Volleyball Continues Homestand with Matches against California, #12 Hawaii

SAN JOSE STATE VOLLEYBALL CONTINUES HOMESTAND WITH CAIFORNIA, #12 HAWAI‘I

Record: 15-3 Overall 5-1 WAC
Upcoming Matches:
Tuesday Oct. 16 California The Event Center 7:00 p.m.
Thursday Oct. 18 Hawai‘i The Event Center 7:00 p.m.

SPARTANS TO BATTLE TOP TEAM IN THE WAC—The San Jos State volleyball team will continue its five-match homestand with two matches this week. The Spartans will play California in a non-conference match on Tuesday. The team will host Hawai‘i on Thursday evening in a Western Athletic Conference match. Both matches will be played in The Event Center. The Spartans enter this week with a four-match winning streak.

ABOUT CALIFORNIA—The Golden Bears enter this week with a 5-9 overall record and a
1-7 mark in the Pacific-10. Cal has lost four consecutive conference matches including 0-3 at UCLA last Friday and 0-3 at USC last Saturday. Head coach Rich Feller is in his third year at the school with a 31-39 school record and a 330-206 coaching record in 17 years. Sophomore outside hitter Gabrielle Abernathy leads the team with 157 kills, 3.41 pg. Freshman middle blocker Camille Leffall leads the Bears in blocking with 31, 0.67 pg.
San Jose State leads the overall series, 23-13. California has won the last two meetings. The Bears won last year, 3-2, in Berkeley on September 19, 13-15, 0-15, 15-13, 15-12, 15-12.

ABOUT #12 HAWAI‘I—The Rainbow Wahine enter the week with a 12-4 overall record and a 5-0 WAC mark and is alone in first place in the Western Division of the WAC. The team defeated UTEP, 3-1, last Friday, and SMU, 3-0, on Sunday. Head coach Dave Shoji is in his 27th year at the school with a 753-143-1 coaching record. Sophomore outside hitter Kim Willoughby leads the nation in kills with 350, 6.60 per game. She is hitting .328 on the season. Sophomore middle blocker Lauren Duggins is third in the WAC in blocking with 72, 1.36 pg.
Hawai‘i leads the overall series, 40-4, and has won 16-straight in the series. San Jose State last defeated in Hawaii, 3-1, on September 14, 1993.

SPARTAN HEAD COACH CRAIG CHOATE—San Jos State head coach CRAIG CHOATE is in his ninth season at San Jos State and has a 163-107 record at the school and a 192-172 overall record in 12 seasons as a head coach. Choate, the 1999 WAC Coach of the Year, has coached four teams at SJSU to 20-win seasons, 1993 (23-12), 1998 (21-12), 1999 (25-6) and 2000 (22-10). His 148 wins are second to Dick Montgomery who had 191 wins in nine years at San Jos State.

USA TODAY/AVCA POLL—San Jose State received seven votes in this week's USA Today/AVCA Coaches' Poll. With the votes, the Spartans are tied for 33rd with Duke.

WORLDWIDE WEB—Check out the San Jos State Athletics web site at www.sjsuspartans.com for the latest in Spartan volleyball and all Spartan sports news.

SPARTANS WIN THREE MATCHES LAST WEEK—San Jose State won three matches last week, beginning with a 3-1 win at Saint Mary's on Tuesday. Senior outside hitter BRIANNA BLAIR (Tempe, Ariz./Marcos de Niza) recorded a career high 30 kills to lead the team to a 30-19, 20-30, 30-19, 30-26. Blair hit .329 for the match and added four digs and two blocks. Junior outside hitter JEANINE HALDI (Tracy, Calif./Merrill F. West) recorded a career high 25 digs in the match. She also had two blocks, two assists and a service ace. Sophomore middle blocker LIZ HUDSON (Fountain Valley, Calif.) added 15 kills and a team high six blocks.
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Volleyball (Con.) 2-2-2-2

