Upsets Prevail As Conference First Half Comes To An End
Upsets were featured during the final week of the first half of Mountain West Conference action. In a battle between the league’s two nationally ranked teams, No. 15 Colorado State swept No. 8 BYU. New Mexico registered its first two conference victories with wins over UNLV and San Diego State. Air Force continued its strong play, posting wins over SDSU and UNLV. Utah had another upset in the works when it claimed the first two games at CSU, however the Rams rallied for a five-game victory.
This week’s non-conference action got underway early with No. 11 BYU posting a 3-1 win at Arizona State and San Diego State taking a five-game match from Northern Arizona on Mon., Oct. 25. BYU also faces No. 19 Arizona on Tues., Oct. 26. This weekend’s action begins the second half of conference play. New Mexico and Air Force will look to continue the upset trend as they play at No. 8 BYU and Utah this weekend. In this week’s conference rivalry matches on Friday, Wyoming plays at No. 12 Colorado State while UNLV is at San Diego State. Wyoming concludes the weekend against non-conference foe Weber State on Saturday. The other three MWC teams involved in rivalry matches will take Saturday off.
USA Today/AVCA National Poll
BYU No. 11, CSU No. 12
All 25 teams listed in the USA Today/AVCA Division I Coaches’ Top 25 national poll remained the same despite movement within the ranks. Most notable was Stanford’s jump from No. 7 to No. 2 this week after upsetting Hawaii.
BYU (16-3/6-1 MWC) slipped three slots to No. 11 in this week’s listing after falling to then-No. 15 Colorado State and posting two wins this past week. BYU also won the same day the poll was released. The Cougars’ other losses this season were to then-No. 7 Stanford on Sept. 25 and in the season opener to Michigan. BYU owns wins over Top 25 members Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine.
Following an upset of then-No. 8 BYU, Colorado State University (19-1/6-1 MWC) jumped three places to No. 12 in this week’s national poll. Thus far, the Rams have registered three tournament titles and wins over Top 25 teams Colorado, Loyola Marymount and BYU.
Colorado State’s Knopf Earns Her Second Mountain West Conference Volleyball Player of the Week
Sophomore middle blocker Angela Knopf from Colorado State University becomes the first player to earn Mountain West Conference Volleyball Player of the Week honors twice. Knopf helped lead the No. 15-ranked Rams to an upset sweep of No. 8 BYU, and a come-from-behind five-game victory over Utah during the week. CSU improved to 19-1 overall and 6-1 in conference play.
Knopf led the Rams in kills and digs with double-doubles in both matches during the week. She set two career-highs in kills establishing her three-game best with 17 kills vs. BYU and her five-game high with 23 vs. Utah. She also set career highs in attempts (45) and digs (19) in the Utah match. Not only were her totals impressive, but Knopf capped the week by providing the final two kills in the rally scoring fifth-game against the Utes.
Over the course of the two matches during the week, Knopf hit .421 with 40 kills and only eight errors in 76 attempts. She averaged 5.0 kills, 3.6 digs and 1.13 blocks per game for totals of 40 kills, 29 digs and nine blocks. She also served one ace in each match.
A product of Sam Barlow High in Portland, Ore., this is the third time in her career that Knopf has received conference player of the week recognition. She claimed the Mountain West Conference honor on Sept. 20 and last season earned the WAC Mountain Division award on Oct. 5, 1998.
Sooner Than You Think … Conference Championships at BYU
Less than a month away now, the inaugural Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship will be hosted by Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. All eight MWC institutions will compete for the first league title November 24-27 in the Smith Fieldhouse.
Tickets for the event are available through the BYU ticket office by calling (801) 378-2981 or (800) 322-2981. For media credentials contact Elaine Adams at the Mountain West Conference Office (719) 533-9510.
