The MWC wrapped up the first half of conference play last weekend, and at the midway point, the
teams have aligned themselves sequentially. Colorado State, the leader at 7-0, must travel for five
matches in the second half of the season, including a trip to Utah to face the Utes and Cougars on
successive nights Oct. 27-28. Utah will also travel for five conference matches in the next three
weeks, including a stop at BYU Nov. 3. San Diego State and Air Force have the beneift of five home
matches each in the second half of the MWC season.
BYU To Face No. 9 Pepperdine This Week
The Cougars, 4-2 vs. non-MWC ranked opponents this year, travel to No. 9 Pepperdine Wednesday before
MWC matches at UNLV and San Diego State later this week. On the year, the MWC is a combined 11-17
vs. ranked teams. The league¹s top three (Colorado State, Utah, BYU) are 11-5 vs. top 25 opponents.
Scoring Streak
BYU rattled off 21 straight points in a 15-6, 15-1, 15-0 win over New Mexico last week, marking the
second-highest streak in MWC history. Colorado State has the record after scoring the first 26
points in a match vs. Evansville Sept. 24, 1999. The Rams won 15-0, 15-3, 15-5.
Puikkonen Named MWC Volleyball Player of the Week
Junior middle blocker Nina Puikkonen from BYU was named the Mountain West Conference Volleyball
Player of the Week, marking the second time this season and the fourth time overall Puikkonen has
earned the award.
A native of Murray, Utah, Puikkonen helped the Cougars to a 2-0 record last week with victories
over Air Force and New Mexico. She totaled 12 kills and five total blocks in a win over Air Force,
and followed with 11 kills, eight digs, three solo blocks and five block assists in a victory vs.
the Lobos. For the week, Puikkonen hit .459 (26k-3e-37a) and averaged 3.83 kills per game. She has
recorded 10 or more kills in 15 matches this season and ranks No. 8 on the BYU all-time list with
1,052 career kills.
The NCAA leader for blocks per game the past three weeks, Puikkonen was named MWC Player of the
Week and the AVCA/Sports Imports Division I National Player of the Week Sept. 11. Puikkonen was a
Second Team All-America selection and the MWC Player of the Year in 1999.
Upcoming Schedule
USA Today/AVCA ranking listed in parenthesis, All times are local, Home team in bold, *notes MWC
matches
October 16 (Monday)
SAN DIEGO STATE def. William & Mary 15-9, 15-4, 16-14
WYOMING def. Weber State 17-15, 12-15, 15-13, 15-6
October 17 (Tuesday)
AIR FORCE at Denver, 7 p.m.
SAN DIEGO ST. at UC Riverside, 7 p.m.
October 18 (Wednesday)
BYU at Pepperdine, 5 p.m.
October 19 (Thursday)
* BYU at UNLV, 7 p.m.
October 20 (Friday)
* BYU at SAN DIEGO ST., 7 p.m.
* COLORADO ST. at WYOMING, 7 p.m.
* NEW MEXICO at AIR FORCE, 7 p.m.
* UTAH at UNLV, 7 p.m.
October 21 (Saturday)
* UTAH at SAN DIEGO STATE, 7 p.m.
* Mountain West Conference Game
Last Week¹s Results
October 10 (Tuesday)
COLORADO ST. (3) def. Denver 15-3, 15-4, 15-3
Utah State (25) def. UTAH (15) 8-15, 15-8, 15-12, 15-10
October 13 (Friday)
* BYU (17) def. AIR FORCE 15-5, 15-1, 15-1
* UTAH (15) def. NEW MEXICO 15-4, 8-15, 15-8, 15-7
* SAN DIEGO ST. def. WYOMING 9-15, 15-7, 6-15, 15-12, 15-8
* COLORADO ST. (3) def. UNLV 15-6, 15-1, 15-8
October 14 (Saturday)
* UTAH (15) def. AIR FORCE 15-7, 15-7, 15-9
* BYU (17) def. NEW MEXICO 15-6, 15-1, 15-0
* COLORADO ST. (3) def. SAN DIEGO ST. 15-7, 15-7, 15-4
* UNLV def. WYOMING 15-9, 15-8, 15-4
* Mountain West Conference Game
"Go To" Players
Several Mountain West volleyball players have come through with big kill performances when needed.
