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SAN BRUNO, Calif. --- Throughout October, also known as "Breast Cancer Awareness Month," all eight WCC volleyball teams will be hosting a "Dig Pink" match to help promote breast cancer awareness and raise funds to benefit the Side-Out Foundation, a national 501(c)(3) located in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Breast Cancer research nationally through volleyball tournaments, clinics, and rallies.
Each WCC team will wear its official WCC Dig Pink T-shirts and reach out to fans and local communities to fundraise money as part of the nationwide effort supported by the Side-Out Foundation, which was established in 2004 to unite volleyball players and coaches around the common goal of increasing breast cancer education and finding a cure.
The Saint Mary's Gaels hosted the first 2010 WCC Dig Pink match in Moraga, CA last Saturday and invited fans to donate online and participate in both a raffle and silent auction. Today, Pepperdine will be hosting its Dig Pink match at 7 PM and will be giving away 100 free Dig Pink T-shirts to the first 100 women in the stands, while USF will be hosting its Art & Wine Festival on Saturday at 5 PM (before the USF-SMC conference matchup) in the upper level hospitality area of War Memorial Gym. Admission to the festival is $25.
To join the WCC in the Dig Pink campaign, attend any of the upcoming WCC Dig Pink matches or donate directly online at digpink.org.
2010 WCC Dig Pink Dates October 14 - GON @ PEP @ 7 PM October 16 - SMC @ USF @ 7 PM October 22 - USF @ SCU @ 6 PM October 23 - GON @ POR @ 1 PM October 23 - PEP @ USD @ 1 PM October 30 - SCU @ LMU @ 1 PM October 30 - USD @ GON @ 12 PM
Upcoming Schedule OCTOBER 12 (TUESDAY) BYU at Weber State, 7 p.m. OCTOBER 14 (THURSDAY) *AIR FORCE at BYU, 7 p.m. *UNLV at UTAH, 7 p.m. *NEW MEXICO at WYOMING, 7 p.m. *TCU at #16 COLORADO STATE, 7:30 p.m. (The Mtn.) OCTOBER 15 (FRIDAY) Seattle at SAN DIEGO STATE, 7 p.m. OCTOBER 16 (SATURDAY) *AIR FORCE at UTAH, 1 p.m. *TCU at WYOMING, 1 p.m. *UNLV at BYU, 7 p.m. *NEW MEXICO at #16 COLORADO STATE, 7 p.m. MWC teams in all CAPS. Home team in bold. All times local to site. DirecTV Channel Listing for MWC Volleyball Matches 374 - BYU-TV 613 - CBS College Sports 616 - The Mtn. Have You Heard? MWC Volleyball Edition • Week 8 Preview ... Eight Mountain West Conference and two non-conference matches dot the volleyball schedule this week. The nationally-televised match of the week will feature second-place TCU at No. 16 Colorado State, the league leaders, on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. AnneMarie Anderson and Amy Gant will call the action for The Mtn. from Moby Arena. ... BYU, Utah and Wyoming will also host home matches this week on Thursday and Saturday as Air Force, UNLV and New Mexico join TCU on the road ... BYU will play Weber State on Tuesday night, while San Diego State hosts Seattle on Friday night in non-conference action. • Week 7 Review ... No. 17 Colorado State (5-0) added to its league lead with wins at Air Force and UNLV ... TCU (3-1) moved into second with a win over New Mexico, while Wyoming (3-2) moved into third with a loss at UNLV and a win over Air Force ... San Diego State is in fourth at 3-3 after a loss to BYU and win over Utah ... New Mexico and Utah are also sitting at .500 at 2-2 after road losses last week. • The Mountain West Conference is on track to set new volleyball attendance records. MWC volleyball fans are coming through the turnstiles at an average of 996 per home match with a total of 76,727 watching 77 home matches across the league. The first season over 100,000 fans watched MWC volleyball was in 2009 (114,357) with a final average of 953. The last time the league had averaged over 900 fans per match previous to the 2009 season was in the 2001 season (925). With 59 home matches remaining on the schedule, the opportunity is there greatly surpass last year’s total. • And … if you can’t make it out to your favorite MWC volleyball arena for a match or want to see how other teams are doing, you can be one of the many fans watching along at home on The Mtn. , CBS College Sports or BYU-TV. Thursday, Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. (MT), TCU is at No. 16 Colorado State on The Mtn. … If you have DirecTV, that’s channel 616 or check with your local cable operator for the channel listing in your area … The MWC ranks second in the nation with 19 nationally-televised matches this season. • Three MWC student-athletes were among the 30 candidates for the inaugural Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. New Mexico’s Jade Michaelsen, TCU’s Christy Hudson and Wyoming’s JennaRae Jester are on the list for their excellence on and off the court, and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community and competition. Congratulations, Jade, Christy and JennaRae! • Air Force recorded its largest crowd of the season on Saturday night at Falcon Court at East Gym with 1,284 coming through the doors to watch the Falcons take on Wyoming ... AFA goes back out on the road this week, traveling to BYU and Utah … This season the Falcons, under the direction of new head coach Matt McShane, are playing in the intimate confines of Falcon Court at East Gym after five seasons in Clune Arena … Senior Caroline Kurtz is second in the MWC with 3.68 kills per set and fourth in points at 3.89 ... Senior Kelly Spencer ranks in the MWC top 10 in digs per set with 3.44. • BYU has one more non-conference road match at Weber State on Tuesday before returning to Smith Fieldhouse for matches against Air Force and UNLV on Thursday and Saturday … Sophomore Nicole Warner is ranked 30th in the nation with 1.26 blocks per set this season … Senior setter Kiana Rogers ranks among the top 10 in the league with 9.07 assists and 0.28 service aces per set ... Jennifer Hamson ranks second among league freshmen in points per set with 3.51. • No. 16 Colorado State (15-2) sits atop the leaderboard with the only unblemished conference record at 5-0 as the Rams stay home and host TCU and New Mexico at Moby Arena ... Thursday’s match against TCU will be televised nationally on The Mtn. and will unveil Moby Arena’s new videoboard … The Rams have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 poll all season … Sophomore Megan Plourde is fourth in the nation with 1.62 blocks per set and leads the MWC in hitting percentage at a .374 clip … Junior setter Evan Sanders is second in the league in assists with 10.30 per set. • New Mexico travels up I-25 for matches at Wyoming (Thursday) and (No. 17) Colorado State (Saturday) … Senior Lisa Meeter continues to climb the conference career statistical charts. The all-around player for UNM has 101 career service aces and is closing in on 1,000 career kills (991) and 1,000 career digs (994) ... Junior Ashley Rhoades recorded a career-high 20 kills in the loss at TCU on Friday night from her new outside position. • San Diego State will have just one non-conference match this week at Seattle visits Cox Pavilion on Friday night ... Freshman setter Johnna Fouch leads the league in assists per set (10.34) and ranks 65th in the nation … Sophomore Andrea Hannasch ranks third in the league and 17th in the nation with 1.33 blocks per set ... The Aztecs presented its breast cancer awareness ‘Pink Out’ on Thursday, Oct. 7, against BYU. • TCU takes its second-place standing on the road to league leader No. 16 Colorado State on Thursday in front of a national television audience (The Mtn.) before heading to Laramie for a showdown with Wyoming … TCU suffered an early season loss when setter Megan Munce suffered a leg injury and will be out for the remainder of the season. Munce led the MWC in service aces each of the last two seasons. Sophomore Meghan Horio has stepped in to the setter position … Horio has the two Hester sisters to pick from for an attack. Irene, a senior, leads the league in kills per set with 3.76, while junior Kristen is third in hitting percentage at .354. Both are in the MWC top 10 in service aces with Irene leading the league at 0.44 (32nd in the nation) and Kristen in 10th at 0.27. Irene is 50th in the nation in points per set at 4.44. • UNLV goes on the road this week to face Utah (Thursday) and BYU (Saturday) ... The Rebels celebrated its annual ‘Dig Pink’ Day against then-No. 17 Colorado State on Oct. 9 in efforts to promote breast cancer awareness … Senior Sara Nehf ranks among the top 10 in the conference in kills per set (3.16), while classmate Kela Lau Hee is among the league’s dig leaders with 3.61 per set. • Utah hosts UNLV (Thursday) and Air Force (Saturday) this week after a rough week in San Diego … Freshman Erin Redd is second in the league in attack percentage at .361 … Freshman Morgan Odale is third in kills per set with 3.51 and in points at 4.07 … Senior Keisha Fisher continues to climb the MWC career digs chart. Fisher is currently sixth with 1,379 since the start of the 2007 season and ranks second in the league this season with a 4.14 average per set. • Wyoming continues to add to its best start in program history at 17-3. The Cowgirls started the season with an 11-0 run and are currently in third in the MWC standings ... Wyoming hosts New Mexico (Thursday) and TCU (Saturday) this week … Sophomore Jodi Purdy leads the MWC in service aces with 28 and is second in points per set (4.08) and fourth in kills per set (3.29) … Several Cowgirls round out the Top 10 in MWC hitting percentage – Camille Coffman (.287) and Reese Roehrkasse (.280) … JennaRae Jester is seventh in the nation and second in the league in blocks per set at 1.48 … Sophomore Jadranka Tramosljanin leads the league in digs per set with 4.67. Follow Mountain West Conference Olympic Sports on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TheMWCOlySports or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/MountainWestConference
As competition heats up in conference play, San Diego and Pepperdine continue to be the teams to look out for as both are undefeated after two weeks of WCC competition. In addition to all eight teams competing this week in WCC action, Pepperdine and San Francisco will be hosting their "Dig Pink" matches to help benefit the Side-Out Foundation during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Pepperdine will host its "Dig Pink" match on Thursday at 7:00 PM during its match against Gonzaga, while San Francisco will be hosting an Art & Wine Festival at 5:00 PM before its conference match against Bay Area rival Saint Mary's at 7:00 PM.