Non-conference Wrap
Two non-conference matches took place this past week as Mountain West Conference action continued to dominate the schedule. The MWC claimed two wins over Big East member Notre Dame as both BYU and Utah registered victories. Combined, Mountain West Conference teams own a 69-38 record against opponents from other conferences, to date. Collectively, MWC teams have won 227 games and lost just 148 in non-league contests. Here’s a quick look at how the Mountain West Conference stacks up against conferences played at least three times:
ACC 3-2
Big East 6-3
Big Sky 4-2
Big 12 4-7
Big West 4-3
Colonial 2-1
C-USA 4-0
Missouri Valley 5-1
Ohio Valley 3-0
Pac-10 2-5
SEC 3-1
Sun Belt 4-2
West Coast 3-7
WAC 3-2
Team Notes:
Air Force Falcons (16-5, 4-3 MWC)
The Falcons continued to break new ground as they registered two Mountain West Conference victories over the weekend … The win over San Diego State marked the first in series history (1-4) for AFA, while the UNLV win marks the second in that series (2-5) Š The Falcons entered the season with just two wins ever over Mountain West Conference opponents, yet they have totaled four already this season … Individually, the Falcons made several entries in the MWC superlatives categories during the UNLV match … Shaylor Billings (Jr., MB) made her third entry into the 20-kill club as she drilled 21 against the Rebels … Brooke Effland (Sr., OH) was just shy of the 20/20 club as she registered 19 kills and 21 digs for her third entry in the digs category … Tracey Wilkerson (Sr., OH) also made her third entry in the 20-dig club with 20 vs. the Rebels … Summer Koons (Sr., MB) surpassed the season milestone of 100 total blocks for the first time in her career and enters this week with 20 solo and 81 assisted blocks for a total of 101 thus far this year … Effland is approaching a career milestone as she enters the week with 988 kills, just 12 shy of the prestigious 1,000 mark … Effland will be only the 10th player in Air Force history to collect 1,000 career kills and the first since the program moved to the Division I level in 1996 … In the conference statisitcal leaders, the Falcons have two individuals atop two categories … Tharmmony In (Sr., S) and Billings lead the league in service aces with averages of 0.45 and 0.38 per game … Wilkerson and Effland top the digs list with averages of 3.91 and 3.34, respectively … This week, Air Force will again look for its first wins in the series at Utah and BYU.
BYU Cougars (16-3, 6-1 MWC)
The Cougars are listed No. 11 in this week¹s edition of the national rankings … This past week BYU was rank No. 8 in the nation, but suffered a sweep in the first showdown at then-No. 15 Colorado State … BYU also posted wins in sweeps during the week … The Cougars have won six of their seven conference matches in clean sweeps, however their only loss was also a sweep (by CSU) … Individually, Anna-Lena Smith (Sr., S) enjoyed a milestone week as she surpassed the 5,000-mark against Colorado State, then eclipsed the BYU career assist record of 5,321 (held by current U.S. National Team setter Charlene Johnson Tagaloa) against Wyoming … Smith finished the week with a new career total of 5,355 assists … The league leader, Smith is averaging 13.42 assists per game average … Sunny Tonga (Fr., OH) registered the highest attack percentage in BYU history when she drilled 10 kills without an error in 11 attempts for a .909 percentage at Wyoming the previous single-match hitting percentage record was .863 set by Lisa Connolly vs. New Mexico in 1981 … Nina Puikkonen (So., MB) led the Cougars in kills in all three matches this past week and averaged 5.22 kills, 2.78 digs and 2.22 blocks per game for the week … She continues to lead the league and ranks eighth in the nation in blocks with an average of 1.73 per game … She also leads the conference in kills per game with a 4.37 average … As a team, BYU continues to lead the conference in three categories - blocks per game (3.53), kills per game (16.85), and hitting percentage (.288) … In this week’s action, BYU got under way early picking up a 3-1 win at Pac-10 foe Arizona State on Monday and will face No. 19 Arizona on Tuesday … The Cougars will play host to New Mexico and Air Force over the weekend.
