C-USA Oct. 14 Volleyball Notebook

UAB Volleyball

“DIG FOR THE CURE”
UAB’s volleyball team will help raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation this weekend as it hosts Marquette on Saturday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. in Bartow Arena.

All fourteen C-USA volleyball squads are participating in the “Dig for the Cure” program. Each school has designated one home volleyball match over October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and November to raise funds. Individual sponsors can pledge money per dig earned by their team in the match. The money raised by each team will go directly to the Komen Foundation's local affiliate in their community.

To find out more about Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, please go to www.komen.org.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (10/10)
For the third time this season, Saint Louis middle blocker Aida Antanaviciute shares C-USA Player of the Week honors. The sophomore shares this week’s honor with TCU middle blocker Anna Vaughn, who has helped the Horned Frogs to their best-ever C-USA start at 4-0.

AIDA ANTANAVICIUTE, Saint Louis
MB, Jr., Siauliai, Lithuania (Geguziu)

Antanaviciute broke the C-USA and Saint Louis' school record for kills in a match when she tallied 45 in a five-game loss to Tulane. The sophomore had a pair of double-double performances on the weekend as Saint Louis rebounded to defeat Southern Miss. Antanaviciute recorded a 20-20 match against the Golden Eagles finishing with 29 kills and a career-high 22 digs.

ANNA VAUGHN, TCU
MB, So., Grapevine, Texas (Southlake Carroll)

Vaughn hit at an astounding .480 percentage for the weekend as TCU picked up a pair of road wins in league play at Charlotte and East Carolina. The sophomore had 18 kills against the 49ers and tallied a match-high 25 kills versus the Pirates.

SETTER OF THE WEEK (10/10)
Marquette senior Sarah Vernon collected her second Setter of the Week honor this season after leading the Golden Eagles to a pair of victories this week versus Wisconsin-Green Bay and DePaul.

SARAH VERNON, Marquette
S, Sr., Englewood, Colo. (Cherry Creek)

Vernon was just two digs shy of a triple-double in the Golden Eagles’ three-game victory over DePaul. She hit at a .529 clip to finish with 11 kills, while adding 40 assists and eight digs. In a non-conference match versus Wisconsin-Green Bay, Vernon recorded 44 assists on 52 Marquette kills. She led the team with a .464 hitting percentage and 20 points in the pair of 3-0 victories.

LEADING THE CONFERENCE
Here is a look at several of the top single-match performances in Conference USA during the 2004 season.

HITTING PERCENTAGE
.688 (12-1-16) by Myanna Hellsten (CIN) vs. Kent State, 9/4

KILLS
45 by Aida Antanaviciute (SLU) at Tulane, 10/8

ASSISTS
74 by Erin Ludeke (TCU) at East Carolina University, 10/9

ATTEMPTS
112 by Aida Antanaviciute (SLU) at Tulane, 10/8

ACES
12 by Kate Juedes (USM) vs. Alcorn, 10/5

BLOCKS
16 by Deva Fowler (TUL) vs. Saint Louis, 10/8

DIGS
35 by Jaci Gonzalez (HOU) at Ball State, 9/18

2004 PLAYER/SETTER OF THE WEEK
Here is a look at C-USA’s Players/Setters of the Week for the 2004 season:

S7 P- Julie DuPont (Cincinnati)
P- Aida Antanaviciute (Saint Louis)
S- Heather Watts (Memphis)
S13 P- Ellen Rehme (TCU)
S- Sarah Vernon (Marquette)
S20 P-Tiara Gilkey (Memphis)
S-Heather Watts (Memphis)
S27 P- Aida Antanaviciute (Saint Louis)
P-Tiara Gilkey (Memphis)
S-Heather Watts (Memphis)
O4 P-Dominika Szabo (TCU)
S-Erin Ludeke (TCU)
O11 P- Aida Antanaviciute (Saint Louis)
P- Anna Vaughn (TCU)
S- Sarah Vernon (Marquette)


NOTES
SERVING THE HEAT:
Sophomore Jessica Oldenburg of Charlotte added two more service aces to her career total of 46 as the 49ers dropped a five-game match to conference rival Houston last weekend. Oldenburg now ranks No. 11 in the country in service aces.

