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Nov. 22, 2004

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The Washington State volleyball team (4-25, 1-15) will complete the 2004 season with a pair of matches at Bohler Gym this weekend...No. 17 UCLA (17-9, 13-3) visits Friday, Nov. 26, and No. 6 USC comes to town Saturday, Nov. 27...Cougars will honor a pair of seniors in the season finale, four-year letterwinner Alison Billingsley and two-year letterwinner Stacey Holbrook.

COUGARS WILL PLAY FOR FOOD: A donation of a non-perishable food item (canned food or pre-packaged processed foods) will admit one fan to either the UCLA or the USC volleyball matches this weekend at Bohler Gym...all food will be donated to the Pullman Food Bank.

WSU QUICKSETS DINNER: Cougar Volleyball Head Coach Brian Heffernan and the visiting Pac-10 coaches give the inside scoop on the strategies of that evening's match at the Cougar Volleyball Quicksets Dinners, held in Bohler Athletic Complex Rooms 184/186, on the Friday evenings of Pac-10 home matches...cost is $10 per person and includes dinner from Pete's Bar & Grill...RSVP the Tuesday prior by calling toll free 877-462-2684 or locally at 509-335-0220...the last Quicksets dinner is Friday, Nov. 26.

TWO COUGS MAKE PAC-10 ALL-ACADEMIC VOLLEYBALL TEAM: Megan Camp and Alison Billingsley were named to the 2004 Pacific-10 Conference All-Academic Volleyball Team...Camp, a junior from Spokane, Wash., was one of seven women selected to the first team...Camp has a 3.95 GPA and is majoring in zoology with plans to pursue a career in medicine...Billingsley is a senior from Walla Walla, Wash., and was named to the seven-member second team...she has a 3.61 GPA in her communication major...another 27 women from the 10 conference schools were selected to the honorable mention team.

COUGAR COACHING STAFF: Brian Heffernan became the 10th volleyball head coach in Washington State University history when he was appointed June 2004...Heffernan joined the Cougars after a successful four-year stint at the University of Minnesota as an associate head coach and assistant coach...the Golden Gophers were 2002 Big Ten Conference champions...four NCAA tournament appearances including 2003 national semi-final match...WSU's assistant coaches are Jody Garry and Kevin Wray, and volunteer Kevin Marts.

FALL SIGNEES: Three volleyball players have signed NLIs to play at WSU...6-1 middle blocker Natalia Owens from Lima, Peru, 5-9 middle blocker Brittany Johnson from Phoenix, Arizona, and 5-8 outside hitter Jalen Pendon from Spanaway, Wash...Owens was a member of the Peruvian National Team and is attending Shoreline Community College in Seattle where she will graduate this summer and join WSU in the fall...Johnson was MVP of the Skyline Region for both the 2004 and 2003 volleyball seasons...she is planning to graduate from Washington High in December and attend WSU in January 2005...Pendon is also planning to graduate (Spanaway Lake High) next month and attend WSU in January 2005...she was a two-time South Puget Sound League South Division volleyball MVP in addition to being named to the first team all-league three times...Pendon's team placed third at the 2003 state 4A volleyball tournament and fifth place this fall where she was named to the all-tournament team..."Collectively this class immediately increases our athleticism, our volleyball intelligence and our competitiveness," first year Cougar head Coach Brian Heffernan said. "Each of these athletes has the ability to make an immediate impact for Cougar Volleyball."

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL ABC CAMPAIGN: Cougar volleyball and the Breast Cancer Support Group of the Palouse, known as the Bosom Buddies, joined together for the Attacking Breast Cancer (ABC) Pledge Drive for the third consecutive year...October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Cougar players took pledges and collected $1,645.80 for the 452 kills (team total for October) for WSU during the ten matches of the month...the 2003 campaign raised $1,623.35 and the team raised $1,019 in 2002...Cougar Volleyball and the Breast Cancer Support Group of the Palouse thank all the fans for their donations.

