitting percentage (.562), while teammate Maci Murdock leads the league in blocks (1.60). Jennah DeVries and Brynja Rodgers of New Mexico State are the leaders in assists (12.67) and service aces (1.00), respectively, while Idaho’s Cassie Hamilton is tops in digs (5.71).
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 (4-7, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State defeated Cal State Bakersfield last Thursday (22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 27-25) and defeated Nevada in five sets on Saturday (21-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 15-10), its first win at Nevada since 2003 ... Korrin Wild recorded her first career double-double of 13 kills and 12 digs in the win over Bakersfield ... In the win over Nevada, Wild landed a career-high 23 kills, to go with eight digs and five blocks ... Wild ranks third in the WAC in service aces (0.32) and fifth in digs (3.83) ... Barbara Alcantara is seventh in service aces (0.28), while Cecilia Agraz is eighth (0.27) ... Brianna Clarke is sixth in the WAC with a .323 hitting percentage ... As a team, Fresno State leads the WAC in service aces per set (1.45), ranks third in assists (11.89), and fourth in both kills (12.43) and hitting percentage (.183) ... In WAC matches only, Fresno State leads the league in hitting percentage (.289), ranks third in assists (12.60), blocks (2.50) and service aces (1.00), and fourth in kills (13.20) ... In conference-only stats, Clarke leads the league in hitting percentage (.562), while Maci Murdock is tops in blocks (1.60) ... The Bulldogs play at San Jose State on Thursday and at No. 11 Hawai‘i on Saturday.
HAWAI‘I RAINBOW WAHINE (10-1, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i defeated Idaho on Thursday (25-21, 25-19, 17-25, 25-21) and Utah State on Saturday (21-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-20) to extend its WAC regular-season win streak to 43 matches ... In the win over the Vandals, Kanani Danielson finished with a season-high 24 kills and 10 digs to become just the seventh player in Rainbow Wahine history to reach the 1,000-kill, 1,000-dig milestone. She now has 1,487 career kills and 1,013 career digs ... Against Utah State, Danielson had a match-high 19 kills and 11 digs for her WAC-leading ninth double-double of the season and sixth in a row ... As a team, Hawai‘i leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.302), assists (13.65) and kills (14.85) ... Emily Hartong leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.396), while Brittany Hewitt is second (.379), Chanteal Satele is eighth (.309) and Danielson is ninth (.298) ... Danielson leads the WAC in points (4.83) and is second in kills (4.21) ... Hawai‘i leads the nation in attendance with an average of 6,659 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 (5-7, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho went 1-1 last week, falling to No. 11 Hawai‘i on Thursday (21-25, 19-25, 25-17, 21-25) and sweeping San Jose State on Saturday (25-7, 25-19, 25-18) ... Allison Walker had 17 kills and 14 digs against Hawai‘i and 19 kills and 15 digs against San Jose State ... Seven of Walker’s 14 digs against Hawai‘i came in set three, as she helped the Vandals to a 25-17 set victory, snapping UH’s 52-set WAC regular season win streak ... Idaho’s 25-7 win in set one against San Jose State was its largest margin of victory in a set since beating Montana State 25-4 in the first set on Sept. 12, 2010 ... Idaho’s .322 hitting percentage against SJSU was its highest of the season, while the Vandals allowed season lows with 29 kills and a .064 hitting percentage against the Spartans ... The 3-0 win over SJSU was Idaho’s fifth sweep of the season ... As a team, the Vandals rank second in the WAC in hitting percentage (.210), third in kills (12.73) and blocks (2.53), and fourth in assists (11.77) ... Alyssa Schultz leads the WAC in blocks per set (1.47), while Walker is third in both kills (3.96) and points (4.42) ... Idaho plays at New Mexico State on Thursday and at Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (8-7, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech was swept by New Mexico State (19-25, 20-25, 15-25) in its only match last week ... Clara Vido posted a team-high eight kills in the loss ... Bianca Bin has 3,112 career assists, good for fourth all-time in LA Tech’s record book and 448 shy of third ... As a team, LA Tech ranks second in the WAC in digs (16.00), opponent hitting percentage (.166) and service aces (1.43) ... Stephany Salas leads the WAC and ranks 32nd nationally with 5.12 digs per set ... Vido ranks seventh in the WAC in digs (3.27), eighth in kills (3.07) and 10th in points (3.41) ... Bin ranks seventh in the WAC with 8.12 assists per set ... Emily Maher and Regan Himmelberg rank ninth and 10th, respectively, with 0.27 and 0.25 service aces per set ... In WAC play, Bin ranks second in the league with 1.33 blocks per set ... Vido is tied for second in the WAC with eight double-doubles on the season ... The Techsters host Utah on Thursday and Idaho on Saturday.