With regular-season play over and tournament action to begin, it's a whole new ballgame for the 12 teams competing at the Healthy Choice C-USA Tournament. No. 1 Cincinnati is not only looking for its second C-USA Tournament title in league history, but its seventh consecutive 20-win season. No. 2 Louisville would like to repeat its 2000 season success, where the Cardinals claimed the 2000 title; While No. 3 South Florida is on a roll, winning its last nine matches; Read all about C-USA Volleyball in this week's Tournament Notebook.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

JENNIFER WITTENBURG, OH, Houston

Senior JENNIFER WITTENBURG of Houston is the Conference USA Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 11. Wittenburg posted back-to-back 37-kill performances to lead the Cougars to a 2-1 record last week and the No. 4 seed in the C-USA Tournament. Against DePaul, Wittenburg tied UH's seven-year record with 37 kills in only four games, while also adding 14 digs, two blocks and two service aces. She then would blast another 37 kills and 15 digs in a 3-0 win against Marquette, recording her fifth consecutive double-double performance and team-best 17th of the season. She averaged 8.33 kills and 3.92 digs per game, while posting a .343 attack percentage for the week.

NATIONAL POLLS
Here is a look at the Oct. 29 AVCA/USA Today Poll.
1. Long Beach State
2. Nebraska
3. Stanford
4. Arizona
5. USC
6. Wisconsin
7. Florida
8. Colorado State
9. Ohio State
10. Pepperdine
11. Hawaii
12. UCLA
13. Texas A&M
14. Penn State
15. Pacific
16. Utah
17. Northern Iowa
18. BYU
19. Santa Clara
20. South Carolina
21. Illinois
22. Kansas State
23. UC Santa Barbara
24. Notre Dame
25. Colorado

Others receiving points and listed on two or more ballots: Michigan State (18), Duke (17), Utah State (13), Missouri (11), Minnesota (11), Xavier (9), Oregon State (7), San Diego (6), Northern Illinois (6), Louisville (6), San Jose State (5), South Florida (4), Cincinnati (3), Dayton (2).

MIDWEST REGIONAL RANKINGS
Here is a look at the Oct. 31 Midwest Volleyball Regional Rankings. C-USA has six schools ranked in the region.

1. Cincinnati
2. Louisville
3. South Florida
4. Wright State
5. DePaul
6. UW-Milwaukee
7. Loyola (Chicago)
8. Houston
9. Marquette
10. Tennessee-Martin

2001 HEALTHY CHOICE
C-USA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
The 2001 Healthy Choice Conference USA Volleyball Tournament will take place Thursday-Sunday, Nov. 15-18 at the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston. Cincinnati, who claimed the regular season championship after posting a 19-6 overall mark and 14-2 conference record, is the No. 1 seed for the tournament. No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 South Florida, No. 4 Houston have also earned first round byes and will compete on Friday, Nov. 16.

No. 7 Saint Louis and No. 10 Charlotte open tournament action on Thursday at 1 p.m. The 49ers clinched a tournament berth after defeating the Billikens, 3-1 last Friday. In match two, No. 6 Marquette will meet No. 11 Southern Miss at 3 p.m. on Thursday. Southern Miss earned a berth after defeating UAB, 3-0 last Sunday, while Marquette is 5-3 in its last eight conference matchups.

No. 8 Memphis takes on No. 9 Tulane at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The Green Wave boasts a 4-0 in first round action at the C-USA Tournament. Thursday's play concludes with No. 5 DePaul and No. 12 East Carolina, who earned its first ever C-USA Tournament berth, at 8 p.m.

The Nov. 18 championship game will be televised by the Conference USA Television Network. The match will air live on WFTE/WDRB in Louisville, WBII in Memphis and Charter Communications in Saint Louis.

CINCINNATI CLINCHES
Cincinnati captured the regular season C-USA Championship with a 3-0 win against Marquette on Nov. 4. It marked the third consecutive season that the Bearcats have either shared or claimed the regular season title. Cincinnati is currently 14-2 in the conference and 19-6 overall, vying for its seventh consecutive 20-win season.

COACHING MILESTONES
Saint Louis head coach MARILYN NOLEN notched her 775th career win when the Billikens defeated DePaul, 3-1, on Oct. 23.

Louisville head coach LEONID YELIN is only three wins away from recording his 250th career win. Yelin currently holds a 247-83 career mark.


