C-USA Volleyball Notebook (Nov. 24)

Julie DuPont

2004 CHEVRONTEXACO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Here is a look at this year’s all-tournament selections:

All Tournament Team:
Heather Watts, Memphis
Julie DuPont, Cincinnati
Theresa Couglin, Marquette
Sarah Vernon, Marquette
Jennifer Hoffman, Louisville
*Lena Ustymenko, Louisville

*Tournament MVP

2004 PLAYERS/SETTERS 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)
N1 P- Myanna Hellsten (Cincinnati)
P- Lena Ustymenko (Louisville)
S- Heather Watts (Memphis)
N8 P- Kristina Fabris (USF)
S- Sarah Vernon (Marquette)
N15 P- Erica Heisser (Marquette)
S- Sarah Vernon (Marquette)
S- Heather Watts (Memphis)

AMONG THE RANKED
Here is a look at the Nov. 22, AVCA poll:

USA Today/CSTV poll
1. Hawaii (37)
2. Nebraska (23)
3. Washington (5)
4. Penn State
5. Minnesota
6. Southern California
7. Stanford
8. Ohio State
9. Colorado State
10. Tennessee
11. Texas
12. Florida
13. San Diego
14. California
15. Saint Mary’s (Calif)
16. UCLA
17. UC Santa Barbara
18. Texas A&M
19. Utah
20. LOUISVILLE
21. Arizona
22. Florida A&M
23. Kansas State
24. Missouri
25. Santa Clara

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.

DID YOU KNOW?
Louisville is now the second team since 1996 to repeat as tournament champions. USF is the only other school to win consecutive C-USA Tournament titles with wins in 1995 and ‘96. Here is a look at the last ten champions.

1995 USF
1996 USF
1997 Houston
1998 Louisville
1999 Cincinnati
2000 Louisville
2001 DePaul
2002 USF
2003 Louisville
2004 Louisville

REGULAR SEASON HISTORY
In the last ten years, Louisville either claimed or shared a league-record – six 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)
2004 Louisville (13-0)

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: 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: Amy Truong

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

2004 ChevronTexaco C-USA Tournament
Champion: Louisville
MVP: Lena Ustymenko

CARDS CLAIM 2004 C-USA TOURNAMENT TITLE
Twentieth-ranked Louisville extended its winning mark to an impressive 19 matches following a tough win against the Marquette Golden Eagles for the 2004 ChevronTexaco C-USA Volleyball Tournament title. The win gives Louisville an automatic bid to the 2004 NCAA Volleyball Tournament and gives the Cards’ four C-USA tourney crowns in eight tournament appearances.

The U of L reached their second undefeated conference mark at 13-0 this season, joining the 1995 Cardinal squad that also tabbed a flawless C-USA regular season ledger. The Cardinals now hold a 19-match streak of sweeping their opponents, dating back to Oct. 1, when the DePaul Blue Demons stretched the U of L to a four-game match, while the only five-game showing was a 3-2 decision in Louisville’s favor over Wake Forest on Sept. 17.

“This concludes only two goals of our team’s,” said 2004 Coach of the Year Leonid Yelin. “Our first goal was to remain undefeated through conference play, while the second was to claim the 2004 C-USA tournament title. Now we have to make it through the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament and then we can return home to play regionals in front of our home crowd.”

The Cards had a great offensive night as the team was led by Anastasia Yartseva and All-Tournament honoree Jennifer Hoffman. Yartseva posted ten kills for a .562 hitting percentage, while Hoffman hit .667 with 11 kills. Outside hitter Lena Ustymenko posted a double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs.

All-Tournament selection Theresa Coughlin led the Golden Eagles posting a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs, while teammate Sarah Vernon tallied 40 assists in the match. The match came down to the blocks, however. Louisville outblocked the Eagles 10.0 to 1.0 to claim the victory, 3-0.

