Fresno State Athletics
Volleyball Concludes 2000 Season
12/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 6, 2000
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
FRESNO, Calif. - WAC in the NCAA Tournament
Combining for a 101-79 (.561) record in NCAA Tournament play since 1981, three current Western Athletic Conference members have participated in NCAA postseason action: Fresno State, Hawai'i and San Jose State. Since 1990 when the WAC began sponsorship of women's athletics, the WAC has had at least two teams compete in the NCAA Tournament every year. For the 2000 season, No. 3 Hawai'i and San Jose State were the conference representatives. The Rainbow Wahine opened tournament play with two postseason wins and are in the Sweet 16 for the 14th time out of 19 tournament appearances. UH has won the NCAA title three times (1982, 1983, 1987) and have been the national runner-up twice (1998, 1996). Making their 11th NCAA Tournament appearance, the Spartans dropped a three-game decision to No. 13 Long Beach State in their NCAA tourney opener.
Hawai'i Wins WAC Title
For the fifth consecutive season, Hawai'i won the WAC's regular season title and received the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Rainbow Wahine clinched the 2000 title after defeating Nevada on Nov. 16. Since joining the WAC in 1996, UH has compiled a 71-1 record in league competition.
Project in Motion
Starting as many as five underclassmen, the young 'Dogs endured an up and down season. Starting off with a 6-1 record and finishing with just seven victories to conclude the 2000 campaign, the Bulldogs did celebrate an invitational win (Brion's Grille/Patriot Invitational) and gave head coach Lindy Vivas her 250th career victory in the season opener. Posting a final 13-17 overall record, Fresno State finished in a three-way tie for fifth in the Western Athletic Conference standings (6-10). The Bulldogs had one member named to all-WAC in freshman outside hitter Kara Verwey (Kerman, Calif.) who was selected to the first-ever all-WAC Freshmen Team. On the season, Fresno State hit the .500 plateau five times (7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, and 12-12) and dipped below .500 three times. The Bulldogs failed to take advantage of the friendly confines of the North Gym and finished with a 6-9 mark this season but they do enjoy an 84-45 (.651) home court record under Vivas. Individually, sophomore outside hitter Christy Burnett (Fallbrook, Calif.) was ranked among the league's top ten in double-doubles with 15. Verwey, who finished second in the WAC in service aces in league games only, also was listed among the WAC's best in double-doubles with nine. Junior middle blocker Shauna McQuaid (San Diego, Calif.) was ranked all season long in hitting percentage, kills and blocks while collecting double-figure kills in every match but three. With a career-high 411 kills, she gave Fresno State its 11 straight year in which a Bulldog has tallied 400 or more kills in a season. With 125 total blocks, sophomore middle blocker Lindsay Closs (Spokane, Wash.) posted the second-highest number of total blocks in a season since Suzie Regul in 1992 (175).
Bulldogs Finish Second in WAC Attendance
Fresno State finished second in the conference in total and average attendance behind Hawai'i, which eclipsed the 100,000 fan plateau for the sixth straight season. Playing 15 matches at home this season, Fresno State drew 7,211 fans for an average of 481.
Head Coach Lindy Vivas
After 10 seasons as head coach of the Bulldog volleyball program, Lindy Vivas (UCLA, 1980) picked up her 250th career win in the season opener against Siena on Sept. 1. Entering the 2001 season just 10 wins shy of capturing her 200th win at Fresno State, Vivas has directed the 'Dogs to five postseason appearances in the last 10 years and has led the Bulldogs to six 20-win campaigns. The two-time WAC Coach of the Year honoree has led the Bulldogs to two NCAA Tournament showings (1991, 1998) and three NIVC appearances (1995-94-92) since her arrival in 1991. Averaging 19 wins a year with an 84-45 (.611) home court record, Vivas has coached three all-region and 16 All-WAC picks. Vivas, who led the Bulldogs to three straight WAC Volleyball Tournaments (1996-98), owns a 14-year career record of 262-190 (.580) and a ten-year school record of 190-130 (.594).
