COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Colorado State earned a No. 2 seed in the Pacific Region and BYU is a No. 3 seed heading into the
Central Region of the 2000 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship. The Rams and Cougars will host
first and second round action, while Utah will travel to Honolulu, Hawai`i to open NCAA Tournament
play. BYU earned the inaugural Mountain West Conference automatic bid after winning the McLeodUSA
MWC Volleyball Championship last week in Fort Collins, Colo. Colorado State and Utah earned at-large
berths. Last season, Colorado State, BYU and Utah earned at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament.
BYU is one of just four teams in the nation making its 19th tournament appearance. Colorado State is
making its 12th appearance in the NCAAs, and Utah is making its third overall NCAA appearance in as
many years.
MWC Teams in the NCAA Tournament
all times local to site and subject to change, complete schedule and bracket follows in this release
PACIFIC REGION, Dec. 1-2 at Fort Collins, Colorado
Friday, Dec. 1, Colorado (16-11) vs. Georgia Tech (25-7), 6 p.m.
Radford (28-6) at Colorado St. (30-4), 8 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 2, Second Round (First Round winners), 7 p.m.
CENTRAL REGION, Dec. 1-2 at Provo, Utah
Friday, Dec. 1 Utah State (21-9) vs. Missouri (24-6), 5 p.m.
Hofstra (23-10) at BYU (24-6), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 2 Second Round (First Round winners), 6 p.m.
WEST REGION, Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at Honolulu, Hawaii
Thursday, Nov. 30 UTAH (22-7) vs. Texas Tech (24-8), 5 p.m.
Davidson (24-11) at Hawaii (27-1), 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 1 Second Round (First Round winners), 7 p.m.
First Round Series Information
Colorado State vs. Radford, 1st meeting
BYU vs. Hofstra, 1st meeting
Utah vs. Texas Tech, Utes lead 5-2
Utah won the last meeting 3-0 Sept. 4, 1999 in Lubbock. The Utes and Red Raiders met for the first
time Nov. 4, 1977 with Utah winning 2-0 at the Texas-Arlington Tournament.
NCAA Volleyball Championship Overview
The Division I Women¹s Volleyball Committee announced the 64-team field for the 2000 Division I
Women¹s Volleyball Championship Sunday. Thirty-one conferences were awarded automatic qualification,
and the remaining 33 slots were filled with at-large selections. The top 16 teams were seeded
nationally and placed within four regions. The teams tabbed as the top seeds in each region were
Nebraska (28-0) in the central, Southern California (25-2) in the pacific, Wisconsin (28-3) in the
mideast, and Hawaii (27-1) in the west region. This year marks the 20th year for the NCAA Division I
Volleyball Championship.
The 2000 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship Matchups
Teams winning both first and second round matches will move on to regional play December 7-10 at
four campus locations yet to be determined. The regional winners will advance to the semifinals and
final hosted by Virginia Commonwealth in Richmond, Virginia on December 14 and 16.
CENTRAL REGION
December 1-2 at Lincoln, Nebraska
South Carolina (21-6) vs. George Washington (25-5)
Princeton (20-8) at Nebraska (28-0)
December 1-2 at Columbus, Ohio
Cincinnati (24-9) vs. Notre Dame (25-6)
Ball State (25-6) at Ohio State (24-6)
December 1-2 at Provo, Utah
Utah State (21-9) vs. Missouri (24-6)
Hofstra (23-10) at BYU (24-6)
December 1-2 at Tucson, Arizona
Louisville (26-7) vs. Michigan (18-13)
Alabama A&M (31-2) at Arizona (25-4)
WEST REGION
November 30-December 1 at Honolulu, Hawaii
UTAH (22-7) vs. Texas Tech (24-8)
Davidson (24-11) at Hawaii (27-1)
November 30-December 1 at Santa Clara, California
San Jose State (22-9) vs. Long Beach State (22-7)
Cal State Sacramento (21-11) at Santa Clara (26-4)
November 30-December 1 at Santa Barbara, California
Loyola Marymount (20-8) vs. Stanford (18-11)
Texas-San Antonio (24-8) at UC Santa Barbara (23-7)
November 30-December 1 at Minneapolis, Minnesota
Duke (21-12) vs. Arizona State (17-11)
Robert Morris (21-15) at Minnesota (28-3)
PACIFIC REGION
December 1-2 at Los Angeles, California
Cal Poly (16-11) vs. South Florida (28-5)
Georgia State (28-9) at Southern California (25-2)
November 30-December 1 at Gainesville, Florida
Southeast Missouri State (22-8) vs. North Carolina (26-7)
Arkansas-Little Rock (23-6) at Florida (27-4)
December 1-2 at University Park, Pennsylvania
Tennessee (23-9) vs. Washington State (18-9)
James Madison (21-9) at Penn State (27-5)
December 1-2 at Fort Collins, Colorado
Colorado (16-11) vs. Georgia Tech (25-7)
Radford (28-6) at Colorado State (30-4)
MIDEAST REGION
December 1-2 at Madison, Wisconsin
Western Michigan (25-5) vs. Northern Iowa (28-4)
Bucknell (17-14) at Wisconsin (28-3)
December 1-2 at Malibu, California
Loyola (Illinois) (22-8) vs. Kansas State (20-8)
Fairfield (26-6) at Pepperdine (23-6)
December 2-3 at Los Angeles, California
Wisconsin-Milwaukee (23-4) vs. Michigan State (17-12)
Morgan State (25-15) at UCLA (22-7)
December 1-2 at Stockton, California
Houston (21-10) vs. Texas A&M (19-8)
Oral Roberts (21-11) at Pacific (California) (26-3)
MWC Teams Have Rich Postseason History
Six of the eight MWC women¹s volleyball programs have competed in postseason action over the years
while the other two programs have only been in competition since 1996. Leading the charge is BYU,
which is making its 19th appearance in the NCAA tournament. Highlighting BYU¹s NCAA success is a
Final Four appearance in 1993. The Cougars have reached the Regional Final eight times, including
the past four years.
