Virginia Volleyball Hosts Wake Forest, Duke in Final Home Matches
Cavaliers honor Dickson, Hester and Rendina prior to Duke contest
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia volleyball team returns home to Memorial Gymnasium this weekend to take on Wake Forest and Duke in the Cavaliers’ final home matches of the season. Virginia is set to take on the Demon Deacons on Friday and the Blue Devils on Saturday. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m., with live statistics available for each at VirginiaSports.com.
Due to the home football game on Saturday, fans are reminded to park at the Emmet/Ivy garage for the volleyball match that night.
The Cavaliers are coming off a split last weekend on the road, as they fell, 1-3, to North Carolina before defeating NC State, 3-0, to compete the season sweep of the Wolfpack.
Virginia (11-15, 6-9 ACC) is led by sophomore Simone Asque’s 339 kills. Asque is ranked third in the league with 3.68 kills per set, while freshman Rachel Gray has contributed 887 assists. Junior AJ Cushman leads the team defensively with 324 digs and has landed 32 service aces, while freshman Jess O’Shoney has blocked 67 attacks.
Wake Forest (9-17, 7-8 ACC) is coming off an 0-2 week, falling at Miami and Florida State. The Demon Deacons are led by Kadija Fornah, who has 260 kills, while Kelsey Jones has dished out 883 assists. Defensively, Abby Miller has dug 310 attacks and Carlin Salmon has blocked 92.
Duke (7-20, 0-12 ACC) is also coming off a split weekend with a loss to Florida State and a sweep of Miami. Rachael Moss leads the attack with 279 kills. Kellie Catanach has dished out 1023 assists, while Claire Smalzer leads the defense with 322 digs.
In the all-time series with the two schools, Virginia trails Duke, 13-39, while leading Wake Forest, 19-17. The Blue Devils and Cavaliers have faced each other at least once a year since 1982, with Duke leading the early years of the series. The Blue Devils won the first six meetings from 1982-1986 and then another 12-straight from 1989-1995.
Against the Demon Deacons, Virginia dropped six-consecutive matches from 2001-2003, but has turned it around, winning eight of the last 11.
Prior to Virginia’s match against Duke, its three seniors; Lauren Dickson, Tara Hester and Brittani Rendina will be recognized.
Following this weekend, the Cavaliers will head south to face off against Georgia Tech on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. Virginia will conclude the weekend with a match against Clemson at 6 p.m., on Saturday, Nov. 21.
Wake Forest Volleyball Continues Road Trip In Virginia
WINSTON-SALEM, NC – The Wake Forest volleyball team will continue its current four-match road trip this weekend with matches at Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Deacons will take on Virginia at 7 pm on Friday evening and then Virginia Tech at 5 pm on Saturday. Wake is coming off a tough weekend in the Sunshine State where it played two good matches but couldn’t scratch out a victory. On Friday against Miami, the Deacons cruised through first set and looked to take a 2-0 lead with set-point, 24-20 in the second set. But the ‘Canes scored the next six points to win the set and steal the momentum. Despite career nights from sophomore Kadija Fornah and junior Megan Thornberry, Wake was not able to recover and would fall in four sets. Fornah finished the match with a career-high 22 kills and recorded a career-best two block solos while Thornberry was not to be outdone as she collected a career-best 32 digs. Freshman Andrea Beck had her second-straight match with no hitting errors as she recorded 10 kills and hit a solid .400. On Sunday, the Deacons pushed No. 16 Florida State to the limit, but the hosts rallied for a 15-9 victory in the fifth set. Juniors Kristen White and Kelsey Jones each posted double-doubles in the setback as White had 18 kills and 12 digs while Jones notched 47 assists and was one dig shy of her career-high with 19. Fornah finished-off her solid weekend with 14 kills and five digs against the ‘Noles. Fornah leads the team with 260 kills and has recorded 10 or more kills in each of her last five matches. The West Palm Beach, Fla., is also averaging just over a dig per set on the year. After missing the first 12 matches of the season with a finger injury, Thornberry has returned to form for the Deacs. After setting a school-record for most digs in a season last year, the St. Louis, Mo., native is third in the conference with 4.64 digs per set in 