SPARTAN VICTORIES (CON.)—The Spartans continued winning with two home match sweeps on Thursday and Saturday. On Thursday, San Jose State defeated Louisiana Tech, 30-11, 30-11, 30-16.
The Spartan volleyball team hit .402 with 49 kills, and Brianna Blair led the Spartans with 11 kills as 10 Spartan players had kills in the match. Liz Hudson had six blocks, including three solo blocks, 12 digs and three service aces to lead the Spartans.
Blair had 18 kills and junior middle blocker STEPHANIE PASCUCCI (Cerritos, Calif./Gahr) hit .583 to lead SJSU to a 30-25, 30-28, 30-17 win over Nevada Saturday evening.
Blair hit .444 for the night with three blocks and three digs. Pascucci hit above .500 for the second consecutive match. She had 14 kills on 24 attempts and no hitting errors. Pascucci also had a team-high four blocks and added four digs.
As a team, the Spartans hit .391 for the match including .515 in game four (18-1-33). The team also had seven blocks and four service aces.

BLAIR CONTINUES CLIMB UP RECORD BOOKS—With 18 kills against Nevada, Brianna Blair moved into third all-time in kills at San Jose State with 1,365. She needs 62 kills to move into second place. Current assistant coach Joslynn Gallop at 1,966 kills holds the school record.
Blair is second in career kill attempts with 3,862. She would need 562 kill attempts this season to break the record of 4,423 set by Gallop last year.

SJSU CAREER KILLS TOTAL YEARS
1. Joslynn Gallop 1966 1997-00
2. Dawnis Wilson 1426 1988-91
3. Brianna Blair 1365 1998-C
4. Lisa Ice 1359 1982-86
5. Barbara Higgins 1237 1984-87
6. Christa Cook 1101 1984-87
7. Melissa Myers 1046 1995-98
8. Darcy Walker 944 1996-99
9. Paola Paz-Soldan 991 1994-95
10. Erin Ginney 878 1990-93

SJSU KILL ATTEMPTS TOTAL YEARS
1. Joslynn Gallop 4423 1997-00
2. Brianna Blair 3862 1998-00
3. Dawnis Wilson 3683 1988-91
4. Lisa Ice 2989 1982-86
5. Barbara Higgins 2847 1984-87
6. Darcy Walker 2788 1996-99
7. Christa Cook 2578 1984-87
8. Erin Ginney 2519 1990-93
9. Melissa Myers 2268 1995-98
10. Angie Sylvas 2232 1995-96

2001 WAC TOURNAMENT—The 2001 WAC Volleyball Tournament will be held November 15-18, at The Event Center. All 10 teams will participate in the tournament. All-session tickets are on sale and are available through the San Jose State Ticket Office by calling (408) 924-SJTX (7589). Fans can also obtain a room rate at the San Jose Hilton & Towers by calling (408) 287-2100 and requesting the group rate for the "WAC Volleyball Tournament". A credential application for the tournament can be found at the end of the release. It must be returned to the conference office by November 7


-CON-
Volleyball (Con.) 3-3-3-3

WAC STATISTICS—Seven San Jose State players rank among WAC statistical leaders this week. Senior setter SAVANNAH SMITH (Salem, Ore./Sprague) is first in assists at 12.27 pg and ninth in service aces at 0.36 pg. Brianna Blair is second in kills at 4.77 pg. Stephanie Pascucci is second in hitting percentage at .342. Sophomore outside hitter KIMBERLY NOBLE (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./San Clemente) is first in service aces at 0.64 pg and sixth in kills at 3.64 pg. Liz Hudson is third in service aces at 0.47 pg, tied for eighth in blocks at 0.91 pg and ninth in hitting percentage at .286. Jeanine Haldi is sixth in digs at 3.27 pg.
San Jose State leads the WAC in service aces at 2.20 pg and digs at 17.08 pg and is third in hitting percentage at .262, kills at 15.74 pg and assists at 14.35 pg and fifth in blocks at 2.07.