Live Broadcast On the Web
Fresno State broadcasted its first-ever volleyball match on its official athletic web site at www.gobulldogs.com, against SMU on Oct. 21. The final match against UTEP (Nov. 11) also was a live broadcast on the web. In addition, fans can listen to the "Lindy Vivas Show" and watch highlights from the 1999 season on the school's web site. Fans need to click on the audio icon on the Bulldogs' front page to hear Vivas and watch the video.
WAC Week in Review: Week 8
Fresno State posted a 1-2 conference mark on the road in its final week of WAC play ... The Bulldogs dropped a five-game decision to Tulsa before snapping their six-match losing streak with a sweep over SMU ... Fresno State concluded conference play with a four-game loss to TCU ... In the loss to Tulsa, McQuaid led all players with 19 kills and added five blocks and a career-high four aces ... Burnett chipped in 13 kills and had 16 digs as the only Bulldog to collect a double-double ... Closs added 12 kills while Verwey had 11 ... Against SMU, the Bulldogs picked up their second WAC win on the road ... In the win, Verwey posted a match-high 18 kills while hitting a career-high .515 (18-1-33) ... McQuaid added 16 kills and hit .382 (16-3-34) and Burnett chipped in 12 kills and had a match-high 16 digs for her 15th double-double ... Freshman defensive specialist Annie Eropkin (Fresno, Calif.) collected a season-best 14 digs while Closs netted a match-high five total blocks ... In the season finale at TCU, McQuaid posted her 400th kill on the season and finished with 411 after tallying 13 kills, eight digs and five blocks in the loss ... Closs became just the second player in eight year to post at least 100 block assists in a season since Regul (108, 1992) ... She also became the fifth Bulldog ever to tally 100 or more block assists in a year ... In addition, with 125 total blocks, Closs had the second-highest number of blocks in eight years since Regul (1992, 175) ... Verwey led the Bulldogs offensively after posting a double-double with a team-high 19 kills and 10 digs ... In addition to McQuaid's 13 kills, Burnett added 16 to go along with nine digs and three blocks ... After opening the WAC season with a 5-3 mark, the 'Dogs went 1-7 in the second half ... The Bulldogs endured their second losing season under Vivas, the first time since 1993 (14th time overall since 1971), after dropping a decision to Tulsa.
Notable Streaks
Senior defensive specialist Leilua Satele (Long Beach, Calif.) closed out the season with four straight double-figure dig performances and averaged 11.5 digs per game (46 digs) ... McQuaid ended the season with 10 or more kills in her last seven straight for a 15.43 kill average (108 kills) ... In the second half of the season, she totaled double-figure kills in 14 of her last 15 matches for a 15.60 kill average (234 kills) ... McQuaid also collected at least one total block in 14 of the last 15 for a 5.07 blocks per match average (76 total blocks) ... Burnett finished the year with five straight matches in double-figure kills, including her first career 20/20 match (23 kills and 21 digs vs. UTEP), and averaged 15.6 kills a match (78 kills) ... She collected 10 or more kills in eight of her last nine for a 13.44 kill average (121 kills) ... Verwey also closed out the year with five consecutive double-figure kill matches, including her third 20-kill match (21 vs. Rice) and averaged 17.2 kills a match (86 kills) ... She also had double-digit kills in six of her last seven for a 11.0 kill per match average.
