Rams Capture Notre Dame Tournament
MWC Unbeatens To Meet in Fort Collins
Colorado State improved to 12-1 in tournaments this season after winning the Golden Dome
Invitational in South Bend, Ind. The Rams, 5-1 vs. ranked teams this year, defeated No. 22 Loyola
Marymount and No. 24 Notre Dame. CSU has won 11 straight heading into this weekend¹s home conference
matches vs. BYU and Utah. The Utes and Cougars started the conference season with 2-0 marks after
each downed San Diego State and UNLV.
The Rams, now 14-1 on the year and ranked No. 3 in the latest USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Coaches
poll, will look to defend their 35-match home win streak this weekend when No. 14 BYU and No. 16
Utah visit Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo.
Knopf Named MWC Player of the Week
Junior middle blocker Angela Knopf from Colorado State was named the Mountain West Conference
Volleyball Player of the Week after leading the Rams to a 3-0 record last week.
A native of Troutdale, Ore., Knopf totaled 14 kills and a team-high six total blocks in a victory
over Wyoming Wednesday as the Rams picked up their first conference win of the year. Knopf earned
Most Valuable Player honors at the Golden Dome Invitational in South Bend, Ind., after the Rams
defeated No. 22 Loyola Marymount Friday and No. 24 Notre Dame Saturday to capture the championship.
The MVP honor marked the third straight for Knopf in tournament play this season.
A first team All-MWC performer in 1999, Knopf tallied 23 kills, 16 digs and nine total blocks in
two matches at the Golden Dome Invitational. For the week, she racked up 37 kills (4.11 kills per
game), 19 digs (2.11 dpg), and 17 total blocks (1.89 bpg), while hitting .493 (37k-4e-67a).
Knopf leads the conference with a .432 hitting percentage (175k-28e-340a) and ranks second in the
MWC with 1.81 blocks per game. Knopf was recognized as the MWC Player of the Week twice last season.
Upcoming Schedule
USA Today/AVCA ranking listed in parenthesis, All times are local
September 26 (Tuesday)
Loyola Marymount (23) at SAN DIEGO STATE, 6 p.m.
Weber State at BYU (14), 7 p.m.
September 28 (Thursday)
* NEW MEXICO at UNLV, 7 p.m.
September 29 (Friday)
* AIR FORCE at UNLV, 7 p.m.
* BYU (14) at COLORADO STATE (3), 7 p.m.
* NEW MEXICO at SAN DIEGO STATE, 7 p.m.
* UTAH (16) at WYOMING, 7 p.m.
September 30 (Saturday)
* AIR FORCE at SAN DIEGO STATE, 7 p.m.
* BYU (14) at WYOMING, 7p.m.
* UTAH (16) at COLORADO STATE, 7 p.m.
Last Week¹s Results
USA Today/AVCA ranking listed in parenthesis, All times are local, Home team in italics
September 19 (Tuesday)
SAN DIEGO STATE def. UC-Riverside 15-4, 15-7, 5-15, 15-0
September 20 (Wednesday)
*COLORADO STATE (4) def. WYOMING 15-4, 15-12, 15-7
September 22 (Friday)
* NEW MEXICO def. AIR FORCE 16-14, 16-14, 15-10
* UTAH (18) def. SAN DIEGO STATE 15-2, 15-9, 8-15, 15-10
* BYU (15) def. UNLV 15-5, 15-1, 4-15, 15-8
September 22 (Friday) continued
CSU and WYOMING
at Golden Dome Invitational (South Bend, Ind.)
COLORADO ST. (4) def. Loyola Marymount (22) 15-1, 15-3, 15-10
Notre Dame (24) def. WYOMING 15-1, 15-5, 15-8
September 23 (Saturday)
* BYU (15) def. SAN DIEGO STATE 15-11, 15-7, 15-4
* UTAH (18) def. UNLV 15-5, 15-4, 15-8
CSU and WYOMING
at Golden Dome Invitational (South Bend, Ind.)
COLORADO ST. (4) def. Notre Dame (24) 15-7, 15-7, 16-14
Colorado State and Wyoming participated in the Golden Dome Invitational at Notre Dame last weekend.
The Rams captured the tourney title with a 2-0 record, while Wyoming lost to Loyola Marymount and
Notre Dame. CSU junior Angela Knopf earned tournament MVP honors for the third straight week. Summer
Jennings and Alison Peckham also earned all-tournament honors for the Rams, while Katherine Pettit
was named the Best Defensive Specialist of the tournament. Wyoming senior Melody Friehauf was also
named to the all-tournament team.