14 matches this season. Sophomore Carlin Salmon, junior Lauren McIntyre and Beck have all been solid in the front row for the Deacons this season. Salmon is second on the team with 2.21 kills per set and tops the squad with 92 total blocks. McIntyre is hitting a modest .233 with 167 kills and 39 blocks while Beck leads the team with a .267 hitting percentage and is second with 79 blocks. Beck has hit .327 with 47 kills and 22 blocks in the last five matches. Jones has once again been one of the main keys to the Deacon offense. After making a remarkable recovery from off-season hip surgery, the Ada, Mich., native is averaging 10.15 assists per set and tops the team with 11 double-doubles. She posted back-to-back double-doubles last weekend in Florida and has averaged 11.16 assists per set and 2.85 digs per set in her last five matches. Virginia comes into the weekend with an 11-15 overall record and a 6-9 mark in the ACC. The Cavaliers started the season 6-4 but then dropped nine of their next ten matches to fall to 7-13. However, the Hoos have gone 4-2 over the last three weekends which includes a thrilling 3-2 victory over Miami. Last week, UVa fell to North Carolina in four sets before rebounding to drop NC State in three. The Cavaliers are led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Simone Asque. Asque is the only ACC player to earn multiple Player of the Week honors this season as she earned the award back-to-back on Oct. 27 and Nov. 2. The Chicago, Ill., native has 339 kills, which is nearly 150 more than teammate Lauren Dickson (194), who is second on the team. Asque is also third in the ACC with 3.68 kills per set. Dickson is averaging 2.94 kills per set while Sydney Hill is third at 1.76. Hill is also second on the team in blocks behind Jessica O’Shoney, who tops the squad with a total of 67. Setter Rachel Grey is one of four Cavaliers to have played in every set this season as she is averaging 9.64 assists per set while also collecting over two digs per set. AJ Cushman and Brittani Rendina have also played in all 92 sets and are tops on the team in digs. Cushman is averaging 3.52 digs per set and is fifth in the conference with 32 service aces while Rendina has collected a total of 291 digs and has 15 aces. Behind Cushman and Rendina, the Cavaliers are fourth in the conference in both digs and service aces per set but their opponents are hitting a league-worst .245 against them. UVa holds a slim 19-17 advantage in the all-time series with Wake as the Deacons claimed a 3-1 victory earlier this season. In fact, the home team has won each of the last four meetings in the series with the last three coming by 3-1 counts. The Hokies are 17-9 overall and come into the weekend tied with the Deacs in the conference at 7-8. VT started the season 10-1 but then dropped four of the next five to fall to 11-5. But the Hokies rebounded with five-straight victories, including three in a row over North Carolina Georgia Tech and Clemson. Since then, Tech is just 1-4 with its lone win coming over NC State last weekend. Offensively, the Hokies are led by the trio of Justine Record, Felicia Willoughby and Cara Baarendse. Record tops the squad with 276 kills and his hitting a respectable .207 on the outside. She is also second on the team at 2.56 digs per set and is third in conference with 43 service aces. Willoughby has recorded 266 kills with a .306 hitting percentage and leads the team with a total of 121 blocks. Her 1.21 blocks per set are also third-best in the league. Baarendse has played in 102 of the 103 total sets for the Hokies and has notched 227 kills and 46 assists. She is also second on the team in blocks with 61. Setter Erin Leaser has had a very good year as she is second in the ACC with 11.10 assists per set. She has also blocked a total of 43 attacks and is averaging just under two digs per set. Libero Jill Gergen is the leading Hokie in digs with 400 and is one of the reasons Tech is fourth in the conference in opponent hitting percentage. VT is also third in kills per set at 13.60 and fourth in assists per set. VT leads the all-time series with Wake 22-9. The Demon Deacons won three of the first five meetings but then the Hokies won the next 14 matches in a row. Wake has won each of the last two meetings in Winston-Salem, including this year by a score of 3-1 on Oct. 2, but hasn’t won in Blacksburg since 1980. Live scoring will be available for each match. Check www.WakeForestSports.com for links to each school’s live scoring page.