NO. 16 UCLA BRUINS (17-9, 10-6) - The Bruins are gearing toward their sixth consecutive and 22nd NCAA Championship Tournament invitation...Bruins' kills leader is Brynn Murphy with 3.06 kpg in addition to her 0.94 bpg...Nana Meriwether leads the Pac-10 in blocks with a 1.56 bpg average...two-time All-Pac-10 libero Chrissie Zartman has a 5.59 dpg average (2nd Pac-10)...setter Krystal McFarland has a 12.13 apg average (4th Pac-10)...head coach Andy Banachowski (980-253/38 years)...LAST TIME: No. 10 UCLA Bruins defeated WSU 30-19, 30-22, 30-26 Sept. 25 at Pauley Pavilion...UCLA's Becky Green (12 kills, .333, 5 aces, 12 digs), McFarland (37 assists), Zartman (20 digs) led the Bruins...UCLA landed 12 aces...Jennifer Todd (11 kills, 3 blocks), Stacey Holbrook(12 digs) and Nicole Martin (29 assists) were WSU leaders...Cougs out-blocked the Bruins six to two but UCLA hit .242 and held WSU to .134...UCLA leads the series 30-7 and 13-5 when played in Pullman...WSU's last win was Oct. 25, 2003 at Pullman (3-2).

NO. 6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (18-4, 13-3) - Two-time defending national champions are posed for another run at the NCAA crown...USC is led by the 3.82 kpg (7th Pac-10) of 6-1 senior OH Keao Burdine...6-6 senior MB Emily Adams has a 3.16 kpg and 1.55 bpg average (2nd Pac-10), and leads the Pac-10 in hitting percentage at .421...Bibiana Candelas (6-5, Jr., MB) hits .398 (3rd Pac-10) and brings 1.01 bpg (10th pac-10)...USC runs a 6-2 offense with two setters...head coach Mick Haley (109-8 record in four years at USC; career record of 882-201-1/28 years)...LAST TIME: No. 2 USC defeated WSU 30-16, 30-23, 30-25, Sept. 24 at USC...Women of Troy were led by Keao Burdine (13 kills, .423, 13 digs, 4 blocks), Bibiana Candelas (10 kills, .500, 3 blocks), Allison Dillon and Kimi Freeburg combined for 46 assists...leading WSU was Jennifer Todd (10 kills, .500, 2 aces), Jen Barcus (5 kills, 6 blocks), Stacey Holbrook (12 digs), and Nicole Martin (34 assists)...USC leads the series 28-10 overall and 10-8 in Pullman...WSU's last win was a 3-1 match at Los Angeles Oct. 16, 1998.

LAST WEEK: The Cougars lost a pair of matches to ranked conference teams in the Bay area...Thursday night No. 14 California defeated WSU 30-23, 30-21, 30-18, in Berkeley...Cal was led by Gabrielle Abernathy (11 kills, 5 aces), Jenna Brown (10 kills, 3 blocks), Samantha Carter (40 assists, 4 blocks) and Alexis Kollias (11 digs)...Jessie Camp's 11 kills led the Cougars with Jennifer Todd, Jen Barcus and Kristin Kelley each adding 6 kills and 3 blocks...Kelly Rosin (4 kills, 3 blocks), Nicole Martin (28 assists), and Stacey Holbrook (7 digs) also contributed...the Bears hit .305 for the match and held WSU to a .127 hitting percentage...the next night across the bay, No. 9 Stanford defeated WSU 30-19, 30-22, 30-22, at Burnham Gym...Stanford hit .430 as a team and was led by Ogonna Nnanami (20 kills), Kristin Richards (19 kills, 13 digs). Lizzie Suiter (4 blocks), and Bryn Kehoe (44 assists, 3 aces)...WSU was led by Jen Barcus (14 kills), Jennifer Todd (4 blocks), Kelly Rosin (3 blocks), and Nicole Martin (30 digs, 3 aces).