CLAIMING ITS TERRITORY:
Cincinnati extended its school record home court winning streak to 22, while extending its overall win streak to eight following the Bearcats win over Morehead State on Tuesday night.

GET OFF OF MY BLOCK:
Louisville’s Jennifer Hoffman posted four blocks in the No. 21 ranked Cardinals’ victory over UAB last week to boost the middle blocker’s career mark to 89 placing her No. 19 on total blocks for the country. Of those 89, 15 came off solo counts.

KEEP ‘EM COMING:
Senior setter Heather Watts, who leads the C-USA pack with 1,053 assists, looks to defend the Tiger’s 11-match win streak in a pair of C-USA matches this weekend. Watts is the only setter in the league to have passed the 1000-assists mark. She ranks 17th in the country with 13.33 assists per game.

MORE PRESSURE OF AN ANT:
Saint Louis’ Aida Antanaviciute shattered school and Conference USA records with 45 kills against Tulane on Oct. 8. Her total was the most in NCAA Division I since the rally-scoring format was adopted in 2001. Antanaviciute currently ranks second in the country in kills per game.

DIGGING FOR BONES:
After posting 21 digs against Charlotte last weekend, it is no wonder why Houston’s Laci Gonzalez, is ranked No. 28 on the national charts with 338 digs over 63 games for the season.

QUIT WHILE YOU’RE AHEAD:
Without a single five-game match thus far this season, Marquette (11-5 overall, 1-2 C-USA) has put away its opponents 81 percent of the time in 3-0 matches.

C-USA NOTEBOOK
CHARLOTTE: Charlotte dropped two conference matches at home last weekend to TCU and Houston moving the 49ers to 14-7 overall and 1-3 for league play. Abbey Szlanfucht averaged 4.22 kills and 3.78 digs per game in the matches, posting a double-double in each match. She went over the 20-kill barrier for the fifth time this season, with 21 kills against TCU on Friday night. The 49ers return to Halton Arena for a non-conference tilt with Radford tonight.

CINCINNATI: The Bearcats concluded the work week with a 13-6 record and an eight-match winning streak, after sweeping Conference USA rivals UAB and USF and rounding the week off with a win over Morehead State. Cincinnati claimed its 700th program victory in just its 33rd year as a varsity program. The Bearcats hold an all-time record of 700-437-8. Houston is the only other C-USA school to have tabbed this feat with an all-time record of 764-417.

DE PAUL: DePaul was unable to stop Marquette’s offense, falling in three games Friday, Oct. 8 at the Al McGuire Center. The loss extended the Blue Demons’ losing streak to six and an overall record of 7-12. DePaul will face USF on Friday and UAB on Saturday.

EAST CAROLINA: Although ECU outblocked TCU, 12.5-to-2, and junior libero Johanna Bertini tallied a career-high 23 digs, the Pirates fell to the Horned Frogs in league play last weekend. The loss moves ECU to an 8-11 overall record and an even .500 mark in conference play. East Carolina returns to action this weekend when the Pirates travel to Memphis and Saint Louis to continue C-USA play.

HOUSTON: The Cougars capitalized on four players reaching double digits in kills and five landing in double-digit digs, as Houston now stands at 3-1 in C-USA play and 4-12 on the season. Cougar Kariny Ritter posted 21 kills and 15 digs to help beat conference foe Charlotte 3-2, while setter Jennifer Hohl dished out 101 assists on the week. Next, Houston faces a two-match home stand against conference foes, Cincinnati and Louisville on Oct. 15 and 16, respectively.

LOUISVILLE: The No. 21 Louisville Cardinals continued their blemish-free conference play with wins over USF and UAB. The U of L raised its record to 14-2 overall, as the team hit .300 and outblocked UAB 8-6. Louisville will attempt to protect its undefeated season as they face TCU and Houston on the road this weekend.