Courtney Cox leads the MWC with 10 or more kills in 17 of 22 matches this season and a league-best
4.28 kills per game. Nina Puikkonen has been the "go to" player for BYU by posting 10 or more kills
in 15 of 18 matches.
Balanced Attack
Despite being in second place in the conference standings, Utah has no players ranked in the MWC
statistics for kills per game. The Utes have relied on a solid team effort this season as nine
different players have topped 10 kills or more in a match this season, and six different players
have been the team leader for kills in a match. As a team, the Utes are third in the league in
kills, hitting percentage and blocks per game, and they lead the conference in digs.
The Rankings
Colorado State remained steady at No. 3 this week in the USA Today/AVCA Division I Top 25 Coaches
poll. BYU moved up to No. 16 and Utah slipped to No. 18. The Rams have been ranked in the poll 125
weeks since the poll began in 1982 and the Cougars have been ranked 220 weeks. BYU reached its
highest ranking in school history at No. 1 on four occasions. Pacific, Nebraska and Stanford lead
the nation with 243 consecutive weeks in the poll.
National Attendance (compiled by Diane Nordstrom of Wisconsin media relations)
With the exception of matches played at Hawai`i, Colorado State and BYU played before the
second-largest crowd in the nation this season Sept. 29 when 5,307 fans packed Moby Arena in Fort
Collins, Colo. Colorado State ranks ninth overall in attendance with an average of 1,861 fans per
match. The Rams are sixth in total attendance with 22,327 fans over 12 matches. BYU is 17th with
1,239 fans per match, and Utah ranks 28th in attendance by averaging 720 fans per match. Hawai`i
leads the nation with an average of 6,987 fans and a whopping 83,842 total fans over 12 matches.
Coaching Milestones
Several MWC volleyball coaches are approaching significant milestones this season.
n Colorado State¹s Tom Hilbert topped 100 victories at CSU and 175 career wins after the Rams went
3-0 last week. Hilbert is currently 276-90 in 12 seasons overall and 102-18 in four years with the
Rams. CSU swept Denver Oct. 10 to give Hilbert win No. 100 at CSU, and defeated UNLV for Hilbert¹s
career 275th victory.
Utah¹s Beth Launiere needs five wins to reach 200 career victories. Launiere is currently 195-141
in 10 seasons.
San Diego State head coach Mark Warner is approaching 100 career victories. In six seasons, Warner
has a record of 94-79.
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.
Mountain West Conference Players of the Week
Sept. 4 - Courtney Cox, Jr., OH, Colorado State
Sept. 11 - Nina Puikkonen, Jr., MB, BYU
Sept. 18 - Delavane Diaz, Fr., OH, Air Force
Sept. 25 - Angela Knopf, Jr., OH, Colorado State
Oct. 2 - Allison Peckham, Jr., S, Colorado State
Oct. 9 - Lucie Turkova, Sr., S, Utah
Oct. 16 - Nina Puikkonen, Jr., MB, BYU
Record Season
So far this season, 29 records have fallen, including 11 in conference play.
Team Notes
Air Force Falcons (6-12, 0-7 MWC)
Head Coach: Penny Lucas-White
Overall Record: 136-172 (10th year)
School Record: 41-92 (5th year)
The Falcons face Denver and New Mexico this week. Air Force holds a 30-5 series lead vs. Denver
and trail 1-4 to the Lobos.
The Falcons will play five conference matches at home for the second half of the MWC season.
Freshman Delavane Diaz ranks second in the conference in kills per game (4.12).
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.
BYU Cougars (13-5, 5-2 MWC)
Head Coach: Elaine Michaelis
Overall Record: 854-214-5 (32nd year)
School Record: 854-214-5 (32nd year)
BYU will play three road matches this week, including No. 9 Pepperdine Wednesday and a pair of
conference matches Thursday and Friday. It will be the second time this season the Cougars have
played matches on three consecutive days. BYU leads Pepperdine 12-4 in series play and has won eight
of the last nine meetings. The Cougars lead UNLV 6-0 in series play and have a 21-13 lead over San
Diego State.