Click on the link below for a video interview with the Waves’ Kiah Fiers. http://www.pepperdinesports. November 10, 2009 THE FACTS — The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team plays its final three matches of the 2009 regular season on the road, beginning at rival Loyola Marymount on Friday night. MATCH #25 — Friday (Nov. 13) at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif.: Pepperdine (14-10, 7-4 WCC, third place) at Loyola Marymount (12-13, 3-8 WCC, seventh place) at 7 p.m. PCH CHALLENGE — The newly created PCH Challenge is a season-long competition between local rivals Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. The Lions lead 3.5-2.5 heading into Friday’s match. A home win is worth one point, while a road victory is valued at 1 1/2 points. ON THE WEB — Live video of all home matches are available to Wave Casts subscribers atwww.pepperdinesports.com. Live statistics will be available for all home matches free of charge, and links are provided to the home team’s website when the Waves are on the road. Go to the “Wave Casts” link toward the top of the home page for more information. RANKINGS — After being ranked as high as #19 in the AVCA poll on Sept. 7, the Waves have been in the “others receiving votes” category the past eight weeks. 8/18 8/31 9/7 9/14 9/21 9/28 10/5 10/12 10/19 10/26 11/2 11/9 11/16 11/23 11/30 rv #21 #19 #25 rv rv rv rv rv rv rv rv OPPONENT — Pepperdine is 45-16 all-time against Loyola Marymount and has won six in a row, nine of the last 10 and 15 of the last 17. The Waves have won at LMU the last two seasons, with the last Lion victory in the series coming at Gersten Pavilion in 2006. Pepperdine is 19-11 all-time at LMU and has won eight of the last 10 there. LAST TIME AROUND — The Waves routed the Lions, 25-13, 25-14, 25-18, at home on Oct. 17.Kim Hill had a match-high 10 kills and hit .471, while Kiah Fiers had 29 assists, seven digs and five kills and Stevi Robinson added 16 digs. Pepperdine had advantages of .280-.113 in hitting and 8-0 in service aces. LAST WEEK — The Waves have never lost at home to Portland or Gonzaga, and though it wasn’t easy, Pepperdine extended its unbeaten streak to 23 years against both schools last week. The Waves beat Portland in four (25-13, 21-25, 25-14, 25-13) on Thursday (Nov. 5), and then had to come from behind to beat Gonzaga in five (25-7, 23-25, 15-25, 25-20, 15-11). Entering the weekend, the Waves had lost the previous six matches that had gone more than three sets and were 0-4 in the fifth set. Kim Hill had a huge weekend, hitting .526 while averaging a team-best 3.62 kills. She had the match high for kills on both days, including a career-high 22 against Gonzaga. Kiah Fiers averaged 12.00 assists and 2.31 digs. WCC STATS — Pepperdine is first in digs (15.22,) second in service aces (1.27), second in opponent hitting percentage (.200), third in hitting percentage (.245) and sixth in blocks (1.92) ... Kim Hill is first in hitting percentage (.413) and 10th in points (3.29) ... Kiah Fiers is second in assists (11.05) ... Stevi Robinson is third in digs (4.78) and service aces (0.40) ... Rachel Grochmal is fourth in kills (3.28), fourth in points (3.82), fifth in service aces (0.28) and 10th in digs (2.73) ... Lilla Frederick is seventh in kills (2.92) ... Victoria Adelhelm is seventh in blocks (0.87) and eighth in hitting percentage (.318). NATIONAL STATS — According to the NCAA ... Kim Hill is ninth in the nation in hitting percentage (.413) ... Kiah Fiers is 27th in assists (11.05) ... Stevi Robinson is 46th in digs (4.78). CAREER RECORDS WATCH — Kim Hill’s career .382 hitting percentage is on target to set a school record ... Stevi Robinson’s career average of 4.79 digs per set is on pace to set a school record ... Rachel Grochmal is #2 in service aces per set (0.35), #3 in service aces (129) and #10 in kills (1,171) ... Kiah Fiers is #3 in total assists (4,263) and #4 in assists per set (11.71). 