Colorado State Rams (19-1, 6-1 MWC)
The Rams climbed to No. 12 in the USA Today/AVCA national poll this week … Ranked No. 15 at match time, CSU upset then-No. 8 BYU in the first battle between two nationally ranked conference teams this past week … The Rams were then forced to rally in order to claim a five-game victory over Utah the following night … CSU is 13-0 at home this season … A crowd of 4,112 against BYU marks the largest attendance figure for the Rams during the 1990s … CSU has now won 16 matches in the minimum three games this season … The Rams are 3-0 against ranked teams … Nine individual and seven team season-highs were set in the Utah match … Angela Knopf (So., MB) became the first player to claim two Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors as she led the Rams in kills and digs in both outings, setting new career-marks in each … Knopf hit .421 and averaged 5.0 kills, 1.13 blocks and 3.6 digs per game for the week … Summer Jennings (Jr., MB) notched a MWC-best 13 total blocks to establish a new career-high against Utah … As a team, CSU maintained its conference lead in assists (15.19) per game, and remained second in kills (16.82) … This week, the Rams play host to Wyoming on Friday.
New Mexico Lobos (7-17, 2-5 MWC)
The Lobos enjoyed an impressive weekend as they registered their first two Mountain West Conference victories by defeating both UNLV and SDSU in four game matches … Janelle Torres provided a season-best 68 assists against SDSU to raise her career total to 3,473 … Amber Smith (Sr., OH) registered two double-doubles with 11 kills and 18 digs vs. UNLV and a season-high 24 kills and 16 digs vs. SDSU … Micaela Conley (Jr., OH) also recorded a pair of double-doubles (her sixth and seventh of the season) with 11 kills and 14 digs vs. UNLV and 13 kills, 16 digs vs. SDSU … Erika Sansoni (Fr., MB) hit a season-high .391 (12k-3e-23ta) vs. SDSU and totaled 10 blocks over the weekend … Sansoni currently leads the Lobos with 20 solo and 62 assisted blocks for a total of 82 blocks … Nana Allison (Sr., DS) made her first entry of the season in the 20-dig club, registering 20 against the Aztecs … In this week’s action, New Mexico opens the second half of conference play at BYU and Utah this weekend.
San Diego State Aztecs (9-12, 2-5 MWC)
The Aztecs suffered a pair of consecutive conference losses on the road at Air Force and New Mexico last week … Jamie Evans (Sr., OH) enjoyed a solid match at New Mexico as she recorded her sixth double-double of the year and was just shy of the 20/20 club as she totaled 19 kills and 19 digs … Evans leads the team with 197 total kills and 177 total digs … Melissa Dickson (So., S) has taken over the reigns as SDSU¹s setter and notched a career-high 49 assists at New Mexico … Amy Hallquist (Jr., OH) added her fifth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 12 digs at New Mexico … Nicole Akporiaye (Fr., MB) led all hitters with a career-high 17 kills at Air Force … Erin Grady (Jr., MB) added 11 kills and four blocks at AFA … The schedule has not been easy for SDSU which opened the season against four ranked opponents and has played a total of seven top-25 foes thus far … SDSU began a crucial four-match homestand with a five-game victory over Northern Arizona on Monday, Oct. 25 … The Aztecs start the second half of conference play hosting UNLV on Friday.
UNLV Rebels (9-9, 1-6 MWC)
The Rebels have lost six of their last seven matches, including a pair of conference matches on the road at Air Force and New Mexico this past week … Individually, Angie Sylvas (Sr., OH) continues to be a bright spot for the Rebels as she enjoyed two more solid performances … Sylvas recorded her sixth double-double at New Mexico with 17 kills and 11 digs … The following night at Air Force, Sylvas made her third entry into the 20-kill club as she recorded a season-high 25 kills to lead all hitters … Jeanette Graves (Sr., OH) added her name to the 20-kills list when she drilled 20 at Air Force … After opening the season with a school-best seven consecutive wins, the Rebels have now lost six of the last seven matches … Three of those losses have come at the hands of ranked foes (USC, Pepperdine and BYU) … UNLV claimed its only league win with an upset of previously undefeated No. 14-ranked Colorado State on Oct. 16 … The second half of conference play gets underway with UNLV traveling to San Diego State on Friday for its only match of the week.