NATIONAL ATTENDANCE: Hawai'i leads the nation in volleyball attendance with an average of 7,135 in the 17 home matches of 2004...the highest ranked Pac-10 school is Washington, fifth with a seven-match average of 2,794 fans including the Oct. 23 match vs. Stanford with a school record 5,712 fans...WSU's average for 10 home matches is 711 fans, including a season-high 1,011 for UW match, not among the top 25 schools.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS FROM THE PAC-10 CONFERENCE (TOP 10):
Individual Overall Matches (Leader)
Kills - 10th Jennifer Todd 3.65 kpg (Ogonna Nnamani, Stanford 5.89 kpg)
Hitting Percentage - no WSU player (Emily Adams, USC .421)
Assists - T7th Nicole Martin 10.72 apg (Courtney Thompson, Washington 14.82 apg)
Service Aces - T7th Jennifer Todd 0.3s (Sarah Mason, Oregon 0.48 sapg)
Digs - 9th Stacey Holbrook 3.47 dpg (Candace Lee, Washington 5.63 dpg)
Blocks - 7th Jennifer Todd 1.12 bpg (Nana Meriwether, UCLA 1.56 bpg)
Points - 4th Jennifer Todd 4.60 ppg (Ogonna Nnamani, Stanford 6.57 ppg)

TEAM STATISTICS FROM THE PAC-10 CONFERENCE (TOP 10):
Team Overall Matches (Leader)
Kills - WSU is 10th with 13.10 kpg (Washington 17.45 kpg)
Hitting Percentage - WSU is 10th at .162 (Washington .304)
Opponent Hitting Pct - WSU is 10th at .259 (Washington .146)
Assists - WSU is 10th at 11.89 apg (Washington 16.22 apg)
Service Aces - WSU is T7th at 1.27 sapg (Oregon 1.73 sapg)
Digs - WSU is 10th at 13.83 dpg (Washington 17.94 dpg)
Blocks - WSU is 8th at 2.31 bpg (Stanford 3.40 bpg)