Tournament Success
Overall this season, Mountain West teams are a combined 41-30 in tournaments with nine
championships. Utah is 6-0 in tournaments this season after winning tournament titles at New
Hampshire and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Colorado State is 12-1 in tournaments after capturing the
Golden Dome Invitational at Notre Dame last weekend, the NACWAA State Farm title in Gainesville, and
the University Holiday Inn Classic and Coors Classic tournaments in Fort Collins. The Rams finished
second in the Nebraska USBank Tournament. BYU is 5-1 in tournaments after winning the Mizuno Classic
in Provo and placing second in the Notre Dame Invitational. San Diego State won the Cornell
Invitational, and Air Force took the Air Force Classic title.
The Rankings
Colorado State moved up to No. 3 this week in the USA Today/AVCA Division I Top 25 Coaches poll. BYU
jumped to No. 14 and Utah leaped to No. 16. The Rams have been ranked in the poll 119 weeks since
the poll began in 1982 and the Cougars have been ranked 217 weeks. BYU reached its highest ranking
in school history at No. 1 on four occasions.
Coaching Milestones
Several MWC volleyball coaches are approaching significant milestones this season.
BYU¹s Elaine Michaelis, who is second in all-time victories among NCAA Division I coaches, reached
the 850-win milestone with victories over UNLV and San Diego State. The all-time leader in wins
among female coaches, Michaelis is currently 850-212-5 in 32 seasons.
UNLV¹s Deitre Collins needs just one win to reach 50 career victories. Collins is currently 49-71
in five seasons.
Colorado State¹s Tom Hilbert needs five wins to reach 100 victories at CSU and six wins to reach
275 career victories. Hilbert is currently 269-90 in 12 seasons overall and 95-18 in four years with
the Rams.
Utah¹s Beth Launiere needs 10 wins to reach 200 career victories. Launiere is currently 190-139 in
10 seasons.
Wyoming¹s Susan Judge topped the career 100 victory mark with the Cowgirls four-game win vs.
Wisconsin-Green Bay Sept. 16. Judge is currently 101-106 in seven seasons.
Grand Fan Club
Following is a list of matches that topped 1,000 fans this season (*notes conference match):
Match, date Attendance
UNLV at Hawai`i, S 16 6,447
Colorado St. at Nebraska, A 25 3,987
Colorado St. at Florida, A 25 3,123
San Diego State at BYU, S 23 2,578*
UCSB at Colorado St., S 9 2,522
Stanford at BYU, S 8 2,326
Colorado St. vs. UCLA, A 26 2,255
Auburn at Colorado St., S 8 2,123
Long Beach State at BYU, S 9 2,096
Arizona at BYU, S 15 1,505
Georgia Tech at Colo. St., S 9 1,289
UNLV at BYU, S 22 1,261*
Army at Air Force, S 15 1,210
Wyoming at Colorado State, S 20 1,164*
Stanford at Utah, S 5 1,072
BYU at Utah State, S 12 1,048
Mountain West Conference First
Colorado State¹s upset of No. 1 UCLA in Gainesville, Fla., in week one marks the first-ever victory
by any Mountain West Conference team over a No. 1-ranked opponent. Utah and BYU matched that feat
this season as the Utes and the Cougars each topped then-No. 1 Stanford in week three.
Team Notes:
Air Force Falcons (6-6, 0-1 MWC)
Head Coach: Penny Lucas-White
Overall Record: 136-166 (10th year)
School Record: 41-86 (5th year)
Freshman Delevane Diaz continues to lead the conference in kills per game (4.46) and digs per game
(3.35) this season. The 4.46 kills per game would stand at No. 3 in the Falcon single season record
book.
Diaz became just the second freshman to earn MWC Player of the Week honors Sept. 17 after helping
the Falcons win the Air Force Classic.
The Falcons set a season high attendance vs. Army Sept. 15 with 1,210 fans.
Shaylor Billings is sixth in the MWC in hitting percentage (.341).
BYU Cougars (9-3, 2-0 MWC)
Head Coach: Elaine Michaelis
Overall Record: 850-212-5 (32nd year)
School Record: 850-212-5 (32nd year)
BYU coach Elaine Michaelis recorded the 850th win of her career with the Cougar victory over San
Diego State Saturday. She now has an 850-212-5 record since BYU starting keeping records in 1969.