In WAC matches only, Smith is second in assists (12.19 pg), while Blair is second in kills (4.81 pg). Noble is second in service aces (0.62 pg). Hudson is second in hitting percentage (.391) and ninth in blocks (1.00 pg) and digs (3.04 pg). Pascucci is third in hitting percentage (.349) and 10th in blocks (0.92 pg). Junior middle blocker KATHERINE POWERS (Phoenix, Ariz./ Washington HS) is fourth in blocks (1.26 pg).
As a team in WAC matches only, San Jose State is second in hitting percentage (.269) and digs (16.35 pg), third in assists (14.04 pg) and service aces (2.04 pg) and fourth in kills (15.19 pg) and blocks (2.52 pg).

PASCUCCI HAS THREE SOLID PERFORMANCES—Stephanie Pascucci had a solid hitting week for the Spartans last week as she hit .492 for the week. Against Nevada, she hit .583 with 14 kills in 24 attempts and no hitting errors. She also hit .500 against Louisiana Tech (9-1-26). For the week, she added 15 digs, six blocks and three service aces.

BLAIR CONTINUES STEADY PRODUCTION—Brianna Blair led the Spartans in kills in all three matches last week and hit .352 for the week. She recorded a career high 30 kills against Saint Mary's and added a season high four blocks against Louisiana Tech. Blair averaged 5.90 kills, 1.10 digs and 0.90 blocks for the week and hit .303 or better.

SMITH MOVING UP CAREER ASSISTS & DIGS LISTS—Savannah Smith moved into fifth all-time in assists at San Jose State. She enters the week with 2,398 assists and needs 64 assists to move into fourth place. Michelle Sarkees holds the school record at 5,483.
Smith also moved into the San Jose State career digs list with 779, good for 10th place. She needs 61 digs to move into ninth place.
SJSU CAREER ASSISTS TOTAL YEARS SJSU CAREER DIGS TOTAL YEARS
1. Michelle Sarkees 5483 1996-99 1. Dawnis Wilson 1412 1988-91
2. Melizza Benitez 3257 1992-95 2. Joslynn Gallop 1052 1997-00
3. Teri DeBusk 2692 1984-85 3. Barbara Higgins 1039 1984-87
4. Danielle Spier 2461 1984-87 4. Danielle Spier 978 1984-87
5. Savannah Smith 2398 1998-C 5. Kim Hicks 939 1985-88
6. Susie Laymon 2330 1986-89 6. Darcy Walker 918 1996-99
7. Jennifer Liston 2102 1991-92 7. Michelle Sarkees 878 1996-99
8. Annie Shaughnessy 1129 1990 8. Laura Boone 857 1987-90
9. Pam Hope 1109 1993 9. Shane Donnellon 840 1991-94
10. Janine Ward 1107 1988-90 10. Savannah Smith 779 1998-C

NOBLE SERVED UP NEW SCHOOL MATCH RECORD—Kimberly Noble set the San Jose State school record for service aces in a match with nine against Minnesota on September 7. She broke the old record of eight set by Shane Donnellon against Saint Mary's on November 8, 1994. Noble leads the team with 34 service aces this season.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS—Four players were named to all-tournament teams in early September. Savannah Smith was named the MVP of the Oregon State Volleyball Showcase, while Brianna Blair and Liz Hudson were named to the all-tournament team. Blair and Kimberly Noble were named to the all-tournament team at the San Diego Invitational.
-CON-
Volleyball (Con.) 4-4-4-4