MARQUETTE: Marquette had its second-highest attack percentage (.301) of the season against DePaul’s hitting, while seven Golden Eagles had two or more assists. Jamie Mueller played outside hitter for the first time this season against DePaul and had 10 kills and a .348 attack percentage. Marquette next plays on Friday at 7 p.m. when it visits USF.

MEMPHIS: With a win over conference rival Tulane, Memphis extended its win streak to 11 straight matches, dating back to a 3-1 loss to Arkansas State on Sept. 14. Junior Nancy Nellans led the Tigers with 14 kills and nine digs in the 3-0 victory at Tulane, while freshmen Shelby Burton, who filled in per the absence of regular middle hitter Melissa Nance, hit .588 on 17 attacks and added five total blocks on the night. The Tigers return to action Friday against East Carolina. That match is slated to start at 7 p.m. in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Memphis will also host Charlotte on Saturday, Oct. 16.

SAINT LOUIS: The Billikens split two road matches at Tulane and Southern Miss last weekend. Aida Antanaviciute set school and Conference USA records with 45 kills against the Green Wave, but it wasn't quite enough as Tulane won in five. She followed up with 29 kills and 22 digs in a 3-1 win at Southern Miss. Saint Louis returns home to host its first C-USA matches of the season. The Billikens take on Charlotte Friday, and East Carolina on Saturday. Both matches start at 7 p.m. The match against ECU will be televised live on Charter Communications.

SOUTHERN MISS: Southern Miss had to use all five games in posting a much-needed win, defeating South Alabama 3-2. The Eagles improved their record to 5-11 on the season. Southern Miss returns to action on Saturday, when the Eagles travel to New Orleans for a match against the Green Wave. Match time is set for 7 p.m.

TCU: The Horned Frogs are off to their best-start ever in Conference USA play after winning their first four league matches of the season. TCU picked up a pair of road wins over the weekend taking matches from both Charlotte and East Carolina. The five-game match with the Pirates came down to the wire as sophomore Anna Vaughn led all players with a career-high 25 kills and a .467 hitting percentage. Junior Erin Ludeke dished out 74 assists, just one shy of the TCU all-time record. TCU returns home to host a pair of undefeated C-USA squads this weekend. No. 22 Louisville will be in Fort Worth on Friday, while the Bearcats come to town for a Saturday match-up.

TULANE: The Green Wave swept Southern 3-0 on Tuesday night improving its record to 10-4 overall and 29-0 versus Lady Jags dating back to the 2002 season. Senior outside hitter Anastasia Kenon posted 10 kills and sophomore right-side hitter Blair Moon tallied 12 digs for the Green Wave. The Green Wave face Southern Miss at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Fogelman Arena.

UAB: The Blazers were beaten by Georgia State, 3-0, on Tuesday evening. Charli Lindley was one dig short of a double-double, as she tallied 10 kills and nine defensive digs for UAB. Lindley also registered a team-high 44 total attacks. UAB will return home to try to secure its first league win of the season against DePaul and Marquette this weekend.

USF: The Bulls put together the second-best hitting percentage of the season at .211 in their match with Cincinnati, but it was not enough to pick up a road win against the Bearcats. USF opened the weekend with a 3-0 loss at Louisville. Sophomore Johari Williams and freshman Michelle Stalbaum led the Bulls with nine kills each in the loss to Cincinnati. The Bulls will try to snap a three-match losing streak this weekend when they play host to DePaul and Marquette.

AMONG THE RANKED
Here is a look at the Oct. 10, AVCA poll:

USA Today/CSTV poll
1. Washington (63)
2. Minnesota
3. Hawai’i (2)
4. Nebraska
5. Penn State
6. Southern California
7. Colorado State
8. Ohio State
9. Texas
10. Florida
11. UCLA
12. Stanford
13. California
14. Saint Mary’s (Calif)
15. Santa Clara
16. Kansas State
17. Tennessee
18. Utah
19. UC Santa Barbara
20. Texas A&M
21. LOUISVILLE
22. Arizona
23. Illinois
24. Florida A&M
25. San Diego

C-USA PRESEASON POLL
The Conference USA volleyball coaches have selected Louisville as the preseason favorite to win the 2004 C-USA Championship. Cincinnati’s Julie DuPont was named the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year after leading the league in kills with 5.43 per game last season.

