Courtesy: Hawai‘i

HAWAI’I’S DANIELSON NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hawai’i sophomore outside hitter Kanani Danielson has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 16-22. This is the fifth WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Danielson and the sixth of her career.

The ‘Ewa Beach, O‘ahu (Kamehameha Schools) native tallied a career-high 32 kills, six digs and two assists in a four-set win over Utah State that capped Hawai’i’s perfect record in WAC play at 16-0. Danielson averaged 8.00 kills on .455 hitting, 1.50 digs, 0.50 assists and 8.12 points per set. Her 32 kills were the most in a match by a UH player since 2006.

Other nominees included: Alisha Young of Boise State tallied 10 kills on a season-best .409 hitting in a loss at Idaho  ... Fresno State’s Brianna Clarke averaged 3.38 kills on .373 hitting and 1.88 blocks ... Anna McKinney of Idaho posted 10 blocks in a sweep of Fresno State to move her season block assists total to a school record 159 ... Nevada’s Jorgan Staker  had 10 kills, four block assists and hit .421 in a loss to Utah State ... Katie Astle of Utah State hit .382 and averaged 2.12 kills and 1.50 blocks per set as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week.

WAC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT OPENS MONDAY
The 2009 WAC Volleyball Tournament kicks off Monday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. No. 6 Boise State faces No. 3 Idaho in the first match, followed by No. 5 Fresno State vs. No. 4 Nevada in the second match. On Tuesday, No. 2 New Mexico State faces the winner of the Boise State/Idaho match, while top-seeded Hawai’i plays the winner of the Fresno State/Nevada match. The championship match will be played at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and will be televised live on ESPNU.

WAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Top-seeded Hawai’i has won the last nine WAC Tournament titles after falling to Brigham Young in the championship match in both 1996 and 1997. The Rainbow Wahine have a 31-2 (.939) overall record in the tournament. Since the revival of the tournament in 2001 after a two-year hiatus, Hawai’i has recorded 18 sweeps in WAC Tournament play.

WAC TO STREAM FOUR TOURNAMENT MATCHES
The WAC will stream the first two days of the 2009 WAC Volleyball Tournament. Viewers can sign up by visiting www.WAC.tv. Each day, fans can view both matches on WAC.tv for $9.95. More information and how to subscribe to any of these video streaming events can be found at www.WAC.tv.

WAC TOURNAMENT TICKETS/ACCOMMODATIONS
All-session tickets are $45 and can be purchased over the phone (888-234-2334) or online (www.orleansarena.com/event-calendar/wac-volleyball-tournament). Fans traveling to Las Vegas are encouraged to stay at the Orleans Hotel and Casino. Rates are $90 per night Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20-21, and $35 per night Sunday-Wednesday, Nov. 22-25, single or double occupancy, plus room tax and Resort Fee. For reservations, please call (800) 657-3267 and request WAC Volleyball Championship Fan Block or Group Code 9WACC11.

2009 ALL-WAC TEAM
For the 14th-straight year, Hawai‘i boasts the WAC Player of the Year, as sophomore outside hitter Kanani Danielson earned the honors in 2009. Teammate Brittany Hewitt captured Freshman of the Year honors, while head coach Dave Shoji was named WAC Coach of the Year. 

Four different schools were represented on the first team and all nine overall. Hawai’i, the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament, had four players named to the first team and three to the second team. Second-seeded New Mexico State had four players on the first team and one on the second team, while Idaho had three first-team selections. Nevada had one player on the first team.

For the 14th-straight year, Hawai‘i boasts the WAC Player of the Year. Danielson has ranked in the Top 50 nationally in kills per set all season, averaging 4.11 per set. A sophomore, she was named WAC Player of the Week five times this season. She is a two-time first-team all-WAC honoree.

Hewitt earned Freshman of the Year honors, the seventh Rainbow Wahine player to do so. She ranked second in the conference with a .397 hitting percentage in WAC matches and currently ranks 29th nationally in the category. She was also honored as an All-Freshman Team selection and a second-team all-WAC pick.