Colorado State will compete in its sixth consecutive NCAA tournament, bringing its total to 12. Utah
is making its third straight NCAA appearance. San Diego State has played in 12 NCAA tournaments, New
Mexico seven and Wyoming four. In addition, CSU and Utah have each competed in the National
Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
Representation in the NCAA
The Mountain West Conference sent three teams to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
BYU, Colorado State and Utah landed in different regions in the 2000 NCAA Tournament (BYU-Central,
Colorado State-Pacific, Utah-West). Any potential rematches between MWC schools in the NCAA
Tournament would come no sooner than the Final Four.
The Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-10 each sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament, followed by the Big West
with five teams and Conference USA with four.
The NCAA Tournament is in its 20th year, and just four teams have qualified every year. BYU is one
of four teams to make the NCAA Tournament 19 times. Colorado State is one of three teams making
appearance number 12. Utah is one of six teams making its third trip to the NCAA Tournament this
season.
Teams with 20 NCAA Appearances
Pacific, Penn State, Stanford, UC Santa Barbara
Teams with 19 NCAA Appearances
BYU, Hawai`i, Nebraska, UCLA
McLeodUSA MWC Championship Recap
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. 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. 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.
Player of the Year:
Angela Knopf, CSU, Jr., MB, Troutdale, Ore.
Freshman of the Year:
Kim Turner, Utah, Fr., MB, Chandler, Ariz.
Coach of the Year:
Tom Hilbert, CSU
The Rankings
Colorado State remained No. 6 and BYU stayed at No. 12 in the USA Today/AVCA Division I Top 25
Coaches poll this week. Utah slipped to No. 19. The Rams have been ranked in the poll 131 weeks
since the poll began in 1982 and the Cougars have been ranked 226 weeks. BYU reached its highest
ranking in school history at No. 1 on four occasions, and CSU reached No. 3 this season. Pacific,
Nebraska and Stanford lead the nation with 249 consecutive weeks in the poll.
National Attendance
(compiled by Diane Nordstrom of Wisconsin media relations)
Colorado State is eighth in attendance with an average of 1,972 fans per match. BYU is 14th with
1,426 fans per match. Hawai`i leads the nation with an average of 6,759 fans and 121,655 fans over
18 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.
Record Season
This season, 73 individual MWC records and 29 team MWC records have fallen. Listed below is a
breakdown of conference records by school this season (top individuals listed on right):
Utah, 25, (Lucie Turkova 4)
Colorado State, 17 (Allison Peckham 7)
BYU, 12 (Karina Puikkonen 4)
New Mexico, 11 (Jessie Goffard 8)
San Diego State, 11 (Amy Hallquist 3)
UNLV, 11 (Leiana Oswald 6)
Air Force, 9 (Delavane Diaz 7)
Wyoming, 6 (Michele Rauter 4)
BYU Cougars (24-6, 12-2 MWC)
Head Coach: Elaine Michaelis
Overall Record: 865-215-5 (32nd year)
School Record: 865-215-5 (32nd year)
2000 Record vs. Ranked Teams: 8-5 (including wins over No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Long Beach State, No.
3- and No. 4 Colorado State)
Region for NCAA Tournament: Central
Years in NCAA Tournament: 19
(1981-82-83-84-85-86-87-88-90-91-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99-00)
Record in NCAA Tournament: 24-18
Best NCAA Finish: Final Four in 1993 (lost to Penn State)
Last Year in the NCAA Tournament: BYU hosted the first and second rounds in Provo. The Cougars
posted wins over Princeton (3-0) and Wisconsin (3-1) to advance to the East Regional in Stockton,
Calif., before falling to Florida in three games.
