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Sept. 13, 2005

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COUGARS HIT THE ROAD FOR ZAGS, MIDWEST: The Washington State volleyball team takes its 4-3 record on the road this week...first up is Gonzaga (6-4) Tuesday at Spokane...WSU flies to the Billiken Classic tournament to take on Middle Tennessee State (10-1) Friday night, University of Oakland (1-9) Saturday morning, and hosts Saint Louis University (4-6) Saturday night...these are the final pre-conference tune-ups before the Cougs take on the No. 2 Washington Huskies to open the Pacific-10 Conference season.

GONZAGA BULLDOGS (6-4): Tuesday, WSU travels to Spokane to take on Gonzaga (7 p.m., Martin Center), at 6-4 already two wins over its 2004 total of four...Zags, who won the Gardner-Webb Over the Mountain Invite (NC) Sept. 3, lost two of three matches at the Montana Invite last weekend...GU did defeat UC Davis, 3-1, a team WSU lost to 3-2 the previous weekend...sophomore OH Becky Jones leads the Zags with 4.25 kpg and 3.25 dpg...sophomore MB Briawna Mueller brings a 1.14 bpg average...Head Coach Kip Yoshimura (18-79/4 years at GU; 269-151/13 years career)...LAST TIME - Sept. 14, 2004, WSU won 3-0 (30-19, 30-25, 30-28) at Pullman...SERIES RECORD - WSU leads 28-9 (WSU streak +15 - last GU win, 3-2, Nov. 13, 1990 at Spokane).

COUGAR COACHING STAFF: Brian Heffernan returns for his second season at WSU (9-29 career record)...WSU's assistant coaches are Jody Garry (second year) and Ken Ko (first year).

BLOCKING, BLOCKING, BLOCKING: After six matches, the Cougars have a 3.96 blocks per game average which is the best of the Pac-10 schools...three players average more than one block per game and have played in at least 21 of WSU's 26 games: Natalia Owens (2.04 bpg), Jen Barcus (1.42 bpg), Gwen Davis (1.10 bpg)...additionally, Brittany Johnson has a 1.64 bpg average in 11 games...WSU's 2004 average was 2.35 bpg...the 2004 national champions Stanford had a 3.32 bpg average...WSU also leads Pac-10 in digs 18.65 dpg.

LAST WEEK: WSU took second place at its own Baden Cougar Challenge Tournament...Cougs defeated Oral Roberts 3-1 (27-30, 30-25, 30-27, 30-27) and Buffalo 3-1 (30-23, 24-30, 30-24, 30-25) before falling to neighbors to the East, Idaho, 3-0 (30-27, 30-22, 30-21)...Natalia Owens (37 kills, .232 hpct, 22 blocks, 25 digs) and Jessie Camp (26 kills, 4 digs, 4 blocks) were named to the all-tournament team...WSU had its best hitting percentage (.233) in the 3-1 win over Buffalo (57 kills, 19 errors, 163 attacks).

BILLIKENS CLASSIC OPPONENTS:
MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE BLUE RAIDERS (10-1, pending 9/13 match at Austin Peay): Located in Murfreesboro, Tenn., MTSU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference...won the Blue Raider Bash Tournament Sunday with wins over IUPUI (3-2), UT Martin (3-0), Tennessee Tech (3-1) and McNeese State (3-2)...only loss of year was 3-1 defeat by UTEP...junior Opposite Andressa Lyra (Brazil) leads the team with 4.60 kpg (.285)...sophomore MB Lindsay Sisco is the team blocks leader with 1.23 bpg...junior setter Megan Sumrell averages 11.88 apg...team hitting percentage is .270 and the Blue Raiders have held opponents to .154...Head Coach Matt Peck (27-15/2 years at MTSU; 570-211/21 years career)...SERIES RECORD - First meeting.

OAKLAND UNIVERSITY GOLDEN GRIZZLIES (1-9): Located in Rochester, Mich., OU is a member of the Mid-American Conference...win came against Elon (3-1) Sept. 6...has not played a home match yet this season...senior OH/MH Heather Lippert leads the squad with 3.38 kpg, .235 hitting percentage and 1.00 bpg...senior setter Becca moller has 9.88 apg...freshman libero Lauren Duquette has a 4.74 digs per game average...Golden Grizzlies hit .125 as a team and opponents have hit .250...Head Coach Dave Schmidlin (12-54/3 years at OU; 28-71/4 years career)...SERIES RECORD - First meeting.

SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY BILLIKENS (4-6): Member of the Atlantic 10 Conference...wins have come against Southeast Missouri State (3-1), Arkansas-Little Rock (3-1), Bradley (3-0), and Drake (3-1)...losses to No. 24 Kansas State, and Pacific and Kansas, teams who have received votes for top 25 poll...Russian junior newcomer, OH Tatyana Menshikova leads the Billikens with 5.47 kpg (.206)...sophomore MB Sutton Lasater has a 1.26 bpg average...senior Erin McClanahan has a 3.32 digs per game average...SLU is hitting .203 and opponents are hitting .233...Head Coach Anne Kordes (19-23/2 years)...LAST TIME - Sept. 12, 2003, Saint Louis defeated WSU 3-1 (30-26, 29-31, 30-19, 30-24) at the WSU Cougar Mania Tournament, Pullman...SERIES RECORD - Saint Louis leads 1-0 (WSU streak -1).

NATIONAL ATTENDANCE: Hawai'i continues it domination of the nation in volleyball attendance with an average of 7,114 in the six home matches of 2005...the highest ranked Pac-10 school is Washington State at 20th with a three-match average of 712 fans, including the 1,186 fans at the WSU-Idaho match Sept. 10.

CURRENT PAC-10 STANDINGS (9/12/05):

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FROM THE PAC-10 CONFERENCE (TOP 10): Individual Overall Matches (Leader)
Kills - no WSU player (Kim Glass, Arizona 4.65 kpg)
Hitting Percentage - no WSU player (Alesha Deesing, Washington .641)
Assists - 7th Gwen Davis 8.95 apg (Courtney Thompson, Washington 14.62 apg)
Service Aces - no WSU player (Samantha Carter, California 1.00 sapg)
Digs - 4th Jalen Pendon 4.58 dpg (Sydney Donahue, Arizona State 6.52 dpg)
Blocks - 1st Natalia Owens 2.04 bpg, 2nd Jen Barcus 1,42 bpg
Points - no WSU player (Kelly Russell, Oregon 5.52 ppg)

TEAM STATISTICS FROM THE PAC-10 CONFERENCE (TOP 10): Team Overall Matches (Leader)
Kills - WSU is 10th with 13.08 kpg (Washington 17.14 kpg)br> Hitting Percentage - WSU is 10th at .164 (Washington .485)br> Opponent Hitting Pct - WSU is 4th at .148 (Washington .032)br> Assists - WSU is 10th at 11.85 apg (Stanford 15.67 apg) Service Aces - WSU is 4th at 1.85 sapg (California 2.75 sapg)br> Digs - WSU is 1st at 18.65 dpgbr> Blocks - WSU is 1st at 3.96 bpgbr>

HOW ABOUT THOSE COUGS?
#13 Jen Barcus (6-1, MB, Jr, Nine Mile Falls, Wash.) Three-year starter...named to UC Davis Aggie Invite All-Tournament Team...second in Pac-10 to teammate Natalia Owens in blocks per game with 1.42...second on team kills with 2.85 kpg with best hitting percentage of .228...had career-high 12 digs versus UC Davis...seven blocks against Toledo and UC Davis...double-figure kills in five of seven matches.
#8 Jessie Camp (6-1, OH, Jr, Gresham, Ore.) Battled injuries much of WSU career...named to Baden Cougar Challenge All-Tournament Team...tied career-high of 12 kills vs. Buffalo...averaging 2.17 kpg and 0.58 blocks per game.
#3 Gwen Davis (6-0, S, RS-Jr, Walla Walla, Wash.) First year playing at WSU...had 49 assists and 15 digs against UC Davis...had six blocks including three solos versus Toledo...six kills, 16 digs and four aces in Buffalo win.
#7 Te'Ara Epps (6-1, MB, Sr, Tulare, Calif.) A transfer from Div. III Cal State Los Angeles...made Cougar debut in the 3-1 win over Oral Roberts, garnering 10 kills (.308 hpct) and 8 blocks...after sitting out WSU's first five matches with an abdominal strain, Epps broke a bone in her thumb and had to sit out both matches Saturday.
#17 Adetokunbo Faleti (5-10, OH, Jr, Arlington, Texas) Redshirting 2005 season. #5 Carly Hayashikawa (5-5, L/DS, So, Waikoloa, Hawai'i) Had career-high 13 digs in Oral Roberts match...landed two aces in both ORU and Buffalo wins.
#19 Brittany Johnson (5-9, OH, Fr, Phoenix, Ariz) Enrolled at WSU in January 2005...participated in spring drills...missed the Portland match after suffering an ankle sprain during preseason practice...had nine kills and seven blocks against UC Davis...subbed in during Oral Roberts and Idaho matches...four kills and six blocks versus Idaho.
#10 April Lott (6-0, MB, Jr, Kennewick, Wash.) Providing 1.35 kpg and 1.80 dpg...had career-high 13 digs in win over Buffalo.
#9 Natalia Owens (6-1, MB, Sr, Lima, Peru) Named to UC Davis Aggie Invite All-Tournament Team...against UC Davis landed 16 kills (.357), three aces, 26 digs and 12 blocks...named to Baden Cougar Challenge All-Tournament Team...landed high of 19 kills in 3-1 Buffalo win...2.04 bpg leads Pac-10...2.88 kpg and 4.31 points per game leads team.
#4 Jalen Pendon (5-8, OH, Fr, Spanaway, Wash.) Enrolled at WSU in January 2005...starting libero...averaging 4.58 digs per game...highs of 24 digs came in Portland win and UC Davis loss...landed three aces in Portland.
#22 Maureen Perez (5-8, S, So, Vancouver, Wash.) Transfer from Central Florida University...set for first two matches...had 14 digs against Idaho State...during second game of Idaho match, caught a teammate's elbow in face and sports a stitch in a swollen and black left eye.
#14 Kelly Rosin (6-1, OH, Jr, Springfield, Ore.) Three-year starter...nailed 13 kills and five blocks versus UC Davis...season-high six blocks in win over Oral Roberts...2.42 kpg, 0.88 bpg and 3.15 points per game are third on team.
#16 Kelly Russell (6-0, OH/MB, Fr, Grangeville, Idaho) Walk-on...grabbed a block in Idaho State match.
#11 Stephanie Weishaar (5-3, L, Fr, Camas, Wash.) Late addition walk-on...played in 10 games...one ace and four digs versus UC Davis.