Shoji led his team to its 14th-consecutive WAC regular-season title and an undefeated record in WAC play. Earlier this year, he became just the second Division I volleyball coach ever to eclipse the 1,000-win mark. This is the seventh WAC Coach of the Year honor of his career.

BOISE STATE BRONCOS (7-21, 7-9 WAC)
The Broncos fell in three sets (16-25, 18-25, 20-25) to Idaho on Thursday in their only match last week ... Alisha Young tallied 10 kills on .409 hitting to lead the team in the loss ... The 7-9 record in WAC play is the best conference record ever for the Broncos as members of the WAC and their best conference record since 1998, when the team went 11-5 in the Big West and finished in second place in the East Division ... With 284 career blocks, Sadie Maughan ranks 10th all-time at Boise State ... Maughan also ranks fourth in career points (798), while Young is fifth (747) ... Lauren Hamm is tied for ninth in career digs (1,010), 14 away from No. 8 ... The No. 6-seed Broncos play third-seeded Idaho on Monday in the opening round of the WAC Tournament.

FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (14-15, 7-9 WAC)
The Bulldogs fell in five sets (25-23, 31-33, 19-25, 25-17, 15-9) at Cal State Bakersfield last Tuesday and swept San Jose State (25-23, 27-25, 25-15) on Thursday ... Brianna Clarke posted a season-high 20 kills on .359 hitting at CS Bakersfield ... At San Jose State, Clarke had a team-high seven kills on a .417 clip. She tied a career-high with two service aces had eight blocks, one shy of a career high ... The Bulldogs posted 14 total blocks vs. the Spartans, one shy of the school record for blocks in a three-set match ... The 14 wins this season are the most regular-season wins since 2004 for Fresno State, while the seven WAC wins are the most wins in the league by a Bulldog team since 2003 ... Fifth-seeded Fresno State faces No. 4 Nevada in the opening round of the WAC Tournament on Monday.

HAWAI‘I RAINBOW WAHINE (26-2, 16-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine beat Utah State in four sets (25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 25-13) last Monday to go undefeated in WAC play for the 10th time in program history ... Kanani Danielson had a career-high 32 kills, the most by a UH player since 2006 ... Aneli Cubi-Otineru tied a career-high with 22 kills on .462 hitting. She also added 11 digs for her third double-double of the season ... UH had a season-high 73 kills in the match, while hitting .350 as a team ... The Rainbow Wahine have won 22-straight matches, dating back to a five-set loss to then-No. 10 California on Sept. 6, and has won 66 out of 70 sets played during that time ... Cubi-Otineru is 44 kills shy of reaching the 1,000 kill milestone ... The top-seeded Rainbow Wahine face the winner of the Nevada-Fresno State match in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament on Tuesday.

IDAHO VANDALS (15-14, 11-5 WAC)
The Vandals swept Boise State (25-16, 25-18, 25-20) last Thursday ...  Anna McKinney totaled nine block assists in the match to move her single-season total to 159, besting an Idaho record held since 1993 ... McKinney also moved to No. 9 on the WAC career blocking leaders list with 480 ... Debbie Pederson currently ranks ninth nationally in blocks per set (1.49), while McKinney is 10th (1.46) ... Sarah Conwell ranks 50th in the nation in points per set (4.49) and 64th in kills per set (3.85) ... As a team, Idaho leads the nation with 3.21 blocks per set ... Idaho set a new WAC record with 206 blocks in conference matches. The previous record of 201.5 was set by
Hawai’i in 2005 ... Idaho out-blocked WAC opponents 206 to 107.5 ... The Vandals are the No. 3 seed in the WAC Tournament and face No. 6 Boise State in the opening round on Monday.

LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (15-18, 4-12 WAC)
The Techsters finished the season 15-18 overall and 4-12 in WAC play, good for eighth place ... Nataliya Panova recorded a team-best 10 double-doubles on the year ... Kara Jones posted a WAC-best 32 solo blocks this season ... Jones finished the season with 131 total blocks, tied for second place all-time in the Tech single-season record books ... Tech’s 15 wins this season are the most since 2005, as the Techsters won a combined 16 matches in the past three seasons and recorded an 11-win turnaround from last season ... KC Clayton closed out her career with 376 total blocks, good for third place all-time at Louisiana Tech.