2009 HONORS — Kiah Fiers and Kim Hill were named to the preseason All-WCC team ... Fiers was named Tournament MVP at the Colorado State Asics Classic and was joined on the all-tournament team by Lilla Frederick and Rachel Grochmal ... Fiers was also named WCC Player of the Week on 8/31 following the Colorado State event ... Stevi Robinson was named WCC Player of the Week on 9/7 after the Pepperdine-USC Tournament ... Robinson and Frederick made the all-tournament team for the Pepperdine-USC Tournament ... Robinson was the Tournament MVP at the Pepperdine Asics Classic and Kristen Seaton also made the all-tournament team. FIERS — The leader of Pepperdine’s attack is senior setter Kiah Fiers (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./Peninsula HS), who is averaging 11.05 assists per set. She is a three-time All-WCC selection (once on the first team, twice on honorable mention). She recorded her 4,000th career assist a couple of weeks ago, moving past Lee Hoven and into the #3 slot on Pepperdine’s all-time list (she is now at 4,263). GROCHMAL — Pepperdine’s other senior starter is outside hitter Rachel Grochmal (Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda HS). Formerly Rachel Lumsden, she got married this past summer. She is a two-time All-WCC honorable mention selection and began the season as Pepperdine’s all-time leader in service aces per set. In 2009, she is averaging a team-best 3.28 kills along with 2.73 digs. She recorded her 1,000th career kill vs. Saint Mary’s on Oct. 1. ROBINSON — Arguably among the best liberos in the country, sophomore Stevi Robinson(Hermosa Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) was the WCC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 after averaging a WCC-leading 4.81 digs per set. She’s been just as good in 2009 at 4.78 digs and 0.40 service aces per set. HILL — After earning WCC Freshman of the Year honors last season, sophomore middle blocker Kim Hill (Portland, Ore./Portland Christian HS) is shouldering an even bigger load in 2009. She is among the national leaders in hitting at .413 and is averaging 2.82 kills and 0.73 blocks. FREDERICK — Sophomore Lilla Frederick (Huntington Beach, Calif./Cornelia Connelly HS) is contributing 2.92 kills and 2.42 digs per set. She made the WCC All-Freshman team last season and played on the USA Junior National Team the past two summers. SEATON — Back in the rotation after redshirting 2008 due to a foot injury, sophomore Kristen Seaton (Terre Haute, Ind./South Vigo HS) has been one of the Waves’ options at opposite. She is averaging 1.96 kills and 0.64 blocks. FRIEDMAN — An occasional starter in the back row, junior Krista Friedman (La Verne, Calif./St. Lucy’s Priory HS) has carved out a role as a defensive specialist. She is averaging 1.50 digs per set. ADELHELM — Of Pepperdine’s seven newcomers, only one was asked to step into the regular starting lineup from the beginning, and that’s freshman middle blocker Victoria Adelhelm(Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Santa Fe Christian HS). She has made a nice transition to Division I volleyball, averaging 1.95 kills and 0.87 blocks. She was #85 on prepvolleyball.com’s Senior Aces list. RACICH — Earning more playing time since the start of the conference season has been freshman outside hitter Caitlin Racich (Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos HS), who has started several matches for the Waves. She is averaging 1.79 kills and 1.52 digs. She was #70 onprepvolleyball.com’s Senior Aces list. MORE NEWCOMERS — Among the other five newcomers, freshman Brittney Clark (San Jose, Calif./Presentation HS) has seen the most playing time, averaging 0.64 kills and 0.68 blocks as a middle blocker or opposite. Three other newcomers are also true freshmen. Kelli Branning (Menlo Park, Calif./Menlo-Atherton HS) is a libero who has been seeing more and more action as a defensive specialist. Justine Hunter (Hollister, Calif./San Benito HS) is the backup at setter and Ashley Broadwell (Bothell, Wash./Archbishop Murphy HS) is an outside hitter. Redshirt sophomore Janea Rosell (Los Angeles, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS), a transfer from Arizona State, is competing at middle blocker. The website prepvolleyball.comrated Pepperdine’s recruiting class as #12 in the country. NINA MATTHIES — Now in her 27th season as head coach of the Waves, Nina Matthiesentered the 2009 season with a career record of 494-294 (.627), which includes 10 conference championships and 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. She is by far the WCC’s all-time winningest coach and is a nine-time WCC Coach of the Year. On Sept. 11, 2009, she won the 500th match of her career with a victory over Seattle. Matthies was among the world’s top players and is a member of the Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame. Earlier this fall, Dig Magazine rated her and former partner Linda Hanley as the second-best women’s beach team of all time. She won two AIAW national championships as a player at UCLA. ROSTER — The Waves return four starters