Stanford stays perfect in the Pac-10
LOS ANGELES - Fourth-ranked Stanford held UCLA to its lowest hitting percentage of the year and remained undefeated in Pac-10 play with a 15-10, 15-6, 15-10 win Sunday. The Cardinal blocked 12 shots, with middle blockers Paula McNamee and Kerri Walsh having six and five, respectively, as the Bruins hit .010. Walsh had 10 kills to lead the Stanford attack, while senior outside hitter Kara Milling had 10 for the Bruins. UCLA setter Kim Coleman, who was leading the nation in assists per game, had just 20 for the match. The Cardinal is now alone atop the Pac-10 standings as it goes for its fourth consecutive title.
Long Beach State hammers Pacific
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Second-ranked Long Beach State dumped No. 11 Pacific 15-0, 15-13, 15-2 Saturday night and got a little revenge for last season's loss in the Big West tournament. Senior middle blocker Nique Crump had a match-high 12 kills and four blocks for the 49ers, who hit .280 as a team. The Beach shut down the Tigers' offense, holding it to a .021 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Addie hauschild led Pacific with seven kills. The Tigers suffered another setback when junior outside hitter Randy Jensen re-injured her right ankle during warmups. Long Beach had not one a game vs. pacific in two previous matches at The Pyramid.
Penn State stays undefeated in Big Ten
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Top-ranked Penn State improved to 15-0 overall and 6-0 vs. teams ranked in the top 10 with a 15-11, 15-9, 15-11 win over Wisconsin Saturday. The Nittany Lions have now won 15 matches in a row, 25 consecutive in Rec Hall and 17 in a row in conference play. Sophomore outside hitter Carrie Schonveld led Penn State with a team-high 13 kills and 10 digs. "I thought we played well against a very tough opponent," coach Russ Rose said. "(Schonveld) really steadied herself and led us offensively." Wisconsin was paced by middle hitter Heather Dodaro's match-high 15 kills, to go along with four blocks and 15 digs. "I was really pleased with the way our team played, but not the way they executed," Wisconsin coach John Cook said. "That was the difference - Penn State executed better."
No. 4 Stanford has USC seeing red
LOS ANGELES - Stanford (13-2, 4-0) picked up its 12th consecutive win over USC with a 15-13, 15-0, 15-13 win Friday night and appears to be the team to beat in the Pac-10 again. Senior outside hitter Kristin Folkl had a match-high 14 kills and had a hand in seven blocks, and senior middle blocker Barbara Ifejika had 11 kills and six blocks as the Cardinal seniors improved to 56-2. USC (10-2, 3-2) led 11-10 in game one and 8-6 in game three, but was unable to close out either game. "Our defense and blocking put us in position to win, but we couldn't pull it out," USC coach Lisa Love said."I felt in parts of Game 3, we showed we could play to win, but we couldn't sustain it for an entire game." Jasmina Marinkovic and Jennifer Kessey had 10 kills to lead the Trojans.
Florida is still the team to beat in the SEC
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - No. 22 Arkansas found out that it's a lot easier to crack the top 25 than it is to win at Florida. The third-ranked Gators beat the Lady Razorbacks 15-13, 15-7, 15-11 to leave little doubt who's the top team in the SEC. Senior outside hitter Aurymar Rodriguez had 21 kills to lead four Gators in double-figure kills. "This is a big win for us for two reasons," Florida coach Mary Wise said. "One because it was an SEC match and two because Arkansas is leading the Western Division. I think we'll see them again in the SEC Tournament and I also think we'll see a much better Arkansas team." Junior middle blocker Jessica Field lead Arkansas with 14 kills.
