Oct. 30, 2006
LOGAN, Utah -
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THIS WEEK
Utah State (12-14, 5-7) will play one match this week as it hosts 15th-ranked Hawai'i (17-5, 9-1) in a Western Athletic Conference contest on Sat., Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
LOOKING AT UTAH STATE
Utah State is 12-14 on the season and in sixth-place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 5-7 league record after winning at Louisiana Tech in four games and losing at 23rd-ranked New Mexico State in three games last weekend. The Aggies are led by junior opposite side hitter Amanda Nielson who is averaging 5.07 points, 4.12 kills, 2.14 digs, 1.07 blocks, and 0.37 service aces per game, while freshman outside hitter Hailey Jeppson is averaging 3.44 points, 2.96 kills, 2.75 digs, and 0.58 blocks per game. As a team, Utah State is hitting .154 on the year as compared to a .185 hitting percentage for its opponents.
SCOUTING HAWAI'I
Hawai'i is 17-5 on the season and tied for first-place in the WAC with a 9-1 league record following a pair of four-game wins against Idaho and San Jose State at home last weekend. The Rainbow Wahine, who are ranked 15th in the latest AVCA coaches poll, are led by sophomore outside hitter Jamie Houston who is hitting .242 on the season and averaging 5.58 kills and 2.51 digs per game. As a team, Hawai'i is hitting .269 on the season as compared to a .197 hitting percentage for its opponents.
UTAH STATE-HAWAI'I SERIES HISTORY
Utah State is 7-32 all-time against Hawai'i, which includes a 4-9 home record. Overall, USU has lost 18 straight matches against Hawai'i, including a three-game loss in Honolulu earlier this year. The last time the Aggies defeated the Rainbow Wahine was on Nov. 12, 1981 in Logan in five games. The last two times USU has played Hawai'i at home it has lost to the Rainbow Wahine in five games.
VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
Utah State is 8-41 (.163) against ranked opponents over the last seven years, which includes an 0-5 record this season. The last time USU defeated a ranked team was on Sept. 15, 2005, when it defeated then 24th-ranked UC Santa Barbara (3-2).
UTAH STATE AT HOME
Utah State is 58-25 (.699) in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum over the last seven years, which includes a 45-21 (.682) record against conference opponents. This year, USU is 5-3 at home.
NEXT WEEK
Utah State will travel to Pocatello, Idaho to play Idaho State on Tues., Nov. 7 at 7 p.m., before returning to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for its final home match of the season against Nevada on Sat., Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. Prior to its match against the Wolf Pack, USU will honor its lone senior on the team in libero Kelsi Peterson.
RECAPPING LAST WEEKEND
Utah State went 1-1 on the road last week as it defeated Louisiana Tech in four games and lost to 23rd-ranked New Mexico State in three games. Against the Lady Techsters, USU had four players notch double-digits in kills led by Amanda Nielson who had 15 kills to go along with 13 digs and three blocks. Nielson also led USU in kills against the Southern Aggies as she had 11. No other Aggie recorded double-digits in kills in the match.
ANDERSON SETS TWO SCHOOL RECORDS IN FIRST COLLEGIATE START
Sophomore walk-on middle blocker Rebecca Anderson made the most of her first career start for Utah State against Boise State on Oct. 21 and set two school records en route to leading the Aggies to a four-game win against the Broncos. In the contest, Anderson set new school records for a four-game match with 13 block assists and 14 total blocks. The old record for block assists was 10 set by Denae Mohlman in 1997, and the old record for total blocks was 12 set by Amy Bjerke in 1990. Furthermore, the 13 block assists ties the overall school record which was set in 1987 in a five-game match by Amy Olsen.
UTAH STATE SETS TWO SCHOOL RECORDS AGAINST BOISE STATE
Utah State set two school records against Boise State Saturday night with 42.0 block assists and 23.0 team blocks (in a four-game match), breaking the old records of 32.0 block assists and 22.0 team blocks set in 2005 and 1990 respectively.
NIELSON RECORDS FIRST CAREER TRIPLE-DOUBLE
Junior opposite side hitter Amanda Nielson recorded her first career triple-double on Oct. 21 against Boise State as she had 18 kills, 11 digs, and a career-high 11 blocks in the match. Nielson also has seven double-doubles on the season, which is second on the team behind Hailey Jeppson who has 10.