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (2-8, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada was swept by UNLV last Wednesday (17-25, 19-25, 18-25), then fell in five sets (25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 19-25, 10-15) to Fresno State on Saturday ... Janelle Batista led the team with 17 kills on .500 hitting vs. the Bulldogs ... The Wolf Pack tied a season high with nine service aces against Fresno State ... As a team, Nevada ranks third in the WAC in service aces (1.36) ... Grace Anxo leads the conference with 0.40 service aces per set, while Tessa Lea‘ea is seventh in hitting percentage (.312) ... Batista ranks fourth in the WAC in hitting percentage (.345) and ninth in both kills (2.97) and points (3.54) ... Tatiana Santiago is fifth in the conference in assists (9.22), while Kelly Chang is sixth in digs (3.36) ... In WAC matches only, Nevada is second in service aces (1.80) and fourth in hitting percentage (.228) ... In conference-only statistics, Batista is second in hitting percentage (.500), and eighth in kills (3.40) and points (4.10) ... The Wolf Pack play at No. 11 Hawai‘i on Thursday and at San Jose State on Saturday ... Against Hawai‘i, three Wolf Pack players will return to their home state – Santiago, Chang and Elissa Ji. Santiago is from Kahuku, Hawai‘i, while Chang and Ji are from Honolulu.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (10-4, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State swept Louisiana Tech on Saturday (25-19, 25-20, 25-15) in their only match last week ... Meredith Hays led all players with 12 kills ... The Aggies tallied a season-high nine service aces and a season-low three total blocks in the win ... NM State ranks 31st nationally in assists (13.04) and 39th in kills (13.88) ... Hays has reached double-digit kills in 13 of 15 matches and has six double-doubles on the season ... Hays leads the WAC in kills (4.22) and ranks second in points (4.69) ... Jennah DeVries ranks third in the conference and 49th nationally in assists (10.73) ... Kelsey Brennan is third in the league in hitting percentage (.353), while Kelsi Phillips is fourth in both digs (4.12) and service aces (0.31) ... Michelle Kuester is fifth in the WAC in blocks (1.16) and 10th in hitting percentage (.298) ... As a team, NM State leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.142), is second in assists (13.04) and kills (13.88), and third in hitting percentage (.202) and digs (15.29) ... In WAC matches, NM State is tops in assists (14.00), aces (3.00) and opponent hitting percentage (.148) ... The Aggies host Idaho on Thursday and Utah State on Saturday.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (5-7, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State went 0-2 last week, falling at Utah State on Thursday (18-25, 20-25, 12-25) and at Idaho on Saturday (7-25, 19-25, 18-25) ... Against the Aggies, Alex Akana led the Spartans with nine kills and had just one hitting error on 16 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage ... Against Idaho, Brianna Amian led the Spartans with seven kills and seven digs ... Caitlin Andrade remains in eighth place on the Spartan career assists list with 2,250. She needs 80 assists to move into seventh place and is 211 away from sixth ... Andrade ranks fourth in the WAC with 9.34 assists per set, while Akana is eighth in blocks (1.11) ... As a team, SJSU ranks fourth in the WAC in blocks (2.27) and digs (15.02), and fifth in hitting percentage (.167), opponent hitting percentage (.195), assists (11.34) and kills (12.04) ... In WAC matches only, San Jose State ranks third in the conference in digs (15.33) ... The Spartans host Fresno State on Thursday and Nevada on Saturday.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (5-8, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State swept San Jose State last Thursday (25-18, 25-20, 25-12) and fell in four sets to No. 11 Hawai‘i on Saturday (25-21, 16-25, 15-25, 20-25) ... Against the Spartans, Liz McArthur had 17 kills and 12 digs for her eighth double-double of the season and 20th of her career ... USU hit a season-high .290 against SJSU ... Against the Rainbow Wahine, McArthur had a team-best 16 kills ... As a team, the Aggies lead the WAC and rank eighth nationally in blocks (3.02) and lead the league and rank 35th nationally in digs (16.79) ... Utah State boasts four of the top 10 blockers in the WAC – Alyssa Everett (3rd, 1.34), Kaitlyn VanHoff (4th, 1.30), Nicole Gneiting-Theurer (6th, 1.14) and Josselyn White (7th, 1.14) ... McArthur ranks sixth in the WAC in kills (3.68) and seventh in points (4.08), while White is eighth in points (3.76) and 10th in kills (2.94) ... McArthur ranks third all-time at Utah State in career attempts (3,712), sixth in kills (1,235) and 10th in service aces (83) ... The Aggies play at Louisiana Tech on Thursday and at New Mexico State on Saturday.