LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State volleyball team (25-8) plays in its third consecutive NCAA tournament this week. The Aggies will take on Saint Mary’s of California (20-7) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Pete Newell Court at Haas Pavilion, Friday, Dec, 5 at 7:00 p.m. (MDT). If the Aggies win, they advance to the second round of the tournament and will face the winner of the California/Siena match.
AGGIES ON THE AIR
All of NMSU’s volleyball matches in the NCAA tournament will be aired on the radio in Las Cruces at KSNM AM 570 with Kyle Doperalski giving the play-by-action. Fans outside of the Las Cruces area can listen to the broadcast on the Internet at www.NMStateSports.com for a fee. Live stats will be available for the matches along with a box score and recap of the match. More information on the tournament can be found at www.NCAA.com. Web-streaming will also be available with a link available later.
LOOKING BACK
The New Mexico State volleyball team earned a share of the Western Athletic Conference title after finishing 15-1 in conference play. NMSU had four first team all-conference selections and one selection to the WAC all-freshman team. Head coach Mike Jordan also earned Coach of the Year honors. The Aggies also had three WAC all-tournament team selections including Amber Simpson, Lindsey Yon and Krystal Torres.
ABOUT NMSU
The Aggies were back in the AVCA poll last week, but fell out after picking up two victories in the last week of regular season play. NMSU swept Virginia Commonwealth on Thanksgiving Day, before beating in-state rival New Mexico in five sets.
NMSU entered the season at No. 23 in the CBS College Sports Network/AVCA D-I Coaches Poll, but fell out of the poll after they dropped two of their first three matches this season. NMSU earned its first win of the year beating North Carolina, who is currently receiving votes in the most recent AVCA poll, 3-1 (Aug. 30). After that, NMSU won three straight matches, which included victories over UTEP, Florida Gulf Coast and Houston.
NMSU finished conference play 15-1 for a share of its first ever conference title. NMSU entered the WAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, although was the runner-up to Hawai’i, who won 3-1 in the tournament championship. This is the first time UH as not been the sole regular season WAC champion since 1998.
The Aggies placed four Aggies earned first-team all-WAC honors, including junior outside hitter Krista Altermatt, senior middle hitter Amber Simpson, senior libero Krystal Torres and senior outside hitter Lindsey Yon. Freshman Jennah DeVries was named to the all-freshman team and head coach Mike Jordan was named Coach of the Year.
The Aggies also placed Simpson, Yon and Torres on the WAC all-tournament team in Honolulu, Hawai’i as all three had an impressive showing in Stan Sherriff Center.
If it’s not the biggest highlight of the season, beating Hawai’i on their home court will sure be one of the biggest. NMSU swept the Rainbow Wahine at the Stan Sherriff Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i, Oct. 12. It was just the second WAC home defeat for the Rainbow Wahine in the 12 years it has been in the league. The Aggies held Hawai’i to a .023 hitting percentage, which was the lowest for the Rainbow Wahine volleyball program in the rally-scoring era (2001). Hawai’i is currently fifth in the nation in hitting percentage.
NMSU continues to boast the lowest opposing team hitting percentage in the WAC holding its opponents to a .129 hitting percentage, while the Aggies are hitting .219 as a team, which is second in the conference.
NMSU had four preseason All-WAC selections this year including junior Krista Altermatt, along with seniors Krystal Torres, Amber Simpson and Lindsey Yon.
NMSU finished the 2007 season 26-6 after they fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament 3-2 to LSU in Austin, Texas.
The Aggies return four starters from last season’s squad plus the WAC’s leading libero in Krystal Torres, who averaged 5.32 digs in 2007 and finished the year with 590 total.
NMSU also returns Amber Simpson, who was an AVCA All-District selection, as well as a first-team All-WAC selection in 2007 at the middle hitter position. She averaged 2.84 kills per game and added 1.14 blocks per game.
Lindsey Yon, who transferred from Texas A&M in 2006, earned first-team All-WAC honors in 2007 with a team high 435 kills. She averaged 3.95 kills a game and added 2.89 digs a game.
Krista Altermatt is another outside hitter that returns to the Aggie starting line-up for the 2008 season. She averaged 3.42 kills a game and 2.89 digs a game. She had a career-high 21 kills last season on Sept. 13 against Fresno State in Fresno, Calif.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Head coach Mike Jordan was named 2008 Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year at the WAC Tournament Volleyball banquet in Honolulu, Hawai’i, Nov. 19. This is Jordan’s third WAC Coach of the Year award since joining the conference, while he also has two coach of the year awards from the Sun Belt.