McQuaid Makes Mark
McQuaid came away with four individual honors after being selected as the Bulldog's "Best Offensive Player" and "co-Most Valuable Player" as well as being given the "Sally Adley Coaches," and "Academic Excellence" awards. With career-high 411 kills, McQuaid gave Fresno State its 11th straight year in which a Bulldog has tallied 400 or more kills in a season. Ranked every week in the Western Athletic Conference in hitting percentage, kills and blocks during the 2000 campaign, McQuaid was the Bulldogs' top kill leader in 19 of 27 matches played. McQuaid, who missed three matches in late September with an abdominal strain, finished the season with double-figure kills in her last seven matches and 14 in her last 15 while tallying 10 or more kills in 24 of 27 matches overall. Posting a team-best .288 hitting percentage, she averaged 3.81 kills a game and finished second on the team in total blocks with 121 for a 1.12 block per game average. The 6-1 speech communications major picked up her second 20-kill match of her career in the Brion's Grille/Patriot Invitational championship match with a season-high 20 against George Mason. Named to two all-tournament teams this past season (Brion's Grille/Patriot Invitational and 14th Annual Fresno State Invitational), McQuaid notched her first career double-double against Rice in WAC action with 18 kills and career-high 12 digs. McQuaid etched her named in the school's single-season recordbooks after collecting 121 total blocks -- ninth best -- and averaging 3.16 kills a game that ranks eighth-best in a Bulldog season. Finishing as one of the top two offensive and defensive players in kills and blocks the last two seasons, McQuaid has been a starter for just two years. She already ranks in five all-time career categories at Fresno State in blocks per game (No. 4, 1.02 bpg), hitting efficiency (No. 5, .285), kills per game (No. 8, 3.16 kpg), block assists (No. 9, 171) and total blocks (No. 11, 217).
Malu Ends Four-Year Career
Senior outside hitter/setter Malia Malu (Torrance, Calif.) shared co-MVP honors with McQuaid and also was given the "Best Defensive Player" award. A four-year starter with the Bulldogs, Malu netted a career-best 83 total blocks as a senior. One of four Bulldogs to play in all 30 matches this past season, she picked up her first career all-tournament honors at the 2000 Denver Invitational. In her career, Malu tallied 45 career double- figure dig matches and 11 double-doubles. She concluded her career ranked in six all-time school records: No. 6 block assists (219), No. 8 digs (933), No. 8 digs per game (2.47), No. 8 total blocks (235), No. 10 blocks per game (0.62) and No. 10 assists (618).
Duley Steps In
Freshman setter Chelsey Duley (Tollhouse, Calif.) received the "Most Improved Player" award. Stepping into the regular starting position towards the end of the year, Duley averaged 10.14 assists per game in just 71 of 119 games on the season. Missing the first six matches of WAC action due to a patella tendon strain and sitting out the final four games after hurting her ankle against TCU in the season finale, Duley had a season-best 61 assists against CS Fullerton and season-high 16 digs against then No. 19 Santa Clara. Recording at least one block in 18 of 24 matches -- only seeing significant time in 21 matches -- she hit .242, dished out 720 assists, had 123 digs and recorded 35 total blocks.
2000 Bulldog Volleyball Capsules
So., OH, Christy Burnett
Had 19 double-figure kill matches & 22 double-figure dig matches ... had 15 double-doubles ... first career 20-kill match vs Central Michigan ... first career 20/20 vs UTEP (23 kills, 21 digs) ... career-high 23 kills & 21 digs vs UTEP ... opened year with 7 straight double-figure dig matches, including season-high 16 vs CMU ... career-best 3 aces vs George Mason ... career-high 4 assists against Denver ... career-high 4 block assists & total blocks vs UTEP ... had at least one block in 16 matches ... led team in digs (323) & second in kills (338)... 2000 Fresno State Invitational all-tourney ... in career, has 2110+ kills, 2 20+ kills, 26 double-figure digs, 18 double-doubles & 1 20/20 (vs UTEP).
So., MB, Lindsay Closs
Posted a season-high 7 straight double-digit kill matches & averaged 13.0 kills and averaged 5.43 blocks ... had 17 double-figure kill matches ... had at least one block in every match ... led team in block solos (25), block assists (100) & total blocks (125) while fourth in kills (294) ... season-best 9 total blocks vs George Mason, including career-high four block solos... season-high 16 kills vs Southeast Missouri ... season-best 5 digs against Denver & SMU ... in career, has at least one block in 45 of 46 matches played ... has 24 double-figure kill & two double-figure dig matches ... all-tourney at Brion's Grille/Patriot Invite (2000) & USF/Golden Gate Classic (1999) ... first career triple-double vs. Nevada (13k-11d-10tb) in 1999.