NEVADA WOLF PACK (11-19, 7-9 WAC)
The Wolf Pack fell in four sets (26-24, 24-26, 16-25, 19-25) at Utah State last Thursday ... Nicole Link had a match-high 18 digs and now has 997 on her career, good for ninth place. She will become the eighth player in school history to reach the 1000-dig plateau. Link’s 413 digs this season ranks fourth ... Sonnie Sei moved into seventh place on the all-time Nevada assists list with 1,798 after dishing out 36 assists at Utah State ... Lindsay Baldwin ranks fourth in block assists (333) and total blocks (372) and sixth in points (1016.5) on the Pack career lists ... Kylie Harrington is seventh with 927 career points, while Jorgan Staker is seventh in block assists (229) and eighth in total blocks (234) ... The fourth-seeded Wolf Pack play No. 5-seed Fresno State in the opening round of the WAC Tournament on Monday.

NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (18-8, 13-3 WAC)
The Aggies were idle last week ... NM State currently ranks 18th nationally in blocks per set (2.72) and 37th in kills per set (13.81) ... Kayleigh Giddens is 41st in the nation in kills (4.04) and 47th in points (4.52) ... Erin Birmingham ranks 46th nationally with 1.22 blocks per set ... Giddens’ 4.04 kills per set average so far this season ranks fifth in the Aggie single-season record books ... Birmingham had 10 block assists vs. Nevada on Nov. 12, tied for the second-most in a four-set match in Aggie history ... Birmingham’s 113 total blocks this season are one shy of the NM State Top 10 ... Birmingham’s career average of 1.13 blocks per set ranks seventh in the Aggie career record books ...The Aggies, the No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament, face the winner of the Idaho-Boise State match in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (1-25, 1-14 WAC)
The Spartans were swept (23-25, 25-27, 15-25) by Fresno State last Thursday and by Cal State Bakersfield (25-18, 25-20, 25-21) on Saturday to close out the season ... Kylie Miraldi led all hitters with 11 kills vs. the Bulldogs ... Caitlin Andrade recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 30 assists and 11 digs in the match ... In the loss to Cal State Bakersfield, Sarah McAtee led the team with eight kills, followed by Miraldi with seven ... Andrade remains the only player in the WAC and one of just 27 players nationwide to record a triple-double this season ... Kristal Tsukano closed out her career ranked third in the SJSU career record books with 1,350 digs.

UTAH STATE AGGIES (15-14, 6-10 WAC)
The Aggies fell in four sets (19-25, 25-22, 19-25, 13-25) to Hawai’i last Monday and defeated Nevada in four sets (24-26, 26-24, 25-16, 25-19) on Thursday in their final match of the season ... Against UH, Shantell Durrant had 12 kills on .429 hitting, while Christine Morrill tallied a match-high 17 digs ... Liz McArthur paced the team with 21 kills and eight digs vs. the Wolf Pack ... Morrill led the WAC in conference matches with 4.93 digs per set, while McArthur ranked fourth with 3.80 kills per set ... Morrill’s 531 digs this season rank second all-time in the Aggie single-season record books, while McArthur’s 433 kills rank ninth ... Morrill ranks second all-time at Utah State with 1,273 career digs, while Chelsea Fowles is third with 3,281 career assists, 252 away from second and 661 shy of the record.

HAWAI’I CLAIMS 14TH STRAIGHT REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
Hawai’i claimed its 14th straight WAC regular-season title with a perfect 16-0 record in WAC matches. It was the 10th time the Rainbow Wahine have completed WAC play without a loss and their 12th overall unbeaten season in conference play (did it as a member of the Big West Conference in 1988 and 1995).

