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Volleyball: Middle Mania
By Amy Steele-Gant
Nov. 14, 2000
The Mountain West Conference is full of talent in every position, but this year the conference has an abnormally large number of great middle blockers. I would venture to say that the MWC has the best middles in the country. In fact, a good percentage of the teams in the conference tend to rely heavily on the performance of their middles, especially when the game gets tight. That being the case, the end result of the McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship rests almost completely in the hands of the "big girls in the middle." BYU's Nina Puikkonen is undoubtedly one of the most talented players in the country. She has been one of the top blockers in the country for the past three years, and she has ranked in the top five in the nation for blocks per game nearly all season. The returning All-American is an offensive threat as well. She can put the ball away from anywhere on the floor, and when she runs behind the setter she is downright deadly. Puikkonen has become the leader that the Cougars desperately need this season, and with a quality performance next week she could earn her team a championship and herself an MVP award. For CSU, Angela Knopf has been as consistent as they come all season. The junior middle blocker has an amazing ability to find holes in the opponent's defense. She leads the conference in hitting percentage and is ranked third nationally at .447. Knopf and her middle blocking counterpart Summer Jennings will be expected to carry their team to a repeat as Mountain West Conference champs. McKelle Stilson from Utah has perfected her slide attack and has proven to be a go-to player for Utah this year. She has battled a knee injury all season, but if she can stay healthy for the tournament Utah could be a big contender. UNLV's Amber Graham has also developed her slide attack into a deadly weapon. This junior is quick and has the ability to score even when the set isn't quite perfect. She can be the player to lead UNLV to an upset in the tournament. Wyoming senior Melody Friehauf will be the player that the cowgirls rely on to lead them to victory next week. She is a four-year starter that has consistently been one of the conferences' best blockers, and she recently became the all-time block leader in Cowgirl history. You can't mention the word "block" without talking about San Diego State's Erin Grady. This senior leads the conference in blocks and is second in the nation in the same category. In fact, three MWC players, Grady, Puikkonen, and Knopf, are all ranked in the top 10 nationally in blocking. I think Grady and her Aztecs will be the sleeper team of this tournament.
It is a rare occurrence to have so many talented players in one position in one conference. Although it means many of these great players may not get the post-season awards that they deserve, it sure gives us some great match-ups to look forward to at the McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship.
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