plus the libero and lost only two starters from the 2008 squad. Seven returners (six letterwinners and one redshirt) are joined by seven newcomers (six true freshmen and one transfer) to bring the squad total to 14. It’s a fairly young team, as the eligibility breakdown is two seniors, one junior, five sophomores and six freshmen. WCC PRESEASON POLL — San Diego received seven of the eight first-place votes and was picked to win the title. Pepperdine was second, followed by Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara, San Francisco and Loyola Marymount, and then Gonzaga and Portland (tied). Kiah Fiers and Kim Hill were named to the All-WCC preseason first team. VOLLEYBALL HISTORY — The Pepperdine women’s volleyball program is synonymous with the word excellence, as the Waves are a perennial power. The Waves have advanced to postseason play 25 times in 34 seasons, including 11 trips to the NCAA Championships in the last 12 seasons. Pepperdine’s best finishes in recent years came when the team made the regional final of the 2002 NCAAs, and then in 2003 when the Waves posted 27 victories (most in the Nina Matthies era). 2008 RECAP — It was another solid year for the Pepperdine women’s volleyball team. Julie Rubenstein earned AVCA All-American third team honors and became Pepperdine’s first All-American since 2003. She led the conference in kills and points. The Waves advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row but suffered a first-round loss to Long Beach State. There was a school-record-tying 13-0 start, and though they tied for fourth in the WCC with an 8-6 record, the Waves finished 20-8 overall, the 17th 20-win season in program history.Kim Hill earned WCC Freshman of the Year honors and Stevi Robinson was the WCC Defensive Player of the Year. TICKETS — Single-match tickets to all home women’s volleyball games are $8 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and free to all Pepperdine students and faculty with a university ID. ABOUT PEPPERDINE — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won a total of nine NCAA championships in five different men’s sports — one of just 14 schools to have accomplished this feat. Of the 14, Pepperdine is the only non-BCS school and has by far the smallest enrollment. The majority of Pepperdine’s teams are ranked nationally year after year and compete for conference and national titles. THREE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL MATCHES TO BE BROADCAST NATIONALLY COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Three Mountain West Conference volleyball matches will be aired nationally in the coming days on The Mtn. – MountainWest Sports Network, CBS College Sports Network and BYU-TV. The television slate begins Thursday, November 12 with first-place Colorado State at Utah airing live on The Mtn. at 7:30 p.m. MT. In addition to its match at Utah, CSU will also face BYU on Saturday, November 14, which will broadcast live on BYU-TV at 7 p.m. MT. A re-air of the CSU-BYU contest will be shown on The Mtn., Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m. MT. Saturday’s TCU at UNLV match will be shown on a tape-delayed basis on CBS College Sports Network Tuesday, November 17 at 5 p.m. MT. CBS College Sports Network is widely available on cable systems across the country and via satellite on DIRECTV (Channel 613) and Dish Network (Channel 152). The Mtn. is carried nationally by DIRECTV (Channel 616) and numerous cable operators representing over 200 municipalities in nine states. Trying to snap a two-match losing streak, Eagles host co-leader Northern Colorado on Friday followed by rematch with Northern Arizona on Senior Night on Saturday It's time to get tournament ready for the Eastern Washington University volleyball team. The Eagles will try to get back on track as they host co-Big Sky Conference leader Northern Colorado on Friday (Nov. 13) before hosting Northern Arizona on Senior Night on Saturday (Nov. 14). Both matches begin at 7 p.m. Pacific time at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash. Eastern enters with a two-match losing streak, and stands at 9-4 in the Big Sky Conference heading into action this week. The Eagles have three matches left before hosting the Big Sky Conference Championships Nov. 27-28 at Reese Court. "Defending our home court is a big deal for us and we have to get back on track a little bit," said Eastern head coach Miles Kydd. "Last year after 13 matches we were also 9-4, so we're not going to freak out too