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Mountain West Conference Championship on Tap
BYU will host the third annual MWC Volleyball Championship this week.
Nov. 11, 2001 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP This year's championship will take place in Provo, Utah, and for the second straight year, all matches will be televised by SportsWest. The winner of the MWC Volleyball Championship Nov. 17 earns an automatic bid to the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Last year, BYU earned the league's automatic bid, while Utah and CSU gained at-large bids. Seedings for the 2001 MWC Volleyball Championship: November 15 (Thursday) #1 Colorado State vs. #8 Air Force, 11 a.m. (SportsWest) #4 San Diego State vs. #5 UNLV, 1:30 p.m. (SportsWest) #2 Utah vs. #7 New Mexico, 4 p.m. (SportsWest) #3 BYU vs. #6 Wyoming, 7 p.m. (SportsWest) November 16 (Friday) Semifinals #1 vs. #8 winner vs. #4 vs. #5 winner, 4 p.m. (SportsWest) #2 vs. #7 winner vs. #3 vs. #6 winner, 7 p.m. (SportsWest) November 17 (Saturday) Championship, 2 p.m. (SportsWest)
WEEK 11 QUICK HITS (Nov. 11) Air Force -- The Falcons enter the Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship as the No. 8 seed and, for the second straight year, will take on No. 1 seed Colorado State in the first round. Delavane Diaz ended the conference season ranked in the league's top 10 for kills again this season, placing ninth at 3.50 per game. Kristin Huitt is No. 7 in assists and ranks in the league's top 10 for double-doubles this season. BYU -- The Cougars play host to the third annual MWC Volleyball Championship as a No. 3 seed this year. BYU finished league play at 10-4 after falling to UNLV and defeating San Diego State last weekend. BYU opens MWC Championship play against Wyoming, marking the third straight year the Cougars and Cowgirls will meet in the first round. BYU has won 24 straight vs. Wyoming dating back to 1989. Three-time All-American Nina Puikkonen leads the Cougars attack after posting team-highs in kills and blocks this season. Colorado State -- The Rams enter the MWC Championship as a No. 1 seed for the second straight year after capturing the regular season title with a 13-1 record. As a team, Colorado State placed first in five-of-seven conference statistical categories, while Angela Knopf and Allison Peckham repeated as statistical league champions in hitting percentage (.491) and assists (14.27 per game), respectively. Courtney Cox was first in conference matches in kills per game (4.51). CSU won the inaugural MWC Championship in Provo two years ago. New Mexico -- The Lobos are the No. 7 seed in this year's MWC Championship and will face Utah in the first round. UNM posted a 1-1 record in the 1999 MWC Tournament with a win over Air Force and a loss to BYU. Last year, San Diego State outlasted the Lobos in five games in a first-round match. The Lobos have won two of their last three matches and will look to snap a 10-match losing streak to the Utes this week. Anna Reines has reached double-digit kills in nine straight matches. San Diego State -- The Aztecs posted their biggest win of the year last week, upsetting No. 14 Utah in five games. SDSU enters the MWC Championship as the No. 4 seed for the second straight year and will face UNLV in the first round. The Aztecs swept the Rebels this year and are 10-1 all-time vs. UNLV. The Aztecs hit just .148 in their last three matches, but were able to post a 2-1 record in that stretch. Robyn Gregg was the MWC statistical champion with 40 aces in league play, bettering the MWC record of 26 (Kristen Vance, CSU, 1999). UNLV -- The Rebels notched their first-ever victory over BYU with a four-game upset over the Cougars in Las Vegas last week. UNLV, a No. 5 seed in the MWC Championship, is in search of its first MWC tournament win his week after first-round exits the past two years. Sheila Ocasio-Clemente became the first freshman to lead the MWC in any statistical category by doing so in blocks (1.86 per game). Ocasio-Clemente is the nation's block leader with 2.04 per game. Utah -- The Utes enter the MWC Championship as the No. 2 seed--their highest conference tournament seed since 1986. Utah advanced to the MWC semifinals two straight years, but fell to the eventual conference champion each year (Colorado State, 1999, BYU, 2000). The Utes reached their highest national ranking in school history at No. 14 and snapped Colorado State's 20-match win streak this year. Sylva Strzinkova was MWC statistical champion for digs with 154 (3.14 per game), while ranking in the league's top 10 for kills (4), aces (6) and points (6).
Wyoming -- The Cowgirls, a No. 6 seed entering the MWC Championship, face BYU for the third straight year in conference tournament play and will look to snap an overall 24-match losing streak to the Cougars this week in Provo. Jill Roslund reached double-digit kills twice last week, including a season-high 18 kills vs. New Mexico. Rachel Lau will be the go-to played up front for the Cowgirls this week. Lau leads the team in kills and has reached double figures in that category in all but two matches this season, including 16 kills in a loss to New Mexico and 14 in a win over Air Force.
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