TCU's Dominika Szabo earned her school's first-ever C-USA Volleyball Player of the Week accolade after leading the Horned Frogs to a 3-1 record last weekend; Conference play begins on Friday with first-place Memphis looking to extend its 12-match winning streak when it faces Saint Louis on the road; Catch up on all the latest news in this week's C-USA Notebook.

C-USA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
DOMINIKA SZABO, TCU
OH, Jr., Eger, Hungary (Neumann Janos)

TCU's DOMINIKA SZABO earned C-USA Player of the Week accolades for the period ending Sept. 28. Szabo led the Horned Frogs to a 3-1 record last week, while earning All-Tournament honors at the TCU Molten Invitational. She broke the school record for hitting percentage against Grambling State after recording 17 kills and only one error for a .842 attack percentage. She finished the week with a total of 55 kills, 30 digs and 62.5 points. She also tallied six service aces and three total blocks. With a 13-4 record, TCU has posted its best start in school history and already surpassed its win total from last year. In 2002, the Frogs posted a 12-18 record.

AMONG THE RANKED
Here is a look at this week's polls

AVCA/USA Today poll. - (Sept. 22)
1. USC (65)
2. Hawai'I
3. Florida
4. Stanford
5. Georgia Tech
6. Pepperdine
7. Nebraska
8. UCLA
9. Kansas State
10. Northern Iowa
11. California
12. Penn State
13. Washington
14. Michigan State
15. UC Santa Barbara
16. Santa Clara
17. Notre Dame
18. Minnesota
19. LOUISVILLE
20. Pacific
21. San Diego
22. Arizona
23. Wisconsin
24. Loyola Marymount
25. Texas A&M

Others receiving points: BYU; San Francisco; Missouri; Long Beach State; Southwest Missouri State; Colorado State; Florida A&M; Ohio; Northwestern; CINCINNATI; Washington State; Ohio State; South Carolina; North Carolina

Volleyball Magazine poll - (Sept. 29).
1. USC
2. Hawaii
3. Florida
4. Stanford
5. Pepperdine
6. Georgia Tech
7. Nebraska
8. Northern Iowa
9. UCLA
10. Penn State
11. California
12. UC Santa Barbara
13. Washington
14. LOUISVILLE
15. Santa Clara
16. Wisconsin
17. Michigan State
18. Kansas State
19. Long Beach State
20. Loyola Marymount

Others receiving votes: Notre Dame; Texas A&M; Colorado State; San Francisco; BYU, Missouri; Arizona; Minnesota; Pacific; Ohio State; North Carolina; CINCINNATI.

CARDINALS MOVE UP
Louisville moved up to No. 14 in the most recent Volleyball Magazine poll, while Cincinnati, with a 13-2 record, also received votes in both polls.

AMONG THE NATION LEADERS
Cincinnati's LAURA LAUDER currently leads the nation in assists with 14.67 per game. She also has moved into the top three of the C-USA all-time assists list with 5,089 in her four-year career. DePaul's Kara Jakusz (1998-01) holds the record with 6,445 assists.

TIGERS WIN STREAK
Memphis' 12-match win streak is the sixth longest in C-USA history. USF holds the longest in league history with 20 consecutive victories.

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Here are some of the top individual performers in C-USA from Sept. 22-28.

LAURA LAUDER, CIN: Led her team to a 3-0 win over Dayton ... tallied five kills, while registering her sixth double-double of the year with 52 assists and 10 digs ... she also recorded a season-best four blocks.

AMY HOLMES, DPU: Posted a hitting percentage of .833 against Valparaiso after tallying five kills on six attempts and no errors ... notched 18 digs in the four-game match.

CINTHIA PIVA, HOU: Notched her third double-double after collecting 12 kills and 13 digs in a victory over Lamar ... against Texas, she contributed eight kills and 11 digs ... totaled five blocks for the week.

SONYA PERCAN, LOU: Recorded a double-double against Xavier with 13 kills and 11 digs, while boasting a hitting percentage of .458.

TIARA GILKEY, MEM: Collected her 11th double-double of the season against MTSU, tallying 24 kills and 18 digs ... put up four blocks for the Tigers and posted a hitting percentage of .413.

NICKI TRIBBLE, USM: Led Southern Miss to a 2-1 record ... recorded a double-double with an outstanding 25 kills and 21 digs against Southeastern Louisiana ... averaged 4.82 kills and 2.18 digs per game over the week while hitting at .208.

BREANNE SWENSON, UAB: Collected 45 points, 33 kills, 20 digs and 10 service aces while leading the Blazers to a tournament title at the UAB Invitational ... recorded a double-double against Mercer after notching 14 kills and 11 digs.

SZABO'S RECORD DAY
TCU's DOMINIKA SZABO knocked down 17 kills and only one error for a season-high .842 attack percentage. Her mark also breaks the C-USA class record for juniors. The former mark of .778 was held by USF's Katiane Simonetti (7K-0E-9TA) against Florida Atlantic on Nov. 17, 1995.