much. We have two of our last three at home, and that will help. We'll try to win on Friday night and then worry about Saturday." Eastern is currently third in the league standings behind Portland State and UNC at 11-2, and those two teams square off Saturday in Portland. Having defeated the Bears earlier this season in Greeley, Colo., an Eastern victory on Friday would help in tiebreaker scenarios against the Bears. Eastern is a full two games ahead of fourth-place Montana (7-6), with the top four teams advancing to the tournament. However, as defending regular season champion and host, the Eagles are guaranteed a play-in game on Nov. 27 in case they don't finish in the top four. "The bottom line is we have to start playing better and start our preparations for the tournament," said Kydd. "But every time we play we are playing to win. We definitely don't want to coast heading into the conference tournament." Saturday will be a rematch of a five-set match the Lumberjacks won on Oct. 15. Eastern responded with a four-match winning streak, but has lost its last two matches to Montana (3-1 on Oct. 31) and Portland State (3-0 on Nov. 6). The Vikings also defeated EWU 3-1 in Portland on Oct. 9. "We don't think we played very well and we're about to find out what the difference will be in the rematch," said Kydd, whose team allowed NAU to hit .556 in a pivotal second-set victory on Oct. 15. "This is a match we feel like we should come out on the positive side. They beat us once before, and they hit a higher percentage than what we would like to allow. But we were able to force it to a fifth game and then it's always a crapshoot." Following this week's matches, Eastern plays a non-conference match at Washington State on Nov. 17 and then concludes regular season play in the Big Sky at Sacramento State on Nov. 21. Eagles to Honor Four Seniors on Saturday -- Four seniors -- all of them starters for the Eagles -- will be honored in pre-game ceremonies prior to Eastern's game Saturday versus Northern Arizona. Leading the way is Hayley Hills, who ranks second in school history and 19th all-time in the Big Sky Conference with 1,366 career kills. She has started all 24 Eastern matches this season and is averaging 3.56 kills and 2.59 digs per set with a .158 hitting percentage. Ashley Hamilton has also started all 24 matches and is averaging 9.36 assists and 1.31 kills per set, and Amanda Yausie has started 17 of 24 matches. She is averaging 1.66 digs per set while Mortensen, a defensive specialist who is the team's libero, is averaging a team-high 3.21 digs per set. Hills, Yausie and Mortensen each have a team-leading 17 ace serves, and Hamilton has15. "All four of our graduating seniors are starters and that speaks well for them," said Eastern head coach Miles Kydd. "They have made a tremendous commitment to Eastern and have been major contributors to our program. We hate to lose such a great group of seniors, but that's the nature of college athletics -- they come and then they go." #1 - JaNae Mortensen - DS - Pleasant Grove, Utah (Snow College / Pleasant Grove H.S. '06) Eagles to Host Big Sky Championships -- After claiming the Big Sky Conference's regular-season title in 2008, the Eagles earned the right to host the league's 2009 Tournament. The semifinals will take place at 5 and 7 p.m. on Nov. 27, while the title contest will start at 7 p.m. the following evening. The winner of that match will earn the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which starts the following weekend. The Eagles previously hosted the tournament in 2004, 2003, 2002 and 1989. Hills in Second on Career Kills List -- Senior outside hitter Hayley Hills has climbed into the second spot on Eastern Washington's career kills list, as she now has 1,366. Her total only trails the school record of 1,860, set by Kim Exner (1995-98), and also ranks 19th all-time in Big Sky Conference history. Hills is also currently second in school history in kills per set, embedded into that slot with a 3.88 average. Holding the record is Exner (4.43); in third is Juli Argotow (3.42). Hills earned her 1,000th kill in a 3-1 win at Sacramento State on Nov. 21 of last year. That gained her entry to the 1,000-kill club, becoming the eighth Eagle in history to do so. Following impressive performance in wins over Montana and Montana State on Sept. 18 and 19, respectively, Hills was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week. In those two matches, she averaged 4.71 kills and 3.14 digs per set in helping the