The 2003 C-USA Tournament gets underway on Friday at Fogelman Arena in New Orleans; Cincinnati and Louisville shared the regular season title after both recorded 12-1 conference marks this season; Louisville's Lena Ustymenko earned C-USA Player of the Week honors after leading the Cards to a 3-0 record last week; Get ready for another exciting C-USA Tournament by reading this week's notebook.


C-USA PLAYER OF THE WEEK

LENA USTYMENKO, Louisville
So., OH/MB, Kiev, Ukraine (Seconday School No. 187)

Louisville's LENA USTYMENKO earned Player of the Week honors for the period ending Nov. 16. Utymenko led the Cardinals to a 3-0 record last week with wins over Kentucky, USF and UAB. She also helped Louisville clinch a share of the C-USA regular season title. For the week, Utymenko tallied a hitting percentage of over .300 in all three matches. Against USF, she registered 19 kills and only three errors for a .432 attack percentage, while adding five digs and two block assists. For the week, she averaged 4.9 kills, 5.6 points and 2.0 digs per game.


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

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

Others receiving points and listed on two or more ballots: Wisconsin; Michigan; Florida A&M; San Diego; Arkansas; San Francisco; Ohio; Missouri; Pittsburgh; Maryland; Utah; Colorado; Fresno State; Cal State Northridge; Kansas; Long Beach State.

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

Others receiving votes: Illinois; CINCINNATI; Texas A&M; Southwest Missouri State; Arkansas; Michigan State; Wisconsin; Florida A&M; Ohio; San Diego; Missouri; San Francisco.


C-USA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
Despite falling to USF, 3-1, in the final regular season match on Saturday, Cincinnati clinched the No. 1 seed in the 2003 Conference USA Volleyball Tournament (Friday-Monday, Nov. 21-24) in New Orleans. The Bearcats concluded league action with a 12-1 record, sharing the C-USA regular season title with Louisville, who also finished with a 12-1 conference mark.

With wins over USF and UAB last weekend, the Cardinals (20-4, 12-1) garnered the No. 2 seed. Southern Miss (27-5, 11-2) earned the third seed, while Memphis (28-5, 9-4) captured the fourth seed and the final first round bye for the tournament held at Fogelman Arena.

Action gets underway at 1 p.m. CST on Friday, Nov. 21 as the 10th-seeded TCU Horned Frogs (19-12, 5-8) meet seventh-seeded UAB (14-17, 6-7). The Blazers, who have won five of their last seven matches, will look to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Horned Frogs in regular-season action. The winner of the Houston-TCU match will face No. 2-seed Louisville at 1 p.m., on Saturday. The Cards are aiming for their third Conference USA Tournament title.

Friday's 3 p.m. match features 11th-seeded DePaul (11-19, 3-10), against sixth-seeded Marquette (12-15, 8-5). Last Friday, Marquette swept DePaul, 3-0, improving its win streak to seven matches. The winner of the DePaul-Marquette match squares off with third-seeded Southern Miss on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Golden Eagles earned their highest-ever seeding in the C-USA Tourney, while also posting the most wins in school history with 27 victories.

Friday's evening sessions begin with No. 5 seed and host Tulane (24-6, 9-4) meeting 12th-seeded Saint Louis (9-21, 2-11) at 6 p.m. The Green Wave will look for some home-court magic as they host the C-USA Tournament for the first time. Since falling to then-No. 6 Nebraska on Sept. 6, Tulane has not lost a match at home this season. They currently lead C-USA in home wins with a 16-1 record. The winner of the Tulane-Saint Louis match will then play No. 4 seed Memphis at 6 p.m., on Saturday.

