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MWC Weekly Court Notes
Conference tournament runs Thursday-Saturday.
Nov. 17, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
#1 Colorado State vs. #8 New Mexico (MWC-TV) CSU leads the all-time series 27-20 and has won 14 straight vs. the Lobos. CSU and UNM will meet for the first time in MWC tournament play this week. CSU is 7-3 all-time in MWC tournaments, while UNM is 1-4. The Rams are the No. 1 seed for the fourth straight year, while the Lobos are the No. 8 seed for the first time. Last year marked the first time CSU did not reach the conference tournament finals. #2 Utah vs. #7 Wyoming (MWC-TV) Utah leads the all-time series 29-23 and has won 11 of the last 12 meetings, including four straight. The Utes and Cowgirls meet in the first round of the MWC tournament for the second straight year. Utah defeated Wyoming 3-0 in last year's tournament at Moby Arena. Two-time defending champion Utah, a No. 2 seed for the second time in three years, is 8-2 all-time in MWC tournaments, while Wyoming is in search of its first tournament victory (0-4). #3 BYU vs. #6 Air Force (MWC-TV) BYU leads the all-time series 11-1 and won both regular season meetings (3-2, 3-0). The Cougars and Falcons will meet for the first time in the MWC tournament this week. BYU is 8-3 all-time in MWC tournaments, while Air Force is in search of its first tournament victory (0-4). BYU has reached the finals as a No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 seed, but was eliminated in the semifinals the last time it was the No. 3 seed (2001). #4 San Diego St. vs. #5 UNLV (MWC-TV) SDSU leads the all-time series 13-3, including two victories this season, but the Rebels have won twice in the last five meetings. The Aztecs and Rebels entered the 2001 MWC tournament as the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, respectively, and UNLV posted a 3-2 win. SDSU is 1-3 in first round MWC tournament matches with three of those four contests going five games. SDSU is 2-4 overall in MWC tournaments, while UNLV is 1-4 with its only win coming vs. the Aztecs. ALL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES TO BE TELEVISED The 2003 Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship will make its debut in San Diego this season. The event will be held Nov. 20-22 at Peterson Gym with San Diego State University serving as host. For the fourth straight year, all seven matches of the championship will be televised with the MWC-TV Network handling production. Matches have been cleared on several affiliates in the Mountain West region, plus national clearances on CSTV and Fox Sports Net (RM). The championship match will be aired live Saturday, Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. MT (7 p.m. PT) on FSN, marking the second straight year FSN is carrying the title match live. CSTV will air the MWC Championship semifinals on a tape delayed basis. A complete schedule and bracket can be found on page six of this release. HOW THE SEEDS FARE AT THE MWC CHAMPIONSHIP A No. 1 seed has never won the Mountain West Conference Championship, while the No. 2 seed has won three of the four years (1999-No. 2 CSU, 2000-No. 2 BYU, 2001-No. 2 Utah). The No. 3 seed has won once (2002-No. 3 Utah). Each of the top four seeds have made it to the finals, while the No. 5 seed has two semifinal appearances. The bottom three seeds have never advanced to the semifinals. Below is a look at MWC Championship results by seed. MWC CHAMPIONSHIP FACTS
ACADEMIC HONORS A record six MWC volleyball student-athletes garnered CoSIDA Academic All-America District honors, including three first-team selections. Utah senior Kim Turner and Wyoming junior Amy Doman were District VIII first-team selections, while Air Force senior Delavane Diaz earned first-team honors in District VII. Turner, Diaz and Doman will be forwarded to the national Academic All-America ballot. New Mexico junior Adah Burke was a second-team honoree in District VI and UNLV senior Leiana Oswald was second-team in District VIII. BYU junior Lindsey Metcalf made third-team in District VIII. RAMS POST PERFECT MWC SEASON This year's Colorado State squad is the first to go unbeaten in the MWC regular season. Three of the last four years, the league champion was 13-1 in MWC matches (1999-BYU, 2000-CSU, 2001-CSU). CSU was 12-2 last season. MWC POSTS 67-44 MARK IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY The MWC is 67-44 in non-conference play, including victories over four ranked opponents. This season, San Diego State defeated then-No. 10 Arizona and then-No. 18 San Diego, Utah defeated then-No. 18 Missouri and BYU defeated then-No. 8 Penn State. The Mountain West Conference has a four-year record of 334-242 (.580) vs. non-conference opponents. HOME COURT ADVANTAGE MWC teams posted a 28-9 home record this season vs. non-conference opponents, but the MWC is just 31-25 on the home court in league matches. "A" FOR ATTENDANCE Seven MWC schools have topped 1,000 fans for a