LEADING THE CONFERENCE
Houston's JENNIFER WITTENBURG remains first in the conference rankings in kills, averaging 6.15 kills per game. She is also ranked second in digs with 3.52 per game.

Memphis' AMIE HAMILTON dominates the conference stats with 94 services aces on the season.

East Carolina's ROBYN DREWES is ranked first among C-USA players in blocks, averaging 1.44.

DOUBLE THREAT
South Florida's BONNYE GLOVER and SHAMEKA MITCHELL have been a strong combination for the Bulls this season. Mitchell leads the conference with a .379 hitting average, including 130 kills and 34 errors out of 253 chances. Mitchell is tied for second with Houston's JENNY TANNEBERGER with a .355 average.

CAREER C-USA RECORDS
In 2001, several C-USA career records have been broken throughout the season.

- DePaul's STEPHANIE BISHOP became C-USA's all-time leader in kills and digs this season. Bishop set the conference career record in kills with a total of 1,983 and breaking former Bearcat Becky Tenkman's mark of 1,843 (1995-98). Bishop also claimed the digs record with a total of 1,764 and breaking the old mark of 1,602 by Houston's Kristin Guidish.

- DePaul's senior setter KARA JAKUSZ set the C-USA career assist record after posting 1,413 this season. She now has compiled 6,181 assists in her career and surpassed the old mark of 5,180 that was held by Marquette's Liz Egasti
(1997-2000).

- Amie Hamilton of Memphis compiled 94 service aces to move into first on the league's all-time list with 231 aces. Ozlem Ozkan of Charlotte (1997-2000) held the old record of 195 service aces.

SEASON SUPERLATIVES
Here are several of the top single-match performances in Conference USA this season.

HITTING PERCENTAGE
.812 (13-0-6) by Lesley Drury (LOU) vs. USM, 10/26

KILLS
37 by Jennifer Wittenburg (HOU) vs. DPU, 11/9
37 by Jennifer Wittenburg (HOU) vs. MAR, 11/10

ASSISTS
75 by Kara Jakusz (DPU) vs. MEM, 10/27

ATTEMPTS
82 by Michelle Collier (USF) at Florida State, 9/18

ACES
10 by Amanda Rudolph (ECU) at Campbell, 10/30

BLOCKS
12 by Robyn Drewes (ECU) vs. UMBC, 8/8
12 by Laura Marks (DPU) vs. USM, 10/19

DIGS
29 by Shelly Greene (UAB) at Miami, 8/8

THE C-USA FORECAST
PRESEASON POLL
1. Louisville
2. Cincinnati
3. Houston
4. South Florida
5. DePaul
6. Tulane
7. TCU
8. Saint Louis
9. Marquette
10. Charlotte
11. Memphis
12. Southern Miss
13. East Carolina
14. UAB

PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
* Michelle Collier, South Florida
Stephanie Bishop, DePaul
Colleen Hunter, Saint Louis
Stacey Mercer, Louisville
Bonita Wise, Cincinnati
Jennifer Wittenburg, Houston

* Preseason Player of the Year

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Here are some of the top individual performers in C-USA from Nov. 5-Nov. 11:

COURTNEY BURG, CHA: Knocked down 4.08 kills and 3.25 digs per games, while posting her 11th and 12th double-double performances of the season.

JULIE DUPONT, CIN: Led the Bearcats in kills (25), blocks (8) and aces (4) for the week. Posted a school single match record of nine aces against UW-Milwaukee.

KATIE ENGEL, DPU: Posted back-to-back double-doubles against Houston and TCU last week. She posted 35 kills and 25 digs for the week.

SONJA PERCAN, LOU: Led the Cardinals to a win over Cincinnati, blasting 28 kills and a .316 hitting percentage.

EMILY EICHMANN, MEM: Helped Memphis to its first 20-win season since 1994, after posting 19 kills and a .378 hitting mark against East Carolina.

SHAMEKA MITCHELL, USF: Fired 17 kills and a .337 hitting percentage last week to lead the Bulls to wins over Southern Miss and Tulane.

CONFERENCE USA TELEVISION NETWORK
C-USA has retained the services of Monarch Productions to coordinate the production and syndication of its newly created Conference USA Television Network.