COUGS HAVE TOUGH SCHEDULE: The CSTV American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Preseason Poll, released Aug. 8, shows six of Washington State's 2005 opponents ranked in the top 19 and because they are all Pac-10 schools, the Cougs will play each school twice...the six Pac-10 Conference teams ranked in the preseason poll, including defending national champions Stanford at No. 3, includes No. 2 Washington, No. 7 Southern California, No. 13 UCLA, No. 17 Arizona and No. 19 California...go to www.avca.org for poll.

TUNE IN FOR COUGAR VOLLEYBALL ON RADIO AND INTERNET: Cougar volleyball fans can listen to all the road contests during the 2005 season LIVE - in the Palouse on KRPL-AM radio (1400 on the AM dial) and LIVE on the Internet...second-year broadcaster JJ Jensen is the voice of Cougar volleyball radio broadcasts...for the internet connection, go to www.wsucougars.com, click on the audio/video link (left-side menu) and go to the College Sports Pass subscription information at the top of the page...fans can sign up for a monthly or year-long subscription to listen to Cougar Athletic events through the internet.

TUNE IN FOR COUGAR VOLLEYBALL ON TELEVISION: WSU will have one match televised this season, the Oct. 21 match at Oregon State...it will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis, check your FOX Sports station for broadcast times.

JOIN THE QUICKSETS VOLLEYBALL BOOSTER CLUB: The Quicksets is an organized group of volleyball enthusiasts supporting Washington State University women's volleyball program and its student-athletes...members have activities that include the preseason welcoming picnic for the team, pre-match "Chalk Talks" with the coaches, informal snack receptions the second night of each Pac-10 home weekend, T-shirts and the Cougar Courtside newsletter, mailed several times each year...for membership levels and prices please call the WSU Volleyball Office at 509-335-0277.

WATCH COACH HEFFERNAN: Every Tuesday afternoon during the volleyball season, beginning at 1:20 p.m. PT, WSU Head Coach Brian Heffernan is part of the teleconference with a LIVE video broadcast on the WSU internet site of www.wsucougars.com.

FIFTH ANNUAL WOMEN'S CLOTHING DRIVE: For the fifth consecutive year, the Cougar volleyball team is sponsoring a clothing drive for disadvantaged women in the area...fans are asked to bring their Gently Used Clothing and a Pair of New Hose for donation to the Pullman Community Action Center...the clothing will be donated for use by area low-income women entering or re-entering the work force and needing professional clothing...larger sizes are especially needed...donors are asked to bring their clean, gently used clothing and new pantyhose to the WSU volleyball office in Bohler Addition, room 230, between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 22 and Fri., Sept. 23...donors will receive free admission to a Cougar volleyball match at Bohler Gym to be determined...more information, call the WSU Volleyball Office at 509-335-0277.

THE ABC CAMPAIGN: Cougar volleyball and the Breast Cancer Support Group of the Palouse, known as the Bosom Buddies, have joined together for the Attacking Breast Cancer (ABC) Pledge Drive for the fourth consecutive year...October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Cougar players will be collecting monetary pledges for each attack which results in a kill (and a point) for WSU during the nine matches this month...a total of $1,645.80 was collected in 2004 for the 452 kills in 10 matches...the 2003 campaign raised $1,623.35 and the team raised $1,019 in 2002...the players will wear pink ribbons to draw attention to the campaign...interested donors may contact the WSU volleyball office at 509-335-0277.