Cincinnati, DePaul and Louisville have all earned a berth into the 2001 NCAA Tournament, marking the fourth straight year that Conference USA has sent at least three teams to the NCAA Tournament; Gear up for another C-USA Volleyball postseason by reading this week's notebook.

NATIONAL POLLS
Here is a look at the Nov. 26 AVCA/USA Today Poll.
1. Long Beach State
2. Nebraska
3. Stanford
4. Arizona
5. USC
6. Wisconsin
7. Florida
8. Pepperdine
9. Colorado State
10. Ohio State
11. Hawaii
12. Pacific
13. Utah
14. UCLA
15. Texas A&M
16. Penn State
17. Northern Iowa
18. Kansas State
19. BYU
20. Michigan State
21. Illinois
22. Santa Clara
23. South Carolina
24. UC Santa Barbara
25. Notre Dame

Others receiving points and listed on two or more ballots: Colorado (35), Oregon State (23), Arkansas (17), San Jose State (14), Utah State (8), Cincinnati (8), Northern Illinois (6), San Diego (5), North Carolina (2).

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

1. Louisville
2. Cincinnati
3. DePaul
4. UW Wisconsin
5. South Florida
6. Loyola
7. Houston
8. Wright State
9. Marquette
10. Eastern Illinois

THREE TEAMS TO NCAA'S
Three Conference USA teams have advanced to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. This marked the fourth straight year that Conference USA has sent at least three teams to the NCAA Tournament. C-USA has produced 20 NCAA teams in its first seven seasons

DePaul (26-7) earned C-USA's automatic bid to the NCAA's after capturing the Healthy Choice Conference USA Tournament and takes a five-match winning streak into its first round showdown with Minnesota (17-12) on Nov. 30 at 5:30 p.m. (CST) in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Cincinnati (22-8), C-USA Regular Season Champion, travels up Interstate 71 to Columbus, Ohio for a first round meeting with Xavier (25-5) on Nov. 30 at 4:00 p.m (CST). Louisville (28-6), who finished second at the Healthy Choice C-USA Tournament, will host its second-ever NCAA first and second round on Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The Cardinals will face Georgia Tech (19-8) on Friday at 7:00 p.m. (CST).

The Big 12 led all conferences with eight teams selected. The Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences each placed six teams in the field, followed by the Big West and Mountain West conferences with four. The first and second round matches will be played at 16 different campus sites from Nov. 30-Dec. 2, and the regionals will be held Dec. 6-9 at campus locations yet to be determined. San Diego State will host the national semifinals and finals Dec. 13-15 in San Diego at the Cox Arena.

Louisville will be making its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth in the last nine years. The Cardinals advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1996 and 1998. Last season, Louisville suffered a 3-1 loss to Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Cincinnati is making its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth overall. The Bearcats head to Columbus for the second consecutive year. Last year, the Bearcats lost to No. 20 Notre Dame in the first round of the tournament at St. John Arena in Columbus. Cincinnati, who posted their seventh-consecutive 20-plus win season with a 22-7 record, will face Xavier (25-5) in the first round.

DePaul earned only its second NCAA berth in school history after winning the C-USA Tournament. In 1993, DePaul fell to Florida State, 3-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Demons will face Minnesota in the first round.

DEPAUL CLAIMS 2001 C-USA TOURNAMENT
DePaul defeated Louisville, 3-2 (30-25, 30-27, 26-30, 25-30, 15-12) in the 2001 Healthy Choice C-USA Volleyball Championship game at Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston. The Blue Demons, who posted wins over No. 12 East Carolina (3-0), No. 4 Houston (3-1) and No. 1 Cincinnati (3-1) in the tournament to advance to the finals, claimed their first C-USA Tournament title in school history. The win also marked the first time ever in league history that a No. 5 seed won the championship.

KATIE ENGEL led the Blue Demon's offense attack with 26 kills, a .344 hitting percentage and 17 kills, while KARA JAKSUZ nabbed 74 assists. STEPHANIE BISHOP also tallied 19 kills and a match-high 19 digs, while MELISSA NORDINE added 10 kills.

Louisville's ANASTASIA ZAITSEVA compiled a match-high 28 kills and LESLEY DRURY added 11 kills. STACEY MERCER set a tournament record with 10 block assists, while JING DING tallied 63 assists and 17 digs.

ALL-TOURNAMENT AWARDS
At the 2001 C-USA Championships, KARA JAKUSZ was named Tournament MVP, while Cincinnati's BONITA WISE, Marquette's MEGHAN DEVINE, DePaul's STEPHANIE BISHOP and Louisville's SONJA PERCAN and ANASTASIA ZAITSEVA were named the the All-Tournament Team.

CINCINNATI CLINCHED
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 outright.

COACHING MILESTONES
Louisville head coach LEONID YELIN reached his 250th win against Cincinnati on Nov. 9. He currently has a career record of 255-84 in 11 years of coaching.

20-PLUS SEASONS
Five C-USA schools earned 20-win seasons this year for the second consecutive time. During the 2001 regular season, Cincinnati (22-7), DePaul (24-8), Louisville (25-6), Memphis (22-10) and South Florida (21-8) all earned 20 or more wins.

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 2,043 and breaking former Bearcat Becky Tenkman's mark of 1,843 (1995-98). Bishop also claimed the digs record with a total of 1,836 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 1,643 this season. She now has compiled 6,411 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 97 service aces to move into first on the league's all-time list with 234 aces. Ozlem Ozkan of Charlotte (1997-2000) held the old record of 195 service aces.