Utah Utes (15-6, 5-2 MWC)
The Utes claimed the first two games in a showdown with No. 15 Colorado State, but saw the Rams battle back to claim the match in five games … Utah started the week by returning to its winning ways with a non-conference victory over Notre Dame on Wednesday, then added a league win over Wyoming on Friday … Earlier, the Utes had their win streak stopped at five matches with a loss to No. 8 BYU on Oct. 15 … Individual standouts for the week include Graciela Torres-Lopez (Sr., S) who registered her third triple-double of the season at Colorado State with 12 kills, 10 digs and 62 assists … Utah¹s all-time assist record holder, Torres-Lopez has totaled 955 assists this season, bringing her career total to 4,661 … Averaging 12.73 assists per game, Torres-Lopez continues to close in on the 5,000 milestone … McKelle Stilson (So., MB) notched her fourth 20-kill outing as she drilled 20 and added eight blocks at CSU … Stilson has reached double-figures in kills in 17 of the 21 matches this season … Alisa Geddes (So., OH) joined the 20-kill club with a match-high 23 against Notre Dame and has reached double figures in kills in 14 matches … Geddes also made her second entry in the 20-digs category registering the highest total by a Mountain West Conference player with 26 digs at CSU … As a team, Utah leads the league in digs per game with a 16.15 average … In this week’s action, the Utes play host to Air Force and New Mexico.
Wyoming Cowgirls (8-13, 2-5 MWC)
In the toughest home weekend of league play on their schedule, the Cowgirls suffered consecutive sweeps in conference play to Utah and No. 8 BYU last week … Individually, Jamie Burke (Jr., OH) led the Cowgirls with 16 kills against Utah … Rachel Lau (So., MB/OH) hit .474 with 10 kills and just one error in 19 attempts against the Utes … Melody Friehauf (Jr., MB) led the team with 13 kills against BYU … Michele Keller (Fr., OH/RS) came in to hit .364 with five kills in a solid effort against the Cougars … Friehauf is listed third in the conference and stood 20th in the nation entering the week with a team-high .363 attack percentage … Friehauf owns the only 30-kill outing in MWC history, after drilling the career-high against Evansville on Sept. 25 … As a team, Wyoming continues to lead the league in service aces per game (1.81) and is second in blocks per game (2.82) … As the second round of conference action begins this week, Wyoming travels to No. 12 Colorado State on Friday … The Cowgirls conclude the weekend in non-conference action playing host to Weber State on Saturday.
Match-Bests
Here is a list of the best individual and team single-match performances in the Mountain West Conference thus far.
Attack Percentage
Indiv.: .909 (10-0-11) by Sunny Tonga (BYU) at Wyoming O 23
Team: .537 (34-5-54) New Mexico vs. Jackson State S 3
Kills
Indiv.: 30 by Melody Friehauf (Wyo) vs. Evansville S 25
Team: 86 UNLV at Nevada, Reno S 28
Blocks
Indiv.: 13 (1/12) by Summer Jennings (CSU) vs. Utah O 23
Team: 22 Wyoming vs. Montana State S 4
Digs
Indiv.: 26 by Alisa Geddes (Utah) at CSU O 23
Team: 95 Colorado State vs. Utah O 23
Assists
Indiv.: 78 by Maria Julia Goes (UNLV) at Nevada, Reno S 28
Team: 81 UNLV at Nevada, Reno S 28
Service Aces
Indiv.: 8 by Christel Eves (UNLV) at Maryland S 11
Team: 17 UNLV at Maryland S 11
Team Hitting Percentage
8. BYU (852-307-1859) .293
16. Colorado State (976-370-2149) .282
Team Blocks
5. BYU (39 BS/276 BA/177 TB) 3.47
MWC Preseason Coaches’ Predictions
The coaches from the eight Mountain West Conference institutions registered their votes for projected order of finish in the new conference prior to the season. BYU, which has won the conference title in its first year with each of its previous three conferences, is favored to claim the inaugural MWC crown. The league competition should be exciting as the voting was very close the rest of the way. Colorado State was chosen to be the runner-up, Utah was picked to finish third and UNLV completes the upper half at fourth.