She ranks second on the all-time list of coaching victories and is the career leader in victories
among female coaches.
BYU started its defense of the Mountain West Conference crown by sweeping UNLV and San Diego
State. BYU has not lost to a Mountain West Conference team other than Colorado State since Sept. 27,
1996 when the Cougars lost 3-2 at San Diego State. Colorado State took two of three from BYU last
season.
On the week, BYU hit .280 as a team while UNLV and San Diego State combined for a .161 hitting
percentage against the Cougars.
BYU lost a game to UNLV for the first time ever when the Rebels took game three from the Cougars
15-4. The Cougars were held to a -.095 hitting percentage. Despite the poor performance in game
three, BYU finished with a .304 hitting percentage against UNLV.
Including their upcoming match at No. 3 Colorado State, the Cougars will have faced five top 20
teams, including three in the top four. BYU defeated then-No. 1 Stanford 3-1 on Sept. 8 and then-No.
2 Long Beach State 3-2 the next night.
Middle blocker Nina Puikkonen has led the Cougars in kills in all but two matches this season. She
has also led BYU in blocking in all but one match.
Colorado State Rams (14-1, 1-0 MWC)
Head Coach: Tom Hilbert
Overall Record: 269-90 (12th year)
School Record: 95-18 (4th year)
The Rams are in the midst of a 35-match home win streak (26 of which have been three-game sweeps)
dating back to Arizona¹s victory over Colorado State Sept. 6, 1998.
CSU will battle its seventh and eighth ranked teams this weekend when No. 14 BYU and No. 16 Utah
visit Fort Collins. The Rams are 5-1 vs. ranked teams this season.
Angela Knopf (MVP), Summer Jennings and Allison Peckham were all members of the Golden Dome
Invitational All-Tournament team and Katherine Pettit was named the Best Defensive Specialist of the
Tournament.
Junior Soraya Santos hit .588 (22-2-34) for the week, including a .688 (11-0-16) performance
against Notre Dame on Saturday.
The Rams have won eight of their last nine matches in three games. This season, CSU is 10-0 in
three-game matches.
Head Coach Tom Hilbert was not present for the team¹s victory over Notre Dame on Saturday. Late
Friday evening, he got word that his wife had gone into labor and he was able to fly home to witness
the birth of his daughter, Myles Camille, who was born a month premature and weighs 4 lb. 10 oz.
She and mom are healthy and doing well.
The team hit .383 for the week and is hitting .315 for the season, which would shatter the school
record of .293 set back in 1997.
New Mexico Lobos (5-6, 1-0 MWC)
Head Coach: Laurel Brassey Iversen
Overall Record: 285-199 (17th year)
School Record: 285-199 (17th year)
UNM is on a three-match win streak, beating all three opponents in straight sets.
UNM as a team outblocked Air Force 12 to three in Friday¹s match. Freshman Lynzie Hayes had two
block solos in game one and added three block assists later in the match. Hayes leads the team in
block solos with nine for the season.
So far this season UNM has outblocked its opponent in seven of 11 matches. The Lobos average 2.15
blocks per game.
UNM is averaging 14.10 kills and 14.95 digs per game.
Freshman Amy Amundson continues to lead the team in hitting percentage with .297 (99k-30e-232ta).
She also leads the team in blocking with seven solos and 31 assisted blocks.
Junior Vanessa Shields leads the conference in service aces after setting a junior match record
with seven vs. Air Force last week. Shields is averaging .54 aces per game.
Junior Jessie Goffard scored a career-high 19 digs against the Air Force. Goffard leads the team
in kills with 151, attempts (almost doubling the next Lobo) with 461, and in digs with 118.
San Diego State Aztecs (5-8, 0-2 MWC)
Head Coach: Mark Warner
Overall Record: 88-77 (6th year)
School Record: 88-77 (6th year)
San Diego State's top three kill leaders at this point of the season are two freshmen and a
sophomore. First-year Aztec Zlatina Anguelova leads the squad with 122, followed by sophomore Nicole
Akporiaye (106) and freshman Aspen McPartland (101).
The Aztecs had a tough time offensively at BYU and Utah last weekend, hitting just .064 combined
for the two matches.
Sophomore setter Melissa Wright has SDSU's top hitting percentage at .301. She is averaging 10.85
assists per game and is second on the team in digs with 102. The 5-9 transfer from Washingon State
has also been involved in 18 blocks.
