C-USA Oct. 28 Volleyball Notebook

Molly McDonald

PLAYER OF THE WEEK (10/25)
A pair of middle blockers share the C-USA Player of the Week honors as Saint Louis’ Aida Antanaviciute earns her fourth weekly honor of the season and DePaul’s Janet Goreham receives her first.

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

Antanaviciute posted a trio of double-doubles during the week for the Billikens. The junior had 32 kills and 20 digs in a five-game victory over Cincinnati, which was the team’s first over the Bearcats since the 1996 season. She added 30 kills and 20 assists in a mid-week loss to Southwest Missouri State.

JANET GOREHAM, DePaul
MB, Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill. (Hersey)

Goreham led DePaul to its first sweep of weekend matches in C-USA play this season. The senior recorded a pair of double-doubles finishing the weekend with 30 kills and 25 digs. Goreham was a block assist shy of a triple-double in the Houston match (16 kills, 11 digs, nine block assists).

SETTER OF THE WEEK (10/25)
Charlotte’s Molly McDonald is the second C-USA player to earn back-to-back Setter of the Week honors. Memphis’ Heather Watts captured back-to-back awards for the weeks of Sept. 20th and 27th.

MOLLY MCDONALD, Charlotte
S, Sr., Santa Cruz, Calif. (Harbor)

McDonald led Charlotte to a 3-0 record and a pair of sweeps in Conference USA play last week. She had 46 assists (15.33 per game) in each of the weekend league matches and finished the week with 127.

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

HITTING PERCENTAGE
.696 (17-1-23) by Deva Fowler (TUL) vs. Southern Miss, 10/16

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)
O18 P-Kimberley Todd (Marquette)
S-Molly McDonald (Charlotte)
O25 P- Aida Antanaviciute (Saint Louis)
P- Janet Goreham (DePaul)
S- Molly McDonald (Charlotte)

NOTEABLE PLAYERS
GAZUNTIGHT
Charlotte outside hitter Abbey Szlanfucht has passed her previous season high for double-doubles by four, as she has already tallied 15 in her junior stint.

STREAKIN’
Julie DuPont of Cincinnati extended her match streak with at least 10 kills to 33 straight, the sixth-longest active record in the nation.

UNA MAS
Janet Goreham, who was named C-USA Co-Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 25, was a block assist shy of a triple-double in DePaul’s match against Houston on Saturday, Oct. 23 (16 kills, 11 digs, nine block assists).

QUADruplets
Houston kicked off its final six games with a win over Northwestern State thanks to the foursome of senior Loure Dews, juniors Kariny Ritter and Jennifer Hohl, and sophomore Kelly McAnelly. Dews equaled her career-best mark for kills in a match, leading all players with 23 throw-downs on 38 attempts for a hitting percentage of .500. Ritter, Hohl and McAnelly each recorded double-doubles on the evening as Ritter hit .256 with 18 kills and 12 digs, Hohl dished out 50 assists while picking up 11 digs, and McAnelly hit .241 with 22 kills and 12 digs for her ninth double-double of the year.

FIRST AID
In addition to being named Co-Player of the week, junior middle blocker Aida Antanaviciute of Saint Louis was also selected as Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU.com) National Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 24. She is the first volleyball player in C-USA history to win Player of the Week honors four times in the same season. Antanaviciute is currently ranked No. 2 in the country for kills per game (6.92) behind Stacy Gordon of Ohio State.

TRUE DAT
In an effort to push Southern Miss over Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday night, Amy Truong did all she could; adding 10 kills to go along with 52 assists and 14 digs. While the Golden Eagles fell short, Truong recorded her fourth triple-double of the season.

C-USA NOTEBOOK
CHARLOTTE: The 49ers snapped their four-match win streak this week as they fell to Winthrop on Tuesday night in Winthrop Coliseum. The Eagles improved to 22-2 overall with its ninth straight win at the Coliseum, and 11th straight victory. Charlotte fittingly had 49 digs against Tulane in its “Dig for the Cure” match to raise money for the Susan. G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The 49ers raised $3,200 for the night in pledges and single donations, while challenging the 13 other league schools to hit $3,000. The 49ers return home to Halton Arena for a conference match against East Carolina on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ECU is one of five teams within one game of the 49ers in the Conference USA standings as teams look ahead to the final three weekends of league play.

CINCINNATI: The Bearcats had their 23-match home winning streak cut short over the weekend in a five-game loss to Saint Louis. It was the nation’s third-longest active streak. A pair of Bearcats moved up the school’s all-time block assists list as Rachel Torblaa moved from fourth to third with 404 and senior Julie DuPont moved from ninth to fifth with 336. Junior Maria Pongonis registered a new career-high with 18 digs vs. Saint Louis. Cincinnati will next face Southern Miss and Tulane on the road in a pair of conference matchups. Both matches are set for 7:00 p.m. (CST).

