HAWAI‘I EARNS NCAA TOURNAMENT BIDHawai’i earned the No. 12 overall seed in the in the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Tournament and will face New Mexico on Friday, Dec. 4, on the campus of Southern California in Los Angeles. The Rainbow Wahine (28-2) were awarded the 12th seed after winning their 10th-straight WAC Tournament and 14th-straight WAC regular-season title. UH is making its 28th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its 17th in a row. This is the sixth-straight season and seventh in the last nine years that the Rainbow Wahine earned a top 16 seed but will not host the first and second rounds. Hawai`i has advanced to the NCAA Regionals in 10 of the last 11 tournaments. New Mexico (20-9) earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament out of the Mountain West Conference. It is the Lobos’ first appearance in the tournament since 1994.
HAWAI’I CLAIMS 10TH-STRAIGHT WAC TOURNAMENT TITLE
Top-seeded Hawai’i swept No. 6-seed Boise State in the quarterfinals and No. 2-seed New Mexico State in the championship match to claim its 10th-straight WAC Tournament title last week at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. WAC Player of the Year Kanani Danielson took tournament MVP honors after averaging 4.33 kills on .310 hitting, 2.33 digs, 0.83 assists, 0.67 blocks and 0.33 service aces over the two matches. Joining Danielson on the all-tournament team were teammates Aneli Cubi-Otineru and Dani Mafua, New Mexico State’s Kelsey Brennan, Jennah DeVries, Kayleigh Giddens and Whitney Woods, and Boise State’s Breann Nesselhuf.
BOISE STATE BRONCOS (8-22, 7-9 WAC)
The No. 6-seed Broncos upset third-seeded Idaho (25-22, 26-24, 23-25, 25-21) in the opening round of the WAC Tournament last Monday before falling in straight sets (16-25, 24-26, 10-25) to No. 2-seed New Mexico State in the quarterfinals ... It was the furthest the Broncos have advanced in the WAC Tournament since they joined the conference in 2001 ... Breann Nesselhuf was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 10.29 assists, 1.14 kills, 1.00 digs and 0.71 blocks over the two matches ... Nesselhuf, Sadie Maughan and Alisha Young were all named second-team all-WAC, while Liz Harden was named to the All-Freshman Team ... Boise State’s 7-9 WAC record was the program’s best ever.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (15-16, 7-9 WAC)
The fifth-seeded Bulldogs defeated No. 4-seed Nevada in five sets (14-25, 25-23, 20-25, 26-24, 15-12) in the opening round of the WAC Tournament last Monday before being swept (15-25, 15-25, 17-25) by top-seeded Hawai’i in the quarterfinals ... Brianna Clarke and Kelly Leonardo were honored as second-team all-WAC selections, while Marissa Brand was named to the All-Freshman Team ... The Bulldogs finished in the top six in the WAC standings for the first time since 2004 ... The 15 wins are the most by a Bulldog team since 2004, while the seven WAC wins are the most since 2003 ... Leonardo finished her career ranked fifth in total blocks (343) and 10th in solo blocks (59) ... Allanah Munson ranks eighth all-time at Fresno State in career assists (1,779), while Lisa Gera ranks 10th in digs (934).
HAWAI‘I RAINBOW WAHINE (28-2, 16-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine swept past fifth-seeded Fresno State (25-15, 25-15, 25-17) and No. 2-seed New Mexico State (25-12, 25-17, 25-23) to claim their 10th-straight WAC Tournament title ... Kanani Danielson was named tournament MVP after averaging 4.33 kills, 2.33 digs, 0.83 assists, 0.67 blocks and 0.33 service aces ... Aneli Cubi-Otineru and Dani Mafua were also named to the all-tournament team... Danielson, a five-time WAC Player of the Week this season, was named WAC Player of the Year, while Brittany Hewitt was the Freshman of the Year and Dave Shoji was the Coach of the Year ... Danielson, Cubi-Otineru, Mafua and Amber Kaufman were first-team all-WAC picks, while Hewitt, Stephanie Ferrell and Elizabeth Ka’aihue were second-team honorees ... The Rainbow Wahine are the No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament and face New Mexico in the first round at USC on Friday.
IDAHO VANDALS (15-15, 11-5 WAC)
The third-seeded Vandals fell to No. 6-seed Boise State (22-25, 24-26, 25-23, 21-25) in the opening round of the WAC Tournament last Monday to close out the season ... Meredith Rice set a WAC Tournament record with 33 digs ... Sarah Conwell, Anna McKinney and Debbie Pederson were named to the all-WAC first team ... McKinney finished the season with 164 block assists to break the Idaho record held since 1993 ... McKinney closed out her career ranked ninth on the WAC career blocking leaders list with 485 ... Idaho set a new WAC record with 206 blocks in conference matches ... McKinney currently ranks fifth nationally in blocks per set (1.50), while Pederson is 11th (1.46) ... Conwell ranks 48th in the nation in points per set (4.56) ... As a team, Idaho leads the nation with 3.23 blocks per set.