Going into last week, the Cougars had hit over .400 as a team in a match twice this season. BYU
registered two additional matches over .400 on consecutive nights, including a season-high hitting
percentage of .442 vs. New Mexico.
Against New Mexico, BYU scored 21 straight points, moving from 9-1 in game two to 15-0 at the end
of game three to finish the match.
In the two matches last week, the Cougar defense gave up a total of 14 points in the six games
combined. BYU also held its opponents to a combined -.006 hitting percentage. The Cougars won both
matches 3-0, which marks the eighth and ninth times this season that BYU has defeated a team 3-0.
Nina Puikkonen, who earned MWC Player of the Week for the second time this season, now has 1,052
kills in her career. She needs 139 kills to pass Michele Fellows for seventh-place on the all-time
list at BYU.
The Cougars have played a No. 1 team (Stanford), a No. 2 team (Long Beach State) and a No. 3 team
(Colorado State) this season. The Cougars defeated both Stanford and Long Beach State before losing
to the Rams. Including Pepperdine, BYU will have faced seven top 20 foes this year.
Colorado State Rams (21-1, 7-0 MWC)
Head Coach: Tom Hilbert
Overall Record: 276-90 (12th year)
School Record: 102-18 (4th year)
Colorado State faces Wyoming in its only match this week. CSU leads the Cowgirls 29-18 in series
play and have won the last five.
Courtney Cox hit a career-high .708 against San Diego State (19-2-24) and was second on the team
with 12 digs, giving her seven double-doubles this season. Her .708 ranks 11th on the Colorado State
all-time single match chart.
Colorado State has won its last 17 overall matches, which ties No. 1 Nebraska for the longest
active win streak in the NCAA Division I ranks.
Senior Summer Jennings moved into second on the school career block assist chart with 349 blocks.
She is 39 shy of tying the record of 388 held by Janie Penfield (1994-97).
Four CSU starters hit over .400 for the week, including Angela Knopf (.525), Soraya Santos (.513),
Courtney Cox (.507) and Summer Jennings (.415).
Angela Knopf has had five matches this season with zero hitting errors and five with just one
hitting error.
Colorado State set a school record by winning 34 straight games and sweeping its last 11
opponents. The last game the Rams dropped was in a five-game match on Sept. 16 vs. Loyola-Chicago.
The Rams are in the midst of a 40-match home win streak (31 of which have been three-game sweeps)
dating back to Arizona¹s victory over Colorado State Sept. 6, 1998. This is now the longest current
streak in NCAA Division I.
The Rams are holding conference competition to a meager .079 hitting percentage, while hitting
.315 in league matches this season.
New Mexico Lobos (7-10, 3-4 MWC)
Head Coach: Laurel Brassey Iversen
Overall Record: 287-203 (17th year)
School Record: 287-203 (17th year)
The Lobos lead the MWC in digs (conference matches only) averaging 14.36 per game. In the overall
statistics, UNM averages 14.41 digs per game.
New Mexico is 8-2 this season when holding the opposition under a .200 hitting percentage.
Junior Jessie Goffard had 11 kills against Utah to lead the Lobos.
Goffard¹s season total in kills is a team-high 216. Goffard also leads the Lobos in attempts (668),
and digs (178).
Sophomore setter Kelly Griffin had 55 assists in two matches last week, bringing her team-high
total to 610 on the year (10.52 average). Her career assist total is at 929. Griffin also leads the
Lobos in service aces with 27.
Freshman Amy Amundson continues to lead the Lobos in several catgories, including hitting
percentage (.239), block solos (12), block assists (44), and total blocks (56).
San Diego State Aztecs (11-10, 4-3 MWC)
Head Coach: Mark Warner
Overall Record: 94-79 (6th year)
School Record: 94-79 (6th year)
The Aztecs face two ranked opponents this week in BYU and Utah. SDSU trails 13-21 to BYU and 6-13
to Utah in series play.
