NEW MEXICO STATE’S TORRES EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

New Mexico State libero Krystal Torres has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for Nov. 10-16. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor for Torres.

 

Torres helped the Aggies clinch a share of their first-ever WAC regular-season title and the top seed in this week’s WAC Tournament with a pair of sweeps last week over Utah State and San Jose State. Against the Aggies, she led all players with 11 digs to go along with four assists and one service ace. In the win over the Spartans, Torres finished with a match-high 16 digs, three assists and an ace. For the week, the senior averaged 4.50 digs and 1.17 assists per set.

 

Other nominees included: Alisha King of Boise State averaged 3.00 kills and 2.29 digs on the week ... Fresno State’s Baylee Platt averaged 4.30 kills and 3.50 digs per set ... Amber Kaufman of Hawai‘i hit .706 on the week and averaged 2.17 kills and 1.17 blocks in a pair of wins ... Idaho’s Haley Larsen averaged 4.43 kills, 1.86 digs and 1.14 blocks per set as the Vandals locked up the third seed in the tournament ... Lindsay Baldwin of Nevada averaged 3.57 kills, 1.57 digs and 1.43 blocks per set ... Utah State’s Kris Hymas finished with 16 kills in a four-set win over Louisiana Tech.

 

HAWAI‘I TO HOST 2008 WAC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

Hawai‘i will host the 2008 WAC Volleyball Tournament Nov. 20-23, at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. It marks the first time Hawai‘i has hosted the WAC Volleyball Championship.

 

2008 WAC TOURNAMENT TICKETS

Tickets packages for the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament went on sale to the general public on Nov. 3. All-session ticket packages for the entire three-day tournament (Nov. 20, 21, 23) are $45 for lower level seats and $40 for upper level seats. Single-day tickets went on sale Nov. 17. Prices for the single-day tickets are $16 for upper level seats and $19 for lower level seats. In addition to purchasing tickets online at HawaiiAthletics.com, fans can visit the Stan Sheriff Center Box Office, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., or call (808) 944-2697 during the same hours.

 

WAC TOURNAMENT WEBSTREAMING

The WAC, in conjunction with its Web site partner JumpTV Sports, will stream all of the matches of the 2008 WAC Volleyball Tournament. Viewers can sign up by visiting www.WAC.tv. Single matches can be viewed on WAC.tv for $9.95 or fans can subscribe to the full volleyball tournament package (all eight matches) for $19.95.

 

A LOOK BACK

Second-seeded Hawai‘i has won the last eight WAC Tournament titles after falling to Brigham Young in the championship match in 1996 and 1997. The Rainbow Wahine have a 28-2 overall record (.933) in the tournament. Since the 2001 revival of the tournament after a two-year hiatus, Hawai‘i has recorded 16 sweeps in WAC Tournament play.

 

NEW MEXICO STATE EARNS TOP SEED

New Mexico State has captured the top seed in the WAC Tournament. Both the Aggies and Hawai‘i boasted 15-1 WAC records (having both lost to each other at home), but NMSU got the top seed by virtue of set record vs. the third-seeded Vandals (NMSU went 6-0 vs. Idaho, while Hawai‘i was 6-1).

 

NEW MEXICO STATE, HAWAI‘I SHARE REGULAR-SEASON TITLE

New Mexico State and Hawai‘i shared the 2008 WAC regular-season title. It is the first-ever title for the Aggies and the 13th straight for the Rainbow Wahine. This is the first time there has been a tie at the top of the standings since 1998, when Hawai‘i and BYU were the Pacific Division co-champions with 13-1 marks.