STREAKING
The 15 match winning streak NMSU had heading into the WAC tournament came to a halt when the Aggies fell 3-1 to No. 6 Hawai’i at the Stan Sherriff Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i, Sunday, Nov. 23. That winning streak was longer than any winning streak put together in 2007. The Aggies started the 2006 season with a 17 match winning streak and ended the season 33-4. In 2003, the Aggies had a winning steak of 24 matches and finished 30-5.
Torres digging up success
New Mexico State senior libero Krystal Torres has been the digging force for the Aggies during her four-year campaign. As a senior Torres was selected to the preseason all-WAC team, a first team all-WAC selection and to the all-WAC tournament team. . During the season, Torres set the NMSU all-time career digs record, and has now accumulated 1924 digs. She broke the career-digs record after tallying 17 digs against Fresno State, Sept. 18 in the Pan American Center. The Las Cruces native also owns the three slots on the NMSU all-time digs list. As a sophomore she recorded 615 digs, which stands in first place. Her junior season she registered 590 digs which places second and she currently 516 digs this season, which places her fifth all-time. She is 74 digs away from owning the top-three slots. Her career best performance came against WAC foe Hawai’i, in Honolulu (9/22/07) when she had an impressive 33 dig effort, which topped the NMSU single game record list. She was also named the WAC Player of the Week as a senior.
Simpson on the Attack
New Mexico State middle hitter Amber Simpson has been the Aggies backbone at the net during her career. She has been named a two-time all-American for NMSU and has earned first-team all-WAC honors as a sophomore, junior and a senior. Currently, Simpson owns a pair of NMSU all-time career records. The first is in the total blocks column with 570 and the second is the block assist category with 511. She has also etched her name onto a trio of other lists and is on the brink of breaking onto another list. She ranks third on both the all-time hitting percentage career list at .345 and the total blocks per game record with 1.26 blocks per set. Additionally, Simpson owns sixth place on the all-time kills list with 1273 and is one block away from onto the top-10 in solo blocks with 59. Simpson has also been name the WAC Player of the Week five times throughout her career and twice this season.
Yon Made Name for Herself
In just two seasons in Crimson and White, Yon is going to go down as one of the strongest outside hitters in the program’s history. The San Antonio, Texas native has been named a first team all-WAC selection both years, along with being named to the WAC all-tournament team and was also named to the 2008 preseason all-WAC list. Throughout her career Yon has averaged 3.91 kills per set which tops the NMSU career record. Last season, Yon etched her name onto the ninth-place slot of the NMSU record book in single season kills with 435. This season Yon is eight kills away for putting her name on the list again with 425 kills. Yon has also earned a pair of athlete of the week honors throughout her career.
Brennan Seasoning Fast
Freshman middle hitter Kelsey Brennan has been one of the biggest surprises for NMSU this season. The young talent has seasoned quickly to the division I game as she has appeared in 49 sets throughout her debut season. She recorded a career-best seven kills against Virginia Commonwealth (11-27-08), along with tying her all-time blocks record of five. She set that career-best earlier this season against Utah (9-7-08).
Goodan’s Gettin it Done
Junior outside hitter Kelli Goodan has been a consistent threat for the Aggies both offensively and defensively during the season. Against I-10 rival, New Mexico, Goodan recorded a team-high 11 kills on 22 swings, recording a solid 50-percent hitting average. On the defensive side, Goodan has created a wall throughout the season, blocking a total of 145 balls.
THE OPPONENTS
The last meeting between NMSU and St. Mary’s was back in 1987, as the Aggies won in three sets. This is the fourth time St. Mary’s received a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Four of the team’s players received conference honors including middle blocker Megan Burton, who averaged a team-high of 1.16 blocks per game and setter Kapua Kamana’o, who currently ranks sixth in the country in assists per set. St. Mary’s overall record is 20-7.
The Cal Bears finished the regular season with a 23-6 record and 13-5 conference record. The team averaged 11.7 kills, 10.7 digs, and 2.0 blocks per game. Hana Cutura leads the Pac-10 conference in kills per set with a 4.47 average. Carli Lloyd ranks third in the nation and second in the Pac-10 in assists, recording 12.08 assists per set. The Aggies and Bears have split the series at 2-2. The teams last meeting was in 1988.
Siena will make its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and could face NMSU for the first time. Siena went 15-3 in conference play in 2008 with a 20-12 overall record. Burgandy McCurty the MAAC Tournament MVP and two-time MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, posted 13 kills and 12 digs in the team’s last game against Fairfield. Siena has won their last four matches.