AROUND THE WCC
NCAA RELEASES LATEST WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL DIVISION I RPI The NCAA released its latest RPI (Rating Percentage Index), which included games as of October 10, 2010, measuring the of strength of schedule of all the Division I teams across the nation. Below is where the WCC schools fall in this month's report. San Diego - 36 Pepperdine - 49 Saint Mary's - 80 Loyola Marymount - 109 Portland - 137 Santa Clara - 140 San Francisco - 194 Gonzaga - 265
OCTOBER BRINGS WCC "DIG PINK" MATCHES TO RAISE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS Through October ("Breast Cancer Awareness Month"), all eight WCC volleyball teams will be hosting a Dig Pink match to help promote breast cancer awareness and raise funds to benefit the Side-Out Foundation, a national 501(c)(3) located in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Breast Cancer research nationally through volleyball tournaments, clinics, and rallies. Make sure to check each school's website to see what each team is doing on its campus to promote this nationwide effort.
2010 WCC Dig Pink Dates (first school name = host) October 9 - SMC vs. USD @ 1 PM October 14 - PEP vs. GON @ 7 PM October 16 - USF vs. SMC @ 7 PM October 22 - SCU vs. USF @ 6 PM October 23 - POR vs. GON @ 1 PM October 23 - USD vs. PEP @ 1 PM October 30 - LMU vs. SCU @ 1 PM October 30 - GON vs. USD @ 12 PM
SAINT MARY'S HOLDS STEADY AT NO. 23 IN AVCA NATIONAL RANKINGS The University of San Diego women's volleyball team held steady at No. 23 in the latest AVCA top-25 poll after posting a 2-0 record this past week. The Toreros stretched their winning streak to five in a row and 11 of their past 12 matches. The Toreros beat Utah 3-1 at home this past Thursday and then swept No. 25 Saint Mary's in Moraga this past Saturday to knock the Gaels out of this week's rankings.
WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ali Troost, San Diego, SR, RS Senior right side Ali Troost of the 23rd-ranked USD volleyball team was named the WCC Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. This is also the third time this season she has captured this award. Troost, a 6-2 senior from Hemet, Calif., helped lead USD to a pair of wins over Utah and No. 25 Saint Mary's this past week. With the win over SMC, the Toreros remained unblemished in WCC action at 3-0. Troost paced the Toreros offense as she recorded 43 kills (6.14 kps), hit for a .474 clip and racked up 21 digs, while also recording three total blocks. In Saturday's win over SMC, Troost recorded a match-high 15 kills to go along with 12 digs to post a double-double, and she hit for a .414 clip. In Thursday's win over Utah, Troost recorded a season-high 28 kills, while only committing three errors to post a .511 attack percentage, while also recording eight digs. Troost and the Toreros will return to action on Thursday as they travel to the Bay Area to take on the University of San Francisco in a 7 p.m. WCC match.
Also Nominated: Jasmine Rankins, LMU; Kim Hill, PEP; Marissa Plummer, POR; Malina Terrell, USF; Kayla Lommori, SCU
2010 WCC PRESEASON COACHES POLL AND ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM After finishing in second place last season, the San Diego Toreros have been selected to regain the top spot in the 2010 West Coast Conference Coaches Preseason Poll and earn their fourth WCC title in six years. The Toreros received six first place votes and a total of 48 points from the conference coaches, as they return 2009 WCC Player of the Year and All-American Ali Troost, who was named to the preseason all-conference team along with 2008 WCC Player of the Year and All-American Amy DeGroot and 2009 all-conference honorable mention selection Kelsi Myers.
Reigning WCC Champion Saint Mary's took the second place spot with one first place vote and a total of 43 points. Rob Browning, the 2009 WCC Coach of the Year, returns four starters from a team that fell at fourth-seeded Stanford in five sets in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Gaels return 2009 All-WCC First Team member Shannon Lowell, 2009 All-Freshman Team member Lauren Corp, and all-conference honorable mention pick Kapua Kamana'o.
Pepperdine, which received the remaining first place vote, tallied 36 points to earn the third place spot. The Waves return five starters, three of which appeared on last year's all-conference team, including preseason all-conference selection Kim Hill, who garnered First Team honors last season after leading the WCC in hitting percentage. Rounding out the top half of the poll for the second year in a row was Santa Clara with 33 points. Bronco middle blocker Dana Knudsen was selected to this year's preseason all-conference team after earning all-WCC honorable mention honors last season.
San Francisco landed in the fifth spot with 23 points. The Dons return four starters, highlighted by preseason all-conference member Sarah Mandala, a 2009 All-WCC First Team member who led the conference in kills per set last season, while adding 10 newcomers to this year's roster. Gonzaga tallied 18 points for a sixth place finish and return five of its seven starters from last season in Kaprina Goodwin, Caitlin Cozad, Denise Van de Mortel, Laura Day and Allyson Powell.
Portland edged Loyola Marymount for the seventh place spot with 12 points. The team returns preseason all-conference member Ariel Usher, who led the team in points in 2009 and finished in the WCC's Top 10 in hitting percentage. Loyola Marymount rounded out the preseason poll with 11 points and is led this season by first year head coach Tom Black.
2010 Preseason All-Conference Team Lauren Corp, SMC, SO, OH Amy DeGroot, USD, RSR, OH Kim Hill, PEP, JR, MB Kapua Kamana'o, SMC, SR, S Dana Knudsen, SCU, SO, MB Shannon Lowell, SMC, SR, MB Sarah Mandala, USF, SR, OH Kelsi Myers, USD, SR, S Ali Troost, USD, SR, RS Ariel Usher, POR, SO, MB
WCC AMONG ELITE VOLLEYBALL CONFERENCES IN THE COUNTRY Over the last eight seasons, the WCC has established itself as one of the premier women's volleyball conferences in the country. Over the past five seasons, the WCC has appeared in the top five RPI three times. In 2008, the WCC had one of its best seasons, tying for a conference high with the fourth best NCAA RPI ranking in the country. Since then, the WCC has remained in the top 10 in Division I RPI out of the 32 total conferences.
SAINT MARY'S MAKES HISTORY IN 2009 SEASON The Saint Mary's volleyball team clinched the 2009 WCC title by outdueling 2008 WCC Champion San Diego in a five set battle (25-18, 25-19, 20-25, 17-25, and 15-10) that featured 30 ties and 10 lead changes. The win was the Gaels' first ever WCC Championship in program history.
After taking home the championship title, Saint Mary's then finished off the regular season with a sweep over BYU to remain undefeated at home and record the team's third straight sweep. The Gaels' 13-1 record is the best conference finish in school history.
SMC Results in 2009 NCAA Tournament FIRST ROUND SAINT MARY'S def. UC Santa Barbara, 3-2 (24-26, 22-25, 25-20, 25-14, 15-13)
SECOND ROUND No. 4 Stanford def. SAINT MARY'S, 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 24-26, 15-13)
With ARIZONA returning to the national rankings, the Pac-10 now has seven teams ranked in the AVCA poll.
STANFORD leads the five Conference teams in the top 10. Behind the second-ranked Cardinal are No. 5 USC, No. 6 CALIFORNIA, No. 7 WASHINGTON and No. 10 UCLA.
OREGON and the Wildcats are No. 17 and No. 25, respectively ...
The Ducks host OREGON STATE for a Civil War match-up that will be the last McArthur Court meeting in the rivarly ...
Washington, Stanford and Cal rank 1-2-3 nationally in hitting percentage. These prolific offenses will be on display this weekend as the Huskies visit the Bay Area. The Stanford-Washington match will be televised on Fox Sports Net on a tape-delayed basis ...