The final first round match pits eighth-seeded Houston (10-18, 6-7) and ninth-seeded USF (12-19, 6-7) at 8 p.m. In earlier regular-season action, the Cougars claimed a 3-2 victory over the Bulls, however, USF will look for some winning momentum after defeating Cincinnati on Saturday and snapping the Bearcat's 14-match winning streak. The winner of the Houston-USF match will face No. 1 seed Cincinnati in Saturday's 8 p.m. quarterfinals. The Bearcats are after their second league tournament title and have been a semifinalist in seven of the first eight C-USA Tournaments.

DÉJÀ VU REGULAR SEASON FINALE
In a case of reverse déjà vu, USF, who was denied an undefeated Conference USA season last year in the season's final game, did the same to Cincinnati on Saturday. The Bearcats, who entered the match with a 12-0 C-USA record, suffered their first and only conference loss against the Bulls. Cincinnati captured its third regular season title, sharing the 2003 crown with Louisville, who also finished the season with a 12-1 league mark. The Cardinals are the only squad in the league's nine-year history to have gone undefeated in C-USA play. In the first year of league action (1995), Louisville notched a 12-0 conference record.

THE 20-PLUS WIN CLUB
For four consecutive years, C-USA has had five schools that compiled 20 or more win seasons. This season, Cincinnati (26-3), Southern Miss (27-5), Memphis (29-4), Tulane (24-6) and Louisville (20-4) have accumulated 20 or more wins, while TCU (19-12) is only one victory away. Five C-USA schools have won 20 or more games in five of the last seven seasons.

2003 C-USA TOURNAMENT
The C-USA Television Network will carry the C-USA Tournament championship game on Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. EST. Don Russell will announce the play-by-play with Amy Prichard providing the commentary. Here is a list of local televisions that will be carrying the game (As of Nov. 3).
Charter Communications- Live
College Sports Television (CSTV), DirecTV Ch. 610 -Live
Comcast Charter Sports Southeast -Live
Cox Sports Television - New Orleans - Live
Fox Sports Net Chicago - Tape Delay on Nov. 25 at 11 a.m. (EST)
Fox Sports Net Florida - Tape Delay on Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. (EST)
Charlotte Cable Television, Ch. 22 - Live
WXIV-TV, Ch. 14 - Greensboro -Live


REGULAR SEASON HISTORY
In the last eight years, Louisville has either claimed or shared a league-record - five C-USA regular season titles. USF follows with three titles, while Cincinnati has claimed three.

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Here are some of the top individual performers in C-USA from Nov. 10-16.

JULIE DUPONT, CIN: Averaged 5.71 kills, 2.71 digs and 1.00 blocks per game, while hitting .206 ... against USF, matched her season-high with 28 kills.

CINTHIA PIVA, HOU: Recorded back-to-back double-double performances against East Carolina and Charlotte last weekend.

THERESA COUGHLIN, MAR: Reached 448 kills for the season, ranking third-best in school history ... only 34 kills shy of the best-ever two-year total in MU history, currently totaling 827 kills in her career.

HEATHER WATTS, MEM: Tallied 118 assists after leading the Tigers to their first-ever first round bye ... currently has 1,654 assists and only needs 24 more to set Memphis' single season record.

ALEXIS COOLEY; SLU: Hit over .300 in both matches last weekend ... posted a career-high 21 kills, the most by a SLU player this season, against Southern Miss

FRAN POZZI, USF: Notched back-to-back double-doubles against Louisville and Cincinnati last weekend ... averaged 4.71 kills and 4.29 digs per game ... set a career high in kills (20) and block assists (8) against Cincinnati.

ANDREA BUSH, USM: Registered 4.80 and 3.50 digs per game ... notched 26 kills and 27 digs against Saint Louis.

DOMINIKA SZABO, TCU: Tallied 31 kills for a .441 hitting percentage in victories over East Carolina and Charlotte last weekend.

C-USA WIN STREAK
Cincinnati had its 14-match win streak snapped by USF on Nov. 15, tying for the fifth longest in C-USA history. Earlier in the season, Memphis also notched a 14-match winning streak before it was snapped on Oct. 10. USF posted the league-record 20 consecutive victories in 2000.