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 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 7-7
Big EAST 6-3
Big South 5-2
Big 10 1-6
Big 12 1-3
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 2-9
Southern 10-4
Southland 6-6
SWAC 8-2
Sun Belt 11-6
WAC 1-3
West Coast 1-4

2004 COACHES RECORDS
Coach School Career
Lisa Marston, CHA 74-86 159-165
Reed Sunahara, CIN 118-43 137-83
Dawn Dockstader, DPU 112-142 112-142
Colleen Munson, ECU 52-99 52-99
Bill Walton, HOU 377-240 587-295
Leonid Yelin, LOU 222-63 336-99
Pati Rolf, MAR 49-39 359-208
Carrie Yerty, MEM 167-138 167-138
Anne Kordes, SLU 15-17 15-17
Ricci Luyties, USM 7-20 7-20
Prentice Lewis, TCU 53-43 53-43
Betsy Becker, TUL 109-79 187-137
Melinda Claiborne, UAB 46-105 46-105
Claire Lessinger, USF 9-19 9-19

2004 GAME REC0RDS
School 3 4 5 Total
Charlotte 9-7 6-5 4-2 19-14
Cincinnati 13-4 7-4 1-2 21-10
DePaul 6-10 4-3 2-6 12-19
East Carolina 5-11 3-4 3-3 11-18
Houston 5-10 2-7 2-4 9-21
Louisville 21-0 5-2 1-0 27-2
Marquette 14-4 7-2 1-1 22-7
Memphis 16-4 7-2 4-4 27-10
Saint Louis 6-8 6-3 3-6 15-17
Southern Miss 3-11 1-7 3-2 7-20
TCU 8-4 9-2 4-3 21-9
Tulane 12-6 2-3 3-1 17-10
UAB 0-21 1-2 0-1 1-24
USF 6-11 1-6 2-2 9-19

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

HITTING PERCENTAGE
.750 (18-0-24) by Deva Fowler (TUL) vs. Jackson State, 11/9

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

ASSISTS
81 by Heather Watts (MEM) vs. TCU, 11/11

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

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

BLOCKS
16 by Janet Goreham (DPU) vs. Tulane, 11/6 and by Deva Fowler (TUL) vs. Saint Louis, 10/8

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

ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS
All-Conference First Team
Aida Antanaviciute, Saint Louis
**Julie DuPont, Cincinnati
Jaci Gonzalez (L), Houston
Bing Sun, Louisville
Dominika Szabo, TCU
Lena Ustymenko, Louisville
++Heather Watts (S), Memphis

All-Conference Second Team
Theresa Coughlin, Marquette
Deva Fowler, Tulane
Tiara Gilkey, Memphis
Rachel Torblaa, Cincinnati
Sarah Vernon (S), Marquette
Talaya Whitfield (L), TCU
Anastasia Yartseva, Louisville

All-Conference Third Team
Janet Goreham, DePaul
Ellen Hayes (L), DePaul
Myann Hellsten, Cincinnati
Jennifer Hoffman, Louisville
Erin Ludeke (S), TCU
Kelly McAnelly, Houston
Anna Vaughn, TCU

All-Freshman Team
Svetlana Dukule, Louisville
^^Kristina Fabris, USF
Sutton Lasater, Saint Louis
Elenda Pilnikova, Louisville
Kimberly Todd, Marquette
Talaya Whitfield, TCU

**Player of the Year
++Setter of the Year
^^Freshman of the Year

Coach of the Year
Leonid Yelin, Louisville

Defensive Player of the Year
Jaci Gonzalez, Houston

C-USA NOTEBOOK
CHARLOTTE: Charlotte wrapped up its 2004 season in the opening-round match at the ChevronTexaco C-USA Tournament on Friday night. The 49ers fell to Tulane, 3-1 to end the season with a 19-14 record overall. By winning 19 matches this season, Charlotte posted its highest win total since going 22-13 in 1994. This year also marked the highest number of wins under Marston's leadership, and was more than double the team's output from last season. Juniors Abbey Szlanfucht and Lisa Newell ranked among the C-USA leaders in multiple categories this year, while senior setter Molly McDonald was second among the conference leaders in assists per game. McDonald, playing in her final season, posted the second-best single-season assist total in school history and finishes her career in third on the school's all-time assists chart.