HOW ABOUT THOSE COUGS?
#13 Jen Barcus (6-1, MB, SO, Nine Mile Falls, Wash.) One of four returning starters from 2003 team...1.94 kpg, third on team...opened season with a career-high 15 kills (.323) and three blocks against UNLV...had 15 kills (.522) and 6 blocks in win over Gonzaga...averaging 0.87 bpg, second on team...had 6 blocks against No. 2 USC...against No. 22 Arizona, landed 7 kills with 1 error on 10 attacks for .600 hpct...season-best eight blocks and career-high 18.5 points in No. 1 UW match 11/5...her .218 hitting percentage is second on team.
#11 Alison Billingsley (5-3, L/DS, SR, Walla Walla, Wash.) One of four returning starters from 2003 team...added setting duties 10/1 and 10/2 in place of injured Martin...29 assists vs. OSU and 25 assists vs. Oregon...two kills in Syracuse match...two aces against Cincinnati...career-high 20 digs in win at Oregon...recorded 12 digs in No.2 USC match...had 17 digs against No. 1 Washington...in Pac-10 only matches, 2.51 dpg average, second best on team...Named to 2004 Pac-10 All-Academic second team.
# 10 McKenzie Burgess (5-11, OH, SO, Benton City, Wash.) Left the team the third week in October to try out as a thrower for the Cougar track and field team...a lightly used sub as a freshman...spent first half of this season rehabbing back due to pain...played all three games against No. 10 UCLA - had 7 kills (.273), 8 digs and one block...started against OSU, Oregon and Idaho...three block assists against OSU....subbed in at UW.
# 8 Jessie Camp (6-0, OH, SO, Gresham, Ore.) Returned to action versus OSU/Oregon after recurring knee rehabilitation had kept her from playing...recorded 10 kills, career-high 14 digs and three blocks at Idaho...added some setting duties to her plate against OSU with nine assists...career-high 17 digs against UW in Pullman...equaled career-best with 12 kills against ASU.
#9 Megan Camp (5-4, L/DS, JR, Spokane, Wash.) Last season played in 51 games...played in 61 games this year to date...2.11 dpg (fourth on team)...reached 13 digs twice (San Jose State, Cincinnati)...landed a kill in Radford win...season-high 16 digs came in win at Oregon...one of seven in conference named to 2004 Pac-10 All-Academic first team.
# 4 Gwen Davis (5-11, S/RS, JR, Walla Walla, Wash.) Joined the team in fall 2004...practicing daily with team but red-shirting this season.
#17 Carly Hayashikawa (5-4, L/DS, RS-FR, Waikoloa, Hawaii) Transferred from University of Hawai'i in January 2004...spent spring practice with Cougars...averaging 1.03 dpg....seen action in 37 games.
# 7 Stacey Holbrook (5-5, L/DS, SR, Newhall, Calif.) Recruited walk-on...played in six games in 2003...starting libero for 2004 season...snagged 29 digs in five-game match against San Jose State, just five off school record...3.47 digs per game average leads Cougs and is 9th in Pac-10 standings...served 4 aces against Radford...dug up team-high 27 in win at Oregon...double-figure digs in 19 of 29 matches to date...four matches with 20+ digs...364 digs this year place her 10th on WSU's all-time single season digs list.
# 21 Kristin Kelley (6-2, LS/RS, FR, Pasadena, Calif.) Signed with Cougars last fall...worked into starting lineup Sept. 10...had 6 kills and 3 blocks in Miami win...scored on 12 kills (.391) and 2 blocks in Portland win...also landed career-high 5 blocks at Oregon State...best of 6 digs in win at Oregon...8 kills and three blocks at ASU.
#16 April Lott (5-11, MB, SO, Kennewick, Wash.) Recruited walk-on...starter first weekend of season...had career-high 9 kills vs. San Jose State...had 6 digs in each of first two matches this year...played in 56 games this season...landed five kills and six digs vs. No. 13 Cal.
# 5 Nicole Martin (5-11, S, FR, Carmel, Ind.) Signed with Cougars last fall...injured left shoulder caused her to play only first game of Oregon State match and miss entire Oregon match (Oct. 1-2)...averaging 10.72 assists per game 8th best in Pac-10...had 67 assists in San Jose State match...1061 assists this season is 9th on WSU all-time list...landed 4 aces in Gonzaga win...5 kills on 5 attacks vs. Radford...had 11 digs vs. Syracuse and at Oregon...career-high five blocks in win at Oregon...had 50+ assists in seven matches this season.
#14 Kelly Rosin (6-1, LS/RS, SO, Springfield, Ore.) Named to UNLV Classic and LMU Furama Hotel Invitational All-Tournament teams...one of four returning starters from 2003 team...averaging 3.64 kpg, second on team...0.70 bpg, fourth-best on team...her 4.23 ppg is second on team...landed career-high 23 kills (.254) in San Jose State match...5 blocks in first UNLV match and again at Oregon State...3 aces vs. Colorado State and California...has had double-figure kills in 21 of 27 matches this year...career-high 18 digs in win at Oregon...2.15 dpg average and 2.27 dpg in Pac-10 matches.
# 12 Liz Spear (6-2, MB, SO, Surrey, B.C., Canada) Starter early in season after seeing action in 31 games in 2003...had 9 kills vs. Portland and career-best .412 hitting percentage...started 10/28 and 10/29 at MB in place of Jennifer Todd and had career-high 9 blocks and 14 kills in win at Oregon...next night had 6 blocks at OSU...served two aces in Radford match...averaging 1.04 bpg in Pac-10 only matches.
#3 Jennifer Todd (6-2, MB, SO, Henderson, Nev.) Named to UNLV Classic and LMU Furama Hotel Invitational All-Tournament teams...bettered that total with 26 kills (.360) and had 7 blocks in Miami win...hit .500 against No. 2 USC (10 kills, 2 errors, 16 attacks)...3.65 kpg leads team (10th Pac-10)...1.12 bpg leads the Cougs (7th Pac-10)...has had double-figure kills in 20 of 27 of WSU's matches this year...4.60 points per game average is 4th best in Pac-10...most efficient server on team with 0.32 service aces per game average (T7th Pac-10)...hit a season-best .581 (20-2-31) in five-game match at ASU...MISSED the win over Oregon at Eugene 10/28 and OSU match 10/29, attending a family member's funeral...Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 Recruit...named 2003 Pac-10 All-Freshmen first team...one of four returning starters from 2003 team.