Rose gets 600th win as Penn State rolls on
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Penn State coach Russ Rose became the eighth active coach to eclipse the 600-win plateau as the top-ranked Nittany Lions rolled over Illinois 15-9, 15-5, 15-3. Sophomore middle hitter Lauren Cacciamani led Penn State (14-0) with a match-high 15 kills and eight blocks, while junior outside hitter Christy Cochran added 13 kills. Penn State hit .366 as a team and held Illinois (9-4) to just .048, and had a 17-3 advantage in total blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Cristy Chapman led the Illini with eight kills. "I've spent the last 25 years thinking the next match was the most important match," Rose said. "I know we will have to pass much better tomorrow to beat Wisconsin."
Michigan rocks No. 16 Michigan State
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Freshman outside hitter Sarah Behnke had a career-high 19 kills to lead Michigan to a 13-15, 15-9, 15-3, 15-9 win over No. 16 Michigan State Friday night. The Wolverines improved to 11-4 overall and 4-0 in Big Ten play, its best league start since 1992. The match was nearly even statistically, except for the Wolverine's 10-2 advantage in service aces. Michigan senior setter Linnea Mendoza had 54 assists to move into 14th place on the Big Ten's career assist list with 4,160. Michigan State's Junior outside hitter Jenna Wrobel led the Spartans with a match-high hitters 24 kills.
No. 8 BYU rolls over Colorado State
PROVO, UTAH - BYU served up a 15-4, 15-10, 15-8 win over No. 20 Colorado State Thursday night, using a variety of serving strategies to keep the Rams off balance. The Cougars hit .326 as a team, while holding CSU (averaging .300 on the season) to .038. Senior middle blocker Amy Steele Gant had 14 kills and seven blocks, while junior outside hitter Helen Hjorth hit .429 with eight kills and a team-best 12 digs. "We controlled the game basically with our serve," coach Elaine Michaelis said. "They couldn't get their passes up to their middle and when you can't do that, you can't get a run of points." Rainie Rogers and Heather Pamely led the Rams with seven kills apiece.
Loyola Marymount's Noriega has a killer instinct
LOS ANGELES - Senior outside hitter Sarah Noriega became the fourth player in Loyola Marymount history to top 1,000 kills in a career. She is currently fourth all-time at LMU and 26th all-time in the West Coast Conference with 1,064 kills. Noriega leads the nation in kill average (6.44 kpg). Noriega has been in double-figure for kills in all 10 matches she has played in, including a career-high 36 kills (fourth all-time at LMU for a single-match) against UC Santa Barbara. She has six matches on the season with 20 or more kills and three matches with at least 30. The native of Ulysses, Kan., was a member of the USA's silver-medal winning team at the World University Games in August.
Top teams settle into poll positions
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - With non-conference play nearly completed and conference play in full swing, their is a familiar look to the USA TODAY/AVCA coaches poll. Among the top 19, only five teams changed their positions - Wisconsin, Arizona and Maryland moved up one position, while Pacific and Michigan State dropped one. Colorado State made the biggest upward move, climbing two spots to No. 20. UCLA and Ohio State both dropped three positions after losing a pair of matches.
Indiana's Flatley named player of the week
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Julie Flatley, a senior outside hitter from No. 25 Indiana, was the AVCA Division I national player of the week after leading the Hoosiers to a pair of Big Ten victories and its first-ever top-25 ranking. For the week, Flatley hit .500 with 45 kills, 18 digs, eight blocks, seven assists and five aces. Flatley recorded a career-high 27 kills, 11 digs, five blocks, five aces and a .564 hitting percentage against the Boilermakers, and had 18 kills, seven digs, three blocks and a .432 hitting percentage in the Hoosiers first win at Ohio State since 1988.
Big West volleyball broadcasts available online
IRVINE, Calif. - The Big West Conference and The Cable Radio Network are teaming up to make Big West volleyball broadcasts available on the internet. 10 regular-season matches, the Big West tournament championship, the NCAA West Regional and the 1997 NCAA Division I final four will be available free of charge. "We are very excited about the exposure this will give to women's volleyball," said Donna Noonan, NCAA Director of Championships. "(It) will certainly enhance our efforts to promote the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball." Olympic sportscaster Jeff Ruffolo will handle the play-by-play, with Mitch Lehman providing the color commentary.
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