BIRMINGHAM, DANIELSON, DURRANT EARN ACADEMIC HONORS
Three WAC volleyball players – Erin Birmingham of New Mexico State, Kanani Danielson of Hawai’i and Shantell Durrant of Utah State – earned Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). All three were named to the second team in their respective districts. Birmingham, a senior middle hitter from Riverside, Mo., has a cumulative 3.88 grade-point average in exercise science. Danielson, a sophomore outside hitter from ‘Ewa Beach, O‘ahu, has a cumulative GPA of 3.51. Durrant, a junior middle blocker from American Fork, Utah, has a cumulative 3.83 GPA in psychology. In order to be eligible for the team, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale) at her current institution and have reached sophomore athletic eligibility.

HAWAI‘I REMAINS AT NO. 3 IN NATIONAL POLL
For the sixth-consecutive week, Hawai’i is ranked No. 3 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll. It is the highest ranking for the Rainbow Wahine since Dec. 6, 2004, when Hawai’i was No. 2. The Rainbow Wahine currently come in at 21st in the RPI.

IDAHO LEADS THE NATION IN BLOCKING
As a team, Idaho currently leads the nation with 3.21 blocks per set. The Vandals are one of three WAC teams ranked in the Top 50 as New Mexico State (18th, 2.72) and Hawai’i (37th, 2.53) are also ranked.

In other statistics, the Rainbow Wahine are third in hitting percentage (.321), sixth in winning percentage (.926), eighth in service aces (1.82), 13th in kills (14.38) and 18th in assists (13.28). New Mexico State is 37th in kills (13.81)

Five WAC players rank in the Top 50 nationally in blocks per set, led by Idaho’s Debbie Pederson in ninth place with a 1.49 average, followed by teammate Anna McKinney in 10th with 1.46. Hawai’i’s Brittany Hewitt is 15th with a 1.40 average, followed by Fresno State’s Brianna Clarke in 32nd with a 1.28 average. Erin Birmingham of New Mexico State rounds out the group in 46th place (1.22).

Several other players rank in the Top 50 in other statistical categories. Hawai’i’s Amber Kaufman is third in hitting percentage (.471) and 30th in service aces (0.43). Rainbow Wahine teammate Aneli Cubi-Otineru ranks sixth in service aces per set (0.57), while Dani Mafua is 14th in assists per set (11.54) and Brittany Hewitt is 29th in hitting percentage (.367). Meanwhile, New Mexico State’s Kayleigh Giddens is 41st in kills per set (4.04) and 47th in points per set (4.52). Sarah Conwell of Idaho is 50th in points (4.49).

HAWAI’I LEADS NATION IN ATTENDANCE
The Rainbow Wahine currently lead the nation in attendance with an average of 6,423 fans per match, well ahead of Nebraska’s 4,983 average. In addition, all 20 of Hawai’i’s home matches this season rank in the Top 40 highest attended for the year, including four of the Top 10. Meanwhile, New Mexico State ranks 18th nationally (1,919), Fresno State is 21st with a 1,787 average and Utah State is 50th (888).

SHOJI EARNS 1,000TH CAREER VICTORY
Hawai’i head coach Dave Shoji became just the fourth women’s volleyball coach ever and only the second Division I coach to reach 1,000 wins when his team defeated New Mexico State in four sets on Oct. 17. At the Division I level, Shoji trails only UCLA’s Andy Banachowski (1,102) in victories. Shoji has led his team to 15 consecutive conference titles.

TOP STAT LEADERS
In overall team stats, Hawai‘i leads the conference in hitting percentage (.322), opponent hitting percentage (.143), assists (13.47), kills (14.55) and service aces (1.74). Idaho is tops in blocks per set (3.26) and digs per set (14.65).

In conference only statistics, Hawai‘i led the WAC in hitting percentage (.347), opponent hitting percentage (.106), assists (13.54), kills (14.75) and service aces (1.75). Idaho was tops in blocks (3.43) and digs (15.80).

Individually, Hawai’i’s Kanani Danielson leads the league in kills (4.11) and points (4.58) per set. Teammates Amber Kaufman, Dani Mafua and Aneli Cubi-Otineru are tops in hitting percentage (.458), assists (11.70) and service aces (0.55), respectively. Idaho’s Anna McKinney leads the WAC in blocks per set (1.51), while Christine Morrill of Utah State is tops in digs per set (4.62).