UCLA and USC leave Los Angeles and head to the desert to face Arizona and ARIZONA STATE.
Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Team Report - Oct. 11
MONDAY, OCTOBER 11 Eastern Illinois at Illinois-Chicago - 7 p.m. Western Illinois at SIU Edwardsville - 7 p.m. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12 Saint Louis at Southeast Missouri - 7 p.m. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14 Southeast Missouri at UT Martin* - 7 p.m. (OVCSports.TV) FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15 Morehead State at Austin Peay* - 6 p.m. Eastern Illinois at UT Martin* - 7 p.m. (OVCSports.TV) Eastern Kentucky at Tennessee State* - 7 p.m. Southeast Missouri at Murray State* - 7 pm. (OVCSports.TV) Jacksonville State at Tennessee Tech* - 7 p.m. (OVCSports.TV) SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16 Eastern Kentucky at Austin Peay* - 2 p.m. Eastern Illinois at Murray State* - 2 p.m. (OVCSports.TV) Morehead State at Tennessee State* - 2 p.m. SIU Edwardsville at Milwaukee - 2 p.m. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17 SIU Edwardsville at DePaul - 2 p.m. * - OVC Games ALL TIMES CENTRAL 2010 OVC Players of the Week - October 11 Offensive: Leah Meffert, OH, Sr., 6'0 Louisville, Ky. - Tennessee Tech Meffert led the Tennessee Tech offense with 39 kills in nine sets. She started the weekend with a 15-kill performance in the win over Southeast Missouri. She followed that up with 24 kills versus Eastern Illinois. Meffert also tallied six service aces and 24 digs over the two matches. Defensive: Jorie Dieter, MB, Sr., 5'10 Joliet, Ill. - Eastern Illinois Dieter led the Panther defense with 20 blocks over the weekend. She had seven blocks in the third set alone versus Tennessee Tech. She tallied 10 blocks against both Tech and Jacksonville State, which tied her single-match high. Setter: Kirstie Brangers, S, Sr., 5'7 Louisville, Ky. - Morehead State Brangers led Morehead State to three sweeps last week and guided the Eagles to its best hitting percentage for a week this year at .304. She recorded 12.0 assists per set and hit a team-high .389 with nine kills and two errors. She also added 24 digs and a solo block. Against Murray State, Brangers recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 43 assists and 13 digs to go with five kills and a .714 hitting percentage. She guided Morehead State to a .385 team hitting efficiency versus Tennessee State. 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Team Notes Austin Peay (6-2 OVC; 15-2 overall): Austin Peay fell to Eastern Kentucky (25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 21-25, 6-15) before defeating Tennessee State (23-25, 22-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-7) last week. Junior Ilyanna Hernandez recorded a career-high 21 kills in the win over Tennessee State. She finished the week with 32 kills. Sophomore Nikki Doyle led the team with 34 kills for the week. Junior Paige Economos had 16 digs versus Eastern Kentucky and followed that up with 29 digs against Tennessee State. Austin Peay's front row defense averaged 2.05 blocks per set, with senior Jessica Mollman recording seven blocks. Austin Peay will host Morehead State on Friday and Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. Eastern Illinois (2-5 OVC; 9-10 overall): Eastern Illinois fell to Jacksonville State (19-25, 16-25, 25-17, 23-25) and defeated Tennessee Tech (22-25, 21-25, 25-22, 26-24, 17-15) last week. Senior Kelsey Orr recorded 4.11 kills per set and hit .238 to lead the Panthers for the week. She notched double-digit kills performances in both matches with 18 coming against JSU and 19 versus TTU. Senior Jorie Dieter registered 20 blocks last week, including seven in the third set alone versus Tennessee Tech. Junior Chrissie Albers dished out 100 assists over the two matches. She recorded a career-high 64 assists against Tech. The Panthers will travel to Illinois-Chicago on Monday, UT Martin on Friday and Murray State on Sunday. The matches with UT Martin and Murray State can be seen on OVCSports.TV. Eastern Kentucky (5-3 OVC; 6-11 overall): Eastern Kentucky recorded wins over Austin Peay (21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 15-6), UT Martin (22-25, 24-26, 25-18, 25-21, 17-15) and Murray State (27-25, 25-18, 25-22). Freshman Ashley Edmond recorded 48 kills over the three matches, including leading all players with 17 kills and a .262 attack percentage against Austin Peay. Senior Ashley O'Connor recorded match-highs of 25 digs versus Austin Peay and 34 digs against UT Martin. Her 34 digs against the Skyhawks marked her fourth 30-dig performances of the season. Freshman Robyn Hench dished out 146 assists last week, including 57 against UT Martin. The Colonels will travel to Tennessee State on Friday and Austin Peay on Saturday. Jacksonville State (6-2 OVC; 11-8 overall): Jacksonville State defeated Eastern Illinois (25-19, 25-16, 17-25, 25-23) before falling to Southeast Missouri (25-18, 16-25, 23-25, 25-19, 8-15) last week. Senior Cailtin Vorbeck led the team with 28 kills to go along with 22 digs. Junior Lauren Harkins paced the defense as she recorded 48 digs over the four matches. Jacksonville State will travel to Tennessee Tech in its only contest of the week. The match can be seen on OVCSports.TV. Morehead State (8-0 OVC; 14-6 overall): Morehead State remained perfect in OVC play with wins over Tennessee State (25-10, 25-12, 25-18), Murray State (25-16, 25-20, 25-20) and UT Martin (25-21, 25-10, 25-13) last week. The Eagles have now won 15 straight sets since dropping the opening one at Southeast Missouri on Sept. 25. At 8-0 in the league play, one more win will equal Morehead State's best conference start in school history. Senior Kaitlin Craven led the team with 3.56 kills per set while hitting .294. She had a season-high 15 kills and a career-best .560 attack efficiency against Tennessee State. Sophomore Ellie Roberson posted a .370 hitting percentage to lead the Eagles outside hitters last week. Senior Holly Evans hit .365 in the three matches and continues to lead the OVC with a .356 hitting percentage. Freshman Aryn Bohannon recorded nine aces last week to remain atop the league rankings. Junior Liz Schuler recorded 41 digs last week, including 18 in the win over Murray State. Senior Kristie Brangers dished out 108 assists an guided the Eagles to their best hitting percentage for a week this year at .304. Morehead State will travel to Austin Peay on Friday and Tennessee State on Saturday. Murray State (3-5 OVC; 7-11 overall): Murray State dropped matches to Morehead State (16-25, 20-25, 20-25) and Eastern Kentucky (25-27, 18-25, 22-25) last week. Junior Jade Guo moved into the No. 4 spot on the school's all-time assists list with 2,996. Junior Kayleah Sauer led the team with 40 digs last week, including 23 against Morehead State. It marked Sauer's eighth match of the season with 20 or more digs. Sauer now has 1,381 digs in her career which ranks seventh on the school's all-time list. The Racers will host Southeast Missouri on Friday and Eastern Illinois on Saturday. Both matches can be seen on OVCSports.TV. Southeast Missouri (2-5 OVC; 5-11 overall): Southeast Missouri split a pair of OVC home matches last week, falling to Tennessee Tech (13-25, 25-21, 20-25, 17-25) and defeating Jacksonville State (18-25, 25-16, 25-23, 19-25, 15-8). Senior Claire Keaton had double-doubles in both matches, finishing the week with 28 kills and 21 digs. Senior Kelly Benacka tallied 41 digs over the two matches, including 21 in the win over Jacksonville State. Freshman Julie Shives dished out 69 assists to go along with 16 digs and six kills last week. Southeast Missouri will host Saint Louis on Tuesday before traveling to UT Martin on Thursday and Murray State on Friday. The matches with UT Martin and Murray State can be seen on OVCSports.TV. SIU Edwardsville (10-7 overall): SIU Edwardsville picked up a pair of wins last week, defeating UMKC (18-25, 25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 15-12) and Bradley (28-26, 25-23, 28-25). Head coach Todd Gober picked up his 200th career victory with the win over UMKC. Freshman Lexi Cibulka recorded 24 kills over the two matches, including 15 in the win over UMKC. Senior Karie Downing recorded 22 digs in against UMKC and 17 versus Bradley. The Cougars will host Western Illinois on Monday before traveling to Milwaukee on Saturday and DePaul on Sunday. Tennessee State (3-5 OVC; 5-11 overall): Tennessee State dropped matches to Morehead State (10-25, 12-25, 18-25) and Austin Peay (25-23, 25-22, 14-25, 21-25, 7-15) last week. Senior Kamille King recorded 17 kills and 23 digs over the two matches. She recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 17 kills and 13 digs versus Austin Peay. Freshman Erika Moss tallied a double-double with 38 assists and 13 digs to go along with two kills against the Lady Govs. Moss finished with 54 assists for the week. Tennessee State will host Eastern Kentucky on Friday and Tennessee State on Saturday. Tennessee Tech (3-5 OVC; 5-14 overall): Tennessee Tech defeated Southeast Missouri (25-13, 21-25, 25-20, 25-17) and fell to Eastern Illinois (25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 24-26, 15-17) last week. Senior Leah Meffert led the Golden Eagle offense with 39 kills last week. She recorded 24 kills in the loss to Eastern Illinois. Senior Maddie Peddicord recorded 15 blocks over the two matches, including a career-best 10 versus the Panthers. Senior Melanie Culp dished out 92 assists over the weekend. She tallied 40 assists and 12 digs versus Southeast Missouri. Culp followed that up with a 52-assist, 13-dig effort against EIU. Tennessee Tech will host Jacksonville State on Friday in a match that can be seen on OVCSports.TV. UT Martin (1-7 OVC; 3-17 overall): UT Martin fell to Eastern Kentucky (25-22, 26-24, 18-25, 21-25, 15-17) and Morehead State (21-25, 10-25, 13-25). Junior Jenna Miller dished out 72 assists in the two matches to go along with 28 digs. She had a career-high 22 digs against EKU and tied her career-high with 50 assists. Senior Lauren Montague cracked the school's top ten list in career kills with 19 versus Eastern Kentucky. She also had 16 digs. Sophomore Kasey Elswick posted 39 kills in the two matches while sophomore Kelly Hogan recorded a career-best 24 digs against the Colonels. UT Martin will host Southeast Missouri on Thursday and Eastern Illinois on Friday. Both matches can be seen on OVCSports.TV.