DE PAUL: The Blue Demons dropped a three-game match to UW-Milwaukee, Tuesday evening at the Klotsche Center. It was senior Janet Goreham, who was named C-USA Co-Player of the Week, who set the pace for the Blue Demons, recording 11 of their 36 kills and hitting over .300 for the match. Yet the Blue Demon’s offense could not keep up with the Panthers. The Blue Demons will hit the road this weekend, traveling to C-USA opponents Saint Louis and Memphis on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Both matches are slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. (CST).

EAST CAROLINA: The Pirates split a pair of conference matches last weekend losing in three games to Tulane, before bouncing back to sweep Southern Miss on “Dig for the Cure” night in Greenville. Johanna Bertini notched a career-high 26 digs in the Tulane match and added 19 digs in the Pirates’ DFTC match against the Golden Eagles. Pirate setter Heidi Krug ranks eighth in the league in assists per game with an 11.59 average. Teammate Paige Howell is fourth in the league in hitting percentage with a .348 clip. East Carolina travels to Charlotte Saturday for its lone match of the week.

HOUSTON: Houston posted its second highest kill total of the season (76) and recorded its best hitting percentage (.295) in a four-game victory over Northwestern State on Tuesday night. The home win kicked off the first of the six final home matches. The Cougars dropped both of its conference matches on the road last week losing a pair of 3-1 matches to Marquette and DePaul, respectively. Houston will try to improve its C-USA record (3-5) as the Cougars host UAB and USF on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

LOUISVILLE: The Cardinals continue to roll despite dropping two spots in the latest USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll to No. 23. Louisville swept both Memphis and Saint Louis over the weekend to extend its overall winning streak to 10. The Cardinals have the league’s top two players in hitting percentage on their roster. Anastasia Yartseva leads the league with a .458 percentage (158 kills, 34 errors) and teammate Jennifer Hoffman is second with a .398 percentage (134 kills, 33 errors). Louisville takes to the road for a Southern swing this weekend with matches at Tulane on Friday and Southern Miss on Saturday.

MARQUETTE: Senior libero Erin Freer broke the school’s all-time digs record over the weekend as the Golden Eagles swept visiting Houston and TCU. The two victories extend Marquette’s winning streak to six matches. Freer broke the mark in the second game of the Houston match. The Golden Eagles, who are 15-5 on the season, have yet to play a five-game match this season. Marquette travels to Memphis and Saint Louis this weekend.

MEMPHIS: Memphis took control Tuesday night cruising past Middle Tennessee State 3-0 and improving its overall record to 21-7. Senior Heather Watts posted a match-high 41 assists against the Blue Raiders. Watts’ season total of 1,293 places her No. 22 in the nation for assists per game (13.19apg). The Tigers will now prepare to host Marquette on Friday night in a match that has been designated as the team’s “Dig for the Cure” match. The following night Memphis will host DePaul. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. (CST).

SAINT LOUIS: The Billikens defeated Cincinnati in five games on Sunday, Oct. 23 for the school’s first win over the Bearcats since 1996 and their first ever victory at UC. Setter Erin McClanahan added 70 assists in the win over UC. Middle blocker Aida Antaviciute continued her dominance with a 32-kill, 20-dig outing against the Bearcats. Following her week’s performance Antaviciute was named C-USA Co-Player of the Week as well as Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU.com) National Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 24. The Billikens host a pair of conference matches this weekend against DePaul and Marquette.

SOUTHERN MISS: The Golden Eagles fell to Southeastern Louisiana in a fierce five-game match Tuesday night. The loss was the fifth straight, dropping the Eagles to 5-16 on the season. All in all, Southern Miss outperformed the Lions’ offense with 14 more kills and out hit the team .152 to .148. Southern Miss returns to action Friday and Saturday with a weekend series of Cincinnati and Louisville. Both match times are set for 7 p.m., in the Payne Center.

TCU: TCU snapped its three-match losing streak with a sweep over in-state rival North Texas on Tuesday night. The Horned Frogs climbed to 15-8 on the season following the non-conference win. Three Frogs, including seniors Ellen Rehme and Dominika Szabo, tallied double-digit kills as junior Erin Ludeke dished out 46 assists to tie for the third-most in a three-game match. TCU returns to C-USA action this weekend as it hosts USF and UAB. Saturday's match against the Blazers will be the Frogs' designated "Dig For The Cure" contest to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

TULANE: The Green Wave was on both ends of a sweep last weekend as Tulane took three straight games from East Carolina on Friday, Oct. 22 before dropping three straight games to Charlotte on Saturday, Oct. 23. The Green Wave welcome the league’s top two squads to New Orleans this weekend with a match against league-leader and No. 23 Louisville on Friday. Tulane hosts the 6-2 Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday.