Eagles to 3-1 and 3-0 respective wins over the Grizzlies and Bobcats. In the Montana State match, she had 21 kills in a three-set match. Hills also earned POW honors on four occasions a year ago. Eagles Rank Nationally in Attendance -- The Eastern Washington Eagles have earned the attention of the greater Spokane area and it has shown, as the team is averaging 926 fans per contest, an average that ranks the squad 48th in the country (through matches in October). The highlight of the home schedule came on Oct. 9 when 1,440 saw the Eagles take on Portland State in a first-versus-second battle. That crowd was the largest for a home contest since Sept. 23, 2006, when 1,484 saw Eastern take on Northern Colorado. The Eagles have ranked in the top 40 in attendance in 11 of the past 12 years. Eastern Washington has won 16 of its last 17 contests at Reese Court, including a 7-1 record at home this season. Flory Previews Week Ahead for No. 19 Volleyball BATON ROUGE – Head coach Fran Flory met with the media Tuesday to preview the upcoming week for LSU volleyball. The Tigers (20-5, 14-2 SEC) open the second leg of a four-match road swing Friday at No. 10 Florida before traveling to South Carolina on Sunday. LSU and Florida enter the match tied for second place and a half-match behind Kentucky in the overall SEC standings. The Tigers have won 13 of their last 14 matches and secured the program’s fifth straight SEC Western Division crown last weekend. LSU also checked in at No. 11 in the latest edition of the RPI that was released Monday. The Tigers are prominent in the national stats and rank inside the NCAA Top 50 in four different categories highlighted by 2.79 blocks per set [No. 10], a .261 team hitting percentage [No. 23] and 12.93 assists per frame [No. 27]. Brittnee Cooper has racked up 1.39 blocks per set and a .381 hitting percentage. She paces the SEC in both categories, while ranking No. 14 and No. 17 nationally, respectively. Sam Dabbs’ 11.01 assists per set are No. 28 among the nation’s setters. First serve against the Gators is scheduled for 6 p.m. and live stats will be available on LSUsports.net. The match will be televised by Fox Sports Net Florida but is unavailable in the Baton Rouge area. Fans also can follow in-match updates of the five-time SEC Western Division champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball. VOLLEYBALL PRESS CONFERENCE AT WALK ON’S NOVEMBER 10, 2009 HEAD COACH FRAN FLORY Opening statement … “I want to open by wishing soccer great luck. We’re really proud of them and certainly wish them the best in the NCAA Tournament. Women’s and men’s basketball opens this week and it’s a very exciting time for a lot of sports at LSU. We also have a huge match this weekend. We play at Florida and this match will have a pretty large implication in terms of who is going to win the SEC. I know they will be ready for us. They’re really going to be prepared since we got them on our home court. They’ve been running a little different lineup so we’re going to have to really prepare on our side. Then we play South Carolina on Sunday, a match that is notoriously difficult. We’re going to have to really prepare and bounce back from Friday.” “We only have one home weekend left and I would encourage everyone to try and come out on Sunday Nov. 22, it is our senior night. These four seniors [Brittnee Cooper, Sam Dabbs, Lauren DeGirolamo and Marina Skender] have meant the world to our program and have taken us to the next level. We take on Alabama and we’re hopeful that we will have a great crowd to send them off into our last [home] match before we advance into the NCAA [Tournament]. We’re hoping that we can follow in soccer’s footsteps and be able to play at home again after that weekend but there is still a lot of volleyball left to play. “We have had some individual awards since the last time we talked. Brittnee Cooper was named the CVU National Player of the Week a couple weeks ago. Another great honor for our kids, and we look forward to ending our season in a special way.” On the opportunity to win the overall SEC title … “We’re going to have to have some help. Kentucky only has one loss. They took care of us twice. It’s really unfortunate because we played them really close at their place. We would like to have that match back, but you know you don’t get them back. Kentucky has Florida and Tennessee [left] to play and we only have Florida to play. Florida has Kentucky and Tennessee after playing us on Friday. In terms of tough matches, we