COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Colorado State captured its third straight Mountain West Conference regular season championship after defeating No. 21 Utah and BYU on the road over the weekend. Since the start of the 2000 season, Colorado State has had at least a share of the top spot in the league standings all 24 weeks. CSU posted 13-1 MWC marks the past two seasons en route to regular season titles both years.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRINGS
Quarterfinal #1, (3) Utah vs. (6) Wyoming, 11 a.m.
Television: Live on KTWO (2) and KKTV (33) in Wyoming; Tape delay on KUWB (30) Salt Lake City; Live on Comcast (72) Albuquerque, Channel 4 San Diego, Cox (48) Las Vegas.
Season Series: 1-1
All-Time Series: Utah leads 26-23
Conference Tournament Meetings: First
Defending conference tournament champion Utah faces Wyoming in the first round of the MWC Championship this week. The teams split the regular season series with each team winning at home. The Cowgirls' 3-0 victory in Laramie on Oct. 18 snapped a seven-match losing streak to the Utes. Utah avenged the loss with a 3-1 win over Wyoming Saturday in Salt Lake City. Wyoming enters the match in search of its first-ever MWC Tournament victory, while the Utes are 8-5 all-time in conference tournaments, including a 5-2 mark in MWC Tournaments. Six of the last eight matches in the series have been decided in three games.
What you should know ...
Wyoming won the battle at the net 12-6 in total blocks in a 3-0 sweep of the Utes, but Utah returned the favor and outblocked the Cowgirls 15-9.5 in Saturday's win.
Sylva Strzinková and Kim Turner each hit .309 and averaged over 4.0 kills per game in two matches vs. Wyoming.
Turner averaged 1.86 blocks per game (13 total) in two meetings vs. the Cowgirls, while Wyoming's Sara Maytorena averaged 1.71 blocks per game (12 total) in two meetings vs. the Utes.
Turner ranks fourth on the MWC career kills list (1,053), while Wyoming's Michele Rauter is fifth (1,020).
Quarterfinal #2, (2) San Diego State vs. (7) New Mexico, 1:30 p.m.
Television: Live on Comcast (72) Albuquerque, Channel 4 San Diego, Cox (48) Las Vegas, Adelphia (6) Colorado Springs.
Season Series: SDSU 2-0
All-Time Series: SDSU leads 20-9
Conference Tournament Meetings: SDSU 1-0
San Diego State faces New Mexico for the second time in week after surviving a five-game thriller at New Mexico last Friday. The Aztecs also posted a 3-1 victory over the Lobos in San Diego on Oct. 19. SDSU and UNM met only one time in conference tournament play, coincidentally at Moby Arena in the quarterfinals of the 2000 MWC Championship. The Aztecs overcame a 2-1 deficit in the match to post a five-game victory. SDSU is 3-5 all-time in conference tournaments, while New Mexico is 2-6 all-time. Both teams are 1-3 in MWC Tournaments. Overall, SDSU has won seven straight in the series, but five of the last six matches have gone at least four games, including two five-gamers.
What you should know ...
SDSU was without the services of Nicole Akporiaye last weekend, but she is expected to return to the lineup this week. Akporiaye, who ranks third in hitting percentage in MWC matches at .329, suffered an ankle injury in a loss to UNLV Nov. 9.
Akporiaye recorded seven blocks and hit .571 vs. the Lobos in a 3-1 victory Oct. 19, but did not play last week vs. UNM.
n New Mexico holds a 25.5 to 22 advantage in blocks after two meetings vs. the Aztecs this season, including 15 by MWC freshman block record holder Chelsea Sondrup.
Aztec junior Zlatina Anguelova averaged 5.78 kills per game and hit .319 in two victories vs. New Mexico.
SDSU junior Robyn Gregg enters the tournament as the MWC career leader in aces with 135.
Lobo junior Anna Reines hit .316 and averaged 4.44 kills per game vs. SDSU this season.
Quarterfinal #3, (4) BYU vs. (5) UNLV, 4 p.m.
Television: Live on KBYU Provo, Comcast (72) Albuquerque, Channel 4 San Diego, Cox (48) Las Vegas.
Season Series: 1-1
All-Time Series: BYU leads 10-2
Conference Tournament Meetings: BYU 1-0
Just one match separated these teams in the league standings and the first meeting (Sept. 28) of the year took five games before the Cougars emerged with a home victory. The Rebels won the rematch (Oct. 25) in Las Vegas in four games. BYU enters this year's tournament with its lowest seed in four years, while the Rebels are a No. 5 seed for the second straight year. The Cougars have an impressive 14-3 all-time conference tournament record, including a 6-2 mark in MWC Tournaments. UNLV picked up its first MWC Tournament victory last season and has an overall conference tournament record of 2-5, includng a 1-3 mark in MWC Tournaments.