single match this season: Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, UNLV, Utah and Wyoming. The Utes were recently added to the list with 1,320 on hand for the BYU match Nov. 7. BYU and Colorado State are among the top 25 nationally for attendance. DIAZ, REINES, TURNER SET MWC KILL RECORDS Air Force senior Delavane Diaz set the Air Force and MWC all-time single-match records for kills with 41 vs. Southern Miss (9/13/03). Diaz also set the single season kills per game mark with 4.93 in MWC matches. New Mexico senior Anna Reines racked up a school- and MWC record (conference only matches) 36 kills vs. Wyoming Nov. 14. Utah senior Kim Turner posted 231 kills in conference play, edging Michele Rauter's (Wyoming) MWC season record of 230 kills in 2002. QUICK HITS Air Force -- The Falcons closed out the conference season at 4-10 after splitting a pair of road matches last week. AFA fell at No. 15 Colorado State, but posted a 3-0 win at Wyoming. The Falcons hit .288 vs. Wyoming--their highest efficiency since a .371 mark in the conference opener vs. New Mexico Sept. 26. Senior Delavane Diaz, who tallied 32 kills last week, has led the MWC in kills 12 straight weeks and her 4.93 average in league matches is an MWC record for single season kills per game. BYU -- The Cougars finished the conference season at 10-4 after sweeping UNLV and San Diego State on the road last week. Sophomore setter Lauren Richards hit .667 and averaged 11.33 assists per game, while directing the Cougars to a .292 efficiency last week. As a team, the Cougars maintained their league-high 3.36 blocks per game in MWC matches. BYU has outblocked its last five opponents and topped a .300 hitting efficiency in three of its last five contests. Senior Uila Crabbe has posted double figure digs in 22 of 27 matches this season and leads the MWC with 3.65 digs per game. Colorado State -- The Rams have now won 17 straight matches after defeating Denver, Air Force and New Mexico last week. CSU became the first team in MWC history to go unbeaten in conference play. Junior Katie Jo Shirley has recorded at least one block in 60 straight matches and she has led the league in hitting efficiency 11 straight weeks. Colorado State held its last two opponents below zero for hitting percentage and the Rams held all MWC opponents to an average of just .138 this season. CSU tied a season-high with 13 aces vs. New Mexico and leads the MWC in aces this season with 193 overall and an MWC record 107 in conference matches. New Mexico -- The Lobos dropped a pair of MWC matches last week, falling to Wyoming and Colorado State. Senior Anna Reines pounded a school- and league record 36 kills in the loss to the Cowgirls. Reines had reached double figure kills in 11 straight matches before being held to four kills vs. CSU. Junior Adah Burke tallied 22 digs vs. Wyoming and has double figure digs in 10 of her last 12 matches. Burke ranks third in the MWC (conf. matches) with 3.23 digs per game. San Diego State -- The Aztecs dropped matches to Utah and BYU last week. Senior Megan Schauermann led the Aztecs with 20 kills, nine blocks and a .316 hitting efficiency last week. Schauermann has led the MWC in blocks (all matches) four straight weeks and currently averages 1.60 per game. The senior trio of Schauermann, Aspen McPartland and Melissa Cansdale make up three of the top six blockers in the MWC. As a team, SDSU ranks fourth nationally with 3.23 blocks per game (as of Nov. 10 NCAA statistics). UNLV -- The Rebels lost in three games to BYU and took Utah to five games before dropping to 4-10 in the MWC. Senior Leiana Oswald led UNLV with a season-high 27 kills and a .310 hitting efficiency vs. Utah, while senior Sheila Ocasio-Clemente hit .391 with 13 kills and five blocks. Oswald is one of only three MWC players averaging over 4.0 kills per game this season and she has double figure kills in six straight matches, while hitting .306 in that span. Ocasio-Clemente is sixth in MWC matches with 1.24 blocks per game. Utah -- Utah closed out MWC play with its best league record in school history at 12-2 after defeating San Diego State and UNLV last week. Senior Kim Turner stretched her block streak to 119 straight matches with a block and tied a career-high with 25 kills vs. the Rebels, marking her 14th straight match with double figure kills and her third straight with 20-plus kills. In their last five matches, the Utes have outhit the opponent by a combined .294 to .147 and outdueled the opponent 27-10 in aces.
Wyoming -- The Cowgirls dropped to 4-10 in MWC play after defeating New Mexico and falling to Air Force last week. Freshman Andrea Seele recorded 22 kills and hit .326 vs. the Lobos, while junior Jill Roslund hit .313 with seven blocks. Seele has double figure kills in three of her last four matches. Senior Katy Brown stepped in at setter last week and dished up 89 assists. Junior Sara Maytorena extended her streak to 60 straight matches with at least one block.
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