 

Boise State Broncos (9-18, 5-11 WAC)

Boise State went 1-1 last week, defeating Fresno State in four sets (28-26, 18-25, 25-17, 25-22) before being swept by Nevada (21-25, 19-25, 17-25) ... Jeanette Jenkins became the 11th Boise State player to record 1,000 career kills vs. Fresno State ... In the loss to the Bulldogs, Alisha King posted her third double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs. She also had six blocks ... Boise State has improved upon its 2007 record with three more overall wins and two more WAC victories ... The Broncos are the No. 7 seed in the WAC Tournament and will face host Hawai‘i at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

 

Fresno State Bulldogs (6-19, 3-13 WAC)

Fresno State went 0-3 in three WAC matches last week, falling to Hawai‘i (9-25, 16-25, 17-25), Boise State (26-28, 25-18, 17-25, 22-25) and Idaho (14-25, 19-25, 22-25) ... Baylee Platt posted double-doubles in two of the three matches, finishing with 22 kills and a career-high 18 digs  vs. Boise State and 11 kills and 11 digs vs. Idaho ... The eighth-seeded Bulldogs face No. 9 Louisiana Tech in the first match of the WAC Tournament Thursday ... Should Fresno State win, it will face top-seeded New Mexico State later that day.

 

Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine (23-3, 15-1 WAC)

UH went undefeated last week, defeating Fresno State (25-9, 25-16, 25-17) to clinch its 13th-straight WAC regular season championship and sweeping Utah Valley (25-19, 25-14, 25-10) in non-conference action ... Amber Kaufman hit .706 over the two matches ... The Rainbow Wahine have hit above .350 as a team in six of their last seven matches played, and are now hitting .303 on the season ... No. 2 Hawai‘i faces seventh-seeded Boise State in the first round of the WAC Tournament Thursday.

 

Idaho Vandals (18-9, 11-5 WAC)

The Vandals went  2-0 last week, defeating Nevada (25-10, 19-25, 28-26, 25-17) and Fresno State (25-14, 25-19, 25-22) ... Haley Larsen led the Vandals with 15 kills, seven digs and five blocks vs. the Wolf Pack and 16 kills vs. the Bulldogs ... The Vandals tied a school record with 36 block assists vs. Nevada ... Idaho’s 11 conference wins were the most for the Vandals since joining the WAC and the most conference victories since the 1996 team finished 13-3 ... Idaho set a school record with 520 block assists, besting the previous record of 513 set in 2007. The 520 block assists are the most in the NCAA this season ... No. 3 Idaho faces sixth-seeded Nevada in the first round of the WAC Tournament Thursday.

 

Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (4-23, 0-16 WAC)

The Techsters went 0-2 last week, falling in five sets to San Jose State (25-9, 20-25, 16-25, 25-19, 8-15) and losing in four sets to Utah State (20-25, 22-25, 25-19, 17-25) ... In the loss to the Spartans, four players - Taylor Fritz, Bianca Bin, Kaylon Alexander and Debora Bolonhini - recorded double-digit digs ... Bolonhini’s 4.16 digs per set this season ranks second in Louisiana Tech’s single-season record books ... The Techsters have out-blocked their opponents in 13 matches this season ... Ninth-seeded Louisiana Tech faces No. 8 Fresno State in the first match of the WAC Tournament Thursday ... Should the Techsters win, they will face top-seeded New Mexico State later that day.

 

Nevada Wolf Pack (12-14, 7-9 WAC)

The Pack went 1-1 last week, falling in four sets to Idaho (10-25, 25-19, 26-28, 17-25) before snapping a four-match losing skid with a sweep of Boise State (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) ... Lindsay Baldwin averaged 3.57 kills, 1.57 blocks and 4.64 points on the week ... The 7-9 WAC record marks the first losing season in WAC play for the Wolf Pack since joining the conference in 2000 ... Allison Hernandez has 1,044 career digs, which ranks eighth in school history behind Lindsay Holda (1,066) ... The sixth-seeded Wolf Pack faces No. 3 Idaho in the first round of the WAC Tournament Thursday ... Nevada has won both of its previous first round match-ups with Idaho (2005, 2007).

 

New Mexico State Aggies (21-7, 15-1 WAC)

The Aggies swept Utah State (25-12, 25-14, 25-20) and San Jose State (25-20, 25-15, 25-18) last week to clinch a share of their first-ever WAC regular-season title ... Krsytal Torres led NMSU with 4.50 digs per set over the two matches ... Lindsay Yon finished with 15 kills on .522 hitting vs. Utah State, and tallied 13 kills and 11 digs for her 10th double-double of the season against the Spartans ... The Aggies are currently on a 13-match winning streak, having won 17 of their last 18 matches ... The top-seeded Aggies face the winner of the Fresno State-Louisiana Tech match in the WAC Tournament ... This is the first time NMSU has been the No. 1 seed since joining the WAC.