PETERSON SETS NEW DIGS RECORD AT UTAH STATE
Senior libero Kelsi Peterson set a new school record against Fresno State on Oct. 12 as she recorded 36 digs in the five-game loss to the Bulldogs. Those 36 digs breaks the old school record of 34 set by Peterson at Fresno State during the 2005 season. Overall, the 36 digs are the second-most in the WAC this season. On the year, Peterson is averaging 4.48 digs per game.
JEPPSON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman outside hitter Hailey Jeppson was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Sept. 25 after leading Utah State to a pair of league wins against Fresno State and San Jose State. Against the Bulldogs, Jeppson recorded a season-high 21 kills and hit a season-high .308 in the match. She then had 15 kills, 11 digs and five blocks against San Jose State, marking her fifth double-double in her last six matches. In those two WAC matches last weekend, Jeppson averaged 5.06 points, 4.50 kills, 3.00 digs and 0.88 blocks per game.
NIELSON SETS CAREER-HIGHS IN BACK-TO-BACK MATCHES
Junior opposite side hitter Amanda Nielson had one of the best days a player could have in back-to-back matches on Sept. 15. In the first match of the 2006 Oral Roberts Classic against Texas-Arlington, Nielson recorded career-highs with 26 kills and 17 digs, as she hit .243 in the match. Later that day, Nielson bettered those numbers against Arkansas-Little Rock as she recorded 32 kills and 19 digs, while hitting .303. Those 32 kills were the most by a USU player since Erin Cartwright-Davis had 33 kills against Cal State Fullerton during the 2003 season. Nielson then concluded the tournament with 21 kills against Oral Roberts.
UTAH STATE IN THE WAC
As of Oct. 30, Utah State ranks second in the WAC in opponents hitting percentage (.185), third in blocks per game (2.77), seventh in kills per game (13.82), seventh in service aces per game (1.27), seventh in assists per game (12.72), eighth in digs per game (15.16), and eighth in hitting percentage (.154).
NIELSON SECOND IN THE WAC IN POINTS PER GAME
As of Oct. 30, junior opposite side hitter Amanda Nielson is second in the Western Athletic Conference with 5.07 points per game. She also ranks third in the league in kills per game (4.12), sixth in service aces per game (0.37), and ninth in blocks per game (1.07). Other Aggies in the WAC stats include Kelsi Peterson, who ranks fourth in digs per game (4.48); Heather Hillier, who ranks sixth in assists per game (9.52); Melissa Larson, who ranks seventh in blocks per game (1.18); Monaria Ale, who ranks 10th in blocks per game (1.00), and Dani Schaap, who ranks 10th in assists per game (6.24).
FROM THE STATE OF UTAH
Of the 13 players on Utah State's roster, eight are from the state of Utah, while three are from Cache Valley. USU's eight players from the "Beehive State" are juniors Tiffany Morrill (Logan), Amanda Nielson (West Valley City), Melissa Osterloh (Sandy), and Traci Rainey (Smithfield), sophomores Rebecca Anderson (Logan) and Dani Schaap (Salt Lake City), and freshmen Hailey Jeppson (Pleasant Grove) and Danielle Taylor (Springville).
UTAH STATE DOING A GREAT JOB BLOCKING
Despite losing two all-WAC middle blockers from a year ago in Ingrid Roth (first-team) and Erin Graybill (second-team), Utah State is averaging almost as many blocks per game this year as it did a year ago. Last year, USU averaged 2.81 blocks per game to rank third in the WAC, while this year's team is averaging 2.77 blocks per game to rank third in the WAC.
PETERSON HOLDS CAREER DIGS RECORD AT UTAH STATE
Senior libero Kelsi Peterson is Utah State's career leader in digs with 1,494. She also holds the school's single-season record with 510 digs set during the 2005 season. Those 510 digs (3.78 dpg) were the second-most in the Western Athletic Conference in 2005, while her 3.78 digs per game average ranked seventh in the league. Thus far this year, Peterson is averaging 4.48 digs per game, which ranks fourth in the WAC. She also has 417 digs this year which ranks third on USU's single-season charts.
PETERSON MOVING UP IN UTAH STATE RECORDS BOOK
Senior libero Kelsi Peterson currently ranks fifth all-time at Utah State with 426 games played, and is just one match shy of tying for ninth all-time with 116 matches played in a career.