2003 C-USA TOURNAMENT
The 2003 C-USA Volleyball Tournament will be held on Friday-Monday, Nov. 21-24 at Tulane's Fogelman Arena in New Orleans, La. The C-USA Television Network will carry the tournament final on Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. EST. Please check your local listings for details.

COACHING MILESTONES
DePaul head coach DAWN DOCKSTADER will be looking to join the ranks of USF's NANCY MUELLER and Cincinnati's REED SUNAHARA, who each claimed their 100th career victory this season. With a 95-111 all-time record, Dockstader is only five wins away from accumulating her 100th victory.

C-USA PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARDS
This season, DOMINIKA SZABO of TCU (Sept. 29) and East Carolina's KATIE JANNUSCH (Sept. 8) earned their respective school's first Player of the Week honor.

FIVE TIMES IN A ROW
For the fifth consecutive year, three Conference USA teams advanced to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. USF and Louisville both advanced to the second round, while Cincinnati suffered a 3-2 loss to Arizona State in the first round.

LEADING THE CONFERENCE
Here is a look at several of the top single-match performances in Conference USA this season.

HITTING PERCENTAGE
.842 (17-1-19) by Dominika Szabo (TCU) vs. Grambling State, 9/26

KILLS
28 by Theresa Coughlin (MAR) vs. Duke, 8/30 and Julie DuPont (CIN) vs. Wright State, 9/9

ASSISTS
70 by Heather Watts (MEM) vs. Tennessee-Martin, 8/30

ATTEMPTS
81 by Nicki Tribble (USM) vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 9/23

ACES
7 by Sonja Percan (LOU) vs. Minnesota, 8/30 and Pam Ferris (ECU) at Campbell, 9/15

BLOCKS
10 by Deva Fowler (TUL) at Denver, 9/13; Benny Flynn (LOU) vs. Georgia, 9/13; Lara Marks (DPU) vs. Miami (Ohio), 9/19 and Cinthia Piva (HOU) vs. Ole Miss, 9/19

DIGS
33 by Erin Freer (MAR) vs. Duke, 8/30

DID YOU KNOW?
For three consecutive years, C-USA has had five schools that compiled 20 or more win seasons. Last season, USF (30-7), Louisville (28-6), Tulane (21-14), Cincinnati (23-9) and Saint Louis (21-10) all reached the 20-plus win total. Five C-USA schools have won 20 or more games in five of the last seven seasons.

NEW POINT SYSTEM
In a new system adopted by Conference USA volleyball coaches, each player accumulates points for kills, block solos and assists and service aces. To calculate a players' total points, please use the following formula: Kills + Solo Blocks + Service Aces. (block assists equal a half-point).

NCAA STATISTICS
Here is where C-USA ranked among the Sept. 22 national statistical leaders:

KILLS
13. Julie Dupont, CIN 5.53

ASSISTS
1. Laura Lauder, CIN 14.67
9. Heather Watts, MEM 13.49

DIGS
22. Jaci Gonzalez, HOU 4.46
27. Karlyn Daly, TUL 4.37

TEAM KILLS
4. Cincinnati 17.53
25. Memphis 16.51
26. Tulane 16.41

HITTING PERCENTAGE
11. Cincinnati 297

TEAM ASSISTS
4. Cincinnati 16.23
13. Memphis 15.35
19. Tulane 15.15
23. Louisville 14.97

ACES
16. TCU 2.46

TEAM DIGS
16. Tulane 18.13
26. Marquette 17.40

C-USA NOTEBOOK
CHARLOTTE: Charlotte suffered loses against College of Charleston and Coastal Carolina last weekend. JESSICA KELLY led the 49ers with 13 kills against Coastal Carolina. On Friday, ABBEY SZLANFUCHT, left the match early in the first game with an injury against College of Charleston and did not play against Coastal Carolina. The 49ers will open conference play against USF at home on Friday.

CINCINNATI: JULIE DUPONT, LESLIE NEWELL and RACHEL TORBLAA all reached double figure kills to lead Cincinnati to a three-game sweep over Dayton last Tuesday. Lauder matched her career-high with five kills, while registering her sixth double-double of the year with 52 assists and 10 digs. The Bearcats will open Conference USA play, hosting Marquette on Friday.

DE PAUL: The Blue Demons fell to Valparaiso, 3-1, on Tuesday. JANET GOREHAM led DePaul with 14 kills, while AMY HOLMES added 18 digs. Holmes currently leads the team with an average of 3.20 digs per game. She also recorded her eighth match without an error against Valparaiso. DePaul will host UW-Green Bay on Tuesday.

EAST CAROLINA: The Pirates defeated Bethune-Cookman, but lost to Coastal Carolina and Eastern Michigan at the Coastal Carolina Tournament on Sept. 19-20. KATIE JANNUSCH leads the Pirates with 2.69 kills per game, while JAIME BEVAN has tallied a team-high .314 attack percentage. East Carolina will take on North Carolina A&T on Tuesday.