TORRES EARNS WAC HONOR
New Mexico State senior libero Krystal Torres earned Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors, Monday, Nov. 17, for her play in two sweeps last week that led NMSU to a share of the WAC title. Torres helped the Aggies clinch a share of their first-ever WAC regular-season title and the top seed in the upcoming WAC Tournament with a pair of sweeps last week over Utah State and San Jose State. Against the Aggies from Utah, Torres led all players with 11 digs to go along with four assists and one service ace. In the win over the Spartans, she finished with a match-high 16 digs, while adding three assists and an ace. She averaged 4.50 digs and 1.17 assists per set last week. Torres has led the conference all season long in digs averaging 4.60 per set, while posting 4.77 digs per set in conference play. This was Torres’ first player of the week honor of her career and the fourth player of the week honor for an NMSU this season.
YON EARNS SECOND P.O.W. HONOR OF 2008
For the third straight week, an NMSU volleyball player has been named WAC Player of the Week. Yon earned her second Player of the Week honor of the season and the third of her career after she led the Aggies to two more conference wins last week. Yon helped sweep Idaho on Oct. 16 and beat Boise State on Oct. 18 by averaging 4.64 points, 3.86 kills, 2.71 digs and 0.57 service aces per set. She posted her seventh double-double of the year when she tallied 15 kills and 15 digs in a 3-1 win over Boise State after she marked 12 kills, four digs and two service aces in a dominating sweep over then third-place Idaho.
Yon is currently No. 33 in the nation in kills, averaging 3.94 per set. She is third in the WAC in kills behind Idaho’s Haley Larsen and Hawai’i’s Jamie Houston.
SIMPSON EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
For the second consecutive week, a New Mexico State volleyball player has been named Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week. The WAC office named senior middle hitter Amber Simpson Player of the Week after she led the Aggies to a sweep over No. 6 Hawai’i in Honolulu, Hawai’i, Sunday, Oct. 12.
Simpson led the Aggies to their first-ever win over a Top 10 team in program history, snapping the Rainbow Wahine’s 11-match winning streak. She posted a match-high 11 kills on .368 hitting to go along with a match-high six total blocks. She also had a critical service ace in set two that tied it up at 24 after NMSU had to fight back from an early 8-1 deficit.
This is the fourth time Simpson has earned the Player of the Week honor and the first time this season.
YON EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Senior Lindsey Yon, of the New Mexico State volleyball team, earned Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career, Monday, October 06.
Yon averaged 6.92 points, 5.83 kills, 2.83 digs and 1.00 blocks per set last week to lead the Aggies to a pair conference-road sweeps. The pre-conference all-WAC selection posted a match-high 15 kills on .407 hitting with nine digs and four blocks at San Jose State. She then had a match-high 20 kills and eight digs in a sweep of Utah State.
Along with the WAC Player of the Week honor, she was also named Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU.com) top performer for last her play last week. A release by CVU.com can be found at http://cvu.com/content.aspx?season=women&type=news-one&storyID=2008-10-07-pow.
STATE FARM ILLINI CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Senior Lindsey Yon was named to the State Farm Illini Classic all-tournament team after posting double-doubles in each of the three matches at the tournament in Champaign, Ill. She had a match-high 17 kills against No. 11 Oregon as she hit .244, which went along with her 11 digs and one ace. In the second match of the tournament, Yon was the only Aggie player to mark double-digit kills with 14. She also had an ace and helped defensively with 10 digs. Yon one again had the match-high in kills as she slammed down 12 of them and had 11 digs.
HARD WORK ON AND OFF THE COURT
The Aggies placed three student-athletes on the 2007 academic all-WAC team, including returners Kelli Goodan and Amber Simpson. To be selected, a student-athlete must have completed one academic year, have a 3.0 or better cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s contests.
Former Aggie Jordan Bostic was also selected to the team and was selected as a CoSIDA academic all-American (third team). Bostic was only the third player in Aggie volleyball history to be selected as an academic all-American.
RECORD WATCH
Amber Simpson recently broke the all-time total blocks record when she recorded her 496th career-total block in the second set of the match against San Jose State, Thursday, Oct. 1. She heads into this week’s play with 562 in her career. Simpson ranks 21st in the nation in blocks per set with 1.35.
Krystal Torres broke the career-digs record when she tallied 17 digs versus Fresno State, Sept. 18. Heading into week nine of the season, she has 1,924 digs, which is 330 more than anyone else to play at NMSU. The former record, held by Vanessa White, was held for 19 years.
Torres is now second in the WAC in all-time digs with 1,924. Torres supassed Tricia Tuley of Fresno State (1993-96) who had 1,864. Jessie Shull of San Jose State (2003-06) finished her career with a WAC best 2,260.
Courtesy: Richard Chavez