An exciting weekend of Big Ten volleyball action ended with three teams at the top of the standings and two teams trailing by just one game as one-fourth of the conference season is in the books. No. 8 Illinois, No. 15 Michigan and No. 20 Northwestern are tied at the top of the standings at 5-1, while No. 19 Minnesota and Purdue boast 4-2 marks.
Six Big Ten matches will be produced for a national audience this week, including one on ESPN2 and one on the Big Ten Network.
This week, Big Ten leaders Illinois and Michigan will host a pair of matches this week, while Northwestern faces the Wolverines on Friday.
Colonial Athletic Association Volleyball Weekly Report - OCT. 11 CAA QUICK HITS: Following the third week of conference play, reigning CAA champion George Mason owns a league-best 5-0 mark after claiming another pair of conference contests last week. Mason and Georgia State shared the top spot in the CAA standings last week. Six squads currently hold .500 or better records after three weeks of conference action. Delaware and James Madison remain the only league teams still perfect at home. Both squads, along with Mason and Georgia State, are unbeaten at home in conference play. As of matches through Oct. 10, a number of CAA squads and individual players remain ranked among the nation's elite in various statistical categories. After Hofstra's loss at Fordham on Wednesday, the league's nonconference record now stands at 73-73 (.500). This is the third consecutive week the league's 2010 nonconference mark has been .500 or above. Delaware head coach Bonnie Kenny became the 28th active Division I coach to earn 500 career wins when the Hens defeated VCU, 3-0, on Friday. OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Katie Dennehy - Delaware Charlotte, N.C./Providence, Sr., Outside Hitter Dennehy helped the Hens to victories over VCU and William & Mary last weekend. The senior outside hitter collected 31 kills and 5.17 kills per set on .452 hitting in six sets played. Dennehy's 19 kills against the Rams marked the most kills by Hen in a three-set match this season, and her .531 hitting percentage in the match was her second highest of 2010.
Noelle Fanella - George Mason Bloomingdale, Ill../Lake Park, Jr., Outside Hitter
Fanella led league-best George Mason past Georgia State and UNC Wilmington in the third week of conference action. The junior outside hitter provided a whole-court presence for the Patriots that included 25 kills, 4.17 kills per game and four service aces on .400 hitting to go with 17 digs and three blocks defensively. The Chicago native recorded or tied match-high kills in the pair of wins.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Greta Gibboney - Delaware Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon Area, Sr., Libero
Gibboney sparked Delaware defensively as the team toppled VCU and W&M in week three of CAA play. The senior libero notched a career-best 8.67 digs per set and a season-best 26 digs against the Tribe, while registering 43 digs and 7.17 digs per set overall on the weekend.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Celine Alasomuka - William & Mary Centreville, Va./Centreville, Fr., Defensive Specialist Alasomuka continues to impress in her rookie campaign with the Tribe. The freshman defensive specialist recorded a career-high 31 digs in W&M's win over Towson, second-best among freshmen all-time and tied for 15th best in a match in program history. Alasomuka totaled 51 digs and 6.38 digs per set to go with five service aces in two matches. CONFERENCE NOTES AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: As of matches through Oct. 10, Delaware's Greta Gibboney ranked 8th in the nation in digs per set with a 5.71 average, while Delaware ranked 13th nationally in the team category (17.72). Also on the defensive front, UNC Wilmington senior Kim Friedl improved to 20th in the nation with 1.32 blocks per set. Joining her in the nation's top 50 are Mason's Kelsey Bohman and the Hens' Paige Erickson. The Patriots' Nicole Fanella currently stands 15th in the nation with 0.50 service aces per set, while Towson's Shelynne Hoyt (0.45) and JMU's Danielle Erb (0.41) also rank in the top 50 nationally.
BY GEORGE!: With the third week of conference play now in the books, Mason finds itself all alone in first place at 5-0 in the standings. In a battle of unbeatens on Friday, the Patriots picked up a decisive 3-0 victory over GSU before returning to the floor to sweep UNCW the following day. Mason will put its perfect conference mark on the line this weekend when it welcomes VCU and William & Mary to Fairfax. Delaware and James Madison are hot on the team's trail at 4-1, however, and three squads - GSU, Northeastern and VCU - are right behind with 3-2 records.
HOME SWEET HOME: Two CAA squads remain unbeaten at home this season. Delaware improved to 9-0 in the friendly confines of the Carpenter Sports Building after blanking both VCU and W&M, 3-0, last weekend. The Hens head out of Newark to take on Towson on Friday. JMU is also 9-0 at home in 2010 after sweeping UNCW and getting by GSU in a five-set thriller. The Dukes put their perfect record on the line this weekend when they play host to VCU and W&M at Sinclair Gymnasium.
TOP DOGS: NU, whose lone road loss came at the hands of then 15-ranked Colorado State on Sept. 11, improved its league-best road record to 7-1 when it traveled to Hempstead and swept Hofstra last week. The Huskies are now unbeaten on the road in conference action (3-0), along with Mason and GSU (2-0), and continue their four-match road swing when they visit GSU and UNCW this weekend. The only other CAA squad to register a winning record on the road this season is Delaware at 3-2, which looks to better its mark when it travels to Towson on Friday. Mason and JMU own even overall road records at 3-3, and both remain at home to host VCU and W&M this weekend.
CAN YOU DIG IT? DELAWARE DOES: Delaware senior libero Greta Gibboney has recorded a league-best 5.71 digs-per-set average - nearly one full point higher than NU's Jessica LaScola's 4.83 average - and 411 digs this season. Her Hens also own a conference-best 1276 total digs - just ahead of GSU's 1224 - and 17.72 digs per set on the season. THE CHASON CONTINUES: Delaware senior and 2009 conference Setter of the Year Jess Chason continues to improve her league-leading assists-per-set average, which is now at 10.51 - up two-tenths from last week. Chason currently owns 746 of the Hens' 885 total assists this season (84%). Towson sophomore Evan Schulz, who fell further behind Chason's pace with her 9.86 average, leads the CAA in overall assists with 779, just two ahead of Hofstra senior Rachel August and 33 in front of Chason.
BLOCK PARTY: Delaware senior Paige Erickson and VCU classmate Kelsie Clegg boast a CAA-best 88 blocks this season. These figures represent 56% and 50% of their team's totals, respectively. Clegg is now just four blocks shy of surpassing the Rams' all-time record in the category (384) and will look to do so on Friday against JMU. UNCW junior Kimberly Friedl has skied for a league-best 1.32 blocks per set in 2010, while Erickson and Mason junior Kelsey Bohman trail closely with a 1.22 average. VCU easily owns the team title in total blocks with 177 to date - 20 ahead of second-best Delaware and Hofstra - and has recorded a league-leading 2.37 blocks-per-set average. GETTING THEIR POINT ACROSS: GSU junior Vineece Verdun has collected a conference-best 245 kills and jumped for 67 blocks en route to registering her league-leading 308.5 points and 4.17 points per set average. JMU sophomore Danielle Erb, who has recorded 240 kills and slammed 28 aces this season, has also made a statement with her 4.15 average. Dukes senior Lindsay Callahan and Delaware classmate Katie Dennehy are approaching the 4.00 mark with 3.87 and 3.86 averages, respectively.
