MWC SENDS THREE TEAMS TO NCAA TOURNAMENT
The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee announced the field for the 2007 Women's Volleyball Championship, Sunday, November 25, and Mountain West Conference members BYU, Colorado State and UNLV were among the 64 teams. The Rebels earned the league's automatic bid after winning the 2007 MWC Volleyball Championship, while the 20th-ranked Rams and Cougars were at-large selections.
UNLV (24-5 overall) will be making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Rebels open play vs. Long Beach State (25-6) on Friday, November 30, at 5 p.m. PT at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif. No. 5 seed USC (25-4) vs. Pepperdine (18-10) is the other match of the evening with the first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. PT. The first-round winners will meet in the second round Saturday, December 1, at 7 p.m. PT.
No. 20 Colorado State makes its 19th overall and 13th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. CSU enters the tournament with a 22-7 record and garners its first national seed since the 2004 season. The Rams travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., and open with Illinois State (21-11) in the first round at Crisler Arena on Friday, November 30, at 5 p.m. CT. The winner of the Rams vs. Redbirds match will face Michigan (22-10) or Miami (Ohio) (20-10) in the second round on Saturday, December 1, at 7 p.m. CT.
BYU (21-7) makes its 16th NCAA Tournament appearance in 17 years and 24th appearance all-time. The Cougars will be in Seattle, Wash., for the first and second rounds where they will start tournament play with a match vs. Mississippi (25-7) on Friday, November 30, at 4:30 p.m. PT at Bank of America Arena on the campus of the University of Washington. The tournament's No. 6 seed Washington (26-3) hosting Missouri (17-12) will start at 7 p.m. PT on Friday. The winners of the first two matches will meet in the second round on Saturday, December 1, at 6 p.m. PT.
NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST-ROUND MATCHES November 30 (Friday) No. 14 seed (#21) COLORADO STATE (22-7) vs. Illinois State (21-11), 5 p.m. CT
No. 21 Colorado State and Illinois State will be meeting in the NCAA Tournament for the first time. The Rams lead the all-time series, 3-0, with the last meeting coming in 1998 (a 3-0 Ram win). CSU earned an at-large bid to its 19th overall and 13th straight NCAA Tournament, where it owns a 16-18 all-time mark. On the strength of their 21-11 record and second-place finish in the Missouri Valley Tournament, the Redbirds will be competing in their 12th NCAA Championship and first since 1997. The winner of the CSU-Illinois State match will face the winner of the Miami (Ohio) vs. Michigan match in the second round. The Rams have faced both potential second-round opponents this season, losing to Michigan on August 26 and beating Miami (Ohio) on September 7.
November 30 (Friday) BYU (21-7) vs. Mississippi (25-7), 4:30 p.m. PT
BYU and Mississippi will meet for the second time overall and the first time in NCAA Tournament play. The Cougars beat the Rebels in their only other meeting in 1978. BYU is making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance as a member of the MWC, and their 24th overall appearance in the program's history, while Ole Miss is making its second consecutive tournament appearance. The Cougars hold an all-time record of 28-23 in NCAA Tournaments and earned an at-large bid after finishing the regular season with a 21-7 record. The Rebels are 0-1 in NCAA Tournament play all-time and earned an at-large invitation with their 25-7 record. The winner of the BYU-Ole Miss match will face the victor of Missouri-Washington in the second round. The Cougars have not faced Missouri, but have an all-time record of 11-0 vs. Washington.
November 30 (Friday) UNLV (24-5) vs. #25 Long Beach State (25-6), 5 p.m. PT
UNLV has won two of seven matches all-time vs. Long Beach State with the last match coming in 2006 (LBSU won, 3-1). The Rebels head into their first NCAA Tournament as the Conference's automatic qualifier. The 49ers are making their 21st consecutive tournament appearance where they hold an all-time record of 46-18, which includes three NCAA Volleyball Championship titles (1989, 1993 and 1998). The winner of the Rebel-49er match will face the winner of fifth-seeded and fifth-ranked USC and Pepperdine in second round play. UNLV is 0-1 all-time vs. USC and 1-1 all-time vs. Pepperdine.
THE MWC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
In the eight years since the inception of the Mountain West Conference, five teams (BYU, Colorado State, San Diego State, UNLV and Utah) have earned invitations to the NCAA Tournament, with three advancing to the Sweet 16. BYU has made it to the tourney 24 of the past 26 years, while Colorado State will make its 13th straight appearance this season. Utah has made the tournament eight of the last nine years, while San Diego State has one appearance as a member of the MWC and UNLV has earned its first-ever appearance this season. Overall, the Conference has a 22-23 record in NCAA Tournaments since the league was formed in 1999, including a 15-8 mark in first-round matches
UNLV WINS ITS FIRST MWC TOURNAMENT TITLE
UNLV won its first Mountain West Conference Tournament crown after defeating fifth-seeded Utah, 3-2, in the championship match. Senior Lauren Miramontes led the way with 30 kills and a .397 hitting percentage, followed by sophomore Jessica Walters' 15 kills and senior Maria Aladjova's 11 kills. Junior Melody Nua had a double-double with 12 digs and 64 assists, while senior Jada Walker had 28 digs.
With the win, UNLV became the fourth institution to win the Conference tournament title and fifth No. 2 seed to accomplish the feat.
2007 ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
2007 MWC Tournament runner-up Utah placed four players on the MWC All-Tournament team. Seniors Connie Dangerfield and Kate Robison and juniors Lori Baird and Kathryn Haynie were the Ute honorees. Tournament champion UNLV garnered three selections to the all-tournament team, including tournament MVP Lauren Miramontes. Junior Melody Nua, the outstanding setter of the championship, and senior Jada Walker, the outstanding libero of the tournament, also represented the Rebels on the all-tournament team. BYU senior Chelsea Goodman was also selected to the team.
MWC CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS
Several records were set at this year's MWC Volleyball Championship in Las Vegas, Nev. UNLV's Lauren Miramontes set new tournament records for overall kills in a match (34), kills in a championship match (30), overall attempts in a match (86) and tied the mark for attempts in a championship match (30). UNLV's Jada Walker and BYU's Annie Pinegar tied for the digs in a semifinal match mark (32), while Utah's Connie Dangerfield set a new record for digs in a championship match (31).
UNLV set records for kills (90) and assists (79) in a semifinal, while Utah set marks for kills (86) and assists (79) in a championship contest and BYU set the overall digs match record (101) and tied the record for assists in a semifinal contest (80). San Diego State also set a new mark for team blocks in a first-round match with 13.0.
UNLV'S LAUREN MIRAMONTES GARNERS NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK RECOGNITION
UNLV senior middle blocker Lauren Miramontes was named both the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I and CVU.com National Player of the Week on November 26, marking the first time in the history of the MWC that a player has garnered both national awards in the same week. She is the second MWC student-athlete to be named AVCA National Player of the Week in 2007, marking the first time since the 2001 season (third time overall) that the league has had two players honored in the same season. Additionally, she is the first Conference student-athlete since the 2005 season to garner national attention from CVU.com. Miramontes is the ninth MWC volleyball player to earn Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week honors and the second to be named player of the week by CVU.com since the inception of the Conference in 1999, and is the first-ever UNLV player to be tabbed national player of the week.