NCAA Notable: Nina Puikkonen posted the highest hitting percentage in the 1999 NCAA Tournament at
.460 (61 kills-9 errors-113 attempts).
First Round Opponent: Hofstra (24-8)
BYU meets America East conference member Hofstra for the first time this week.
Potential Second Round Opponent: Utah State (21-9) or Missouri (24-6)
The Cougars lost a three-game match to Utah State eartlier this season, but lead the overall series
46-9. BYU would meet Missouri for the first time.
BYU head coach Elaine Michaelis ranks No. 2 all-time for Division I volleyball wins with 865.
BYU captured the McLeodUSA MWC Championship after upsetting Colorado State in Fort Collins, and
earned the inaugural MWC automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. BYU could potentially face three
teams in the Central Region which it has already lost to this season. The Cougars open against
Hofstra in the first meeting between the schools.
BYU will enter the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Central Region, which also includes
No. 1 Nebraska. It is the 11th straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the Cougars. It is also their
19th overall appearance with 1989 being the only season in the 20-year history of the tournament
that the Cougars failed to qualify.
The Cougars defeated UCSB in three games in their only match last week. As a team, BYU hit .418
against the Gauchos and All-MWC setter Karina Puikkonen finished the night with 40 assists.
The Cougars have now won 11 straight matches with their last three wins coming against ranked
opponents. They have played 16 matches this season against opponents that qualified for the NCAA
Tournament and they have a 10-6 record in those matches.
Nina Puikkonen is the only Division I player to earn AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the
Week twice this season. Puikkonen, the MVP at the McLeodUSA MWC Championship, is No. 7 on the BYU
all-time kill chart (1,241) and No. 3 on the all-time block (628) list.
Colorado State Rams (30-4, 13-1 MWC)
Head Coach: Tom Hilbert
Overall Record: 285-93 (12th year)
School Record: 111-21 (4th year)
2000 Record vs. Ranked Teams: 9-4 (including win over No. 1 UCLA)
Region for NCAA Tournament: Pacific
Years in NCAA Tournament: 12
(1983-84-85-86-87-88-95-96-97-98-99-00)
Record in NCAA Tournament: 9-11
Best NCAA Finish: Regional Semifinals in 1999 (lost to Hawai`i)
Last Year in the NCAA Tournament: Colorado State hosted the first and second rounds in Fort Collins.
The Rams notched wins over Loyola-Chicago (3-0) and Kansas State (3-1) to advance to the Mountain
Regional in Honolulu, Hawai`i, before falling to Long Beach State in four games.
NCAA Notable: Angela Knopf ranked fifth in hitting percentage in the 1999 NCAA Tournament at .408
(35 kills-4 errors-76 attempts). Only six players hit over .400 in the tournament.
First Round Opponent: Radford (28-6)
The Rams meet Big South conference member Radford for the first time this week.
Potential Second Round Opponent: Colorado (16-11) or Georgia Tech (25-7)
The Rams defeated both Colorado and Georgia Tech earlier this season. CSU leads the overall series
with Colorado 13-10. The Rams met Georgia Tech for the first time Sept. 16 at the Coors Classic in
Fort Collins and outscored the Yellowjackets 45-12 in three games.
Colorado State will look to start another home court win streak this week by hosting the first and
second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. BYU upset CSU in the final match of the McLeodUSA MWC
Volleyball Championship, breaking the Rams NCAA-leading 44-match home win streak.
Summer Jennings became the all-time career block assists leader in school history with her 10 last
week. Jennings now has 393 in her career, breaking the record of 388 held by Janie Penfield
(1994-97).
Junior Angela Knopf, also tied with Penfield on the career block charts at 388, broke Summer
Jennings season block assist record of 155 last week. Knopf has 167 on the year.
Courtney Cox and Summer Jennings were both named to the Banker¹s Classic All-Tournament team over
the weekend.
The Rams are now 9-4 against ranked opponents this season after defeating No. 4 Arizona on Friday
and falling to No. 10 Pacific on Saturday. Two of the four losses came against BYU.
Allison Peckham moved up to third on the career assists chart at CSU after tallying 117 assists
last week. She now has 3,210 career assists.
Senior Krista Swartzendruber notched her 100th career ace on Saturday. That ranks her 10th
all-time at Colorado State in aces.
Angela Knopf was named to the District 7 Verizon Academic All-America squad this season.
The Rams have hit below .200 in just two matches this season, and 19 times out of 32 matches
Colorado State has hit above .300, including a season-high .596 against Air Force Nov. 16.