CINCINNATI: The Bearcats struggled against Marquette’s Golden Eagles in the semifinal play of the 2004 ChevronTexaco Conference USA Tournament Sunday night as Cincinnati eventually fell to Marquette, 3-1. Julie DuPont had a match-high 22 kills for the Bearcats, while adding 18 digs. Maria Pongonis added 11 kills, while Myanna Hellsten and Rachel Torblaa each had 10. With the defeat the Bearcats fall to 21-10 on the year. The Bearcats will host a pair of non-conference matches over the Thanksgiving holiday, with Mid-American Conference Champions Ohio (27-2) for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Friday. Dayton (23-7), winners of last weekend’s Atlantic 10 Tournament, will be the Bearcats’ opponent on Senior Night, which takes place Saturday at 4 p.m.

DE PAUL: The Blue Demons ended their 2004 season with a 3-0 loss to Memphis in the first round of the ChevronTexaco Conference USA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 19 at Cardinal Arena. Amy Holmes led the Blue Demons with a .444 hitting percentage for the match, while Morgan Ingersoll had a team-high 11 kills.

EAST CAROLINA: East Carolina fell to the Houston Cougars, 3-0, in the first round of the ChevronTexaco Conference USA Volleyball Tournament last week. The Pirates (11-18, 5-9 C-USA) dropped the first three games by scores of 18-30, 23-30, and 29-31. Freshman outside hitter Mignon Dubenion led all Pirates with 12 kills, while junior middle blocker Paige Howell collected nine and freshman outside hitter Kelley Wernert collected eight. Sophomore setter Heidi Krug led the offense with 35 set assists. The Pirates finish the 2004 season with an overall record of 11-8, 5-9 in C-USA play.

HOUSTON: Houston beat East Carolina in the first-round of the C-USA tourney only to face top-seeded Louisville on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. The Cougars dropped three-sets to the No. 20 ranked Cardinals to wrap up their league action. On the year, four Cougars have posted kill totals in excess of 300, led by 2004 All-Conference third team performer Kelly McAnelly, who has 445 on the season. Defensively, the team is backed by the 2004 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, junior libero Jaci Gonzalez, who is averaging 5.52 digs per game with 613 on the season, both of which are C-USA and school records. Houston will return to action in the C-USA/SEC Challenge to face Alabama at 5:00 p.m. (CST) on Friday night and the face LSU in the Cougars' final match of 2004 at 7:00 p.m.

LOUISVILLE: U of L swept the Marquette Golden Eagles 30-24, 30-22, 30-24 on their way to winning the 2004 Conference USA Championship Monday night in Cardinal Arena. The Cardinals did not lose a single game in the three tournament matches. U of L was led by Tournament MVP Lena Ustymenko's 15 kills and 11 digs and Bing Sun's nine kills and 12 digs. With the win Louisville earned Conference USA's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as well as extended its match win streak to 19 and its game win streak to 54. The Cardinals have one more match this Saturday against Pittsburgh at 7:30 p.m. in Cardinal Arena before the NCAA Pairings Selection on Sunday evening.

MARQUETTE: Marquette wrapped up its 2004 regular season in its first-ever Conference USA title match. The Golden Eagles fell to 20th-ranked Louisville, 3-0 with scores of 30-24, 30-22, 30-24. Junior outside hitter Theresa Coughlin recorded 14 kills to lead Marquette in the match, while freshman outside hitter Kimberley Todd had 12 kills and sophomore outside hitter Jamie Mueller landed 11.

