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Volleyball Hosts Idaho; Travels to Pennsylvania
Sept. 16, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
Match 12
Match 13-15
THIS WEEK: The Gonzaga University women’s volleyball team will close out a four-match home stand by welcoming the University of Idaho to the Martin Centre, Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. The Bulldog will then embark on their longest road-trip of the year. The Zags fly to Pennsylvania for the University of Pittsburgh Tournament, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 19-20. GU will face Pittsburgh, Virginia Commonwealth University and Eastern Michigan in its final tournament of the season. ABOUT THE VANDALS: The University of Idaho currently holds a 7-3 record and enters into its contest with Gonzaga University on a two-match winning streak. The Vandals finished the Portland State Volleyball Classic with a 2-2 record, including winning the final two matches (UC Riverside 3-0; Portland State 3-2). Idaho is led by Haley Larsen who is averaging a team-best 4.46 kills per set along with 2.59 digs per set. The Vandals hold the 24-11 led in the all-time series, but the Bulldogs have won the last two meetings between the two schools. ABOUT THE PANTHERS: The University of Pittsburgh, host of the weekend tournament, holds a 3-7 overall record and has lost five-straight. The Panthers, who will play Robert Morris University before the tournament begins, dropped all three matches of the Loyola Marymount University Tournament last weekend; including a 3-0 loss to WCC foe LMU. The Panthers are led by Kelly Campbell who is averaging 2.80 kills and 2.46 digs per set. This will be the first-ever meeting between Gonzaga and Pittsburgh. ABOUT THE RAMS: Virginia Commonwealth University enters the University of Pittsburgh Tournament with a 5-4 record. Three of the Rams victories were sweeps, while the other two where five-set wins. VCU is on a two-match winning streak, having defeated both Appalachian State University (3-0) and Binghamton (3-2) to finish the UVA Invitational with a 2-1 record. The Rams are led by Ariel Newman and Elisa Kuehnel, who are averaging 2.55 and 2.42 kills per set, respectively. This will be the first meeting between Gonzaga and Virginia Commonwealth. ABOUT THE EAGLES: Eastern Michigan University enters the University of Pittsburgh Tournament with the best overall record at 5-5. The Eagles have won four-straight, dating back to Sept. 9 when they defeated Wright State 3-0. Eastern Michigan won the Georgia Southern Tournament last weekend with a perfect 3-0 mark. The Eagles are led by Jill Wolsiansky, the reigning MAC West Player of the Week, who is averaging 2.18 kills and 2.85 digs per set. This will only be the second meeting between Gonzaga and Eastern Michigan. EMU defeated GU 3-0 in 2002 at the Holiday Inn Classic in Bozeman, Mont. TWENTY-SIX: Senior libero Paige Dillingham broke her career dig record, well actually she shattered her career dig record against Boise State University, Sept. 5. Dillingham finished the 3-1 victory with 26 digs. Her previous best was 17 attained this season against both the University of Montana and North Dakota State University. Along with being a personal-high, Dillingham’s 26 digs was also the highest individual dig amount in a single-match since 2004 when Jessica Herrera also had 26 against the University of Portland. Dillingham is averaging a team-best 3.73 digs per set. DOMINATING THE AIRWAVES: Senior middle blocker Elaina Renius had a career-high 12 blocks to lead the Bulldogs to a 3-1 victory over Boise State University, Sept. 5. Her 12 blocks, eight of which were block assists, were the most blocks by an individual Zag player since former Bulldog Briawna Mueller collected 12 against San Francisco in 2005. Renius was also just four blocks shy of breaking former Zag and current assistant coach Abby (Cullen) Bennett’s school record of 15, set against Portland in 2002. Renius is averaging a team-best 1.44 kills per set. A DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Junior outside hitter Emily Johnson recorded her second career double-double against North Dakota State University, Aug. 30. Johnson tallied 11 kills and collected 11 digs in the loss to register her second career double-double. Her only other double-double came as a freshman when she had 13 kills and 11 digs against the University of Idaho. HEAD COACH Kip Yoshimura: Kip Yoshimura enters his seventh year as Gonzaga University’s head coach. Yoshimura has compiled a 52-136 record during his tenure with the Bulldogs. A former assistant coach at Gonzaga during the 1992 season, Yoshimura has complied a 300-204 career record which includes nine seasons at Lewis-Clark State College where he guided the Warriors to nine-straight NAIA tournament appearances. A 1990 graduate of Long Beach State University, Yoshimura entered the coaching ranks as a student-assistant on Long Beach State’s 1989 NCAA National Championship team. VOLLEYBALL RULE CHANGES: NCAA volleyball rules changes this year include three important changes. First, the term “set” has replaced the word “game” as it is used internationally. Second, the number of points to win a set has been reduced from 30 to 25. Teams must still win by two points and the fifth set will still be played to 15. And lastly, because sets are now shorter, the number of allowable subs per set has been reduced from 15 to 12. LIVE ON THE INTERNET: All Gonzaga University women’s volleyball home matches are available via Gametracker and live streaming on the internet at www.gozags.com. Check the Gonzaga website for all Gametracker and live streaming links. Gametracker for selected away matches are also available. Check out gozags.com for all Gametracker links.
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