BYU Wins McLeodUSA MWC Championship
No. 2 seed BYU upset Colorado State in five games to capture the second annual MWC Championship. The
Cougars won 15-11, 8-15, 15-7, 9-15, 15-8, marking the first five-game match between the schools
since BYU defeated CSU in Fort Collins Nov. 9, 1990. This was also BYU¹s first win in Fort Collins
since Nov. 4, 1995. BYU won its 10th straight match and ended the nation¹s longest NCAA Division I
home win streak at 44 in the process. The Cougars set a record with 59.5 blocks in the tournament.
Nina Puikkonen garnered MVP honors after leading the Cougars to the title.
McLeodUSA MWC Championship All-Tournament Team
MVP - Nina Puikkonen, Jr., MB, BYU
Sunny Tonga, So., OH, BYU
Courtney Cox, Jr., OH, Colorado State
Angela Knopf, Jr., MB, Colorado State
Aspen McPartland, Fr., MB, San Diego State
Kim Turner, Fr., MB, Utah
Defensive Specialist- Alisa Geddes, Jr., Utah
Setter- Allison Peckham, Jr., Colorado State
This Week¹s Schedule
USA Today/AVCA ranking listed in parenthesis, All times are local, Home team in bold, *notes MWC
matches
November 21 (Tuesday)
San Diego def. San Diego State 15-7, 10-15, 15-6, 15-6
November 22 (Wednesday)
UTAH (18) at Weber State, 7 p.m.
November 23 (Thursday)
COLORADO STATE at Bankers Classic (Stockton, Calif.)
COLORADO STATE (6) vs. Arizona (4), 5 p.m.
November 24 (Friday)
BYU (12) at UC Santa Barbara (13), 7 p.m.
COLORADO STATE at Bankers Classic (Stockton, Calif.)
Consolation/Championship, 5/7 p.m.
NEW MEXICO hosts UNM-Dominos Albuturkey Tournament
San Francisco at NEW MEXICO, 7 p.m.
UNLV at Baylor Tournament
UNLV at Baylor, 7 p.m.
November 25 (Saturday)
NEW MEXICO hosts UNM-Dominos Albuturkey Tournament
Consolation/Championship, 5/7 p.m.
UNLV at Baylor Tournament
Consolation/Championship, 5/7 p.m.
Denver at UTAH (18), 1 p.m.
Puikkonen Named MWC and National Player of the Week
Nina Puikkonen, a 6-3 junior middle blocker at No. 12 ranked BYU, has been chosen the AVCA/Sports
Imports Division I National Player of the Week for leading the Cougars to the McLeodUSA Mountain
West Conference championship with victories over two ranked teams. Puikkonen is the only Division I
player to earn the award twice this season. She was AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week
Sept. 11. A native of Murray, Utah, Puikkonen averaged 4.08 kills, 2.62 blocks, 2.31 digs and 0.15
service aces per game as then-No. 13 BYU defeated Wyoming 3-1, then-No. 19 Utah 3-1 and then-No 4
Colorado State 3-2. She chalked up 24 kills, 14 digs and 13 blocks to notch her second triple-double
of the season versus Utah in the conference semifinals on Nov. 17. She recorded 15 kills, 12 digs
and eight blocks to lead BYU over Colorado State in the championship match, ending the Rams'
44-match home-court winning streak. Puikkonen, the MWC Tournament Most Valuable Player, set a
conference tournament record with 34 blocks, including individual-match conference tournament
records of 13 blocks against Wyoming and Utah. She averaged a triple-double for the week with 17.7
kills, 10.0 digs and 11.3 blocks per match. Puikkonen is a four-time MWC Player of the Week this
season.