SPARTAN NOTES—Brianna Blair leads the Spartans in kills with 316, 4.79 pg. She is hitting .264 for the season and has 132 digs (2.00 pg), 33 blocks and 16 service aces. Blair has recorded 20 or more kills in eight matches and hit .300 or better in 10 matches. She recorded 30 kills against Saint Mary's. Blair has hit .300 or better in 10 matches including a season-high .528 vs. Tulsa (20-1-36). She has recorded four double-doubles this season - 22 kills and 18 digs vs. Sacramento State; 11 kills and 10 digs vs. Santa Clara, 15 kills and 14 digs vs. Tennessee; and 27 kills and 11 digs vs. San Francisco. Blair was named the WAC Player of the Week for October 1.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Kills 30 Saint Mary's, 10-9-01 30 Saint Mary's, 10-9
Attempts 78 UTEP, 11-10-00 75 SMU, 10-5
Assists 2 Three opponents 1 Four opponents
Aces 4 Two opponents 4 Seton Hall, 9-8
Digs 19 Two opponents 18 Sacramento State, 9-1
Block Solos 5 Nevada, 9-5-98 1 SMU, 10-5
Block Assists 8 Sam Houston State, 9-11-98 4 Tulsa, 9-29, Louisiana Tech, 10-11
Total Blocks 8 Sam Houston State, 9-11-98 4 Three opponents

Savannah Smith leads the Spartan team in assists with 810, 12.27 per game. She is third on the team in service aces with 24 and third in digs at 167 and fourth in blocks at 33. Smith has recorded 55 or more assists in four matches including three matches with more than 60: 67 vs. UTEP, 63 vs. Sacramento State and 60 at Saint Mary's. In seven matches, she has recorded double-digit assists and digs. Smith had 20 digs against Sacramento State and five blocks against Brown. She was named the MVP of the Oregon State Volleyball Showcase. Smith was named the WAC Player of the Week for her efforts at the tournament where she 152 assists (12.67 pg) and hit .478 (12-1-23) to go with 42 digs, five blocks and two service aces.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Kills 6 Four times (last on 9-1-01) 6 Sacramento State, 9-1
Attempts 18 Long Beach State, 11-30-00 14 San Francisco, 9-19
Assists 73 Rice, 10-6-00 67 UTEP, 9-27
Aces 4 Two opponents 4 Two opponents
Digs 26 UTEP, 11-10-00 20 Sacramento State, 9-1
Block Solos 2 San Francisco, 9-19-01 2 San Francisco, 9-19
Block Assists 8 Tulsa, 11-18-00 4 Brown, 9-8
Total Blocks 8 Tulsa, 11-18-00 5 Brown, 9-8

Kimberly Noble leads the team in service aces with 42 (0.64 pg), including a school-record nine against Minnesota. She has seen action in 66 games this year. She has 240 kills (3.64 pg), 127 digs (1.92 pg), 19 blocks and four assists. Noble has recorded 20 or more kills in two matches - 22 vs. Tennessee and 21 vs. Sacramento State. She has hit .300 or better in five matches and recorded four double-doubles this season.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Kills 22 Tennessee, 9-10-01 22 Tennessee, 9-10
Attempts 64 Sacramento State, 9-1-01 64 Sacramento State, 9-1
Assists 1 Seven opponents 1 Four opponents
Aces 9 Minnesota, 9-7-01 9 Minnesota, 9-7
Digs 21 Rice, 10-6-01 21 Rice, 10-6-01
Block Solos 1 Nine opponents 1 Four opponents
Block Assists 5 Brown, 9-8-01 5 Brown, 9-8
Total Blocks 6 Brown, 9-8-01 6 Brown, 9-8