What you should know ...
The last time the MWC Tournament was played at Moby Arena, BYU captured the title with a five-game win over host Colorado State in the finals.
BYU holds a 35-25 advantage in blocks in two meetings vs. UNLV this season. Three Cougars recorded at least 10 blocks vs. the Rebels, including 20 by Lindsey Metcalf.
Injuries have hit the Rebels and the Cougars extremely hard this year. UNLV standout and last year's Freshman of the Year Sheila Ocasio-Clemente did not play in the loss to New Mexico last week and played in just one game vs. BYU this season. For BYU, April Varner, Lexi Brown, Laura Nielsen and Carrie Bowers have all missed matches due to injury.
UNLV senior Blair Wilkes averaged 3.78 kills per game and hit .450 vs. the Cougars in two meetings this season.
BYU freshman Kimberly Wilson has double figure kills in eight of her last nine matches and is one of two Cougars (Allison Larson) to reach double digit kills in both matches vs. UNLV.
BYU posted the second-best road record in league play (5-2) and was the only team to defeat CSU in Moby Arena this season.
Quarterfinal #4, (1) Colorado State vs. (8) Air Force, 7 p.m.
Television: Live on Adelphia (6) Colorado Springs, Comcast (72) Albuquerque, Cox (48) Las Vegas. Tape delay Channel 4 San Diego (10 p.m. PST).
Season Series: CSU 2-0
All-Time Series: CSU leads 17-1
Conference Tournament Meetings: CSU 2-0
Colorado State enters this year's tournament as the No. 1 seed for the third straight year after clinching the regular season championship last week. As the No. 8 seed for the third straight year, Air Force meets Colorado State in the first round for the third time in four years. The Rams have won 17 consecutive matches in the series and 16 of those were decided in three games. The Rams have defeated the Falcons by an average of over 13 points per game in two prior conference tournament meetings.
What you should know ...
Air Force sophomore Tiffany Bishop has averaged 3.33 kills per game vs. the Rams in two meetings this season.
Falcon junior Delavane Diaz ranks second on the MWC all-time attack list with 2,749, including 1,006 this season. Diaz is one of only two MWC players (Michele Rauter - 1,119) to break 1,000 for attacks this season.
Colorado State has outhit the Falcons .304 to .119 in two meetings this season.
CSU has made it to the conference tournament finals each of the last three years.
The Rams have won five of their last six matches at Moby Arena heading into the conference tournament. BYU is the only MWC team to defeat Colorado State at Moby Arena since the league was formed. CSU is 29-2 vs. MWC teams at Moby Arena since 1999.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP QUICK HITS
For the first time in the history of the MWC, four teams enter the conference tournament with 20 wins (Colorado State, San Diego State, Utah, Wyoming).
The MWC has produced three different conference tournament champions in three years.
The No. 2 seed has won the conference tournament three straight years.
The No. 4 vs. No. 5 seed match has gone five games each of the past three years and the No. 5 seed won twice.
The past two championship matches have gone five games.
The MWC Championship attendance record was set at Moby Arena in 2000 with an all session total of 6,332 (2,111 average per session).
This year marks the first time matches will be telecast back to each MWC market (check local listings for match coverage).
GRAND ATTENDANCE
BYU became the third MWC team to top 2,000 fans for a single match this season after totaling 2,194 at Smith Fieldhouse for the Utah match. Wyoming reached 2,231 at Arena Auditorium for the Colorado State match Oct. 25, while CSU topped 2,000 twice this season (vs. Long Beach State Sept. 5 and vs. Utah Oct. 19). Five of the eight MWC teams reached the 1,000-mark for attendance in a single match this year. Colorado State (19) and Wyoming (23) are ranked in the nation's top 25 for attendance this season.
20 WIN SEASONS
This year, for the first time in league history, four teams reached 20 wins. Utah notched its seventh straight 20-win campaign, while Wyoming reached 20 wins for the first time since 1989. San Diego State reached its first 20-win campaign since 1996, and Colorado State posted 20 wins for the eighth straight season. BYU, Colorado State and Utah notched 20 victories each of the first three years in the MWC and qualified for NCAA Tournament play.