Here is the complete preseason poll:
1. BYU
2. Colorado State
3. Utah
4. UNLV
5. Wyoming
6. New Mexico
7. San Diego State
8. Air Force
Four MWC Teams Were Mentioned In Preseason National Poll
Four women’s volleyball teams from the Mountain West Conference received mention in the USA Today/AVCA preseason national poll. Two were listed among the nation’s top-25 and two others received votes.
Brigham Young University enters the season ranked No. 7 in the nation. The Cougars finished 1998 listed No. 6 in the final poll with a 31-4 record. Colorado State climbed into the preseason poll at No. 24. The Rams posted a 24-8 record in 1998 but were not ranked at the end of the season.
Utah received 24 votes to place just outside of the top-25. The Utes owned a 21-10 record in 1998. UNLV brings the conference total to four teams mentioned in the preseason poll by gaining one vote. The Rebels went 23-8 this past season.
Rich Postseason History
Six of the eight MWC women’s volleyball programs have competed in postseason action over the years while the other two programs have only been in competition since 1996. Leading the charge is Brigham Young University, which has competed in the NCAA tournament 17 times. Highlighting BYU’s NCAA success is a national runner-up finish in 1993. The Cougars have also reached the Regional Final seven times - including the past three years.
Colorado State has competed in the last four NCAA tournaments bringing its total to 10. San Diego State has made 12 NCAA appearances, New Mexico seven, Wyoming four and Utah one. In addition, CSU and Utah have each competed in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
MWC Volleyball Milestones
First Serve: Colorado at CSU, 6:58 p.m., Sept. 1.
First MWC Kill: by CSU’s Catie Vagneur at 6:59 p.m., Sept. 1 against Colorado.
First Point Scored: On a kill by CSU’s Catie Vagneur at 6:59 p.m., Sept. 1 against Colorado.
First Victory: CSU d. Colorado (3-0) Sept. 1.
First 3-Game Win: CSU d. Colorado (3-0) Sept. 1.
First 4-Game Win: BYU d. Toledo (3-1) Sept. 4.
First 5-Game Win: BYU d. Georgia (3-2) Sept. 3.
First Victory vs. Ranked Opponent: No. 24 CSU d. No. 19 Colorado (3-0) Sept. 1.
First Home Victory: CSU d. Colorado (3-0) Sept. 1.
First Away Victory: BYU d. Georgia (3-2) Sept. 3.
First Neutral Victory: UTAH d. SMU (3-0) Sept. 3.
First Loss: Denver d. WYOMING (3-0) Sept. 1.
First 3-Game Loss: Denver d. WYOMING (3-0) Sept. 1.
First 4-Game Loss: Montana State d. WYOMING (3-1) Sept. 4.
First 5-Game Loss: Georgia d. UTAH (3-2) Sept. 7.
First Home Loss: Northern Iowa d. UTAH (3-0) Sept. 1.
First Away Loss: Denver d. WYOMING (3-0) Sept. 1.
First Neutral Loss: Michigan d. BYU (3-0) Sept. 3.
First Tournament Title: AIR FORCE won the Air Force Invitational Sept. 3.
First Tournament Title at Home: AIR FORCE won the Air Force Invitational Sept. 3.
First Tournament Title on Road: UTAH won the Texas Tech Four Points Sheraton Classic Sept. 4.
First Player of the Week: CSU’s Courtney Cox (So., OH)
First 10-Block Outing: 10 (1/9) by Wyo’s Melody Friehauf vs. Montana State and (4/6) by BYU’s Nina Puikkonen vs. Toledo on Sept. 4.
First 20-Kill Outing: 20 by AFA’s Shaylor Billings vs. Morgan State and 21 by UNLV’s Angie Sylvas on Sept. 10.
First 30-Kill Outing: 30 by Wyo’s Melody Friehauf vs. Evansville on Sept. 25.
First 20-Dig Outing: 20 by SDSU’s Jamie Evans vs. Creighton on Sept. 12.
First Triple-Double: (16k-1d-11b) by Wyo’s Rachel Lau vs. Montana State on Sept. 4.