UAB: The Blazers dropped its league contest at USF on Friday, Oct. 22, 3-0. The loss extended their overall losing streak to nine games. Blazer libero Brianna Galvin ranks third in the league in digs with an average of 4.29 per game. Galvin has a team-leading 249 digs on the season. UAB will stay on the road for a pair of matches in Texas this weekend as the Blazers face Houston on Friday and TCU on Saturday. Both matches are set for 7 p.m.

USF: The Bulls split a pair of matches last week taking a 3-0 sweep from UAB, while dropping a four-game match to No. 25 Florida A&M on Saturday, Oct. 23. Jullana Nogueira collected 141 assists in the three matches, which was good for an average of 12.82 per game. She ranks sixth in the league with an overall average of 11.82 assists per game. The player she has set up the most this season is teammate Flavia Silveira, who ranks third in the league in kills per game (4.40) and points per game (4.82). USF travels to the Lone Star state for a pair of conference tilts at TCU and Houston on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

AMONG THE RANKED
Here is a look at the Oct. 25, AVCA poll:

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

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. The championship match is set for 8:00 p.m. EST.

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
UofL Courtyard by Marriott Tournament (Louisville)
Champion: Louisville
MVP: Bing Sun
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 5-2
Big 10 1-6
Big 12 0-3
Colonial 4-1
Gateway 1-0
Horizon 6-7
Independent 0-2
Ivy 1-0
MAC 3-5
Metro Atlantic 4-0
Mid Continent 3-5
Mid-Eastern 4-1
Missouri Valley 4-6
Mountain West 0-2
Non Division I 3-1
Northeast 1-0
OVC 9-3
Pac 10 2-5
Patriot 1-0
SEC 1-9
Southern 10-4
Southland 5-6
SWAC 7-2
Sun Belt 11-6
WAC 1-2
West Coast 1-4

2004 COACHES RECORDS
Coach School Career
Lisa Marston, CHA 72-82 157-161
Reed Sunahara, CIN 113-41 132-81
Dawn Dockstader, DPU 109-137 109-137
Colleen Munson, ECU 50-95 50-95
Bill Walton, HOU 373-234 583-289
Leonid Yelin, LOU 213-63 327-99
Pati Rolf, MAR 42-37 352-206
Carrie Yerty, MEM 161-135 161-135
Anne Kordes, SLU 11-13 11-13
Ricci Luyties, USM 5-16 5-16
Prentice Lewis, TCU 47-42 47-42
Betsy Becker, TUL 105-74 183-132
Melinda Claiborne, UAB 46-99 46-99
Claire Lessinger, USF 5-14 5-14

2004 GAME REC0RDS
School 3 4 5 Total
Charlotte 9-5 5-3 4-1 18-9
Cincinnati 10-3 5-3 1-2 16-8
DePaul 6-8 3-1 1-5 10-14
East Carolina 5-8 3-3 1-3 9-14
Houston 1-6 2-7 2-3 5-16
Louisville 12-0 5-2 1-0 18-2
Marquette 11-3 4-2 0-0 15-5
Memphis 12-3 7-2 2-2 21-7
Saint Louis 5-5 4-3 2-5 11-13
Southern Miss 1-9 1-5 3-2 5-16
TCU 5-4 8-2 2-2 15-8
Tulane 9-3 1-2 3-0 13-5
UAB 0-16 1-1 0-1 1-18
USF 4-7 0-7 0-1 5-14

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.

C-USA VOLLEYBALL CONTACTS
Charlotte
Matt McCullough
mmccull1@email.uncc.edu

Cincinnati
Shawn Sell
sellsn@email.uc.edu

DePaul
Alicia Powers
apowers1@depaul.edu

East Carolina
Kerwin Lonzo
lonzok@mail.ecu.edu

Houston
Jason Wells
jmwells@central.uh.edu

Louisville
Nancy Worley
nasmit01@louisville.edu

Marquette
Blain Fowler
blain.fowler@marquette.edu

Memphis
Jason Redd
jredd@memphis.edu

Saint Louis
Chuck Yahng
yahngc@slu.edu

Southern Miss
Shirley Jones-Hill
shirley.jones-hill@usm.edu

TCU
Samantha Moy
s.moy@tcu.edu

Tulane
Richie Weaver
r.weaver@tulane.edu

UAB
Jeremy Hoffman
jmhoff1@yahoo.com

USF
Jodi Smith
jsmith@admin.usf.edu