Two Aztecs recorded double-doubles at Wyoming last Friday. Freshman Aspen McPartland had 15 kills
and 14 digs while senior Monet Solberg had 11 kills and 10 digs. It was the fourth double-double of
the season for each player.
Solberg's five-match streak of reaching double figures in kills was ended in the Colorado State
match when she had six. Over the past six matches, the senior outside hitter from Sebastopol, Calif,
is averaging 3.40 kills per game. Her season average of 3.02 kpg leads the team.
Over San Diego State's last five matches, senior outside hitter Amy Hallquist is hitting .336 and
averaging 3.35 kills per game. She had a four-match streak with double figures in kills stopped at
Colorado State.
Nicole Akporiaye has compiled a .342 hitting percentage over the Aztecs' most recent six matches.
The sophomore from Tucson, Ariz., leads the team in total kills this season with 159.
Setter Melissa Wright has totaled 807 assists in her first season as an Aztec to rank 10th on the
SDSU career list. She is also hitting .318 on the season. In her last six matches, the sophomore
from Muncie, Ind., is hitting .356 with 23 kills and just seven errors in 45 attempts.
SDSU has won five of its last six matches. The loss at Colorado State ended San Diego State's
four-match win streak.
With seven MWC matches left, SDSU has already matched its conference win total (4) of last season.
The Aztecs also matched their overall win total of 11 from last year.
UNLV Rebels (2-14, 2-5 MWC)
Head Coach: Deitre Collins
Overall Record: 51-76 (5th year)
School Record: 51-76 (5th year)
The Rebels his .330 as a team in their sweep over Wyoming last weekend, marking the second highest
total for the season. UNLV hit .390 in a three-game sweep over Air Force Sept. 29.
Freshman Leiana Oswald has notched double-digit kills in eight matches this season. Oswald set the
conference season high for attempts in a three-game match with 61 vs. San Diego State Oct. 7.
The Rebels set a conference record with 167 attempts in a three-game loss to San Diego State Oct.
7.
Utah Utes (15-2, 6-1 MWC)
Head Coach: Beth Launiere
Overall Record: 195-141 (11th year)
School Record: 195-141 (11th year)
Alisa Geddes averaged 3.18 kpg, 3.0 dpg, and 1.0 bpg in three matches this week. She leads the
team in overall digs and digs per game (191, 2.94).
Geddes tallied back-to-back double-doubles last week as she posted 13 kills and 11 digs vs. New
Mexico Friday, and came back for a 13-kill, 12-dig performance vs. Air Force the next night.
Utah has held its opponents to a .129 hitting percentage, while hitting .218 on the season.
Utah is 3-3 vs. ranked teams this season after falling to then-No. 25 Utah State Tuesday. The Utes
defeated then-No. 1-ranked Stanford on Sept. 5, then-No. 24-ranked San Diego on Sept. 9, and
then-No. 13 BYU Oct. 6. Utah lost its first match in 2000 to No. 13 Arizona on Sept. 16, followed by
a setback to No. 3 Colorado State on Sept. 29.
Utah recorded the best start in school history at 8-0 after defeating Temple, topping the 7-0 mark
set by the 1992 team.
Wyoming Cowgirls (8-15, 1-6 MWC)
Head Coach: Susan Judge
Overall Record: 103-111 (7th year)
School Record: 66-79 (5th year)
Wyoming snapped a three-match losing streak Monday with a win over Weber State. The Cowgirls host
No. 3 Colorado State in their only match this weekend.
Senior Jamie Burke was back in action last week after missing two matches with an ankle injury.
She picked up a team-high 14 digs vs. San Diego State Friday, and notched her eighth double-double
of the season Monday with 16 kills and 11 digs in a win over Weber State.
Senior middle blocker Melody Friehauf has recorded double-digit kills in four of her last five
matches. She hit .355 in two matches over the weekend and tied a season high for kills with 18 vs.
San Diego State.
The Cowgirls had four players in double figures for kills and digs vs. San Diego State. Friehauf
led the way with a match-high 18 kills and Jamie Burke tallied a match-high 15 digs.
Wyoming had five of six starters in double figures for kills vs. Weber State Monday. Rachel Lau
picked up a match-high 20 kills to lead the Cowgirls.
