UTAH STATE’S VAN HOFF EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Utah State sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Van Hoff has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 1-7. This is her first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Draper, Utah, native averaged a remarkable 2.12 blocks and 2.00 kills on .300 hitting as the Aggies went undefeated on the week. She posted a career-high .333 attack percentage and added seven total blocks as Utah State swept New Mexico State last Thursday, handing NM State its first conference loss of the season to take over first place in the WAC standings. Van Hoff then tied a career high with 10 block assists in five-set win over Denver on Saturday, registering four blocks in the third set alone. It was the Aggies’ fourth-straight victory, having won seven of their last eight matches. Van Hoff entered the week averaging 1.30 kills on .144 hitting and 1.21 blocks per set.
Other nominees included: Colleen King of Denver averaged 3.38 kills on .339 hitting last week ... Idaho’s Alyssa Schultz averaged 2.80 kills on .448 hitting and 1.40 blocks per set as the Vandals went 1-0 last week ... Desiree Scott of New Mexico State averaged 2.43 kills on .355 hitting and 1.14 blocks per set as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week ... Seattle U’s Andi Lowrance finished with 13 kills on .524 hitting in a loss to Idaho ... Ashley Bennett of UT Arlington averaged 2.43 kills on .444 hitting last week ... UTSA’s Whitney Walls averaged 3.50 kills on .395 hitting and 0.50 blocks per set as the Roadrunners went 2-0 on the week ... Amari Deardorff of Texas State averaged 4.00 kills on .403 hitting and 0.71 blocks per set as the Bobcats went 2-0 on the week.
NEW MEXICO STATE RANKS NATIONALLY IN ATTENDANCE
New Mexico State currently ranks 20th nationally in attendance with an average of 1,698 fans per match. The Aggies have ranked in the top 25 in attendance every year since joining the WAC in 2005. NM State’s highest ranking as a member of the WAC came in 2005, when the Aggies were 11th with an average attendance of 2,075.
BAKER EXTENDS DOUBLE-DIGIT KILL STREAK TO 33 MATCHES
Idaho junior Allison (Walker) Baker has posted double-digit kills in 33 consecutive matches, dating back to Sept. 16, 2011. In her two-plus years as a Vandal, the outside hitter has had 10 or more kills in 64 of the 72 matches she has played, or 89 percent.
WAC STAT LEADERS
In team statistics, UTSA leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.154), assists (12.81), kills (13.89) and digs (18.73). Denver is tops in hitting percentage (.238), while Utah State leads the WAC in blocks (2.99) and Seattle U is tops in service aces (1.32).
Individually, Idaho’s Allison (Walker) Baker leads the WAC in kills (4.48) and points (4.94). Denver’s Faimie Kingsley is tops in hitting percentage (.369) and blocks (1.67), while San Jose State’s Michaela Leonard leads the league in assists (11.32). Kaytlyn Dill of Seattle U leads the WAC in service aces (0.48), while UTSA’s Annie Kunes is tops in digs (4.88).
In WAC matches, UTSA leads the league in assists (13.16), kills (13.92) and digs (20.44). Idaho is tops in hitting percentage (.238), while Utah State leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.136). Denver is tops in blocks (2.94), while Seattle U is tops in service aces (1.53).
Individually, UTSA’s McKenzie Adams leads the WAC in kills (4.60) and points (5.14) in WAC matches. Alyssa Schultz of Idaho is tops in hitting percentage (.400), while San Jose State’s Michaela Leonard leads the league in assists (11.77). Idaho’s Jenna Ellis is tops in service aces (0.57), while Kingsley leads the WAC in blocks (1.92) and Kunes is tops in digs (6.00).
WAC TOURNAMENT TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Tickets for the 2012 WAC Volleyball Tournament are on sale now. The tournament will be held Nov. 19-21 at the Convocation Center in San Antonio, Texas, on the campus of UTSA.
The 2012 tournament will consist of seven matches in three sessions (one session per day). Ticket prices are as follows:
All-Session: $21
Single-Session Adult: $10
Single-Session Senior/Youth: $7
Single-Session WAC Students: $5
Children two and under do not need a ticket. Tickets can be purchased online at goutsa.com or by calling (210) 458-UTSA.
2012 WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday, Nov. 19 (Quarterfinals)
Match 1 - No. 6 seed vs. No. 3 seed noon
Match 2 - No. 7 seed vs. No. 2 seed 2:30 p.m.
Match 3 - No. 5 seed vs. No. 4 seed 5 p.m.
Match 4 - No. 8 seed vs. No. 1 seed 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 20 (Semifinals)
Match 5 - Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 4 p.m.