 

San Jose State Spartans (12-16, 7-9 WAC)

The Spartans went 1-1 last week, defeating Louisiana Tech in five sets (9-25, 25-20, 25-16, 15-8) and falling at New Mexico State (20-25, 15-25, 18-25) ... Brianna Amian led the Spartans with 16 kills and 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the season vs. the Techsters ... Kristal Tsukano needs just one dig to become the sixth player in school history to record 1,000 career digs ... The fifth-seeded Spartans face No. 4 Utah State in the first round of the WAC Tournament Thursday ... It is the second consecutive season the two teams meet in the quarterfinals. Last season, the two teams needed five sets before San Jose State prevailed.

 

Utah State Aggies (11-16, 9-7 WAC)

Utah State went 1-1 last week, falling at New Mexico State (12-25, 14-25, 20-25) before defeating Louisiana Tech (25-20, 25-22, 19-25, 25-17) ... Kris Hymas recorded a career-high 16 kills to go along with five digs at Louisiana Tech ... USU is hitting .176 on the season as compared to a .224 hitting percentage for its opponents ... No. 4 Utah State faces fifth-seeded San Jose State in the first round of the WAC Tournament Thursday ... The Aggies swept the season series with the Spartans and have won seven of the last nine matches played vs. San Jose State ... Utah State is 2-3 all-time in WAC Tournament play as it advanced to the championship match of the 2005 tournament, and lost in the first round in each of the last two years.

 

UH RANKS IN TOP 5 NATIONALLY IN ASSISTS, KILLS, HITTING PERCENTAGE, WIN PERCENTAGE

In the most recent NCAA statistics (Nov. 17), the Rainbow Wahine rank fourth in the nation in assists per set (13.94), kills per set (14.88) hitting percentage (.303), and fifth in won-loss percentage (.885). Meanwhile, Idaho ranks fourth nationally in blocks per set (2.98).

 

WAC PLAYERS IN TOP 50 IN KILLS, BLOCKS

Three WAC players are currently ranked in the Top 50 nationally in kills per set – Haley Larsen, Idaho, 11th (4.47), Jamie Houston, Hawai‘i, 35th (3.99) and Lindsey Yon, New Mexico State, 46th (3.86). In blocks per set, two WAC players appear in the Top 50, led by Idaho’s Anna McKinney in 10th place with a 1.44 average Amber Simpson of New Mexico State in 19th place with 1.37 per set.

 

WAC STAT LEADERS

In overall team stats, Hawai‘i leads the conference in hitting percentage (.303), assists (13.94), kills (14.88) and service aces (1.56). Idaho is tops in blocks per set (2.98) and digs per set (15.47), while New Mexico State boasts the lowest opponent hitting percentage (.121).

 

In conference only statistics, Hawai‘i currently led the WAC in hitting percentage (.309), assists (14.22), kills (15.20) and service aces (1.64). New Mexico State was tops in opponent hitting percentage (.084) and digs (15.47), while Idaho led the WAC in blocks (3.14).

 

Individually, Idaho’s Haley Larsen leads the league in kills (4.47) and points (4.90) per set. Hawai‘i’s Nickie Thomas leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.383), while teammates Dani Mafua and Amber Kaufman are tops in assists (11.39) and service aces (0.50), respectively. New Mexico State’s Krystal Torres leads the league in digs per set (4.60), while Anna McKinney of Idaho is tops in blocks per set (1.44).

 

In conference matches only, Hawai‘i’s Mafua and Kaufman were tops in assists (11.94) and service aces (0.46), respectively. Larsen led the conference in kills (4.48) and points (4.90), while Amber Simpson was tops in hitting percentage (.391). Idaho’s Kelsey Taylor led the WAC in blocking (1.61) and Torres was the leader in digs (4.77).