MWC SENDS THREE TEAMS TO THE 2005 NCAA TOURNAMENT
The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee announced the field for the 2005 Women's Volleyball Championship Sunday, Nov. 28 and Mountain West Conference members BYU, Colorado State and Utah were among the 64 teams. The Utes earned the automatic bid after winning the 2005 MWC Volleyball Championship, while the 21st-ranked Cougars and the Rams were at-large selections. Utah and Colorado State will serve as hosts for the first and second rounds.
Utah (22-8 overall) will be making its eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and will be hosting for the first time since the 2001. The Utes, 6-7 overall in NCAA Tournaments, open play vs. Loyola Marymount (19-10) at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2. No. 4 seed (sixth-ranked) Arizona (22-5) vs. Utah State (21-12) will be the first match of the evening at 6 p.m. MT. The second-round match between the winners of the first and second matches is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3. The Utes have won 10 of their last 13 matches entering this year's tournament.
Colorado State, which advanced to the Sweet 16 four of the past six seasons, makes its 17th overall and 11th straight NCAA appearance. CSU enters the NCAA Tournament with a 20-8 record. The Rams, 15-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, will host first and second-round action for the second straight season and fifth time in the last seven years, opening with Colorado (15-12) in the first round on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. MT. The winner of the Rams vs. Buffaloes match will face No. 3 seed (No. 3) Washington (26-1) or Siena (20-11) in the second round on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. MT
No. 22 BYU (25-3) makes its 14th tournament appearance in 15 years and 22nd appearance all-time this season. The Cougars will travel to Los Angeles, Calif., where they will start tournament play with a match vs. Pepperdine (17-11) on Friday, Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. PT. Thirteenth-ranked and the tournament's No. 12 seed Southern California (16-10) hosting UC Santa Barbara (21-8) is also scheduled for Dec. 2.
NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MATCHES: Dec. 3 (Friday) Pepperdine (17-11) vs. No. 22 BYU (25-3)
BYU and Pepperdine will meet for the first time since the 2000 season. The Cougars lost to the ninth-ranked Waves in four games in their last meeting, but BYU holds a 12-5 advantage in the all-time series. The Cougars are making their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance as member of the MWC, and their 22nd overall appearance in the program's history, while the Waves are making their 17th overall appearance and eighth in the last nine years. BYU holds an all-time record of 27-21 in NCAA Tournaments and earned an at-large selection after finishing the regular season with a 25-3 record. Pepperdine has an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 34-26 and also was an at-large selection after finishing the season 17-11 overall and 10-4 in West Coast Conference play. The winner of the BYU-Pepperdine match will face the winner of the USC and UC Santa Barbara match in the second round. The Cougars are 6-10 all-time vs. USC and 9-6-1 vs. UC Santa Barbara.
Dec. 3 (Friday) Colorado State (20-8) vs. Colorado (15-12)
Colorado State leads the all-time series between the in-state rivals, 18-11. The Rams earned an at-large invite to their 17th overall and 11th straight NCAA Tournament, where they hold a record of 15-16. On the strength of their 15-12 overall record and fifth-place finish in the Big 12 (10-10), the Buffaloes will be competing in their 14th NCAA Tournament in 15 seasons and 15th overall appearance since the program's inception. The winner of the CSU-Colorado match will face the winner of the tournament's No. 3 seed and third-ranked Washington vs. Siena match in the second round. Colorado State is 2-3 all-time vs. Washington, including a four-game loss in their last meeting in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament. CSU and Siena have never met.
Dec. 3 (Friday) Utah (22-8) vs. Loyola Marymount (19-10)
Utah holds a 3-0 record vs. Loyola Marymount. The Utes head into the NCAA Tournament as the conference's automatic qualifier. This is the eighth straight tournament appearance for Utah who has an all-time record of 6-7 in tournament play. The Lions are making their 11th NCAA Tournament appearance, including seven in the last seasons. The winner of the Utah-LMU match will face the winner of fourth-seeded and 6th-ranked Arizona and Utah State in the second round. The Utes are 4-15 all-time vs. Arizona and 39-23 vs. Utah State.
THE MWC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
In the six years since the inception of the Mountain West Conference, four teams (BYU, Colorado State, San Diego State and Utah) have earned invitations to the NCAA Tournament with three advancing to the Sweet 16. BYU has made it to the NCAA's 22 of the past 24 years, while Utah has seven straight NCAA appearances and Colorado State will make its 11th straight appearance this season. San Diego State has made four appearances in the last 12 years. Overall, the MWC has an 18-17 record in NCAA Tournaments since the league was formed in 1999, including an 11-6 mark in first-round matches.
UTAH WINS ITS THIRD MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TITLE
Utah won its third Mountain West Conference Tournament crown after defeating BYU, 3-1, in the championship match. Senior Shelly Sommerfeldt, freshman Airial Salvo and sophomore Whitney Webb all tallied double-digit kills with 17, 16 and 11, respectively. Webb also had 11 digs for the double-double and freshman Shannon Krug collected 54 of Utah's 55 assists.
With the win, Utah became the second MWC team to win the conference tournament crown three times and the second team to win as the No. 3 seed (Utah won the 2002 title as a third seed). The Utes won back-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002.
2005 ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Champion Utah placed four players on the MWC All-Tournament team. Senior outside hitter Shelly Sommerfeldt won the MVP award, while teammate Shannon Krug was voted the outstanding setter of the Championship. Freshman outside hitter Airial Salvo and sophomore Emillie Toone round out the Utah selections. BYU garnered two selections to the all-tournament team (sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Goodman and freshman middle blocker Rachel Dyer), while UNLV sophomore outside hitter Maria Aladjova was awarded all-tournament status and Colorado State junior Katherine Whitney was selected as the outstanding Libero of the Championship.
ACADEMIC HONORS
Three MWC volleyball student-athletes garnered ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors. New Mexico junior Kelly Therkelsen earned second-team honors in District VI, while BYU junior Lindsy Hartsock and San Diego State sophomore Kristen Castillo earned District VIII second-team honors. Therkelsen had the highest GPA in District VI, posting a 4.15 as a political science and Economics major. Hartsock has a 3.49 GPA, double majoring in public health and home and family living, while Castillo is a pre-nursing major with a 3.85 cumulative GPA.
MWC IN THE NCAA STATISTICS
No. 22 BYU is currently 13th in win-loss percentage (.893) and 17th in hitting percentage (.276), while Utah is fourth in blocks per game (3.59). Colorado State is ninth in blocks per game (3.46) and TCU is ranked 10th in service aces per game (2.27).
Individually, BYU's Lindsy Hartsock leads the nation in hitting percentage (.440) and Utah's Emillie Toone is 10th in blocks per game (1.63), while Colorado State's Dre Downs is 21st in blocks per game (1.53) and BYU's Lauren Evans is 21st in assists per game (13.05).
SAN DIEGO STATE'S CORDEIRO, TCU'S WHITFIELD AND WYOMING DIG NEW RECORDS
TCU sophomore Talaya Whitfield and San Diego State sophomore Aime Cordeiro set a new MWC all-time single-match record with 35 digs. Cordeiro set the new record vs. UNLV on Friday, Oct. 7, surpassing Wyoming freshman Carissa Lee's record of 34 digs set earlier this season. Whitfield tied the all-time mark vs. Texas-Pan American on Saturday, Oct. 22.
Wyoming set the MWC all-time single-match record for digs with 106 vs. Northern Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 3. The Cowgirls' mark broke BYU's record of 102, set on Nov. 23, 2001 vs. Cal Poly.