HODGE RANKS AMONG THE TOP-10 ALL-TIME AT UTAH STATE IN KILLS
Junior outside hitter Beth Hodge has 923 career kills which ranks sixth all-time at Utah State, while her 2,538 career attempts rank seventh all-time.
NIELSON ENTERS TOP-10 IN TWO CATEGORIES
Junior opposite side hitter Amanda Nielson entered Utah State's career record books as she now ranks eighth all-time in attacks (2,235) and 10th all-time in kills (747). This year, Nielson has 1,100 attacks which ranks third at USU for a single-season.
OSTERLOH MUST REDSHIRT IN 2006
Junior outside hitter Melissa Osterloh (Sandy, Utah) will have to redshirt during the 2006 season after transferring from Portland State University, where she earned Big Sky Conference all-tournament team honors in 2004.
QUOTING COACH DUBOSE
On last weekends matches ... "Getting a road win, which was our first in league play this year, against an improving Louisiana Tech team was a nice win for us. I was a little disappointed in how we played in the first two games against New Mexico State, but we played much better in the third game."
On hosting Hawai'i this weekend ... "Hawai'i is a good tea, so it will be a challenge for us. They are one of the top teams in the country for a reason, but we do get them at home so hopefully that will help us."
UTAH STATE MATCHES AVAILABLE VIA LIVE WEBCAST AT WAC.TV
All of Utah State's home matches during the 2006 season are available live on your computer via a webcast at WAC.TV. Viewers can access the site at www.wac.tv. USU's home matches are also available at www.utahstateaggies.com.
WAC TOURNAMENT TICKETS ON SALE
Tickets for the 2006 Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament are now available. The volleyball tournament is Nov. 22-24 at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno. Ticket prices for the volleyball tournament are $34 for adults and $19 for senior citizens, children and students for an all-session pass (eight matches; four sessions). All seats are general admission. Parking is included. Single session tickets are also available for $10 for adults and $6 for senior citizens, children and students. Parking is also included. Tickets for the volleyball tournament may be purchased by calling 800-225-2277 (for everywhere but California) or 916-766-2277 or 530-766-2277 (in California) or on-line at www.tickets.com. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Lawlor Ticket Office. Office hours are Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. WAC fans can obtain a room rate at the Circus Circus Hotel by calling 800-894-3588 and requesting the fan rate for the "WAC Volleyball Rate." Rooms are limited and will cost $35.00 on Tuesday-Wednesday, Nov. 21-22, and $89.00 on Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 23-25.
HEAD COACH Grayson DuBose
Grayson DuBose enters his first season as a head volleyball coach after being named Utah State's new coach on March 27, 2006. DuBose (pronounced Do-Boz), a former assistant coach at Utah State from 1999-2000, has spent the last four seasons as an assistant on Brigham Young's men's volleyball team. He replaces Burt Fuller, who resigned in February after posting an 82-70 record in five years, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament. DuBose began his collegiate coaching career at Utah State from 1999-2000 as an assistant to Tom Peterson. During that time, the Aggies won the Eastern Division of the Big West Conference in 1999, and advanced to the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2000, defeating Missouri in the first round. USU finished the 2000 season ranked 22nd in the country, the program's first-ever top-25 ranking. In his four seasons at Brigham Young, DuBose helped lead the Cougar's men's program to a 90-30 (.750) record, including a National Championship in 2004 and a second-place finish at the 2003 NCAA Tournament. DuBose began his coaching career as an assistant for Brighton High School in Sandy, Utah from 1997-98, and also assisted with the Cache Valley Juniors and the Mountain West Volleyball Club during that time period. Following his two-year stint at Utah State, DuBose spent one year as an assistant to Peterson at the University of New Mexico, working with the women's program, before following Peterson to Brigham Young. DuBose played two years of collegiate volleyball at Golden West Community College in Huntington Beach, Calif., after graduating from Edision High School in Huntington Beach where he earned all-county honors his senior season. DuBose graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in history in 1993 and then received his teaching certificate from Utah State University in 1995. He and his wife Lenonnie have three children, Kline (8), Cassandra (6), and Jackson (2).
Year School Overall Conf. NCAA2006 Utah State 12-14 (.462) 5-7 (.417)
PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
Utah State is picked to finish eighth in the Western Athletic Conference according to the league's coaches.1. Hawai'i (8) 642. New Mexico State (1) 573. Nevada 484. Idaho 435. San Jose State 346. Fresno State 267. Boise State 228. UTAH STATE 209. Louisiana Tech 10