Match 6 - Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 21 (Championship)
Match 7 - Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
DENVER PIONEERS (8-9, 2-5 WAC)
The Pioneers were swept at San Jose State (15-25, 18-25, 23-25) last Thursday and fell in five sets at Utah State (23-25, 25-21, 26-24, 21-25, 7-15) on Saturday ... Against the Spartans, Faimie Kingsley had a team-best 12 kills to go along with five blocks ... In the loss to the Aggies, Colleen King posted a match-high 22 kills, while Bailey Karst dished out 47 assists and Kate Acker posted a team-high 17 digs ... Kingsley has 412 career blocks, good for third place all-time at DU and 52 shy of the record ... Denver leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.238), ranks second in blocks (2.67), third in opponent hitting percentage (.175), and fifth in kills (12.33) ... Kingsley leads the WAC and ranks fourth nationally in blocks (1.67) and leads the league and ranks 45th in the nation in hitting percentage (.369) ... Frances Carroll ranks fifth in the WAC in service aces (0.30) ... King ranks seventh in the WAC in kills (2.90) and eighth in hitting percentage (.274) ... The Pioneers host Texas State on Thursday and UTSA on Saturday.
IDAHO VANDALS (7-10, 5-2 WAC)
The Vandals defeated Seattle U in five sets (25-16, 19-25, 25-18, 19-25, 15-13) last Friday in their only match of the week ... The win was Idaho’s fourth straight ... Allison (Walker) Baker had 20 kills and 17 digs for her WAC-best 12th double-double ... Jenna Ellis had a career-high six service aces, the sixth highest single-match total in Idaho history ... The Vandals posted a season-high 12 aces ... Baker has posted double-digit kills in 33 consecutive matches ... Idaho ranks fourth in the WAC in hitting percentage (.208), assists (11.45) and blocks (2.31), and fifth in service aces (1.20) and digs (14.34) ... Baker leads the league and ranks 14th nationally in kills (4.48) and is tops in the WAC and 22nd in the nation in points (4.94) ... Alyssa Schultz ranks third in the conference in hitting percentage (.361) and fourth in blocks (1.20) ... Janelle Chow is second in the WAC in digs (4.06), while Ellis is third in service aces (0.38) ... The Vandals play at UT Arlington on Thursday and at Louisiana Tech on Friday.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (3-16, 0-7 WAC)
The Lady Techsters fell at UTSA (17-25, 15-25, 19-25) last Thursday and at Texas State (21-25, 24-26, 16-25) on Saturday ... Against the Roadrunners, Maria Coelho dished out 25 assists, while Stephany Salas finished with 15 digs ... As a team, the Lady Techsters had a season-low one block in the loss at UTSA ... Against the Bobcats, Clara Vido had a match-high 13 kills, while Salas had a match-high 16 digs ... It was the fifth time this season that Vido had 10 or more kills ... Coelho ranks sixth in the conference in assists per set (7.98), while Salas is 10th in digs (3.27) ... In WAC matches only, Coelho ranks sixth in the league in assists (8.29), while Ana Rodrigues ranks 10th in digs (3.50) ... Vido ranks seventh in the conference in WAC matches in kills (3.26) and eighth in points (3.65) ... Louisiana Tech hosts Seattle U on Thursday and Idaho on Friday.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (12-5, 6-1 WAC)
The Aggies suffered their first WAC loss at Utah State (21-25, 25-27, 16-25) last Thursday, then defeated San Jose State in four sets (25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23) on Saturday ... Against USU, Desiree Scott had a team-high seven kills, while Stephanie Ziegler had 11 digs ... In the win over the Spartans, Meredith Hays had a double-double of 14 kills and 12 digs, while Lauren Loerch had 11 kills, and Preslie Alexander and Desiree Scott had 10 each ... NM State ranks second in the WAC in hitting percentage (.228) and service aces (1.31), third in assists (12.01), kills (13.15) and blocks (2.48), and fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.178) ... Hays ranks second in the WAC and 46th nationally in points (4.62), third in the WAC and 42nd in the nation kills (4.06), and 10th in the league in service aces (0.25) ... Scott ranks fifth in the league in both blocks (1.15) and hitting percentage (.326), while Hannah Walker is eighth in aces (0.27) ... The Aggies host UTSA on Thursday and Texas State on Saturday.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (8-10, 4-4 WAC)
The Spartans swept Denver (25-15, 25-18, 25-23) last Thursday, then fell in four sets (21-25, 20-25, 25-23, 23-25) to New Mexico State on Saturday ... Against the Pioneers, Mary Alice O’Reilly hit a WAC-best .800 for the match with 12 kills on 15 attempts and no hitting errors ... Against the Aggies, Hanah Blume posted her 10th double-double of the season with 15 kills and 10 digs, while O’Reilly just missed a double-double with 10 kills and nine blocks ... San Jose State ranks second in the WAC in assists (12.47), kills (13.26) and digs (16.65), third in service aces (1.28) and fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.193) ... Michaela Leonard leads the league and ranks 24th nationally in assists (11.32), and ranks sixth in the WAC in service aces (0.28) ... O’Reilly ranks fourth in the WAC in hitting percentage (.336), fifth in points (3.70) and sixth in kills (3.10) ... Kiely Pieper ranks fifth in the WAC in digs (3.75), while Blume is ninth (3.54) ... San Jose State plays at Utah State on Saturday in its only match this week.