HOMECOURT MAGIC
Since falling to then-No. 6 Nebraska on Sept. 6, Tulane has not lost a match at home this season. They currently lead C-USA in home wins with a 16-1 record. The Green Wave will look for some home-court magic as they host the C-USA Tournament at Fogelman Arena on Nov. 21-24.


THE CARDINAL CONSTANT
Under head coach LEONID YELIN, Louisville has advanced to the last five finals of the C-USA Tournament, winning the title in 2000 and 1998. The Cards lead the league with a total of six championship final appearances.

DID YOU KNOW?
USF might be looking to repeat history when it defends its 2002 C-USA Tournament title this week. The Bulls are the only school to win consecutive C-USA Tournament titles. No C-USA Tournament champion has been able to repeat since USF captured the 1995 and 1996 titles.
C-USA NOTEBOOK

CHARLOTTE: The 49ers closed the 2003 season at Houston on Saturday, falling to the Cougars. It was the third-straight loss for the Niners, who also fell at TCU on Friday. Senior JESSICA KELLY finished her career with 288 total blocks, just 11 short from cracking the school's career top 10 list. She finished her career only four block assists out of the top 10 with 219. This season, ABBEY SZLANFUCHT led the 49ers with 3.33 kills per game, while CHANDA WALLER followed with 2.91 kills per game. Charlotte concluded the 2003 season with an 8-22 overall record and 1-12 conference mark.

CINCINNATI: The Bearcats were one victory away from notching their first-ever undefeated C-USA season, however USF upset UC, 3-1, on Saturday. JULIE DUPONT led Cincinnati to a share of the regular-season title after notching a total of 40 kills for a .206 attack percentage last weekend. Against USF, she matched her season-high with 28 kills on a season-best 72 attempts, racking up 30.5 points in the contest. As the No. 1 seed, Cincinnati has a first-round bye and faces the winner of the Houston-USF match on Saturday.

DE PAUL: Even with a loss to Marquette on Friday, DePaul clinched a berth to the C-USA Tournament. The Blue Demons will look to avenge their loss when they face the Golden Eagles in the first round of the tournament on Friday. MANDY MOORBERG currently leads the Blue Demons with 3.50 kills per game, while AMY HOLMES ranks first on the squad with 3.29 digs per contest.

EAST CAROLINA: The Pirates dropped matches to Houston and TCU last weekend, concluding the 2003 season with a 10-21 overall record and 1-12 league mark. SARAH VICK led the squad with 2.86 kills per game, while JAIME BEVAN followed with 2.56 per contest for a team-high .259 attack percentage.

HOUSTON: Houston picked up its first three-game sweep of the season with victories over ECU and Charlotte last weekend. CINTHIA PIVA recorded her 17th double-double of the season with 19 kills and 10 digs against Charlotte. No. 8 seed Houston takes on ninth-seeded USF in the first round of the C-USA Tournament on Friday.

LOUISVILLE: The Cardinals claimed a share of the regular season title with wins over USF and UAB last weekend. LENA UTYMENKO led U of L with 54 kills for a .382 attack percentage. Louisville is seeded No. 2 and has received a first-round bye in the C-USA Tourney. The Cards will face the winner of the UAB/TCU match on Saturday.



MARQUETTE: Marquette wrapped up its best C-USA campaign ever, with a 3-0 win at DePaul on Friday. In the process, the Golden Eagles stretched their win streak to seven matches. The seven-match streak continues the longest in head coach PATI ROLF's tenure at Marquette. It also ties the fourth-best stretch in program history. The win at DePaul capped off an eventful week for the Marquette volleyball program. The Tuesday night non-conference win against UW-Green Bay closed the book on the Marquette Gym, which has served as home for Marquette for the last 29 years. Next year, the Golden Eagles move the volleyball operations to the newly-opened Al McGuire Center. Fifth-seeded Marquette takes on DePaul in the first round of the C-USA Tournament on Friday.

