Sept. 5, 2007

- Tulane and SMU have opened the 2007 season with perfect records. Tulane's 7-0 start has tied its best opening performance since the 1994 squad tipped off at 7-0. SMU's 6-0 start marks the best in program history.

Tulane is now receiving votes in this week's CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches' Top 25 Poll. With 10 points, the program has the 41st most points in the poll. Tulane has captured tournament titles at the Sam Houston State Domino's Invitational and its own Sugar Bowl Classic. The program currently has an RKPI ranking of No. 12.

SMU has also won two tournaments, the SMU Invitational and the Red Raider Round Up last weekend. Head Coach Lisa Seifiert has SMU ranked eighth in the lastest RichKern.com RKPI Rankings.

Sept. 4: C-USA VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK & STATS

C-USA KNOCKS OFF BIG 12/SEC FOES
Conference USA member Tulane came from a 0-2 deficit to knockoff Colorado in the first match of the Sugar Bowl Classic on Aug. 28. Colorado was ranked #31 in the preseason AVCA poll and concluded the 2006 season ranked 22nd.

UAB also battle back from a 0-2 deficit to defeated SEC foe Alabama in Birmingham on Aug. 31.

TULSA'S SILVA RECORDS FIRST TRIPLE-DOUBLE OF SEASON
Tulsa setter Julia Silva recorded C-USA's first triple-double of the season with 14 kills, 31 assists and 16 digs against North Carolina Central at the Charleston Southern Invitational. She is one of just four players in the NCAA that has recorded a triple-double in a three-game match this season. Silva was named MVP of the CSU Invitational, after helping TU to the team title with a 4-0 record. She has posted double-doubles in six of TU's eight matches this season.

MEMPHIS' YERTY TWO SHY OF RECORD
Memphis head coach Carrie Yerty made history Saturday when the Tigers swept Indiana State at the Eastern Illinois Pepsi Challenge. The win propelled her into the top spot on Memphis' all-time coaching victories list. She now stands at 213 career wins.

STEFANOV SURPASSES 3,000 ASSISTS
Junior Nevena Stefanov became the third setter in UAB history and 19th all-time in Conference USA to eclipse the 3,000 career assists milestone. She's currently averaging 12.05 APG, third-best in C-USA. Stefanov has dished out 40-or-more assists in four of six matches, including a season-high 55 at Alabama. UAB won the Music City/Magic City Invitational title to open the 2007 season.

HURRICANE STORM BREWING
Tulsa has won 18-consecutive games this season. Last season the Hurricane set a school record with 20 consecutive game victories. All six of TU's wins this season have been via the sweep. The six consecutive sweeps ranks second in school history. The 1977 squad posted nine-straight sweeps. Last season as well as in 1980, Tulsa posted six consecutive 3-0 wins also.

TEAM CAPSULES

EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina (2-5) currently ranks fifth in the league in assists (13.42), kills (14.67), and digs (17.92) per game. The Pirates are led by All-C-USA preseason selection senior OH Kelley Wernert's 4.38 KPG and junior L Trish Monroe's 4.50 DPG. ECU defeated UNC-Greensboro, 3-1, on Tuesday and will face Campbell later tonight before competing in the North Carolina State Tournament on Sept. 7-8.

HOUSTON
Junior OH Justine Farmer ranks second in the conference with 4.92 KPG, while sophomore MB Erin Rice top the league with 1.33 BPG. Houston (1-3) suffered straight-set losses to No. 25 Kansas State and No. 6 Texas last week. The Cougars took New Mexico State to four games before falling, 3-1. Houston will host Cal State Bakersfield Wednesday and travel to UTSA on Thursday for 7 pm matches. The Cougars will participate in the Century Tell Premier Tournament in San Marcos, Texas, Sept 7-8.

MARSHALL
Marshall (4-3) entered the championship match of the Western Kentucky Tournament riding a three-match win streak, but suffered a 3-0 loss to WKU at the E.A. Diddle Arena. Sophomore OH Emily Sullivan finished with 29 kills in the tournament, while senior MB Uche Ndubisi tallied 21 kills and 10 blocks. Both were named to the all-tournament team. This is Ndubisi`s second all-tournament honor in as many weeks. Marshall returns to action Tuesday when it hosts Xavier at 7 p.m. at the Cam Henderson Center.