SEATTLE U REDHAWKS (6-11, 1-6 WAC)
The Redhawks fell in five sets (16-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 13-15) to Idaho last Friday ... Kaytlyn Dill finished with 22 kills and 17 digs for her fifth-straight double-double and seventh in the last eight matches ... She also extended her streak of double-digit dig matches to nine ... Jacquie Brice had her fifth double-double of the season with 55 assists and 14 digs, while Lani Beadle tallied a career-high 30 digs, the most in a match by a Redhawk since the 2008 season ... It was Seattle U’s seventh five-set match of the season ... Dill ranks fifth all-time in service aces at Seattle U with 105, three shy of fourth place ... Seattle U leads the WAC in service aces (1.32), while Dill leads the conference and ranks 16th nationally in aces (0.48) ... Dill also ranks fourth in the WAC in points (4.41) and kills (3.70), while Brice is fifth in assists (9.80) and Beadle is seventh in digs (3.70) ... The Redhawks play at Louisiana Tech on Thursday and at UT Arlington on Saturday.
UT ARLINGTON MAVERICKS (6-13, 2-5 WAC)
The Mavericks fell at Texas State (18-25, 14-25, 25-18, 15-25) last Thursday and at UTSA (18-25, 7-25, 18-25) on Saturday ... Against the Bobcats, Ashley Bennett led the team with 11 kills and five blocks, while Amy Davault had 10 kills ... Valerie Stetzer posted a match-high 18 digs, while Shelby Dickson added 13 ... In the loss to the Roadrunners, Bennett led UTA with six kills, while Amanda Welsh dished out 18 assists ... Bennett leads the team in total blocks (66) and blocks per set (0.97), ranks fourth in kills (117) and fifth in kills per set (1.72) ... The Mavericks rank third in the WAC in digs (15.50) ... Welsh ranks fourth in the WAC in assists (9.82) and ninth in service aces (0.26), while Dickson ranks tied for fifth in digs per set (3.75) ... In WAC matches only, Welsh ranks fifth in the conference in assists (9.96), Bennett is seventh in hitting percentage (.340) and Stetzer is seventh in digs (3.71) ... UT Arlington hosts Idaho on Thursday and Seattle U on Saturday.
UTSA ROADRUNNERS (12-5, 5-2 WAC)
The Roadrunners swept Louisiana Tech (25-17, 25-15, 25-19) last Thursday and UT Arlington (25-18, 25-7, 25-18) on Saturday ... Against LA Tech, Whitney Walls led the team with 11 kills, while Erin Foley racked up a season-high five service aces ... Against the Mavericks, McKenzie Adams posted her 11th double-double of the season with 15 digs and 11 kills, while Brandy Huskey had a match-best 31 assists and Annie Kunes logged a match-high 24 digs ... Brittney Malloy currently ranks third all-time at UTSA with 357 career blocks ... UTSA leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.154), assists (12.81), kills (13.89) and digs (18.73) ... Kunes leads the WAC in digs (4.88), while Huskey is second in assists (10.38) ... Adams is second in the WAC and 40th nationally in kills (4.10), and third in the WAC and 49th in the nation in points (4.56) ... The Roadrunners play at New Mexico State on Thursday and at Denver on Saturday.
TEXAS STATE BOBCATS (9-9, 4-3 WAC)
The Bobcats defeated UT Arlington (25-18, 25-14, 18-25, 25-15) last Thursday and swept Louisiana Tech (25-21, 26-24, 25-16) on Saturday ... Against UTA, Amari Deardorff had 16 kills on .455 hitting, the highest qualifying hitting percentage for any Bobcat in a match this season ... Alexandra Simms posted a career-high 15 kills, while Ashlee Hilbun registered 10 kills, 12 digs and five blocks for her first double-double of the season and third of her career ... Against LA Tech, Deardorff had a team-high 12 kills ... As a team, the Bobcats rank fourth in the WAC in service aces (1.21) and digs (14.38) ... Simms ranks fifth in the WAC in kills (3.13) and seventh in points (3.48) ... Sierra Smith is seventh in the WAC in service aces (0.27), while Caleigh McCorquodale ranks ninth in assists (6.47) ... In WAC matches only, Texas State ranks third in the conference in assists (12.04) ... The Bobcats play at Denver on Thursday and at New Mexico State on Saturday.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (12-5, 7-1 WAC)
Utah State swept New Mexico State (25-21, 27-25, 25-16) last Thursday, then defeated Denver in five sets (25-23, 21-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-7) on Saturday to take over the top spot in the WAC standings ... Against NM State, Paige Neves just missed a double-double, finishing with 24 assists and nine digs, while Ashlan Rogers had 11 digs ... Against DU,
Kaitlyn Van Hoff had a match-high 10 blocks, while Rachel Orr had a team-high 15 kills ... Shay Sorensen tallied 12 kills and 15 digs for her seventh double-double of the season, while Neves dished out a match-best 53 assists to go with 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the year ... With 1,488 career assists, Neves ranks ninth all-time in the Utah State record books, seven shy of eighth place ... White has 289 career blocks, good for ninth place all-time at USU and 17 shy of eighth ... Utah State leads the WAC and ranks eighth nationally in blocks (2.99) ... Elle Brainard ranks second in the WAC in blocks (1.55), while Van Hoff is third (1.33) ... The Aggies host Utah Valley on Tuesday and San Jose State on Saturday.