HOUSTON: Houston fell to Texas, 3-0, on Friday in Austin, Texas. KELLY MCANELLY finished with nine kills, while CINTHIA PIVA added eight. Piva's streak of three consecutive double-double performances ended against the Longhorns. She ranks third on the team in kills (2.90) and digs (2.94) per game. The Cougars will face Southern Miss on Friday and Tulane on Saturday.

LOUISVILLE: Senior SONJA PERCAN had 13 kills and 11 digs for a double-double to lead Louisville to a three-game sweep of Xavier on Saturday. The Cardinals had two other players join Percan in double digit kills with LENA USTYMENKO and BING SUN each adding 10. Louisville hosts DePaul on Friday and Marquette on Saturday.

MARQUETTE: The Golden Eagles were edged by UW-Milwaukee, 3-2, last Wednesday. THERESA COUGHLIN led the Marquette offensive attack with 23 kills while tying for team-high honors with 18 digs. It marked her third outing of 20 or more kills this year. ERIN FREER totaled 16 attacks and contributed 18 digs as well, her fourth straight double-double performance. Marquette was without senior setter GEMMA GREER and freshman JAMIE MUELLER. The pair suffered injuries on Sept. 20. Marquette's next action takes place on Friday, when it opens Conference USA action at Cincinnati.

MEMPHIS: Memphis improved its win streak to 12 with a 3-2 win over Middle Tennessee State on Tuesday. TIARA GILKEY led the Tigers with 24 kills and 18 digs, while BRITTANY BARNETT added 20 kills and got her 1,000th career dig with 16 digs. Winning on the road is something the Tigers' struggled with last year, particularly in Conference USA play where Memphis was winless in six attempts. The Tigers have had more success so far this season, with a 4-1 road mark. Memphis opens league play at Saint Louis on Friday. The Tigers' 12-match winning streak is the longest under head coach CARRIE YERTY. The longest streak in school history was a 20-match streak in 1994.

SAINT LOUIS: Despite a career-high tying 17 kills from ASHLEY HUNTER, Saint Louis suffered a 3-0 loss to Bradley on Tuesday. KAYLA KMITTA posted a career-best 11 kills and hit .409, while ERIN MCCLANAHAN set a season high with 48 assists in the match. Of the Billikens' 10 losses, nine have come against teams with winning records. The 10 teams that have defeated the Billikens have compiled a cumulative record of 105-44 and a .705 winning percentage. The Billikens host UT-Martin on Tuesday.

USF: USF suffered a 3-2 loss to UCF on Friday. Junior SHAMEKA MITCHELL led the Bulls with 17 kills, as well as a career-high 16 digs, for her fourth double-double of the season. She also tallied a match-high six blocks-two block solos and four block assists. As a team, USF came just a half a block from its season high with 14.5 blocks, including four in game one alone. The Bulls hit the road to face Charlotte on Friday and East Carolina on Saturday.

SOUTHERN MISS: The Golden Eagles improved their record to 15-2, following a 2-1 mark last week. Southern Miss registered 187 total kills, 47 more than its opponents. NICKI TRIBBLE recorded her first 20-20 performance with 25 kills and 21 digs against Southeastern Louisiana. She currently has recorded double-digit kills in all but three matches this season. Setter AMY TRUONG recorded 157 assists for an average of 14.27 assists per game. She tallied a season-high 17 digs against Southeastern Louisiana. Middle blocker BRIDGET FILES continues to lead the Eagles' defense, posting 14 total blocks during the week and a team-leading 48 digs (4.36 pg). Southern Miss hosts Houston on Friday and TCU on Saturday.

TCU: The Horned Frogs went 3-1 at the TCU Molten Invitational last weekend. As a team, TCU broke the school record for hitting percentage twice over the weekend. Against Grambling, the Horned Frogs hit .443, and then notched a .612 attack percentage against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. It also marks the second highest in conference history. With a 13-4 record, the Frogs have already surpassed their win total from last year. In 2002, TCU finished with a 12-18 mark. Under second-year head coach PRENTICE LEWIS, TCU has also posted its best start in school history. The Frogs host Centenary on Tuesday.

TULANE: The Green Wave improved its win streak to six matches with wins over Alcorn State and Southern Miss last weekend. With a 13-2 record on the year, Tulane is off to its best start since 1987 when the Green Wave finished with a school-record 33 wins (33-7). Running a 6-2 offense for the first time under head coach BETSY BECKER's direction, Tulane is averaging 15.00 assists per game and the Green Wave are hitting at a .241 clip with 867 kills and 328 errors in 2239 swings. The Green Wave begins league play on Friday when they host TCU.

UAB: The Blazers captured the UAB Invitational last weekend with wins over Alabama A&M and Mercer. Sophomore BREANNE SWENSON had 25.5 points on 19 kills and tied a career high with six service aces to lead UAB against the Bulldogs. Senior KAREN BOYD posted 16.5 points on 14 kills and sophomore LINDSEY CARNOHAN recorded her first career double-double for the Blazers with 15.5 points on 12 kills and 18 digs. Freshman setter JENNA LINK, the tournament¹s MVP, posted her third double-double of the season, recording 39 assists and 11 digs while hitting for .364 and knocking down five kills.