Senior middle blocker Erin Grady, who set a MWC senior record with 15 total blocks vs. Idaho, is
third in the MWC with 1.60 blocks per game.
UNLV Rebels (0-11, 0-2 MWC)
Head Coach: Deitre Collins
Overall Record: 49-73 (5th year)
School Record: 49-73 (5th year)
The Rebels are still looking for their first victory of the season. The 0-11 start is the worst in
school history. This weekend, UNLV hosts New Mexico and Air Force.
Oge Fitz and Leiana Oswald share the league¹s highest three-game kill total of the season with 20.
Fitz totaled 20 kills Sept. 8 vs. Idaho and Oswald picked up 20 kills vs. San Jose State the
following night.
Junior setter Maria Julia Goes is seventh in the conference in assists per game (9.21).
Utah Utes (10-1, 2-0 MWC)
Head Coach: Beth Launiere
Overall Record: 190-139 (11th year)
School Record: 190-139 (11th year)
The Utes climbed to No. 16 in the latest USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll.
Utah recorded the best start in school history at 8-0 after defeating Temple, topping the 7-0 mark
set by the 1992 team.
Utah is off to a 2-0 start in conference play. The Utes best start in conference play was at 6-0
in 1979. Utah, who started the MWC season at 4-0 last year, travels to Wyoming and Colorado State
this weekend.
Utah battles its fourth ranked team of the season this weekend in No. 3 Colorado State. The Utes
have defeated two ranked teams this season (then-No. 1-ranked Stanford in five games on Sept. 5, and
then-No. 24-ranked San Diego on Sept. 9). Utah lost its first match in 2000 to No. 13 Arizona on
Sept. 16.
Junior McKelle Stilson hit .489 for the two matches last weekend, hammering 25 kills with just two
errors in 47 attempts.
Wyoming Cowgirls (6-10, 0-1 MWC)
Head Coach: Susan Judge
Overall Record: 101-106 (7th year)
School Record: 64-74 (5th year)
Senior Jamie Burke is tied for the league lead with six double-doubles this season. She also holds
the four-game high for digs with 22.
Senior middle blocker Melody Friehauf, a 2000 NCAA Woman of the Year State winner, earned
all-tournament honors at the Golden Dome Invitational at Notre Dame last weekend. Friehauf is in the
pool of 51 candidates for consideration as the national NCAA Woman of the Year which will be
announced Oct. 15.
Melody Friehauf is tied for fifth in the MWC with 1.36 blocks per game and she ranks 11th in the
league for hitting percentage at .291.
The Cowgirls, 0-2 vs. ranked teams in 2000, will face two more ranked opponents this weekend in
BYU and Utah.
MWC Record vs. Ranked Opponents (non-MWC matches)
(ranking noted at time teams played)
Team Rec. Opponent Result
BYU 4-2 vs. No. 27 Clemson W 3-0
at No. 28 Notre Dame L 2-3
No. 20 Kansas State W 3-1
No. 1 Stanford W 3-1
No. 2 Long Beach State W 3-2
No. 13 Arizona L 1-3
Colorado State 5-1 vs. No. 9 Florida W 3-1
vs. No. 1 UCLA W 3-2
at No. 6 Nebraska L 1-3
No. 13 UC Santa barbara W 3-0
No. 22 Loyola Marymount W 3-0
No. 24 Notre Dame W 3-0
New Mexico 0-2 No. 3 Stanford L 0-3
at No. 25 Michigan L 0-3
San Diego State 0-4 No. 31 San Diego L 0-3
No. 10 Arizona L 0-3
No. 14 UC Santa Barbara L 0-3
No. 9 Pepperdine L 0-3 UNLV 0-4 vs. No. 9 Florida L 0-3
vs. No. 16 Wisconsin L 0-3
vs. No. 14 UC Santa Barbara L 0-3
at No. 2 Hawai`i L 0-3
Utah 2-1 No. 1 Stanford W 3-2
vs. No. 24 San Diego W 3-2
No. 13 Arizona L 0-3
Wyoming 0-2 No. 22 Loyola Marymount L 0-3
No. 24 Notre Dame L 0-3
Total 11-16
MWC vs. Non-conference
Listed below is the MWC record against non-conference opponents. Last year, Mountain West teams
posted a 45-39 record vs. the top 15 conferences listed in the 1999 final RPI rankings.