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Volleyball (Con.) 5-5-5-5

Stephanie Pascucci leads the team in hitting percentage at .342. She has 198 kills (3.00 pg) on 442 attempts with only 47 errors. Pascucci has played in 66 games this season and has 46 blocks, 43 digs, 14 aces and six assists. She has hit .300 or better in 12 matches this season including a season-high .727 (17-1-22) against Southern Illinois. Pascucci has recorded 10 or more kills in 11 matches. She has recorded six blocks against Brown and Boise State.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Kills 21 Hawai‘i, 10-29-99 17 Two opponents
Attempts 44 Hawai‘i, 10-29-99 38 SMU, 10-5
Assists 4 UTEP, 11-10-00 3 Sacramento State, 9-1
Aces 6 Alabama, 9-8-00 3 Two opponents
Digs 9 Two opponents 4 Oregon State, 8-31
Block Solos 2 Gonzaga, 9-3-99, SMU, 10-5-01 2 SMU, 10-5-01
Block Assists 6 Four opponents 6 Boise State, 9-21
Total Blocks 7 SMU, 11-19-99 6 Two opponents

Liz Hudson leads the team in blocks with 60, 52 block assists and eight solo blocks. She has played in 66 games this season. Hudson has 177 kills (2.68 pg), 195 digs (2.95 pg), 48 assists and 31 service aces. She had four service aces against San Diego and Brown and eight assists against Tennessee. Hudson has recorded 10 or more kills in 11 matches and 10 or more digs in 13 matches. She has hit .300 or better in nine matches including a season-high .565 vs. SMU (14-1-23). In nine matches, Hudson has recorded double-figure kills and digs.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Kills 23 Rice, 10-6-00 16 Sacramento State, 9-1
Attempts 46 Rice, 10-6-00 39 Sacramento State, 9-1
Assists 8 Tennessee, 9-10-01 8 Tennessee, 9-10
Aces 5 Fresno State, 10-11-00 4 Two opponents
Digs 19 Rice, 10-6-00 18 SMU, 10-5
Block Solos 3 Two opponents 3 Louisiana Tech, 10-11-01
Block Assists 7 Three opponents 7 SMU, 10-5
Total Blocks 8 Rice, 10-6-00, SMU, 10-5-01 8 SMU, 10-5

Jeanine Haldi leads the Spartan team in digs with 209, 3.27 pg. She has played in 64 games this season and has 22 kills, 18 assists, 18 blocks and four service aces. Haldi has recorded 10 or more digs in 10 matches this season including 20 or more in three matches - 25 vs. Saint Mary's, 22 vs. Sacramento State and 21 vs. Oregon State.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Kills 12 Washington State, 9-4-99 5 Oregon State, 8-31
Attempts 34 Washington State, 9-4-99 13 Oregon State, 8-31
Assists 4 Sacramento State, 9-1-01 4 Sacramento State, 9-1
Aces 2 Two opponents 2 Southern Illinois, 9-1
Digs 25 Saint Mary's, 10-9-01 25 Saint Mary's, 10-9
Block Solos 1 Four opponents 1 Two opponents
Block Assists 3 Washington State, 9-4-99 2 Santa Clara, 9-4, Tennessee, 9-10
Total Blocks 4 Washington State, 9-4-99 3 Santa Clara, 9-4

Senior defensive specialist KARLI SILVEIRA (Campbell, Calif./Washington State) has played in 60 matches this season. She has 76 digs (1.27 pg), seven assists and a kill. Silveira played the last three seasons on the SJSU women's soccer team.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Kills 1 San Diego, 9-7-01 1 San Diego, 9-7
Attempts 1 Three opponents 1 Three opponents
Assists 2 Minnesota, 9-7-01 2 Minnesota, 9-7-01
Digs 10 Sacramento State, 9-1-01 10 Sacramento State, 9-1-01


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Volleyball (Con.) 6-6-6-6

Katherine Powers has played in eight matches and 24 games this season. She has 33 kills (1.38 pg), 32 blocks (1.33 pg), six digs and an assist. She hit .312 against San Francisco (8-3-16) and had seven blocks in that match. Powers had six kills and five blocks against Tulsa.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Kills 8 San Francisco, 9-19-01 8 San Francisco, 9-19
Attempts 21 SMU, 10-5-01 21 SMU, 10-5
Assists 1 Three opponents 1 Boise State, 9-21
Aces 3 UAB, 9-16-00
Digs 2 Four opponents 2 Two opponents
Block Solos 1 Tulsa, 9-29-01 1 Tulsa, 9-29
Block Assists 8 SMU, 10-5-01 8 SMU, 10-5
Total Blocks 8 SMU, 10-5-01 8 SMU, 10-5