McLeodUSA MWC Championship Recaps
Championship -- No. 1 Colorado State vs. No. 2 BYU (Att.: 2,452)
The Cougars won 15-11, 8-15, 15-7, 9-15, 15-8, marking the first five-game match between the schools
since BYU defeated the Rams in five on Nov. 9, 1990 in Fort Collins. This was also the Cougars first
win in Fort Collins since Nov. 4, 1995. BYU won its 10th straight match while improving to 23-6 on
the season. The Rams fell to 29-3 overall. At last year¹s championship, the Rams entered the
tournament as the second seed and upset the Cougars in Provo. This season BYU returned the favor,
and ended the longest active Division I home winning streak at 44 matches in the process.
BYU was led by Kalani Tonga and Nina Puikkonen with 16 and 15 kills, respectively. Sunny Tonga
tallied a match-high 10 blocks and Nina Puikkonen posted a team-high 12 digs. Colorado State was
led by Courtney Cox with 27 kills, while Soraya Santos had a double-double with 15 kills and 15
digs. The Cougars, who set a tournament record with 59.5 blocks (4.89 per game), out-blocked the
Rams 19.0 to 11.5 in the win.
Semifinal -- No. 2 BYU vs. No. 3 Utah (Att.: 522)
Nina Puikkonen notched her second triple-double of the season with 24 kills, 14 digs and 13 blocks
to lead the Cougars past Utah 16-14, 8-15, 15-8, 15-8. BYU set a MWC overall- and tournament record
with 24.5 blocks to 9.0 for the Utes. Kim Turner led Utah with 15 kills, while teammate Lucie
Turkova notched a double-double with 45 assists and 12 digs. BYU¹s Jackie Bundy totaled 10 kills, 11
digs and eight blocks.
Semifinal -- No. 1 Colorado State vs. No. 4 San Diego State (Att.: 1,875)
The Rams won their 44th straight home match with a 15-12, 15-12, 15-5 win over San Diego State.
Krista Swartzendruber led CSU with 12 kills, while Monet Solberg led SDSU with 11 kills.
No. 1 Colorado State vs. No. 8 Air Force (Att.: 528)
Colorado State outscored Air Force 15-1, 15-2, 15-0, marking the first time since Sept. 24, 1999
(Evansville) the Rams shutout an opponent. Summer Jenning and Courtney Cox led Colorado State with
eight kills each. CSU hit a season high .596, while holding the Falcons to a .034 hitting
percentage.
No. 2 BYU vs. No. 7 Wyoming (Att,: 472)
Nina Puikkonen totaled 14 kills and set a conference tournament record with 13 blocks for BYU as the
Cougars defeated Wyoming 15-6, 15-6, 7-15, 15-7. BYU outblocked the Cowgirls 16.0 to 7.0. Sunny
Tonga has a match-high .476 hitting percentage (12k-2e-21a).
No. 3 Utah vs. No. 6 UNLV (Att.: 376)
Utah head coach Beth Launiere recorded her 200th career victory as the Utes moved past UNLV 15-9,
15-3, 5-15, 15-9. MWC Freshman of the Year Kim Turner led Utah with 20 kills and a .600 hitting
percentage (20k-2e-30a). Amber Graham led the Rebels with a four-game tournament record 22 kills
along with 16 digs. Ute setter Lucie Turkova totaled 47 assists and six blocks.
No. 4 San Diego State vs. No. 5 New Mexico (Att.: 107)
The Aztecs held off New Mexico in five games 12-15, 15-9, 12-15, 15-8, 15-9 with the help of Amy
Hallquist¹s 24-kill, 11-dig performance. Aspen McPartland (15k-17d) and Monet Solberg (10k-13d) each
tallied double-doubles for SDSU in the match. The Lobos Micaela Conley recorded her league-best 12th
double-double with 10 kills and 16 digs.
The Rankings
Colorado State slipped to No. 6 and BYU moved up to No. 12 in the USA Today/AVCA Division I Top 25
Coaches poll this week. Utah moved up to No. 18. The Rams have been ranked in the poll 130 weeks
since the poll began in 1982 and the Cougars have been ranked 225 weeks. BYU reached its highest
ranking in school history at No. 1 on four occasions. Pacific, Nebraska and Stanford lead the nation
with 248 consecutive weeks in the poll.