2000 vs. Non-conference
ACC 1-0
America East 1-0
Atlantic 10 3-1
Big East 1-3
Big Sky 2-1
Big Ten 1-2
Big 12 2-3
Big South 1-0
Big West 3-6
Independent 0-1
Ivy Group 1-0
Metro Atlantic 1-0
Mid-American 2-2
Mid-Continent 2-0
Midwestern 4-1
Missouri Valley 2-1
Ohio Valley 1-0
Pac 10 3-7
Patriot 1-0
SEC 4-4
Southland 2-1
Southwestern 1-0
WAC 1-2
West Coast 4-3
Total 44-38 (.537)
2000 Mountain West Conference Match Clubs
30-Kill Club
30 Courtney Cox (Colorado State) at Nebraska, Sept. 2
20-Kill Club
25 Delevane Diaz (Air Force) vs. Colorado, Sept. 11
25 Nina Puikkonen (BYU) vs. Stanford, Sept. 8
24 Krista Swartzendruber (Colorado State) vs. UCLA, Aug. 26
24 Courtney Cox (Colorado State) vs. UCLA, Aug. 26
24 Katrena Ellett (Utah) vs. Stanford, Sept. 5
23 McKelle Stilson (Utah) vs. Stanford, Sept. 5
21 Sunny Tonga (BYU) vs. Long Beach State, Sept. 9
20 Jamie Burke (Wyoming) at Tex.-Arlington, Sept. 4
20 Delevane Diaz (Air Force) vs. Mississippi State, Sept. 4 30-Dig Club
31 Adrianna Bradley-Drake (Utah) vs. San Diego, Sept. 9
30 Jen Snow-Richards (Utah) vs. Stanford, Sept. 5
20-Dig Club
25 Krista Swartzendruber (Colorado State) vs. UCLA, Aug. 26
24 Delevane Diaz (AFA) vs. UW Green Bay, Sept. 13
22 Alissa Geddes (Utah) vs. Stanford, Sept. 5
20 Krista Swartzendruber (Colorado State) at Nebraska, Sept. 2
10-Block Club (total blocks)
16 Jamie Hempel (AFA) vs. Winthrop, Sept. 16
15 Erin Grady (San Diego State) vs. Idaho, Sept. 9
14 Jackie Bundy (BYU) vs. Notre Dame, Sept. 2
12 Nina Puikkonen (BYU) vs. Temple, Sept. 16
10 Angela Knopf (Colorado State) vs. Nebraska, Sept. 2
10 Summer Jennings (Colorado State) vs. Colorado, Sept. 5
10 Nina Puikkonen (BYU) vs. Stanford, Sept. 8
This Season¹s Triple-Doubles
Jen Snow-Richards (Utah) 12k-11ast-14d vs. Nevada, Sept. 8
This Season¹s Double-Double Leaders (min. 2)
6-Jamie Burke, Sr., OH (Wyoming)
Season best: 20k-14d at Tex.-Arlington, Sept. 4
6-Ana-Maria Ortega, Sr., OH (Air Force) Season bests: 14k-14d vs. Colorado, Sept. 11
17k-11d vs. UW-Green Bay, Sept. 13
6-Delevane Diaz, Fr., OH (Air Force) Season bests: 25k-11d vs. Colorado, Sept. 11
15k-24d vs. UW-Green Bay, Sept. 13
6-Jessie Goffard, Jr., OH (New Mexico)
Season bests: 20k-12d vs. Northern Illinois, Sept. 9
15k-17d vs. Washington, Sept. 2
5-Courtney Cox, Jr., OH (Colorado State)
Season best: 30k-13d at Nebraska, Sept. 2
5-Micaela Conley, Sr., OH (New Mexico) Season best: 14k-18d vs. Oral Roberts, Sept. 16
4-Nina Puikkonen, Jr., MB (BYU)
Season best: 25k-12d vs. Long Beach State, Sept. 9
3-Krista Swartzendruber, Sr., OH (Colorado State)
Season best: 24k-25d vs. UCLA, Aug. 26
3-Michele Rauter, Fr., OH (Wyoming)
Season best: 19k-13d vs. UW-Green Bay, Sept. 16
2-Zlatina Anguilova, Fr., OH (San Diego State)
Season best: 15k-10d vs. UC-Riverside, Sept. 19
2-Oge Fitz, So., OH (UNLV)
Season best: 20k-11d vs. Idaho State, Sept. 8
2-Lenka Urbanova, Jr., OH (Utah)
Season best: 17k-17d vs. Cal Poly SLO, Sept. 9