MEMPHIS
Memphis competed in the Eastern Illinois Pepsi Challenge over the weekend and finished with a 3-1 record, good for second-place. Senior MB Shelby Burton was named to the all-tournament squad after leading all player in kills and attack percentage. With her first kill of the afternoon, Burton became the 20th Tiger volleyball player ever to reach the 1,000-kill plateau at Memphis. Burton slammed 11 kills in the sweep of Loyola. Junior S Laura Cote leads the league in assists with 12.48 APG. Memphis does not play again until Friday's home opener against Nicholls State in the Memphis Invitational. First serve is set for 11:30 a.m.

RICE
Rice (2-4) went 1-2 at its Mizuno Invitational II at Fox Gym last week. Junior OH Jessica Holderness was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 4.50 KPG and 3.80 DPG. She was the Owls' kill leader in all three matches, including a weekend best of 19 kills while hitting .548 (19K-2E-31TA) against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. She recorded double-doubles against the Islanders and No. 22 LSU. The Owls close out their seven-match home stand on Tuesday when they host Texas Southern at 7 p.m.

SMU
SMU (6-0) defeated Texas Tech at the Red Raider Round Up to take the tournament title and snare three awards in the process. Junior MB Natalie Peters was named Tournament MVP, while junior S Stefanie Kons and senior OH Caitlin Rainbird were each named to the All-Tournament team. Senior OH Rachel Giubilato led the league for the week with 4.80 kpg, while Peters tied for second for most blocks with an average of 1.20 bpg. SMU is back in action Wednesday as it faces Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches at 7 p.m.

SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss (1-5) recorded its first win of the season, posting a 3-0 sweep of Jackson State in the Louisiana Tech Invitational. The Golden Eagles had four players finished the weekend with 21 or more kills. Ashley Petrinec led the team and earned all-tournament honors with 36 spikes, while Maia Ivanova tallied 43 digs. Two players (Petrinec, 1, Jillian Neave, 2) had three double-doubles. Southern Miss landed 12 aces in three matches. Southern Miss opens its home portion of its schedule Tuesday, hosting Alcorn State.

TULANE
Tulane (7-0) won the Domino's Invitational last weekend and captured the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Volleyball Classic to open the season. The Green Wave received AVCA Top 25 votes this week. Junior OH Sara Radosevic tops C-USA's service aces chart with an average of 0.91 SAPG. She also ranks fourth in kills with 4.61 KGP. Sophomore OH/RS Ksenija Vlaskovic averaged 4.62 kills per game at the Domino's Invitational. Tulane will face an even tougher test this weekend, when the team travels to Los Angeles for the Loyola Marymount Hilton LAX Invitational. The tournament features Columbia, host LMU, and No. 10 Wisconsin.

TULSA
Tulsa (6-2) has rattled off six-straight victories including three to win the Charleston Southern Invitational Saturday. TU swept Campbell, North Carolina Central and host Charleston Southern. Senior S Julia Silva was named the tournament's MVP, while junior L Malorey Grove was named tournament libero and junior MH Fabiola Nepomuceno earned all-tournament honors. Tulsa returns to action on Friday with a single match against Louisiana-Monroe at the Austin Bank Ladyjack Invitational.

UAB
UAB (4-2) went 2-2 for the week with a win over Troy (3-0) early in the week and a come-from-behind victory over SEC foe Alabama (3-2) at the Bama Bash Invitational. For the week, the Blazers were led by junior MB/OH Casey Dent who hit .429 with 37 kills on 84 attempts with only one error, while junior S Nevena Stefanov dished out a league-best 12.07 assists. She also landed 11 aces in 15 games. Up next for the Blazers is the Pittsburgh Invitational where they will face Buffalo and host Pittsburgh on Friday.

UCF
UCF (2-5) went 1-2 at the two-day Colorado Invitational. The Knights win came in five games over UNC-Wilmington Friday. The Knights will play at home for the first time this season when they host the UCF Invitational Sept. 6-8 at the old UCF Arena. UCF's first match of the tournament is slated for 1 p.m. against North Florida, followed by a 7 p.m. contest versus Florida Atlantic. The Black and Gold will also face-off against Central Michigan and Montana State over the weekend.

UTEP
Junior MB Keisha Hyman-Gifth was named the MVP of the Texas Southern Tournament after UTEP (6-1) claimed the team title. Hyman-Gifth recorded 28 kills for the weekend while averaging 2.80 KPG and led the team in total blocks with eight. Junior DS/L Elsa Reyes was name Most Outstanding Defensive Specialist and sophomore S/OH Catherine Chavez and freshman S Patty Jarmoc were selected to the all-tournament team. The Miners are now 6-1 on the season for just the seventh time in school history.