Fr., S, Chelsey Duley
Missed six matches due to a knee injury ... season-high 61 assists vs CS Fullerton ... season-high 8 kills vs. Southeast Missouri ... season-best 16 digs vs. #19 Santa Clara ... has at least one block in 17 of 23 matches (seen significant time in 21 matches), including season-high 7 blocks vs #19 Santa Clara ... averaged 10.14 assists per game ... in career, has three double-figure dig matches.
Sr., OH, Malia Malu
Had 15 double-figure dig matches, including a season-high 20 vs #19 Santa Clara ... had 4 double-figure kill matches, including season-best 15 vs San Jose State ... season-high 7 total blocks vs Tulsa ... tied career-high with 2 block solos vs Tulsa ... had at least 1 block in 26 matches ... had 4 double-doubles on year ... in career, ranks in six all-time school records: #6 block assists (219), #8 digs (933), #8 digs per game (2.47), #8 total blocks (235), #10 blocks per game (0.62) & #10 assists (618) ... 10+ digs in 45 matches & 10+ kills in 13 with 11 double-doubles ... one 20/20 performance ... team's Best Defensive award in 1999 ... 2000 Denver Invitational all-tournament (first career pick).
Jr., MB, Shauna McQuaid
Had three streaks of seven straight double-figure kill matches ...has at least 12 kills in 24 double-figure kill matches out of 27 matches played ... season-best 20 kills (second career 20-kill match) vs George Mason ... season-high 3 block solos & tied career-best 9 blocks vs Nevada ... career-high 12 digs vs Rice (first career double-double: 18 k, 12 d) ... career-high 5 assists vs CS Fullerton ... had at least 1 block in every match but one ... led team in kills (411) & second in blocks (121) ... in career, has at least 1 total block in 52 of 57 matches ... 2000 Brion's Grille/Patriot and Fresno State Invitational all-tourney ... 1999 USF/Golden Gate Classic MVP ... has 10+ kills in 34 matches, 2 20+ kill matches, 1 ten+ dig & 1 double-double.
So., S, Brittney Pearson
Career-high 61 assists vs UTEP ... career-best 8 kills vs Denver ... career-high 3 aces vs Siena ... career-high 12 digs vs San Jose State ... career-best 4 block assists & total blocks vs UTEP ... had at least one block in 10 matches ... averaged 7.97 assists per game ... in career, has 4 double-figure dig matches.
Sr., DS, Leilua Satele
Third on the team in digs (253) ... season-best 15 digs , 3 assists & 3 aces vs Southeast Missouri ... had 12 double-figure dig matches ... had a kill vs San Diego, Southeast Missouri , Nevada, Rice & Tulsa ... in career, 1999 Fresno State Invitational all-tourney ... team awards in Academic Excellence, Most Improved and the Sally Adley Coaches Award ... 1999 second team all-WAC ... has 10+ digs in 22 matches.
Fr., OH, Stefanie Taelman
First career double-double vs Rice with season-best 15 kills & 11 digs ... career-best 3 block assists vs Tulsa, TCU & SMU ... had 3 double-figure kill & dig matches... had 1 double-double (vs. Rice, 15 K, 11 d).
Fr., OH, Taneisha Tilque
First collegiate kill vs Maryland-Baltimore County ... season-best 7 kills vs Denver, 12 digs vs Butler and 4 assists & 2 aces vs Nevada ...season-best 4 block assists vs Tulsa ... in career, has 2 double-figure dig matches.
Fr., OH, Kara Verwey
Double-figure kill matches in 10 of last 13 ... had 17 double-figure kill, 9 double-figure dig matches with 9 double-doubles ... season-high 24 kills vs Nevada ... season-best 15 digs vs #19 Santa Clara, 5 total blocks vs George Mason, 3 assists vs Denver & 2 block solos vs Marshall ... season-high 4 aces vs SJSU ... had at least 1 block in 19 matches ... third on team in kills (332) & fouth in digs (210) ... Brion's Grille/Patriot Invite all-tourney ... had three 20-kill matches ... 2000 all-WAC Freshmen team.