MEMPHIS: The Tigers fell to Southern Miss but defeated Tulane to earn the final first-round bye of the C-USA Tournament. As the fourth seed, the Tigers face the winner of the Tulane/Saint Louis match on Saturday. HEATHER WATTS recorded four service aces last weekend to move her into eighth place on Memphis' all-time ace list with 144. Watts is also just 24 assists away from breaking the Tiger single season record (1677). Senior BRITTANY BARNETT also capped her home career with 23 kills against Southern Miss and 12 verses Tulane.

SAINT LOUIS: Saint Louis suffered losses to Tulane and Southern Miss last weekend. Both matches were in five games. ALEXIS COOLEY hit over .300 in both matches. She recorded a career-high 21 kills, the most by a SLU player this season, against Southern Miss. The Billikens had won 22 straight matches when totaling more kills than their opponents, but lost to USM despite notching five more kills. SLU had six players reach double-figure digs, including the team's first 30-dig performance as JESSICA KMITTA registered 31 against the Golden Eagles. No. 12 seed Saint Louis takes on Tulane in the first round of the C-USA Tournament.

USF: The Bulls fell to Louisville, but upset Cincinnati on Saturday. It marked the first time in conference play this season that the Bulls won both the first two games and still took home the overall victory. It also marked USF's first win this season over a ranked opponent. SHAMEKA MITCHELL recorded her 1,000th career kill against Louisville. She now has 1,025 kills on her career, and her 2003 total of 538 is already more than her 2001 and 2002 kill totals combined. FRAN POZZI, with two double-doubles this weekend, recorded her fourth-straight double-double. Against Cincinnati, she came in second on the team in kills and led all players with 18 digs, one short of her career high, while also setting a career high in block assists with eight. USF, as the No. 9 seed, takes on Houston in Friday's first round action.

SOUTHERN MISS: Southern Miss finished the regular season with a six-match winning streak, but more importantly a No. 3 seed in the C-USA Tournament. USM's 27 wins are the most victories by a Golden Eagle squad. ANDREA BUSH registered 4.80 kills and 3.50 digs per game last week. NICKI TRIBBLE became the 11th member of the 1,000-kill club following her 15-kill performance against Memphis. Tribble posted consecutive 20-plus dig performances with 26 digs against the Tigers and 22 verses Saint Louis. The Golden Eagles will face the winner of the DePaul-Marquette match on Saturday.

TCU: With wins over East Carolina and Charlotte, TCU recorded its first winning season in school history with a 19-12 overall mark. DOMINIKA SZABO fired off 31 kills and only five errors for a .441 attack percentage. TCU claimed a second consecutive trip to the C-USA Tournament and will face UAB in the opening game of the C-USA Tournament on Friday.

TULANE: Tulane split its matches, defeating Saint Louis, but falling to Memphis last weekend. The Green Wave are hoping for some home court advantage as they host the C-USA Tournament this week for the first-time ever. Tulane leads the league with a 16-1 record at Fogelman Arena this season. Tulane faces Saint Louis in the first round of the tournament on Friday. As the No. 5 seed, the Green Wave have an opportunity to have a virtual do-over of last weekend's road trip to Missouri and Tennessee as the winner of Friday night's contest will take on fourth-seeded Memphis on Saturday at 6 p.m.

UAB: UAB closed out the regular season with losses to Louisville and Cincinnati last weekend. The Blazers clinched the seventh seed in the C-USA Tournament and will face TCU in the opening match on Friday. UAB posted the most wins since the 1997 season with 14 and the Blazers' six conference league victories are the most since joining C-USA in 1995, and the most overall conference wins since 1993. The Blazers are led by MARTINA SHIELDS, who has recorded 14 double-doubles on the season and posted double digits in both points and kills in 23 of the 30 matches she has played in.