National Attendance
(compiled by Diane Nordstrom of Wisconsin media relations)
Colorado State is seventh in attendance with an average of 1,972 fans per match. BYU is 15th with
1,426 fans per match. Hawai`i leads the nation with an average of 6,858 fans and 102,871 fans over
15 matches. Colorado State and BYU played before a conference season-high crowd Sept. 29 when 5,307
fans packed Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo.
Mountain West Conference First
Colorado State¹s upset of No. 1 UCLA in Gainesville, Fla., in week one marks the first victory by
any Mountain West Conference team over a No. 1-ranked opponent. Utah and BYU matched that feat this
season as the Utes and the Cougars each topped then-No. 1 Stanford in week three.
Air Force Falcons (6-21, 0-14 MWC)
Head Coach: Penny Lucas-White
Overall Record: 136-181 (10th year)
School Record: 41-101 (5th year)
Air Force closed out the season at 6-21 overall and 0-14 in the MWC.
Freshman Delavane Diaz finished the year at No. 3 in the MWC for kills per game (3.93) and digs
per game (2.94). Her 3.93 kills per game ranks fifth on the Falcon single season chart.
Freshman setter Kristin Huitt recorded 698 assists this season--the second most in the Division I
era.
BYU Cougars (23-6, 12-2 MWC)
Head Coach: Elaine Michaelis
Overall Record: 864-215-5 (32nd year)
School Record: 864-215-5 (32nd year)
BYU captured the McLeodUSA MWC Championship last week after defeating then-No. 4 Colorado State.
The Cougars have beaten a No. 1 (Stanford), a No. 2 (Long Beach State), a No. 3 (Colorado State) and
a No. 4 (Colorado State) team this season.
The 12th-ranked Cougars will look to extend their 10-match win streak when they travel to No. 13
Cal Santa Barbara this week. UCSB is 2-1 vs. the MWC this season after beating UNLV and SDSU, but
falling to CSU. The Cougars trail the series with UCSB 6-7-1, but won the last meeting 3-0 in 1998.
BYU was a perfect 7-0 in the second half of conference play, and posted a 3-0 mark in the
McLeodUSA MWC Championship.
Nina Puikkonen was the only two-time Division I AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week
this season.
Colorado State Rams (29-3, 13-1 MWC)
Head Coach: Tom Hilbert
Overall Record: 284-92 (12th year)
School Record: 110-20 (4th year)
No. 6 Colorado State will look to regroup from its heartbreaking loss to the Cougars when it meets
No. 4 Arizona this week. Arizona is 3-0 vs. the MWC this season after defeating BYU, Utah and SDSU.
The Rams trail 5-8 in series play with the Wildcats. The Rams have lost the last two meetings vs.
Arizona.
The Rams hit .596 (39-5-57) against Air Force in the first-round of the Mountain West Tournament
to set a new record. The .596 hitting percentage is also the second highest in school history,
behind .800 from 1987 against Loyola Marymount.
Junior Angela Knopf was named to the District 7 Verizon Academic All-American squad last week.
Knopf is a mathematics major and will now be forwarded to the national ballot.
Senior Summer Jennings continues to climb the block assists career chart. She now has 383 block
assists in her career and is just five shy of tying Janie Penfield¹s record of 388 (1994-97).
New Mexico Lobos (9-16, 5-9 MWC)
Head Coach: Laurel Brassey Iversen
Overall Record: 288-208 (17th year)
School Record: 288-208 (17th year)
The Lobos gear up for the Domino¹s Albuturkey Tournament this week. UNM battles San Francisco in
the opening match. The Lobos lead the all-time series with the Lady Dons 3-0. California and
Northern Arizona will also participate in the tournament.