In conference matches only, Hawai‘i’s Kaufman, Mafua and Cubi-Otineru were tops in hitting percentage (472), assists (11.76) and service aces (0.52), respectively. Morrill led the conference in digs (4.93), while Kayleigh Giddens of New Mexico State led the WAC in kills (4.47). Idaho’s Debbie Pederson and Sarah Conwell led the WAC in blocking (1.63) and points (5.07), respectively.

HAWAI’I, NM STATE, IDAHO WIN ESPNU BROADCAST MATCHES
Hawai’i beat Fresno State, Idaho defeated Utah State and New Mexico State swept Fresno State in the first three WAC ESPNU broadcasts this season. The remaining ESPNU broadcast this season is the championship match of the WAC Tournament, which airs at 6:30 p.m. (PT) Wednesday, Nov. 25.

UH RECORDS PROGRAM’S 1,000TH WIN
Hawai’i’s victory over Stanford on Sept. 12 was the program’s 1,000th win since it began playing a Division I schedule in 1974. The Rainbow Wahine have won four national titles in that span and participated in 27 NCAA Tournaments.

HAWAI‘I FAVORED IN WAC PRESEASON POLL
Hawai‘i was selected in a poll by the league’s coaches to defend its crown in 2009 and take home its 14th-straight regular-season title. The Rainbow Wahine received eight of the nine first-place votes, with New Mexico State earning the other first-place vote. Hawai‘i earned 64 total points followed by NM State with 57. Utah State was picked to finish third (45), followed by Idaho in fourth (41). Nevada was picked fifth (37), while Fresno State was sixth (29), just ahead of San Jose State (28). Boise State (12) and Louisiana Tech (11) rounded out the poll.

PRESEASON ALL-WAC
Hawai‘i sophomore Kanani Danielson was named WAC Preseason Player of the Year. This is the fifth-straight season that a Rainbow Wahine player has earned the preseason honor with All-Americans Kanoe Kamana’o (2005, 2006) and Jamie Houston (2007, 2008) each earning the honor in back-to-back years.

Hawai‘i placed the most student-athletes on the 12-player team with five. Along with Danielson, seniors Aneli Cubi-Otineru and Amber Kaufman, junior Dani Mafua and sophomore Stephanie Ferrell earned preseason honors. Cubi-Otineru and Kaufman were all first-team all-WAC selections in 2008, while Mafua was a second-team pick and Ferrell was on the All-Freshman Team.

Nevada placed two players on the preseason team in juniors Lindsay Baldwin and Kylie Harrington, as did New Mexico State with seniors Krista Altermatt and Kelli Goodan. Utah State also had two selections in juniors Chelsea Fowles and Christine Morrill. Senior Anna McKinney of Idaho rounded out the preseason squad.

GARUS JOINS THE WAC FAMILY
Shawn Garus was named head coach at Boise State on June 30, becoming the ninth head coach in program history. He came from UNC-Greensboro, where he was head coach for the previous four seasons. There he recorded three straight winning seasons and led his team to the Southern Conference finals twice.

Prior to UNCG, Garus served as the top assistant at San Francisco, and also spent time as an assistant at Texas Tech in 2002. His first collegiate head coaching experience came from 1998-2002 at UC-Colorado Springs. During his time there, he led his team to its best school record of 22-9 in 2001 and first ever postseason appearance, as well as a regional ranking of No. 6.

REGIONAL, SEMIFINAL/CHAMPIONSHIP SITES SELECTED
The NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee announced the following sites for regional and semifinal/championship competition of the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships.

Regionals (4): Dec. 11-12, 2009

Host: University of Florida
Stephen C. O’Connell Center
Gainesville, Fla.

Host: University of Minnesota
Sports Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.

Host: University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Qwest Center
Omaha, Neb.

Host: Stanford University
Maples Pavilion
Stanford, Calif.

Semifinals and Championship: Dec. 17 and 19, 2009
Co-Hosts: University of South Florida/Tampa Bay Sports Commission
St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa Bay, Fla.