TEAM NOTES
DELAWARE (15-5 overall, 4-1 in CAA): Delaware broke out the brooms for sweeps of visiting VCU and William & Mary last week on the heels of a stellar showing by the team’s seniors. Katie Dennehy collected 19 kills and 6.33 kills per set on .531 hitting and Jess Chason tallied 39 assists in the Hens’ rout of the Rams, while Greta Gibboney recorded 26 digs and a career-best 8.67 digs per set as the team trounced the Tribe. The Hens’ victory over VCU marked the 500th in head coach Bonnie Kenny’s career.
GEORGE MASON (10-7 overall, 5-0 in CAA): Mason, off to its first 5-0 start in eight years, strengthened its grip on the conference standings after blanking GSU and UNCW at home. Junior Noelle Fanella notched a near double-double against the Panthers, posting 14 kills and 4.67 kills per game on .462 hitting to go with nine digs. Fanella came up just short of a double-double again the following day, registering 11 kills and eight digs to help the Patriots pluck the Seahawks.
GEORGIA STATE (9-10 overall, 3-2 in CAA): Previous league-unbeaten GSU dropped a pair of conference contests at Mason and JMU last week. The Panthers, who fell below .500 for the second time this season, were swept by the Patriots on Friday before being outlasted by the Dukes in a five-set barnburner. The team’s juniors had career days in the loss at JMU, as Muki Kangwa and Vineece Verdun recorded career highs in kills with 22 and 19, respectively, while Chelsea Perry posted a personal-best 59 assists.
HOFSTRA (6-17 overall, 0-5 in CAA): Hofstra slipped to 1-9 in its last 10 matches after suffering setbacks to Fordham and NU. The Pride looked primed for a win after taking two of the first three sets against the Rams on Wednesday, but could not overcome a late rally as it fell in a five-set heartbreaker. Hofstra was swept by the Huskies at home the following day. Graduate student Marina Markovic recorded 32 kills and 4.00 kills per set and sophomore Carolyn Jenkins added 19 kills and 11 blocks in the two losses.
JAMES MADISON (15-4 overall, 4-1 in CAA): The Dukes downed UNCW and GSU at home last weekend to improve their record at home to 9-0 and extend their conference winning streak to four matches. Freshman Katie Daorai finished with 15 digs and two service aces in JMU’s sweep of the Seahawks, and sophomore Danielle Erb tallied 25 kills and 22 digs to earn a double-double and lead her squad past the Panthers in a five-set thriller.
UNC WILMINGTON (6-11 overall, 1-4 in CAA): UNCW dropped to 1-4 in the CAA standings after losses to JMU and Mason in week three of conference play. Freshman Haley Collins posted 17 digs in the Seahawks’ 3-0 setback to the Dukes, and senior leader Kelli Clear nearly nabbed a double-double with nine digs and eight kills as the team was swept by the Patriots.
NORTHEASTERN (12-7 overall, 3-2 in CAA): After suffering a pair setbacks the week before, NU bounced back in a big way last week by blanking Hofstra to improve to 3-2 in conference play. Five players collected at least five kills in what was a balanced offensive outing for the Huskies, who head south to take on UNCW and GSU this weekend.
TOWSON (12-10 overall, 0-5 in CAA): Towson remains winless in CAA play after falling to W&M in a five-setter on Friday and to VCU, 3-0, two days later. Senior Britney Loomis paced the Tigers with 18 kills on the weekend, while junior Susan Gansor skied for a career-high 10 blocks in the loss to the Tribe.
VCU (5-16 overall, 3-2 in CAA): VCU was downed by Delaware in three sets to open the weekend but rebounded nicely on Sunday to take care of Towson, 3-0. Senior Kelsie Clegg posted seven blocks in two matches and now needs just four to break the Rams’ all-time record, while classmate Marisa Frey collected 11 kills against the Tigers to secure sole possession of sixth place in school history with 882.
WILLIAM & MARY (8-9 overall, 2-3 in CAA): W&M joined JMU as the only league squad to split its two matches last week. Four players set or tied career-highs in the Tribe’s 3-2 win over Towson, including freshman sensation Celine Alasomuka. The rookie defensive specialist posted a career-high 31 digs against the Tigers, the second-best all-time for a Tribe freshman, and added another 20 in the team’s 3-0 setback to Delaware.
IRVING, Texas - With a pair of 3-0 victories over UAB and a five-set thriller over host SMU league-leader Tulsa remains on top of the Conference USA Volleyball standings at 7-0 and extends its school-record winning streak to 15. The Golden Hurricane went 3-0 last week, while Rice, Houston, UTEP and UCF went 2-0. SMU ended the week with a 2-1 performance. The Mustangs and Owls are currently tied for second-place in the league with identical 6-1 records. Houston is fourth at 5-2 and UTEP at 4-2. The Cougars extends their winning streak to five matches, marking the first time since the 2008 season that the volleyball team was able to put together five consecutive victories. RECENT RESULTS Sun., Oct. 10 Houston 3, Southern Miss 1 Tulsa 3, UAB 0 Memphis 3, SMU 3 UCF 3, East Carolina 0
Mid American Conference Volleyball Weekly Release -- October 11, 2010
Upcoming Schedule Friday, October 15Bowling Green at Central Michigan * 7:00 PM Buffalo at Western Michigan * 7:00 PM Kent State at Toledo * 7:00 PM Miami at Eastern Michigan * 7:00 PM Ohio at Ball State * 7:00 PM Akron at Northern Illinois * 8:00 PM Saturday, October 16Ohio at Toledo * 3:00 PM Akron at Western Michigan * 7:00 PM Bowling Green at Eastern Michigan * 7:00 PM Kent State at Ball State * 7:00 PM Miami at Central Michigan * 7:00 PM Buffalo at Northern Illinois * 8:00 PM * Conference Game Italic - MAC Game of the Week
Players of the Week (10.4.10-10.10.10) East Division Offensive Player of the Week Liva Brivule, Kent State, Jr., MB, Riga, Latvia/Latvijas Universitate Liva Brivule dominated the offensive end of the floor en route to helping Kent State earn two key MAC East road wins at Miami and Bowling Green last weekend. She led the Flashes with a combined 40 kills -- including a career and team-season best 24 at Miami -- for a personal hitting percentage of 337. Brivule leads the squad with 288 kills (3.60 per set) and 16 service aces this season, ranking as one of the conference’s top offensive forces. She is also pacing the Golden Flashes with 80 blocks (seven solo, 73 assisted). East Division Defensive Player of the Week Chelsea Harvey, Akron, So., L, Stow, Ohio/StowStarting libero Chelsea Harvey once again proved solid for UA in the backcourt against Buffalo and Toledo totaling 41 digs on the weekend. Playing in all eight sets, Harvey averaged 5.12 digs and had no reception errors. West Division Offensive Player of the Week Lauren Wicinski, Northern Illinois, Fr., OH, Geneva, Ill./Geneva Freshman outside hitter Lauren Wicinski (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) came up huge in two road wins for NIU, totaling 59 points (6.56/set), 52 kills (5.78/set), and five aces (0.56/set) ... The nation’s top rookie in points, kills, and aces put up 28.5, 25 ,and two, respectively, in a five-set win over Central Michigan ... She then did even better by tallying 30.5 points, 27 kills, and three aces in a four-set win against Eastern Michigan, including ending the game with four kills in a row for the Huskies ... Wicinski has had 13 or more points in all 21 matches this season and has 20 straight contests with double digit kills, including totaling 25 or more in four of her last six ... Additionally, she has served up an ace in eight consecutive matches. West Division Defensive Player of the Week Haley Stein, Eastern Michigan, Jr., L, Carleton, Mich. / Monroe St. Mary’s Catholic Central Junior libero Haley Stein broke the school-record for digs after recording 55 against Western Michigan, Oct. 8. The mark is also tied for fourth-most digs in NCAA Division I history in a five-set match. The previous EMU standard was set by Ashley Cudney Oct. 7, 2006, in a match against Northern Illinois University when she recorded 50. The 55 digs are also the most nationally since McNeese State University’s Jessica Strama set the NCAA record of 62 against Texas-Arlington, Oct. 13, 2006. Stein also posted 27 digs versus IPFW, Oct. 5. and 26 versus Northern Illinois, Oct. 9. West Division Team Notebooks n Junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl and freshman outside attacker Whitney Heeres took turns leading the Cardinals in last weekend’s matches, with each having a career attacking night . . . In Thursday’s win at Toledo, Brandl led all players with a career-best 25 kills, while hitting for a .422 rate of success . . . Saturday at Buffalo, Heeres led the Ball State attack with a career-best 19 kills to go along with a .226 hitting effort . . . Brandl finished the week with a team-best 3.70 kills-per-set average, while Heeres followed at 3.50. BSU’s defenders continued their solid play in the back row, racking up a 17.70 digs-per-set average for last week . . . NCAA digs-per-set leader Alyssa Rio continued to pace the BSU backcourt with 59 digs for a 5.90 average . . . After collecting a career-best 23 digs at Buffalo, senior Hannah Sullivan ranked second on the team with a 3.11 average for the week . . . In all, six Ball