Grand Fan Club
4,112 BYU at Colorado State O 22
3,533# Pepperdine at BYU S 18
2,584 Colorado at Colorado State S 1
2,063 Notre Dame at Colorado State S 25
1,532 Utah State at BYU S 17
1,471 SMU at Colorado State S 17
1,381 Colorado State at Wyoming O 2
1,318 Evansville at Colorado State S 24
1,218 Notre Dame at BYU O 19
1,175 Utah at Colorado State O 23
# New Arena Record
Triple-Double Club
(12k-10d-62a) Graciela Torres-Lopez (Utah) vs. CSU O 23
(12k-16d-60a) G. Torres-Lopez (Utah) vs. Pepperdine S 17
(10k-11d-60a) G. Torres-Lopez (Utah) vs. Weber State S 7
(16k-11d-11b) Rachel Lau (Wyo) vs. Montana State S 4
20-Dig Club
26 Alisa Geddes (Utah) at Colorado State O 23
25 Brooke Effland (AFA) vs. Tennessee Tech S 11
22 Micaela Conley (UNM) at Wyoming O 9
22 Tracy Wilkerson (AFA) vs. Denver O 6
22 Alisa Geddes (Utah) at California S 25
21 Janelle Torres (UNM) vs. Wash. State S 11
21 Brooke Effland (AFA) vs. UNLV O 23
20 Tharommony In (AFA) vs. Utah O 2
20 Jamie Evans (SDSU) at Creighton S 12
20 Tracy Wilkerson (AFA) vs. UNLV O 23
20 Nana Allison (UNM) vs. SDSU O 23
30-Kill Club
30 Melody Friehauf (Wyo) vs. Evansville S 25
20-Kill Club
27 Brooke Effland (AFA) vs. Denver O 6
25 McKelle Stilson (Utah) at Cal S 25
25 Angie Sylvas (UNLV) at Air Force O 23
24 Jamie Burke (Wyo) vs. Arkansas S 11
24 Shaylor Billings (AFA) vs. Tenn. Tech S 11
24 Amber Smith (UNM) vs. SDSU O 23
23 Courtney Cox (CSU) at Denver S 21
23 Catie Vagneur (CSU) at Denver S 21
23 Angie Sylvas (UNLV) at Nevada-Reno S 28
23 Angela Knopf (CSU) vs. Utah O 23
23 Catie Vagneur (CSU) vs. Utah O 23
23 Alisa Geddes (Utah) vs. Notre Dame O 20
22 Amy Hallquist (SDSU) at Creighton S 12
22 Brooke Effland (AFA) vs. Utah O 2
21 Angie Sylvas (UNLV) at Louisville S 10
21 Melody Friehauf (Wyo) vs. Arkansas S 11
21 Jamie Burke (Wyo) vs. Notre Dame S 24
21 McKelle Stilson (Utah) at Air Force O 2
21 Shaylor Billings (AFA) vs. UNLV O 23
20 Shaylor Billings (AFA) vs. Morgan State S 10
20 Amber Smith (UNM) vs. Wash. State S 11
20 McKelle Stilson (Utah) vs. Utah State S 16
20 Brooke Effland (AFA) at Alabama S 17
20 McKelle Stilson (Utah) vs. Pepperdine S 17
20 Nina Puikkonen (BYU) vs. Pepperdine S 18
20 Melody Friehauf (Wyo) vs. Notre Dame S 24
20 Amber Smith (UNM) vs. SMU S 25
20 Mari Carpenter (BYU) vs. Weber State O 5
20 Jamie Burke (Wyo) vs. New Mexico O 9
20 Nina Puikkonen (BYU) vs. Notre Dame O 19
20 Jeanette Graves (UNLV) at Air Force O 23
20 McKelle Stilson (Utah) at Colorado State O 23
Double-Figure Block Club
13 Summer Jennings (CSU) vs. Utah O 23
11 Summer Koons (AFA) vs. Utah O 2
11 Rachel Lau (Wyo) vs. Montana St. S 4
10 Alicia Erickson (UNLV) vs. SDSU O 2
10 Melody Friehauf (Wyo) at Colorado S 14
10 McKelle Stilson (Utah) at Georgia S 10
10 Melody Friehauf (Wyo) vs. Montana St. S 4
10 Nina Puikkonen (BYU) vs. Toledo S 4