only have one and everyone else that is in the race has two or three. It could break our way but certainly we will need a little help. All we can do is take care of our opportunities, and we know that is big task in the O’Connell Center against Florida on Friday night. We’ll have to be really good this weekend. The bottom line is how well we execute. We feel like we’ve a very talented team that can stay on the court with them. The difference will be how well we play and do we allow a home court advantage to affect us. We’ve actually honestly fared better on the road so far this year. Our seniors [Cooper, Dabbs, DeGirolamo and Skender] take great leadership and do a really good job of keeping everyone focused. I’m not saying we will play better than we did the first time we played Florida but if we can execute to that level this is going to be a tremendous volleyball match.” On Brittnee Cooper’s impact on the team … “Brittnee Cooper is a huge success story in our program. She started as a real project. She was a great athlete that didn’t know much about volleyball when we first chose to sign her four years ago. She has worked amazingly hard in the classroom, on the court and has developed not only into a great volleyball player but also a tremendous spokesperson for our program and a tremendous person. She has been really fun to coach and certainly we will miss her. Her stats speak for themselves. She’s absolutely the key. Many coaches in their pre-match interviews say she’s one of the best if not the best middle blocker in the country and I would think she is pretty close.” On the first time she saw Brittnee Cooper play … “The first time I saw her play she wouldn’t hit a ball hard. She jumped real high but she was kind of arms and legs everywhere. She wasn’t really sure what to do when they would set her the ball. The coaches controlled her, told her she could hit it hard and she would have to be a high efficiency type player to get a chance in college. I didn’t think it was a risk but many programs thought she was a big risk. Fortunately for us, she chose LSU. Four years later, she is matured into a tremendous player with a chance to take the next step and go to the next level.” On when Brittnee Cooper matured into the player she is today … “In between her sophomore and junior years she really made a step. She made the USA A2 National Team that summer, and she’s honestly a pretty shy kid. She had to go out on her own, play with different people and got a glimpse that she was playing with the best collegiate players in the country. The big thing was that she was holding her own. She tried out this past summer and ended up making the team again. She even became one of the leaders of that group. That certainly was a huge key in her maturation process. Between her sophomore and junior years is when the light bulb went on and she took off for us. On how Brittnee Cooper has progressed over her career … “She was painfully shy when she first came here to the point where she would not stand in front of a person or answer a direct question. Now, she will stand in front of a camera. It makes me a little emotional to see how far she has come, and I’m certainly very proud how far she has come as a person besides the volleyball. She has become a wonderful young lady, and I know she will be very successful.” On why the Arkansas match was such a struggle … “We knew that Arkansas was playing for a chance to get a look in the NCAA Tournament. They felt that if they won out and knocked someone off that was ranked that they were going to get a strong look as the fifth or sixth best team [from the SEC]. I knew our rhythm wasn’t very good and our ball control wasn’t good. I felt that we didn’t prepare very well for the match. A team is able to gain momentum and jump on us when we do that. We get ourselves in trouble. You have to credit them. We’ve not been able to balance all year so you have to credit them because they played their hearts out. If you look at the effort plays you would have thought Arkansas would have won the match but we have some great leadership in the fifth set thankfully for our team. We’re very fortunate to win that match.” Pepperdine Women's Volleyball Plays at LMU on Friday in PCH Challenge Match
EWU Volleyball -- Important Home Matches This Week for Eagles
#3 - Ashley Hamilton - S - Alpine, Utah (Arizona / Lone Peak H.S. '06)
#9 - Amanda Yausie - S - Colonsay, Saskatchewan (Colonsay H.S. '06)
#13 - Hayley Hills - OH - Quesnel, B.C. (Correlieu Secondary '06)