2004 PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Louisville (25-6, 12-1 in 2003)
2. Cincinnati (27-6, 12-1)
3. Houston (12-20, 6-7)
4. Tulane (25-7, 9-4)
5. Marquette (14-16, 8-5)
6. Memphis (30-6, 9-4)
7. TCU (20-16, 5-8)
8. USF (12-30, 6-7)
9. DePaul (11-20, 3-10)
10. Southern Miss (27-6, 11-2)
11. Saint Louis (9-22, 2-11)
12. UAB (14-20, 6-7)
13. Charlotte (8-24, 1-12)
14. East Carolina (10-21, 1-12)

ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
Theresa Coughlin, Marquette
Julie DuPont, Cincinnati*
Deva Fowler, Tulane
Lena Ustymenko, Louisville
Bing Sun, Louisville
Heather Watts, Memphis
* Preseason Player of the Year

C-USA CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Conference USA celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2004-05. A significant milestone for the league, the 10th year finds the conference preparing to embark on a new era in its already remarkable history.

C-USA will commemorate this milestone throughout the year with a multimedia campaign celebrating the past, present and future of the league. Several activities have been planned for the upcoming season that capture the history of C-USA and promote the student-athletes’ achievements in all 19 conference-sponsored sports.

One of the biggest aspects of this campaign is the naming of All-Decade teams, as well as a Player of the Decade and a Coach of the Decade for each of the league’s sports. In order to best determine the recipients of these honors, we will have a nomination process through the SIDs and then each current head coach in that sport will fill out a ballot with their selections after reviewing the list of nominees and supporting information. The winners will then be announced on November 17.

C-USA TOURNEY IN LOUISVILLE
The 2004 ChevronTexaco Conference USA Volleyball Tournament will take place Nov. 19-22 in Louisville, Ky. The University of Louisville will serve as the host school for the four-day event, with all matches being held at Cardinal Arena on the U of L campus. The championship match on Monday, Nov. 22 will be televised by CSTV and affiliates of the Conference USA Television Network. Louisville is the defending tournament champion.

DID YOU KNOW?
Since 1996, no C-USA school has been able to repeat as tournament champions. USF is the only school to win consecutive C-USA Tournament titles. No C-USA Tournament champion has been able to repeat since the Bulls captured the 1995 and 1996 titles. Here is a look at the last eight champions.

1995 USF
1996 USF
1997 Houston
1998 Louisville
1999 Cincinnati
2000 Louisville
2001 DePaul
2002 USF
2003 Louisville

REGULAR SEASON HISTORY
In the last eight years, Louisville either claimed or shared a league-record – five C-USA regular season titles. USF follows with four titles, while Cincinnati has claimed three. Here is a look at each year’s winner:

1995 Louisville (12-0)
1996 USF (13-1)
1997 USF (15-1)
1998 Louisville (14-2)
1999 Cincinnati (13-3)
Louisville (13-3)
2000 USF (5-1)
2001 Cincinnati (14-2)
2002 USF (12-1)
Louisville (12-1)
2003 Cincinnati (12-1)
Louisville (12-1)

TOURNAMENT SUCCESS
With numerous tournaments dotting the schedules of most C-USA teams, a number of league squads and individuals have fared well claiming tournament titles and MVP honors. Below is a look at those accomplishments through the start of 2004 conference play:

SpringHill Suites Tournament (Charlotte)
Champion: Charlotte
MVP: Abbey Szlanfucht

Vernon Manor Bearcat Invitational (Cincinnati)
Champion: Cincinnati
MVP: Julie DuPont