State players averaged 2.30-or-more digs per set last week. n The Chippewas suffered their third five-set loss of MAC play over the weekend against Northern Illinois ... Libero Lisa Johnson put up an outstanding weekend defensively, averaging 5.11 digs per set and finishing 56-for-57 in serve receive (.982) ... sophomore Katie Schuette is averaging 2.25 kills per set over her last three matches after sitting at 1.30 her first 14 matches ... CMU continues its four-match home stand this weekend against Bowling Green and Miami. n It was a record-setting night for the Eagles versus instate rival Western Michigan, Oct. 8. Eastern was paced offensively by sophomore outside hitter Rachel Iaquaniello, who set a Convocation Center record with 33 kills in the contest. It was also the fourth-highest total recorded by an EMU player, the most in a game for an EMU player in more than 12 years and the highest total by a player in the MAC since 2006. Just a week ago (Oct. 1), Iaquaniello turned in the best performance by an EMU player since 2006 by totaling 27 kills. In addition to Iaquaniello’s record-setting day, junior libero Haley Stein broke a school-record by recording 55 digs, and also tied for fourth-most digs in NCAA Division I history in a five-set match. The previous school record was set by Ashley Cudney on Oct. 7, 2006, in a match against Northern Illinois University when she recorded 50. Ashley Mason did not let the record-setting day elude her as she tallied 68 assists, the best total in the MAC this season and the third-most in Convocation Center history. Three Eagles posted double-doubles as Iaquaniello added 18 digs to her 33 kills, Mason put up 20 digs with her 68 assists, and Paige Roback finished with 12 digs and 12 kills. n The Huskies moved into sole possession of first place in the MAC West by picking up a pair of road wins over Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan over the weekend to extend their winning streak to five matches and continue their historic season ... For the first time since 1992, NIU is 5-0 on the road ... The Huskies are 5-1 in league play, and with a five-set win over CMU, won their third straight five-set match, both haven’t been done by NIU since 2006 ... Freshman outside hitter Lauren Wicinski (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) came up huge as the nation’s top rookie in points, kills, and aces totaled 59 points (6.56/set), 52 kills (5.78/set), and five aces (0.56/set) ... Senior libero Maddie Hughes (St. Charles, Ill./North) totaled an astonishing 62 digs (6.89/set) to lead the back row, also committing just one error in 31 serve reception attempts. n Sophomore OH Sondra Parys played her first full match of the season on Saturday vs. Akron and responded with a career-high 27 kills in UT’s 3-2 win. A 2009 MAC All-Freshman Team member, Parys has been hindered by injury and illness in the first half of the 2010 campaign. Junior Kassie Kadera registered a team-high .533 attack percentage with eight kills and no errors in 15 attacks and averaged 11.90 assists per set in the Rockets’ two contests vs. Ball State and Akron last weekend. She also tallied 3.60 digs per set and registered a season-high 64 assists and career-high 23 digs in UT’s 3-2 win at Akron. n The Western Michigan volleyball team split a four-match road swing with wins at Bowling Green and MAC West preseason favorite Central Michigan to remain in the hunt in the division at 4-2 entering a three-match homestand against MAC East leader Akron, Buffalo and Notre Dame. Freshmen continue to step up for the Broncos with outside hitter Taylor Richard leading the way with 31 kills over the weekend and libero Lena Oliver had 62 digs, including 41 at Eastern Michigan, the second-highest match total in program history. Junior setter Sam Viox continues to spread the ball around with 12.11 assists per set over the weekend.East Division Team Notebooks n Akron won its tenth straight match on Thursday against Buffalo. Winning the contest in three sets, Akron was led by freshman Alex Cocklin who was the only Zip in double digit kills with 14. On Saturday the Zips fell in a tough five set match to the Rockets. Despite the loss, UA’s first of the conference season, Akron proved strong at the net out blocking the Rockets 14-2. Senior Jackie Goleman led the initiative with four block assists and two solo blocks. n Bowling Green fell to 6-14 on the year and 1-5 in MAC play with losses this weekend against Ohio and Kent State ... The Falcons won the opening set against Ohio before dropping the next three. The team was then swept the next day by Kent State ... Freshmen Paige Penrod and Danielle Tonyan led the team with 30 and 29 kills, respectively ... Tonyan hit .258 and added two aces and 11 digs on the weekend ... Penrod’s 239 kills are the most ever for a BGSU freshman in the first 20 matches of their career. n UB’s five set win over Ball State was its first ever win against the Cardinals since joining the MAC. The win also snapped a four-match losing streak for the Bulls. Freshman Dani Reinert had a career-high 35 assists against Akron in her first match as UB’s primary setter. She also added a kill and seven digs against the Zips. UB had a season-high 89 digs against Ball State. It was the third time in the last five matches that Buffalo has gone over the 80-dig mark. n The Golden Flashes (10-11, 3-3) put themselves right back in the thick of the Mid-American Conference East Division race, downing Miami 3-1 last Friday (Oct. 8) and sweeping Bowling Green (Oct. 9) for two key conference road victories. KSU won at both Miami and Bowling in the same season for the first time since 2003. The Flashes dominated both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. KSU posted a combined 103 kills in two matches for a hitting percentage of .345. The Golden Flashes continued to outblock the opposition, posting a 19-6 edge in two matches. KSU also limited Miami and Bowling Green to a combined .163 hitting percentage. The Golden Flashes take on two MAC West opponents as they continue their four-match road trip, traveling to Toledo next Friday (Oct. 15) and Ball State Saturday (Oct. 16). Both match start times are scheduled for 7 p.m. n Miami broke a four match losing streak against Ohio. Her final attack of that match was Michele Metzler’s 2000th attack attempt at Miami. With rally scoring now instituted it will be difficult to break the RedHawks’ all-time record of attack attempts set by Stephanie Otten (1992-95) at 4,317. Miami hits the road for the only time in October this weekend when it travels to Central and Eastern Michigan. n Sue Jacobi and Lexie Hartnett had career nights and Mandy Nichols added 12 kills as Ohio battled back after dropping the first set to win at Bowling Green, 3-1. Jacobi finished with 18 kills, a team-high 12 digs and a career-high four aces while Hartnett added eight kills and matched her career-high with seven blocks. Nichols had an outstanding game as well with big first and fourth sets. As a team, Ohio outblocked BG 12.0-5.0. Michelle Jantsch had a team-high 32 assists and Katie Post hit a team-high .417 for the match. Ohio fell on the road to Miami in four sets, 25-10, 21-25, 22-25, 20-25. The loss snapped a six-match MAC winning streak on the road and a four-match winning streak against the RedHawks. Post and Jacobi tied for the team lead with 13 kills apiece and Nichols added 11 for the ‘Cats. Post hit .407 for the match and Hartnett hit .500 despite only getting four kills. Jacobi had yet another double-double as she led the team in digs with 10. Nichols and Post tied for the team lead with six blocks apiece and Hartnett added five for the Green & White. As a team, Ohio finished with 12.5 blocks.
Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Team Weekly Notebook (Oct. 11) As competition in the Missouri Valley Conference schedule continues to heat up, the Valley continues to showcase itself amongst the top conferences in the nation. The second edition of the 2010 NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI (Oct. 11) has the Valley shaping up to be one of the top-five conferences in Division I. The MVC is one of just five leagues to have at least seven teams in the RPI's top-70. The Valley has seven teams in the top-70, including UNI (4), Missouri State (29), Creighton (32), Wichita State (33), Drake (59), Evansville (67) and Illinois State (70). In fact, just two conferences (Big Ten - 11 and ACC - 9) have more teams in the RPI's top-70 than the Valley. Identical to the Valley, both the Pac-10 and the Big 12 also have seven schools in the top-70. In this week's AVCA Coaches' Poll, Northern Iowa holds onto the No. 14 position after picking up wins against South Dakota State and Bradley last week. This week, much is on the line in league action, as the Valley's top seven teams will butt heads. Missouri State (5-2 MVC) and Wichita State (4-3 MVC) will host Evansville (5-2 MVC) and Southern Illinois (3-4 MVC). Creighton (7-1 MVC), who is currently riding a five-match winning streak, will hit the road against Drake (3-5 MVC), while UNI (7-0 MVC) and Bradley (0-7 MVC) take on Illinois State (2-5 MVC) and Indiana State (0-7 MVC) on the road.