Utah Utes (22-7, 10-4 MWC)
Head Coach: Beth Launiere
Overall Record: 202-145 (11th year)
School Record: 202-145 (11th year)
2000 Record vs. Ranked Teams: 3-4 (including win over No. 1 Stanford)
Region for NCAA Tournament: West
Years in NCAA Tournament: 3 (1998-99-00)
Record in NCAA Tournament: 2-2
Best NCAA Finish: Second Round twice (1998-99)
Last Year in the NCAA Tournament: Utah traveled to Honolulu, Hawai`i, for the first and second
rounds. The Utes defeated Colorado in three games before falling to host Hawai`i in three games in
the second round.
First Round Opponent: Texas Tech (24-8)
The Utes meet the Red Raiders for the eighth time in series play with a 5-2 lead. Utah won the last
meeting 3-0 Sept. 4, 1999 in Lubbock. The teams first met Nov. 4, 1977 with Utah winning 2-0 at the
Texas-Arlington Tournament.
Potential Second Round Opponent: Hawai`i (27-1) or Davidson (24-11)
The Utes are 0-7 all-time vs. Hawai`i, including a loss in last year¹s NCAA Tournament. Utah and
Davidson would meet for the first time.
Utah closed out the regular season with wins over Weber State and Denver. Kim Turner, this week¹s
MWC Player of the Week, posted career highs for kills (22) and blocks (9) vs. Weber State.
Senior Lucie Turková and freshman Kim Turner were named to the 2000 McLeodUSA All-MWC team. Turner
was named the 2000 Freshman of the Year and was selected to the 2000 McLeodUSA MWC All-Tourney team,
while junior Alisa Geddes was named tournament defensive specialist.
Utah has defeated three ranked teams this season. The Utes defeated then-No. 1-ranked Stanford in
five games on Tues., Sept. 5, and then-No. 24-ranked San Diego on Sat., Sept. 9. Utah upset in-state
rival and then-No. 13-ranked BYU in three games Oct. 6. Utah is 3-6 vs. ranked teams this season.
Utah lost its first match of the 2000 season to then-No. 13 ranked Arizona on Sept. 16, snapping
the best start in school history at 8-0.
Utah seniors Jen Snow-Richards and Turková received third-team honors on the Verizon Academic
All-District Team.
Three current Utah players have made their way up the Utah career-leader lists. Senior Brooke
Barton is currently fourth on the career-leader list with 126 service aces. Barton is seventh in
digs (933). Senior setter Lucie Turková is currently fifth on the career-leader list with 1,703
assists. McKelle Stilson is third in block assists (324), fourth in total blocks (356) and seventh
in kills (983
Beth Launiere is the winningest coach in Utah history. In the last six years, Launiere has guided
the Utes to six 20-win seasons. Launiere notched her 200th career win on Nov. 16 with a 3-1 win
over UNLV.
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)
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.
New Mexico Lobos (10-17, 5-9 MWC)
Head Coach: Laurel Brassey Iversen
Overall Record: 289-209 (17th year)
School Record: 289-209 (17th year)
The Lobos posted a 1-1 record in the Domino¹s Albuturkey Tournament last week after defeating San
Francisco and falling to California in the championship. Micaela Conley recorded her league-best
13th double-double of the season with 11 kills and 13 digs vs. USF. Jessie Goffard picked up 11
kills vs. USF and a team-high 10 kills vs. California.
The Lobos battled SDSU in the first round of the McLeodUSA MWC Championship in a five-game loss.
Micaela Conley (3.11 dpg) leads the MWC in digs per game, and Jessica Goffard (2.92 dpg) is No. 3
in the league.
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 last week.
The Aztecs finished fourth in the MWC--their best conference finish since 1997. SDSU also advanced
to the semifinals of the McLeodUSA MWC Championship before falling to 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 vs. San
Diego. Grady has 167 on the year, which breaks the old mark of 165 (Kris Morton, 1985).
San Diego State won 12 of its last 17 matches to improve to 18-14 on the season.
UNLV Rebels (6-21, 5-9 MWC)
Head Coach: Deitre Collins
Overall Record: 55-83 (5th year)
School Record: 55-83 (5th year)
The Rebels closed out the year by winning four of their last nine matches to post a 6-21 overall
record. The Rebels dropped matches to Baylor and Connecticut at the Baylor Tournament last week.
Junior Amber Graham is No. 7 on the UNLV all-time kill list with 598. She has 232 kills this
season.
Freshman Leiana Oswald notched double-digit kills in 15 matches this season, including nine of her
last 10. Oswald is No. 5 in the MWC with 3.37 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.
Wyoming Cowgirls (10-22, 2-12 MWC)
Head Coach: Susan Judge
Overall Record: 105-118 (7th year)
School Record: 68-86 (5th year)
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.