Mizuno Wildcat Classic (Davidson, N.C.)
Champion: DePaul
MVP: Janet Goreham

Memphis Volleyball Invitational (Memphis)
Champion: Memphis
MVP: Heather Watts

IU Credit Union Invitational (Bloomington, Ind.)
Champion: Saint Louis
MVP: Aida Antanaviciute

Kathy Trosclair Tournament (New Orleans, La.)
Champion: Tulane
MVP: Katie Case

U of L Courtyard by Marriott Tournament (Louisville)
Champion: Louisville
MVP: Not awarded

SpringHill Suites Classic (Charlotte)
Champion: Charlotte
MVP: Lisa Newell

New England Challenge (Boston, Mass.)
Champion: TCU
MVP: Ellen Rehme

Ashbury Suites Classic (Mobile, Ala.)
Champion: Southern Miss
MVP: Not awarded

MSU/Microtel Classic (Starkville, Miss.)
Champion: Memphis
MVP: Tiara Gilkey

Raider Challenge (Dayton, Ohio)
Champion: Louisville
MVP: Bing Sun

Fairfield Invitational (Fairfield, Conn.)
Champion: Saint Louis
MVP: Aida Antanaviciute

UNC-Greensboro Invitational (Greensboro, N.C.)
Champion: Memphis
MVP: Heather Watts

Toyota Husky Classic (Storrs, Conn.)
Champion: Marquette
MVP: Erica Heisser

C-USA VS. OTHER CONFERENCES
Here is a look at how C-USA schools have fared against other Division I Conferences.
America East 4-0
ACC 3-5
Atlantic 10 3-0
Atlantic Sun 6-7
Big EAST 6-2
Big South 4-1
Big 10 1-6
Big 12 0-3
Colonial 4-1
Gateway 1-0
Horizon 5-6
Independent 0-2
Ivy 1-0
MAC 3-5
Metro Atlantic 4-0
Mid Continent 3-5
Mid-Eastern 4-0
Missouri Valley 4-5
Mountain West 0-2
Non Division I 3-1
Northeast 1-0
OVC 9-3
Pac 10 2-5
Patriot 1-0
SEC 1-7
Southern 10-4
Southland 4-5
SWAC 7-2
Sun Belt 7-6
WAC 1-2
West Coast 1-4

2004 COACHES RECORDS
Coach School Career
Lisa Marston, CHA 68-80 153-159
Reed Sunahara, CIN 110-39 129-79
Dawn Dockstader, DPU 106-135 106-135
Colleen Munson, ECU 49-92 49-92
Bill Walton, HOU 372-230 582-285
Leonid Yelin, LOU 209-63 323-99
Pati Rolf, MAR 38-37 348-206
Carrie Yerty, MEM 158-132 158-132
Anne Kordes, SLU 9-10 9-10
Ricci Luyties, USM 5-11 5-11
Prentice Lewis, TCU 45-39 45-39
Betsy Becker, TUL 102-73 180-131
Melinda Claiborne, UAB 46-96 46-96
Claire Lessinger, USF 3-11 3-11

2004 GAME REC0RDS
School 3 4 5 Total
Charlotte 7-4 4-2 3-1 14-7
Cincinnati 10-3 3-2 0-1 13-6
DePaul 5-6 2-1 0-5 7-12
East Carolina 4-5 3-3 1-3 8-11
Houston 2-6 1-4 1-2 4-12
Louisville 8-0 5-2 1-0 14-2
Marquette 9-3 2-2 0-0 11-5
Memphis 9-2 7-2 2-0 18-4
Saint Louis 4-4 4-2 1-4 9-10
Southern Miss 1-5 1-5 3-1 5-11
TCU 4-2 7-2 2-1 13-5
Tulane 7-2 1-2 2-0 10-4
UAB 0-13 1-1 0-1 1-15
USF 3-6 0-4 0-1 3-11

YEAR TWO: NEW POINT SYSTEM
In a new system adopted by Conference USA volleyball coaches prior to the 2003 season, 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). In 2003, C-USA Player of the Year JULIE DUPONT led the league in this new category, tallying 6.26 ppg.