More: http://www.mvc-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7600&ATCLID=205010466 VALLEY NEWS & NOTES On a Roll Creighton has won nine of its last 10 matches and its five-match winning streak is its longest since winning the final eight matches of the 2008 regular-season. Home Court Advantage With last weekend's two wins, the Aces now hold an 8-1 record at home, which marks the best home showing that the Aces have opened a season with in the program's Division I history. The only loss that the Carson Center crowd has seen so far this year was the September 18 loss to Creighton. Streak Snapped Southern Illinois' win over Illinois State Saturday night broke a 23-match home losing streak against the Redbirds. SIU had not beaten Illinois State in Davies Gym since its first match of the 1981 season, when the Salukis won in the same 3-1 fashion. Michnowicz has Record...For Now Kelley Michnowicz hit .414 over the weekend to vault her season hitting percentage to .393, a single-season school record. The junior currently sits percentage points ahead of Linette White's school-record .392 attack efficiency, set in 2003. Just Keep Diggin' Away With her 2,345 career digs, Ellie Blankenship is just the 20th player in Division I history to record more than 2,300 digs in a career. Currently, Blankenship ranks second among active players for career digs and is on track to challenge for a spot in the all-time top 10 for career digs. Only six Division I players have ever recorded more than 2,500 digs. Currently, Blankenship needs just 155 digs to reach the 2,500 mark. Half-Century Mark Jennifer Berwanger's 23 kills and 17 digs against Illinois State marked the 50th double-double of her career. She has recorded a kills-digs double-double in four out of SIU's last five matches. That's a Lot of Digs Junior libero Sarah Waldorf collected 30 digs in just three sets against Drake on Oct. 8. The 30 digs is the most-ever by a Shocker in a three-set match during the rally scoring era (2001-present) and the second-most ever in a three-set match all-time. Nicole McGivern set the three-set record of 35 against North Texas on Sept. 29, 1989. Hoop it Up Junior setter Mary Elizabeth Hooper moved into fifth-place over the weekend in career assists in the Shocker record book. Hooper currently has 3,121 assists and needs just 301 more to move into fourth place. This week's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week are Kelley Michnowicz of Missouri State, Wichita State's Sarah Waldorf and Julianne Mandolfo of Creighton.
Patriot League Volleyball Release - 10.6.10 American wins 10th straight, takes sole possession of first Oct. 6, 2010 Center Valley, Pa. — American continued its incredible start with another perfect week, posting three victories, two in League play, while not surrendering a game. After a 3-0 victory over Morgan State, the Eagles won contests within the friendly confines of Bender Arena against Army and Holy Cross to move into sole possession of first place with a 4-0 League record. Patriot League Volleyball Release - 10.6.10 The standings tighten up with a three-way tie for second as Army, Colgate and Bucknell all sit 3-1. The knot between the Raiders and Bison will be broken (temporarily, at least) this weekend when the teams take the floor against one another Friday night in Lewisburg. Meanwhile, Army hosts 2-2 Holy Cross Saturday afternoon as the Black Knights look to create a two-game cushion between themselves and the Crusaders. Two pairs of regional rivals will face off Thursday evening. American continues its five-game home stand hosting Navy, while Lehigh and Lafayette will renew their rivalry on the floor in Easton. Patriot League Weekly Awards Player of the Week Magdalena Tekiel, American Sr., OH, Warsaw, Poland Tekiel continued her outstanding season with strong performances in three matches last week. She hit .418 in a non-League win over Morgan State followed by two League victories against Army and Holy Cross. She notched her sixth double-double of the season with 17 kills and 11 digs against the Crusaders while posting a team-best .538 hitting percentage during the match. For the week, she averaged 4.75 kills and 2.88 digs per set and sits atop the standings in hitting percentage and kills per set in both League play and overall. Rookie of the Week Megan Wilton, Army Fr., MB, Roseville, Calif. Wilton earned the second Rookie of the Week nod of her career. The middle blocker from Roseville, Calif. hit .250 over a 1-1 weekend for the Black Knights, including a .333 average during the match against American. She also contributed nine total blocks, including two solos and four assisted for six against the League-leading Eagles. It marked the sixth time this season in which Wilton collected at least five blocks in a match. She added five kills and three blocks as Army took the annual “Star” match against Navy. Honorable Mentions Devon Applegate, Colgate Sr., L, Davidson, N.C. Applegate provided a defensive spark during a 2-0 weekend for the Raiders, picking up 48 digs total and averaging 6.00 digs per set. The 28 she tallied in the five-set win over Lehigh was three shy of her season best. Veronica Ffrench, Navy Fr., OH, Milton, Fla. Ffrench averaged 3.22 kills and 1.89 digs per set while hitting .214 during the week for Navy. Her best effort was a 14-kill, 7-dig performance in a 3-0 win over Coppin St. Katie Baumgarten, Bucknell Jr., OH, South Pasadena, Calif. Baumgarten averaged 3.00 kills and 2.4 digs per set as Bucknell posted a 2-0 week with victories over Lafayette and Lehigh. She posted a .265 hitting percentage, including a .360 mark in the win over the Mountain Hawks. She set career-bests with 10 kills and 14 digs against the Lehigh. Patriot League Notebook AMERICAN SWEEPS ARMY IN TITLE GAME REMATCH In the first contest between the two teams since last year’s Patriot League championship match, American defeated Army in three sets Friday night at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C. by scores of 25-18, 25-22 and 25-23. American’s Magdalena Tekiel led all players with 13 kills while teammate Angelina Waterman posted 11. The Eagles followed up Friday’s victory with a 3-0 sweep of Holy Cross Saturday to move to 4-0 in League play and maintain its grip on first place. While Friday’s loss dropped Army out of first place, it has an opportunity to even the score when it hosts the first-place Eagles Saturday, Nov. 6 at West Point. Last season, the two teams split the regular season series with each winning at home. THE BISON CLEAN UP IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY Bucknell captured a pair of 3-0 victories last weekend as it made its annual trip through the Lehigh Valley. Friday night the Bison swept Lafayette before dealing the same 3-0 loss to Lehigh Saturday afternoon. It marks the first three-match winning streak for Bucknell since the 2006 season, when it finished the season 20-14 and advanced to the Patriot League title match against American. The sweep of Lafayette and Lehigh on the road was the program’s first since 2005. WATCH THOSE TIEBREAKERS American continues rolling and is out to a 4-0 mark in League play. While the Eagles are out in front, there’s a logjam beginning to develop in the standings behind them. Three teams (Army, Colgate and Bucknell) sit at 3-1, while Holy Cross is close behind at 2-2 and Lehigh is in the mix at 1-3. Matches this week should provide a little bit more clarity to the positioning of teams, but the picture could easily become more muddled as well. And while Navy and Lafayette are 0-4 in League play to this point, they cannot be counted out, although both squads have their work cut out for them. Since the Patriot League adopted a double round-robin schedule in 1999, only two teams have qualified for the League tournament with as many as seven losses – Bucknell in 2001 and Lehigh in 2009. ARMY SELECTED TO REPEAT BY NARROW MARGIN After capturing its third overall League title and making its first trip to the NCAA Tournament last year, Army was selected to repeat as Patriot League volleyball champions in 2010, it was determined in a vote by the League’s head coaches and sports information directors who could not vote for their own teams. The Black Knights captured 92 points and nine first-place votes to narrowly claim the poll’s top spot. American, winners of eight consecutive Patriot League titles from 2001-08, finished second in the poll with 90 points and the seven remaining first-place votes. Colgate captured third with 74 points, followed by Lehigh, which garnered 62 points. Bucknell (49), Lafayette (29), Navy (28) and Holy Cross (24) rounded out the poll, which mirrored the final regular season standings from 2009. A NEW DEFENDING CHAMPION For the first time in eight years, the Patriot League has a different defending champion. Since entering the League in 2001, American had captured eight consecutive titles. The streak ended last year when Army defeated the Eagles 3-0 in the finals of the Patriot League Tournament at West Point, N.Y. YOUTH MOVEMENT Twelve of the 14 student-athletes who earned All-Patriot League honors last season were underclassmen. Only Maureen Bannon of Army and American’s Claire Recht were seniors honored with All-League laurels, with both making the First Team. Of the 10 of 12 returning for 2010, Army (Ariana Mankus, Amanda Rowell and Francine Vasquez) welcomes back three, Colgate (Kaylee Dougherty and Casey Ritt) and American (Magdalena Tekiel and Angelina Waterman) return two, while Lehigh (Angelika Kopacz), Bucknell (Heidi Kamp) and Holy Cross (Megan Lynch) each return one. LET’S GET DEFENSIVE One major