The C-USA Television Network will carry the 2001 Healthy Choice Conference USA Tournament final on Nov. 18 at 2:00 p.m. (CST). The match will air live on WFTE/WDRB in Louisville, WBII in Memphis and Charter Communications in Saint Louis.

THE 30-KILL CLUB
Conference USA leads the nation with six players who have posted 30-plus kills this season. Houston's JENNIFER WITTENBURG leads the conference with an unprecedented five 30-plus kill games.

37- J. Wittenburg, HOU vs. DePaul, Nov. 9
37 - J. Wittenburg, HOU vs. Marquette, Nov. 10
36 - Michelle Collier, USF vs. Louisville, Oct. 7
33 - Colleen Hunter, SLU vs.Austin Peay, Aug. 31
32 - Sonja Percan, LOU vs. South Florida, Oct. 7
31 - Colleen Hunter, SLU vs. Louisville, Oct. 20
31 - Kathleen Ramos, CHA vs. Auburn, Sept. 9
31- J. Wittenburg, HOU vs. Texas A&M, Sept. 18
31- J. Wittenburg, HOU vs. Memphis, Sept. 23
30- J. Wittenburg, HOU vs. East Carolina, Oct. 19
30 - Julie Dupont, CIN vs. Marquette, Oct. 13
30 - Colleen Hunter, SLU vs. Tulane, Oct. 12

DID YOU KNOW?
South Florida has won its last nine games in three matches and holds a conference-best of 18-4 in three-game decisions.

C-USA NOTEBOOK

CHARLOTTE: Charlotte went 2-0 for the weekend, defeating Saint Louis, 3-1 and Memphis, 3-2. COURTNEY BURG led the 49ers, posting her 11th and 12th double-double performances for the season. Against Memphis, Burg recorded 22 kills and 15 digs, while KATHLEEN RAMOS finished the game with a team-high 18 kills and 23 digs. With their 15-14 record, the 49ers are guaranteed to finish with a .500 or better record for the first time since 1994. No. 10 Charlotte will meet No. 7 Saint Louis on Thursday in the first round of the Healthy Choice C-USA Volleyball Tournament.

CINCINNATI: Cincinnati dropped a 3-1 decision to Louisville, ending the Bearcats' school record 16-match win streak. The Bearcats came back to defeat Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3-0 on Sunday. JULIE DUPONT led Cincinnati, posting 15 kills against the Cardinals and 10 kills against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. TRISH LADUSAW also contributed, tallying 15 kills for a .233 hitting percentage, while LAURA LAUDER nabbled a team-high 16 digs against the Cardinals. The Bearcats finished the regular-season with a 14-2 mark for the second consecutive season. Cincinnati will have a first round bye as the No. 1 seed and will meet the winner of the Tulane/Memphis game on Friday at 6 p.m. Earlier this season, the Bearcats swept both the Green Wave and the Tigers in regular-season play.

DE PAUL: DePaul went 1-1 in the final weekend of regular-season play, falling 3-1 to Houston, but defeating TCU, 3-1. KATIE ENGEL led the team in kills both nights, tallying 16 against the Cougars and 19 against TCU. STEPHANIE BISHOP knocked down 15 kills and a match-high 19 digs against the Horned Frogs, while MELISSA NORDINE added 14 kills. The 5th-seeded Blue Demons will take on 12th-seeded East Carolina in Friday's first round. DePaul went 2-0 against the Pirates, posting a 3-0 decision and 3-2 win during regular season action.

EAST CAROLINA: The Pirates lost to Memphis, 3-2 and Saint Louis, 3-1 last weekend. However, East Carolina earned its first berth into the C-USA Volleyball Tournament as the No. 12 seed. Senior AMANDA RUDOLPH recorded her 16th double-double of the year after notching 10 kills and 10 digs, while WHITNEY BRAWNER added 12 kills and eight digs. East Carolina will meet No. 5 DePaul in Friday's first round match at 8 p.m.

HOUSTON: JENNIFER WITTENBURG posted a season-high conference record and tied a school single-match record of 37 kills in a 3-1 win against DePaul. She would follow the next night with another 37-kill performance to lead the Cougars against Marquette, 3-0. Junior JENNY TANNEBERGER nearly recorded a triple-double against the Blue Demons with 15 kills, 11 digs and eight blocks. Junior JANE ANNE KARASEK enjoyed consecutive double-double performances with 10 kills and 12 digs against TCU and 12 kills and 15 digs against DePaul. Earning a first round bye, The Cougars will meet the winner of the East Carolina/DePaul match on Friday at 8 p.m.

