Sept. 22, 2010
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State's women's volleyball team will open Western Athletic Conference play on the road as it faces No. 5 Hawai'i on Thursday, Sept. 23 at 11 p.m. (MT). The Rainbow Wahine are the 14-time defending regular season WAC Champions.
Utah State is 12-1 on the season after defeating Loyola Marymount (3-2) and UC Riverside (3-1), and losing to Utah Valley (3-2) in its own Utah State Invitational last weekend. USU is led by junior outside hitter Liz McArthur who is hitting .271 and averaging 4.40 kills, 1.90 digs, 0.52 blocks and 0.33 service aces per set. Sophomore outside hitter Josselyn White is hitting .178 and averaging 2.52 kills, 1.71 digs and 0.98 blocks per set, while senior setter Chelsea Fowles is hitting .318 and averaging 10.06 assists, 2.19 digs, 0.94 kills, 0.69 blocks and 0.40 service aces per set. As a team, Utah State is hitting .240 on the year as compared to a .158 hitting percentage for its opponents.
With is 12-1 record, Utah State is tied with the 1979 AIAW National Runner-up team for the third-best start to a season in school history as that team also won 12 of its first 13 matches. USU's 12 wins thus far this year are tied with Boise State, Indiana, Ohio State and UNC-Greensboro for the sixth-most wins in the country at the Division I level. Syracuse has the most wins with 16, followed by Drake (15), Wyoming (14), Northern Illinois (13) and St. John's (13).
Hawai'i, who is ranked No. 5 in the country in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, is 10-1 on the season after sweeping Brigham Young in a pair of matches last weekend. The Rainbow Wahine are led by junior outside hitter Kanani Danielson who is hitting .317 and averaging 4.63 kills, 2.68 digs and 0.63 blocks per set. Hawai'i is hitting .254 on the season and holding its opponents to a .152 hitting percentage. UH returns four starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team that went 32-3 overall including a perfect 16-0 in WAC play. Hawai'i lost to Penn State in four sets in the national semifinals last year to end its season.
Utah State is 8-38 all-time against Hawai'i, which includes a 4-18 road record. The last time the two teams played in Hawai'i was on Nov. 8, 2009 with UH winning in three sets. The last time USU won at Hawai'i was on Nov. 11, 2007 as the Aggies shocked then No. 10 Hawai'i in three sets (30-28, 31-29, 30-27) to snap a 108-conference match home winning streak for the Rainbow Wahine. It was also the first win for USU against UH in its last 20 meetings overall.
Utah State, who is 4-0 on the road this year, is 10-52 against ranked teams during the last 10 years and its last win against a ranked opponent was when it defeated then No. 15 Purdue on Sept. 13, 2008 in five sets at a tournament hosted by the University of Utah.
Since the 1990 season, Utah State is 8-12 (.400) in conference openers, which includes a 3-7 (.300) record on the road. Since joining the WAC, USU is 4-1 in conference openers, which includes a 1-1 road record. USU is also 43-37 (.538) in WAC play, which includes a 15-25 (.375) record on the road.