C-USA NOTEBOOK

CHARLOTTE: Charlotte fell in the first round of the Healthy Choice C-USA Volleyball Tournament to Saint Louis, 3-0. KATIE HALL led the 49ers with 11 kills, while KATHLEEN RAMOS added 12 digs. The 49ers ended the 2001 season with a 15-15 overall mark and 5-11 conference record. COURTNEY BURG was named second-team all-league.

CINCINNATI: Cincinnati swept both Xavier and Dayton at the Conference USA/Atlantic 10 Challenge last weekend. Against Dayton, JULIE DUPONT led the Bearcats, tallying 16 kills and no errors with a team season-high attack percentage of .667. She also added nine digs and three aces. C-USA Freshman of the Year BECKY STAHL followed with 14 kills, five digs and four blocks, while Defensive Player of the Year TRISH LADUSAW nabbed a match-high 18 digs. Cincinnati earned its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA's and will play Xavier on Friday at 4 p.m. in Columbus Ohio.

DE PAUL: DePaul claimed its first Healthy Choice C-USA Volleyball Tournament Championship after downing Louisville, 3-2. KARA JAKUSZ nabbed 74 assists and nine digs against the Cardinals to be named the Tournament MVP. KATIE ENGEL also led the team with 26 kills for a .344 hitting percentage. The Blue Demons became the first No. 5 seed to win the tournament, after defeating No. 12 East Carolina (3-0), No. 4 Houston (3-0), No. 1 Cincinnati (3-1) and No. 2 Louisville (3-2). STEPHANIE BISHOP was also named to the All-Tournament team. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Demons will face Minnesota on Friday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

EAST CAROLINA: The Pirates fell in the first round of the Healthy Choice C-USA Tournament to eventual winner DePaul in the first round. AMANDA RUDOLPH notched 13 kills to lead the Pirates, while ROBYN DREWES added seven kills and six blocks. East Carolina finished the season with an 8-21 overall mark and 3-13 conference record.

HOUSTON: Houston ended its season with a 3-2 win over SMU on Nov. 21. C-USA Player of the Year JENNIFER WITTENBURG blasted 35 kills with 31 digs for her seventh consecutive double-double and fourth straight match with at least 30 kills. JANE ANNE KARASEK and JENNY TANNEBERGER also registered double-doubles of their own for the Cougars. Karasek registered 17 kills and 16 digs, while Tanneberger added 16 kills and 14 digs. Houston's streak of 10 consecutive NCAA trips was ended when the Cougars did not receive a bid to this year's tournament. Houston finishes the 2001 season with a 16-11 overall mark and 12-4 conference record.

LOUISVILLE: The Cardinals defeated Xavier, 3-2 and Dayton, 3-0 last weekend in the Conference USA/Atlantic 10 Challenge. Against Xavier, ANASTASIA ZAITSEVA (21 kills; 10 digs) and LESLEY DRURY (17 kills; 19 digs) both posted double-double performances, while STACEY MERCER tallied eight total blocks. Zaitseva would lead the Cardinals against Dayton, with 15 kills and two blocks. Louisville will host Georgia Tech on Friday at 7 p.m. in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

MARQUETTE: Marquette ended its 2001 season with a 3-2 loss to Tennessee on Nov. 23. VESNA GRBAVAC posted 14 kills and a match-high 17 digs against the Vols. Tennessee outhit the Golden Eagles .242 to .161 for the win. Marquette concludes the 2001 season with a 19-13 overall mark and 9-7 conference record.

MEMPHIS: The Tigers fell to No. 1 Cincinnati, 3-0 in the semifinal round of the C-USA Volleyball Tournament. ADRIANNE EDMONDS led Memphis for the tournament, compiling 25 kills and 17 digs. GINGER GARRETT followed with 21 kills, while AMIE HAMILTON tallied 78 assists, 3 service aces and six blocks in the tournament. Hamilton claimed second-team all-league honors

SAINT LOUIS: The Billikens downed Charlotte in the first round (3-0), before falling to Louisville, 3-0, at the Healthy Choice C-USA Volleyball Tournament. For the tournament, COLLEEN HUNTER tallied 47 kills, 19 digs and five blocks to lead Saint Louis. Hunter earned first-team All-C-USA honors.

SOUTH FLORIDA: South Florida was eliminated in the first round by Marquette, 3-1. MICHELLE COLLIER blasted a match-high 29 kills and 15 digs, while RACHEL JOBES tallied a team-high 11 blocks. ALESSANDRA DOMINGOS, who compiled 41 assists against Marquette, was named the C-USA Setter of the Year. Collier was also named to the first-team All-Conference team.

SOUTHERN MISS: Southern Miss ended with a loss to Marquette, 3-1 in the first round of the Healthy Choice C-USA Volleyball Tournament. ANDREA BUSH led the Golden Eagles with 24 kills and 14 digs.

TCU: TCU dropped matches against Marquette, 3-0 and DePaul, 3-1 at the end of regular season play. MARCI KING led the Horned Frogs firing 16 kills and 11 digs against the Blue Demons to post her 52nd career double-double performance. The Horned Frogs finish their season with a 7-21 overall mark and 3-13 conference record.

TULANE: Tulane's season ended with a first round loss to Memphis, 3-0 at the Healthy Choice C-USA Volleyball Tournament. The Green Wave ends with a 16-14 overall mark and 7-9 conference record.

UAB: UAB dropped Tulane, 3-1, but fell 3-0 to Southern Miss in the last weekend of regular season play. In the win over the Green Wave, SHELLY GREENE notched 19 kills, six digs and a .333 hitting percentage. UAB ended the 2001 season with a 12-17 overall mark and 3-13 league record. BRITNEY HURST and ANASTASIA KENON were named to the second-team All-C-USA team, while RACHEL JOBES earned All-Freshman honors.