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 posted an 11-win turnaround from last season ... KC Clayton, a second-team all-WAC pick, closed out her career with 376 total blocks, good for third place all-time at Louisiana Tech.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (11-20, 7-9 WAC)
The fourth-seeded Wolf Pack fell in five sets (25-14, 23-25, 25-20, 24-26, 12-15) to No. 5-seed Fresno State in the opening round of the WAC Tournament last Monday ... Kylie Harrington was named first-team all-WAC, while Lindsay Baldwin was a second-team honoree and Elissa Ji was named to the All-Freshman team ... Nicole Link has 1,014 career digs, good for ninth place all-time at Nevada ... Link’s 430 digs this season ranks second ... Sonnie Sei ranks seventh on the Nevada assists list with 1,842 ... Baldwin ranks fourth in block assists (340) and total blocks (379) and sixth in points (1038) on the Pack career lists ... Harrington is seventh with 947 career points, while Jorgan Staker is seventh in block assists (229) and eighth in total blocks (234).
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (20-9, 13-3 WAC)
The No. 2-seed Aggies swept sixth-seeded Boise State (25-16, 26-24, 25-10) in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament before falling to top-seeded Hawai’i (12-25, 17-25, 23-25) in the championship match ... Kelsey Brennan, Jennah DeVries, Kayleigh Giddens, Whitney Woods, all of whom were first-team all-WAC honorees, were named to the all-tournament team ... Last Saturday, the Aggies closed out the season with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 26-24) road win over No. 23 Colorado State ... NM State ranks 20th nationally in blocks per set (2.66) and 48th in kills per set (12.70), while Kayleigh Giddens is 49th in kills (4.00) ... Erin Birmingham, a second-team all-WAC pick, had 114 block assists this season, which ranks tied for 10th all-time at NM State, while her career average of 1.11 blocks per set is tied for seventh in the Aggie record books.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (1-25, 1-14 WAC)
The Spartans’ Alex Akana and Caitlin Andrade were named to the WAC All-Freshman Team ... Akana averaged 1.99 kills and 0.46 blocks per set, while Andrade averaged 8.04 assists, 2.31 digs and 0.96 kills on a team-best .301 hitting ... Andrade recorded 11 double-doubles on the season, good for second place in the WAC ... 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’ Liz McArthur was named to the all-WAC second team after averaging 3.80 kills and 1.66 digs ... Christine 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.
WAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Hawai’i has won the last 10 WAC Tournament titles after falling to Brigham Young in the championship match in both 1996 and 1997. The Rainbow Wahine have a 33-2 (.943) overall record in the tournament. Since the revival of the tournament in 2001 after a two-year hiatus, Hawai’i has recorded 20 sweeps in WAC Tournament play.
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.
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 (the team 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 eighth-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 22nd in the RPI.
IDAHO LEADS THE NATION IN BLOCKING
As a team, Idaho currently leads the nation with 3.23 blocks per set. The Vandals are one of three WAC teams ranked in the Top 50 as New Mexico State (20th, 2.66) and Hawai’i (43rd, 2.46) are also ranked.
In other statistics, the Rainbow Wahine are third in hitting percentage (.324), fourth in winning percentage (.933), ninth in service aces (1.80), and 14th in kills (14.53) and assists (13.47). Meanwhile, New Mexico State is 33rd in kills (13.89) and 48th in assists (12.70).
Four WAC players rank in the Top 50 nationally in blocks per set, led by Idaho’s Anna McKinney in fifth place with a 1.50 average, followed by teammate Debbie Pederson in 11th with 1.46 per set. Hawai’i’s Brittany Hewitt is 19th with a 1.33 average, followed by Fresno State’s Brianna Clarke in 26th with a 1.30 average.
Several other players rank in the Top 50 in other statistical categories. Hawai’i’s Amber Kaufman is fourth in hitting percentage (.451) and 47th in service aces (0.40). Rainbow Wahine teammate Aneli Cubi-Otineru ranks eighth in service aces per set (0.54), while Dani Mafua is 11th in assists per set (11.67) and Hewitt is 26th in hitting percentage (.363). Kanani Danielson is 38th in kills (4.13) and 45th in points (1.61). Meanwhile, New Mexico State’s Kayleigh Giddens is 49th in kills per set (4.00) and Idaho’s Sarah Conwell is 48th in points (4.56).
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 4,803 average. In addition, all 20 of Hawai’i’s home matches this season rank in the Top 40 highest attended for the year, including 11 in the Top 20 and four of the Top 10. Meanwhile, New Mexico State ranks 18th nationally (1,919), Fresno State is 20th with a 1,787 average and Utah State is tied for 50th (876).
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 (1,105) 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 (.324), opponent hitting percentage (.144), assists (13.47), kills (14.53) and service aces (1.80). Idaho is tops in blocks per set (3.23) and digs per set (14.93).
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 (4.12) and points (4.61) per set. Teammates Amber Kaufman, Dani Mafua and Aneli Cubi-Otineru are tops in hitting percentage (.451), assists (11.67) and service aces (0.54), respectively. Idaho’s Anna McKinney leads the WAC in blocks per set (1.50), 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.
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.
Courtesy: WAC
WAC Volleyball Weekly Release - Dec. 1