LOUISVILLE: The Cardinals avenged an earlier home loss by defeating Cincinnati, 3-1 on the road and snapping the Bearcats' school record 16-match win streak. SONJA PERCAN racked up 28 kills to lead Louisville, while ANASTASIA ZAITSEVA recorded 17 kills and 14 digs. JING DING posted an impressive performance, notching 57 assists and 12 digs. Louisville, the defending C-USA Tournament Champions, takes on the winner of the Charlotte/Saint Louis match.

MARQUETTE: The Golden Eagles downed TCU, 3-0, but was swept by Houston, 3-0 last weekend. Against the Horned Frog, freshman JENNIFER AMOBI fired a .594 hitting percentage, which was the highest effort turned in by a Marquette player during head coach LAURA FARINA's tenure at MU. Sophomore GEMMA GREER also tallied 41 assists to post a total of 1,753 in her career. Senior VESNA GRBAVAC has posted 430 kills this season which places her fourth on the school's seasonal chart. No. 6 Marquette will face No. 11 Southern Miss in first round action on Thursday at 3 p.m. Marquette edged Southern Miss, 3-1, during the regular season.

MEMPHIS: Memphis went 2-1 for the weekend, defeating East Carolina, 3-2 and High Point, 3-0, but dropping a 3-2 decision against Charlotte. EMILY EICHMANN and GINGER GARRETT led the Tiger charge, both posting 19 kills against the Pirates. Eichmann finished the week with 47 kills, 27 digs and 11 blocks. Garrett leads Memphis in total kills with 399 for the season. No. 8 Memphis takes on No. 9 Tulane in the first round on Thursday. Earlier this season, the Tigers edged Tulane with a 3-1 win in Memphis.

SAINT LOUIS: The Billikens split their final two games of the regular season, defeating East Carolina, 3-1, but falling to Charlotte, 3-1. COLLEEN HUNTER recorded 18 kills and 11 digs against East Carolina, while also tallying 21 kills and 22 digs against the 49ers. ALYSON MERCHANT posted a strong performance, recording 13 kills and a .367 hitting percentage. No. 7 Saint Louis will face No. 10 Charlotte to open the C-USA Volleyball Tournament on Friday.

SOUTH FLORIDA: South Florida claimed its ninth consecutive win against Tulane, 3-0 on Nov. 11. The Bulls opened their weekend with a 3-0 win over Southern Miss. SHAMEKA MITCHELL fired 17 kills for a .337 attack percentage, while also tallying three solo blocks and four digs. South Florida has a first round bye before playing the winner of the Southern Miss/Marquette game on Friday. The Bulls have won their last nine matches in three games and hold a conference-best of 18-4 in three-game decisions.

SOUTHERN MISS: Southern Miss earned a No. 11 seed into the C-USA Tournament after defeating UAB, 3-0 on Sunday. LISA DOWNEY led the Golden Eagles with 11 kills and a .429 attack percentage. KELLY TRIBBLE also contributed with 10 kills, 11 digs and a team-high .476 hitting percentage. Southern Miss meets No. 6 Marquette on Thursday at 3 p.m. in the C-USA Tournament.

TCU: TCU dropped matches against Marquette, 3-0 and DePaul, 3-1 last weekend. MARCI KING led the Horned Frogs firing 16 kills and 11 digs against the Blue Demons to post her 52nd career double-double performance. JENNIGER CUCA also added 14 kills and nine digs in the loss. The Horned Frogs finish their season with a 7-21 overall mark and 3-13 conference record.

TULANE: Tulane lost to UAB, 3-1 and South Florida, 3-0 last weekend. BRITNEY HURST recorded 11 kills and seven digs, while ANASTASIA KENON fired 10 kills and 13 digs against the Blazers. Hurst also had seven kills and seven digs against South Florida. No. 9 Tulane will meet No. 8 Memphis on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the first round of the C-USA Tournament.

UAB: UAB dropped Tulane, 3-1, but fell 3-0 to Southern Miss last weekend. In the win over the Green Wave, SHELLY GREENE notched 19 kills, six digs and a .333 hitting percentage. MARTINA SHIELDS also contributed 16 kills and 13 digs against Tulane. UAB ends the 2001 season with a 12-17 overall mark and
3-13 league record.