reason for Colgate’s 11-3 mark in League play in 2009 was defense. Casey Ritt finished third in the League with 104 total blocks and second with 0.99 blocks per set en route to First-Team All-Patriot League laurels, while Devon Applegate’s 426 total digs and 3.98 digs per set were second on the League list. Both student-athletes return for their senior seasons in 2010 for head coach Ryan Baker. Team Notebooks AMERICAN The Eagles have won 10 straight matches, their longest winning streak since 13 consecutive victories during the 2008 season … At 16-2, the club is still on pace for its best season since 2001, which was its first in the Patriot League. American finished 26-4 that season, won the League title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament … American is 7-0 on its home floor at Bender Arena and plays its next three matches there, all against League teams. After Thursday’s contest against Navy, the Eagles entertain Lafayette and Lehigh Oct. 15-16. ARMY Setter Karyn Powell has 624 assists this season and is second in the League to American’s Krysta Cicala with 8.91 assists per set … Defending Player of the Year Ariana Mankus is ranked fourth in the League with 3.41 kills per set and eighth with 0.34 services aces per set … The Black Knights open a four-match home stand Wednesday evening hosting MAAC foe Manhattan. They resume League competition Saturday afternoon hosting Holy Cross. BUCKNELL The Bison’s three-match winning streak is their longest since 2006 … Bucknell has two players in the League’s top 10 in hitting percentage. Sophomore Ragin Jackson is sixth hitting .267, while senior Heidi Kamp is ninth at .242 … The Bison’s 3-0 defeats of Lafayette and Lehigh this weekend was their first and second wins in three-set matches this season … Bucknell finally defeated the Leopards after 64 points in the third set of their match Friday night, marking the longest frame of the season for the Bison. The previous was a 62-point set against American … Bucknell hosts Colgate Friday evening at 7 p.m. COLGATE The Raiders moved to 3-1 in League play following the weekend victories over Lehigh and Lafayette. Colgate came from one-set down twice in its match Friday against the Mountain Hawks to claim victory in the fifth frame. The Raiders are 6-1 in five-set bouts … Junior Maureen Colligan posted 27 kills during the weekend, while Kaylee Fifer pitched in 55 assists … Colgate's road trip continues Wednesday evening at Albany before it battles another 3-1 team in Bucknell Friday night in Lewisburg. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m. HOLY CROSS Holy Cross’ eight wins are already its most since going 8-19 in 2002. The Crusaders’ 2-2 Patriot League record is their best record after four matches since the first ever Patriot League season in 1990 when they were also 2-2 … Senior setter Chelsey O’Donnell became only the second Crusader to record 3,000 career assists. She now has 3,033 career assists as Michelle Leahy (2001-2004) holds the all-time Holy Cross record with 3,177 career assists … The Crusaders bid for their ninth win of the season Wednesday evening against Bryant, then visit Army Saturday. LAFAYETTE The Leopards hosted their annual Dig Pink event Friday night versus Bucknell. Before the game, Easton Area Middle School student David Heard, who is battling neuroblastoma, performed the coin toss and assisted head coach Terri Dadio Campbell on the bench during the match … Senior Kayly Elmer has moved into third place on the Leopards’ all-time kills list with 1,092 with an eye to surpass Hope McCorkle’s 1,169 kills, which are second all-time ... Tuesday’s match against NJIT was Lafayette’s last against a non-League opponent. It will continue League play Thursday night hosting Lehigh. LEHIGH The Mountain Hawks dropped two League matches last week after posting a 1-1 mark the previous weekend … Junior Angelika Kopacz notched 26 digs against Colgate Friday night, a team-best thus far this season … Freshman Rachel Charles tallied 30 digs and averaged 3.75 per set against Colgate and Bucknell. She remains atop the League standings with 4.21 digs per set, almost a full half-dig ahead of second-place Mackenzie Larsen of Lafayette … The Mountain Hawks visit archrival Lafayette Thursday night in Easton. NAVY Erin Fortner recorded her third triple-double of the season with 11 kills, 16 assists and 13 digs against Holy Cross. Of the 10 triple-doubles that have been recorded by Mids during the rally scoring era, this was the first to be accomplished in a three-set match … Fortner added her fourth triple-double of the year against North Carolina A&T Monday night with 10 kills, 10 digs and 18 assists. Five Midshipmen recorded at least seven kills in the victory, Navy’s sixth of the year … Navy visits first-place American Thursday night, then has eight days off before hosting Lehigh Oct. 15.
Pac-10 Volleyball: California, Stanford Are The Last Two Undefeated Volleyball Teams In The Nation
Just two teams in the country remain undefeated and both are Pac-10 teams.
CALIFORNIA and STANFORD boast unblemished records to-date after earning sweeps of the Oregon schools over the weekend.
Each will be challenged as they hit the road to face a couple of top-15 opponents in Los Angeles - No. 8 USC and No. 12 UCLA
... After a pair of big wins over the weekend, No. 9 WASHINGTON can show off in front of a national television audience when it hosts WASHINGTON STATE on a tape-delayed basis on Fox Sports Net
... ARIZONA hits the road for the first time in Conference play, as it travels to No. 13 OREGON and OREGON STATE, as will ARIZONA STATE
... The Cardinal are the top-ranked team in the nation for the fourth-consecutive week, while five more Pac-10 squads continue to be ranked in the top 15 of the AVCA poll: No. 7 CALIFORNIA, No. 8 USC, No. 9 WASHINGTON, No. 12 UCLA, No. 13 OREGON.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, OCT. 8 Arizona at Oregon State *7 p.m. PT Arizona State at #13 Oregon *7 p.m. PT #7 California at #12 UCLA *7 p.m. PT #1 Stanford at #8 USC *7 p.m. PT Washington State at #9 Washington * (FSN)7 p.m. PT
SATURDAY, OCT. 9 Arizona at #13 Oregon *7 p.m. PT Arizona State at Oregon State *7 p.m. PT #7 California at #8 USC *7 p.m. PT #1 Stanford at #12 UCLA *7 p.m. PT
Mid-American Conference to Host First Annual Fan Fest at 2010 MAC Volleyball Championship
CLEVELAND, OHIO – The Mid-American Conference has announced that it will host the first annual MAC Volleyball Tournament Fan Fest on Saturday, November 20th, during the volleyball tournament semifinals at the Toledo SeaGate Centre in Toledo, Ohio. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m., with the first semifinal match starting at 4:30 p.m. and the second semifinal match at 7 p.m. All kids 12 and under that attend Fan Fest, wearing their sports uniform, will receive a free ticket to both semifinal matches. Fans will have a chance to try new sports skills and learn the benefits of participating in sports. Pre-game activities include interactive stations focusing on health, fitness and safety issues. Fan Fest will run from 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. All Fan Fest activities are free. Activities will include the following: MAC Bean Bag Toss MAC School Tattoos Health and Fitness Activities Free Prizes and Give-a-ways Meet and Greet Mascots & Cheerleaders And much more!!! The MAC is a Division I NCAA athletic conference based in Cleveland, Ohio. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members located in Illinois, Indiana and New York. The MAC Volleyball Tournament is held each year at the Toledo SeaGate Centre. This year the tournament will run Friday, November 19- Sunday, November 21, with the top eight schools participating in Toledo. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Please also visit www.mac-sports.com for more information. --MAC--
Sunbelt Conferece Volleyball Teams: WKU, MT Volleyball Among Nation's Elite
NEW ORLEANS - Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee continue to make national names for themselves as both teams are ranked in the top 40 in the first NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI rankings released Monday. The Lady Hilltoppers (15-4, 4-0 Sun Belt) come in at No. 34, and the Blue Raiders (14-4, 5-0 Sun Belt) follow just three spots away at No. 37. Both teams also received votes in this week's AVCA poll. Middle Tennessee received 14 votes, marking the team's third consecutive week receiving votes. Western Kentucky received votes for the second consecutive week by earning four votes. Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky are ranked in the top 40 nationally for assists per set, hitting percentage and kills per set. The Blue Raiders are 28th averaging 12.95 digs per set, and the Lady Hilltoppers are 30th with an average of 12.93 digs per set. MT ranks 15th with a 0.279 hitting percentage and 23rd in kills per set at 14.12. WKU also has a 0.279 hitting percentage to come in at 17th and ranks 33rd in kills per set at 13.86. In the national pseudo-RKPI rankings, WKU comes in at 36th and Middle Tennessee comes in at 40th. The Lady Hilltoppers are on a seven-game win streak without dropping a single set during that stretch. The Blue Raiders are currently on an 11-game overall win streak. Both teams have had marquee wins this season. MT knocked off No. 24 Long Beach State on Sept. 18, and WKU defeated No. 27 Missouri at home on Sept. 10. The teams remain undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play, but WKU travels to Middle Tennessee on Wednesday to determine which team takes control of the league's East Division.