MEMPHIS: Memphis was eliminated from the 2004 ChevronTexaco C-USA Tournament after dropping a 3-0 decision to the top-seeded Louisville Cardinals Sunday afternoon in the tournament's semifinal round. Nancy Nellans led the Tigers with 12 kills, while setter Heather Watts posted 33 assists and Tiara Gilkey downed eight kills in the duo's final match as Tigers. Memphis finishes the season 27-10, marking the program's second consecutive 25-plus-win campaign. An All-Tournament Team selection Watts, league in assists all year, capped a stellar career by breaking the C-USA mark for assists in a single season. She broke the previous record of 1,792 assists, which she set in 2003, with a 61-assist performance in the Tigers' five-game victory over TCU in the quarterfinal round. Watts, who also earned C-USA Setter of the Year honors prior to the tournament, finished the year with 1,830 assists.

SAINT LOUIS: Saint Louis dropped a 3-0 decision to Cincinnati in the quarterfinals of the 2004 ChevronTexaco Conference USA Volleyball Tournament Saturday in Louisville, Ky. The seventh-seeded Billikens end their season at 15-17. Lauren Boissevain narrowly missed posting her second consecutive triple-double with 16 assists, 10 digs and nine kills on the match. Aida Antanaviciute led the Billikens with 12 kills, while Jessica Kmitta had a match-high 12 digs.

SOUTHERN MISS: The Golden Eagles snapped a nine-match losing streak, sweeping both USF and UAB to close out the 2004 regular season. Amanda Blunck finished the weekend with 24 kills and 27 digs, while just missing a double-double against USF with nine kills and 11 digs. Amy Truong became only the 10th player in school history to record over 1,000 digs in a career. The Golden Eagles had participated in every conference tournament since the induction in 1995; before failing to qualify this year.

TCU: The Horned Frogs fell to Memphis for the first time in four meetings in the second round of the Conference USA tournament on Saturday. TCU posted a five-game win over the Tigers in its regular season; however, Memphis took this five-gamer win and advanced to the semifinals. TCU has had its best season ever, tallying a 10-3 league mark and a 21-9 overall record. Both win counts (10 and 21) represent the most the Frogs have ever managed in a single season under each category. This is the second season in a row the Frogs have been victorious in 20 or more matches. Finishing in a three-way tie for second in conference after being an eighth place pre-season pick, the Frogs played their way into a first-round bye at the league tournament.

TULANE: Freshman Sarah Weiland had a double-double with 17 kills and 10 digs, and set a conference tourney record with seven service aces, as No. 5 seed Tulane survived a slugfest over 11th-seeded Charlotte, 3-1, in the first round of the 2004 ChevronTexaco C-USA Tournament Friday evening at Cardinal Arena. The Green Wave fell the following evening to Marquette as the squad was led by senior middle blocker Deva Fowler. Fowler had 13 kills and a pair of blocks in the final match of the Green Wave’s regular season. The team conclude the 2004 season this weekend at the SEC/C-USA Challenge in Baton Rouge, La. Tulane will take on arch-rival LSU on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and close out the year on Saturday at 3 p.m. vs. Alabama.

UAB: The Blazers finished their 2004 regular season action as the team fell to league opponents Tulane and Southern Miss. UAB’s freshman Nicole Bowland led the Blazers with 12 kills in the team’s 3-1 loss to USM on Saturday, Nov. 13. This is the first year since 2001 that UAB has not clinched a berth in the C-USA tournament. The Blazers held the seventh-seed in 2003 and the No. 9 seed in 2002.

USF: The Bulls posted a tough-fought 3-2 loss to Saint Louis in this year’s C-USA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 19 in Cardinal Arena. 2004 C-USA Freshman of the Year Kristina Fabris led the Bulls with 19 kills, just one more than fellow freshman Michelle Stalbaum, who notched 18 in the loss along with 12 digs for one of the Bulls’ two double-doubles on the evening. Junior Flavia Silveira and sophomore Johari Williams tallied 16 kills apiece, while Williams’ 10 digs gave her the other double-double. USF concludes its 2004 regular season today when the Bulls take on the Miami Hurricanes at 4 p.m.