Fresno State Athletics
Volleyball In Full Swing During Preseason Practice
8/13/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 13, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. -
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Meet the Team This Week
The 2001 Fresno State volleyball team will make its annual appearance at Fashion Fair Mall for "Meet the Team." The event is set for this Saturday, Aug. 18, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Fans will be able to pick up posters, schedule cards, and season ticket brochures while children will have a chance to meet Time-Out and get pictures taken with the Bulldog mascot. For information, call the Fresno State Marketing Office (559) 244-2800.
Season Tickets on Sale
Fresno State volleyball season tickets are currently on sale at the Bulldog Ticket Office at (559) 278-DOGS. Fans may stop by at the ticket office, make phone orders or order on-line at www.gobulldogs.com.
Home Match Time Change
Fresno State's home match against UTEP on Saturday, Sept. 29, has been changed to 12 noon. The original time was slated for 1:00 p.m.
Interview Policy
All interviews with a Fresno State volleyball coaches and/or players will take place before or after practice. Call Jan Winslow at (559) 278-2509 at least 24 hours in advance to set up an interview and/or photo shoot.
Head Coach Lindy Vivas
Entering her 11th season as head coach of the Bulldog volleyball program, Lindy Vivas (UCLA, 1980) is just 10 wins shy of capturing her 200th win at Fresno State. Picking up her 250th career win in the season opener against Siena on Sept. 1 last season, 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).
McQuaid & Verwey Collect All-WAC Preseason Honors
Senior middle blocker Shauna McQuaid (San Diego, Calif.) and sophomore outside hitter Kara Verwey (Kerman, Calif.) were named to the inaugural All-Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Team. McQuaid and Verwey were selected to the 12-player team by the league's coaches. Verwey was named to the inaugural all-WAC Freshmen Team last fall.
'Dogs Tabbed Sixth in WAC Coaches' Preseason Poll
Fresno State was picked sixth in the 2001 Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Coaches' preseason poll released on July 16. Defending WAC champion and 2000 Final Four participant Hawai'i was selected first for the sixth straight season to capture the league crown. Hawai'i tallied nine first-place votes for 81 points. San Jose State was second with the other final first-place vote for 69 points. Nevada was picked third (65 pts.) while WAC newcomer Boise State (46 pts.) and UTEP (46 pts.) tied for fourth.
WAC Tournament is Back
After a two-year hiatus, the Western Athletic Conference is sponsoring a volleyball tournament championship which will be held Nov. 15-18 at San Jose State's Event Center. All 10 teams will qualify for the postseason tournament. The last WAC Volleyball Championship Tournament was held in Las Vegas.
WAC Expands to 10 Teams & Divisional Play
After being a nine-team league last season, the WAC is now up to ten teams and will be split into two divisions: West and East. The teams in the West will consist of Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Nevada and San Jose State. The teams in the East will consist of Louisiana Tech, Rice, SMU, UTEP and Tulsa. Each team will play each other twice, home and away within each division. Each team will play a team from the opposite division once.
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). 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, Verwey was selected to the first-ever all-WAC Freshmen Team. She finished second in the WAC in service aces in league games only and was listed among the WAC's best in double-doubles with nine. Sophomore outside hitter Christy Burnett (Fallbrook, Calif.) ranked among the league's top ten in double-doubles with 15. McQuaid 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.
Notable Streaks
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, who was selected to the inaugural WAC All-Freshmen Team, 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).
Bulldogs Finish Second in WAC Attendance
Fresno State finished second in the WAC 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.