Christina Lukens has seen action in 62 games this year. She has 147 digs (2.37 pg), seven assists, six aces and four kills. She had a season-high 18 digs and two service aces at Oregon State. Lukens has recorded 10 or more digs in eight matches.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Kills 14 Two opponents 1 Four opponents
Attempts 47 Hawai‘i, 10-29-99 4 Seton Hall, 9-8
Assists 6 TCU, 10-21-00 2 Sacramento State, 9-1
Aces 5 Two opponents 2 Oregon State, 8-31
Digs 21 Saint Mary's, 9-12-00 18 Oregon State, 8-31
Block Solos 1 Four opponents
Block Assists 3 Two opponents
Total Blocks 3 Two opponents

Lindsey Rule has played in 12 games this season. She has 38 assists (3.17 pg), eight digs, seven service aces and one block. Rule had a season-high four service aces against Tulsa and recorded 19 assists versus Seton Hall.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Attempts 1 Three opponents 1 Three opponents
Assists 19 Seton Hall, 9-8-01 19 Seton Hall, 9-8
Aces 4 Tulsa, 9-29-01 4 Tulsa, 9-29
Digs 3 Seton Hall, 9-8-01 3 Seton Hall, 9-8
Block Assists 1 Southern Illinois, 9-1-01 1 Southern Illinois, 9-1
Total Blocks 1 Southern Illinois, 9-1-01 1 Southern Illinois, 9-1

Sophomore middle blocker LIZ YOST (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier College Prep) has seen action in 10 games. She recorded three blocks against Seton Hall and a kill against Louisiana Tech.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Kills 1 Louisiana Tech, 10-11-01 1 Louisiana Tech, 10-11
Attempts 2 Louisiana Tech, 10-11-01 2 Louisiana Tech, 10-11
Assists 1 Three opponents 1 Three opponents
Block Assists 3 Seton Hall, 9-8-01 3 Seton Hall, 9-8
Total Blocks 3 Seton Hall, 9-8-01 3 Seton Hall, 9-8

Sophomore outside hitter JENNIFER OLEWINSKI (Las Vegas, Calif./Bonanza) has played in five matches and eight games. She recorded three kills, two digs and a service ace against Louisiana Tech.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Kills 3 Louisiana Tech, 10-11-01 3 Louisiana Tech, 10-11
Attempts 6 Louisiana Tech, 10-11-01 2 Seton Hall, 9-8
Aces 1 Louisiana Tech, 10-11-01 1 Louisiana Tech, 10-11
Digs 2 Louisiana Tech, 10-11-01 2 Louisiana Tech, 10-11
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Volleyball (Con.) 7-7-7-7

Freshman defensive specialist STACEY PIZZIO (Sonoma, Calif./Sonoma Valley) has played in 12 games this season. She recorded four digs at Saint Mary's and added three digs at San Francisco.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Assists 1 San Francisco, 9-19-01 1 San Francisco, 9-19
Digs 4 Saint Mary's, 10-9-01 4 Saint Mary's, 10-9

Freshman defensive specialist BROOKE HERALD (Fremont, Calif./Mission San Jose) has played in two games this season. She had two digs against Louisiana Tech and one dig against Tulsa.

CAREER HIGHS SEASON HIGHS
Digs 2 Louisiana Tech, 10-11-01 2 Louisiana Tech, 10-11

UP NEXT—The Spartans will end its five-match homestand against San Francisco on Tuesday, October 23. The team will then play at Fresno State on Saturday, October 27. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.

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