Without the services of junior outside hitter Jessie Goffard ,the Lobos battled tooth and nail vs.
SDSU in the MWC Championship, digging nearly every ball as UNM finished the match with 85 digs. Four
Lobos notched double figure digs including Micaela Conley with 16 digs, Erika Sansoni, who tied a
career-high 22, Kelly Griffin with 14 and Blaire Burns who finished with a career-high 19.
Micaela Conley (3.09 dpg) and Jessica Goffard (3.04 dpg) are No. 1 and No. 2 in the league,
respectively, in digs per game.
Micaela Conley recorded her MWC-best 12th double-double of the season with 10 kills and 16 digs.
San Diego State Aztecs (18-14, 9-5 MWC)
Head Coach: Mark Warner
Overall Record: 101-83 (6th year)
School Record: 101-83 (6th year)
The Aztecs closed out the regular season with a four-game loss at San Diego Tuesday. The Aztecs
lost a three-game decision to USD earlier this year
The Aztecs finished fourth in the MWC standings--their best conference finish since 1997. SDSU
also advanced to the semifinals of the McLeodUSA MWC Championship before falling to No. 1-seed
Colorado State.
With 1,325 assists, sophomore Melissa Wright is No. 9 on the SDSU career list in her first season
as an Aztec. The transfer from Washington State is also No. 6 on the single-season top 10.
Senior Erin Grady set the SDSU single-season block assist record after recording five Tuesday vs.
San Diego. Grady has 167 on the year, which breaks the old mark of 165 (Kris Morton, 1985). She is
second in the league in blocks this week at 1.71 per game.
San Diego State has won 12 of its last 17 matches to improve to 18-14 on the season. SDSU won only
11 matches overall last season and a total of 16 over the past two years.
UNLV Rebels (6-19, 5-9 MWC)
Head Coach: Deitre Collins
Overall Record: 55-81 (5th year)
School Record: 55-81 (5th year)
The Rebels closed out the year by winning four of their last seven matches to post a 6-19 overall
record.
Junior Amber Graham is No. 7 on the UNLV all-time kill list with 571. She has 205 kills this
season.
Freshman Leiana Oswald has notched double-digit kills in 13 matches this season, including seven
of her last eight. Oswald is No. 5 in the MWC with 3.39 kills per game.
Maria Julia-Goes broke her 1999 season record of 586 assists with 847 and counting in 2000. She is
fourth on the UNLV all-time season list and No. 2 on the career list with 1,433 assists.
Utah Utes (20-7, 10-4 MWC)
Head Coach: Beth Launiere
Overall Record: 200-145 (11th year)
School Record: 200-145 (11th year)
Utah closes out the regular season with matches at Weber State and home vs. Denver this week. The
Utes lead the series with Weber State 37-18, and have a 1-0 lead over Denver.
Utah is 3-5 vs. ranked teams this season, including wins over BYU, Stanford and San Diego.
Junior McKelle Stilson is fourth on the Utah all-time block list with 348, and third on the block
assist chart with 316. Senior setter Lucie Turkova is sixth on the all-time assist chart with 1,608
Wyoming Cowgirls (10-22, 2-12 MWC)
Head Coach: Susan Judge
Overall Record: 105-118 (7th year)
School Record: 68-86 (5th year)
Wyoming wrapped up the seaosn at 10-22 overall after falling to BYU in the opening round of the
McLeodUSA MWC Volleyball Championship last week.
Senior middle blocker Melody Friehauf rounded out her career as the all-time block leader at
Wyoming with 618 career blocks. Her 171 for the year is No. 3 on the single season list. Friehauf
also finished her career at No. 3 on the all-time kill list. In four seasons, Friehauf totaled 1,297
career kills, including 321 this season.
Freshman Michele Rauter set a conference record with a career-high 27 digs in a five-game match
vs. New Mexico. Rauter led the Cowgirls with 332 digs this season.
