<a href="http://gohuskies.ocsn.com/sports/w-volley/recaps/083002aaa.html" target="_blank">huskies beat delaware</a>

<a href="http://gohuskies.ocsn.com/sports/w-volley/recaps/083102aaa.html" target="_blank">huskies win tournament and are 3-0</a>

UW player Paige Benjamin, named MVP of tournament.

I am pretty good friends with the setter for UW(gretchen Maurer). I know that she wants to get to the NCAA tournament this year because she has never been there as a Husky.

Volleyball Opens Tournament Play In Hawaii
Huskies put 3-0 record on the line with three games this weekend.

Sept. 5, 2002

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Headed To Hawaii: The Washington volleyball team travels to Hawai'i to compete in the Eighth Aston Imua Wahine Volleyball Challenge. The Huskies open tournament play against San Diego State on Thursday, followed by a match against the University of San Francisco on Friday. On Saturday, Washington goes head to head against tournament host and No. 4 ranked Hawai'i. The Rainbow Wahine are fresh off winning the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic in which they defeated No. 7 UCLA, No. 10 Ohio State and No. 18 Colorado State.

Tournament Champions: The Huskies opened their 2002 campaign with an unblemished 3-0 record to win the Miami's Best Western / Sycamore Inn Classic. Washington failed to lose a game the entire tournament, defeating Delaware, IPFW and host Miami (OH) en route to its first tournament title of the season. The 3-0 start equals the Huskies best start since opening the 1991 season with four consecutive wins.

All-Tourney Honors: Three Huskies, senior Paige Benjamin (Redmond, Wash.) and sophomores Kaitlin Leck (Carson City, Nev.) and Alexis McDonald (Long Beach, Calif.), were named to the seven-player All-Tournament Team. Benjamin was named the tournament's most valuable player after leading all players with 38 kills, including 16 against IPFW. Leck finished the tournament with 27 kills, while McDonald led all Huskies with 10.5 blocks, including a career-best five blocks (one solo, eight assists) in the featured match with Miami (OH).

All-Tournament Team Selections Paige Benjamin (MVP)--Washington Kaitlin Leck--Washington Alexis McDonald--Washington Tara Buroker--Miami Erika Eagan--Miami Susan Poll--Miami Lindi Bankowski--IPFW

Immediate Impact: Newcomer Sanja Tomasevic (Uzice, Yugoslavia), one of the team's two rookies from Yugoslavia, made her collegiate debut by leading all players with 11 kills and nine digs in the Huskies 3-0 win over Delaware. Her .450 hitting percentage (11-for-20) was second only to teammate Alexis McDonald who hit .467 (9-for-15). Tomasevic also recorded double-figure kills against IPFW (12) and Miami of Ohio (10).

Senior Leadership: Washington is lead by a trio of seniors this season in Paige Benjamin, Gretchen Maurer and Elissa Ross. Benjamin, who was named MVP of the Best Western / Sycamore Inn Classic last weekend, leads the Huskies with a 4.22 kills per game average. Maurer runs the Washington offense and dishes 13.44 assists per game and Ross, who will be the primary libero, ranks third on the team with a 1.44 digs per game average.

McDonald 's Lethal At The Net: Alexis McDonald had two outstanding matches last weekend, recording a career-high eight blocks against Indiana-Purdue on Aug. 31. She surpassed that mark later that night with nine blocks against Miami (OH).

Introducing The Libero: Starting in the 2002 season, the NCAA Women's Volleyball Committee approved the addition of the libero (pronounced LEE-bah-ro) position. The libero is a designated back-row player, intended to be used as a ball-control specialist. The libero, who is allowed to replace any player in the back row without counting as a substitution, cannot serve, block, attack or set inside the attack line (ie. 10-foot line).

Scouting San Diego State: Washington and San Diego State University will meet for the seventh time on Thursday with the Aztecs leading the series 1-5. The two teams have not played each other since the 1989 season when Washington defeated SDSU in five games. The Aztecs, under head coach Mark Warner, opened their season 2-1 at the Ramada Invitational, defeating Tulane (3-0) and Florida International (3-0) before dropping to No. 19 Santa Barbara (3-1). SDSU had three players finish the tournament with hitting percentages above the .350 mark in Megan Schauermann (.400), Aspen McPartland (.395) and Nicole Akporiaye (.353). McPartland and Melissa Wright were named to the All-Tournament team for their performances. McPartland (4.10 kills per game) and Zlatina Anguelova (3.00 kpg) have led San Diego State's offense this season. Wright oversees SDSU's setting duties and averages 11.8 assists per game, and Rochelle Currier and Robyn Gregg anchor the defense with 3.57 and 3.00 digs per game, respectively.

Scouting San Francisco: The University of San Francisco will pair up with Washington for the sixth time with the Huskies leading the series 4-1. The teams last squared off in 1985 with the Huskies taking the match in four games. USF, under head coach David Noble, opened its season at the Fremont Investment & Loan Invitational with a 2-2 record. San Francisco stumbled out of the gates, dropping to Oregon (3-0) and host CS Northridge (3-1) before rebounding with wins over Kent State (3-0) and North Carolina State A&T (3-1). USF is led by Brittanie Budinger with 3.71 kills per game, while Liz Macasuland and KeLicia Shorts each average over 2.00 kpg. April Scoggin is the USF quarterback with 10.18 assists per game, and Caroline Skacel headlines the defense with 3.14 digs per game.

Scouting Hawai'i: The Huskies and the Rainbow Wahine hit the courts for the seventh time on Saturday with Hawai'i holding the 5-1 series advantage. The teams last competed in 1992 when Washington lost in five games. This season, under the tutelage of head coach Dave Shoji, the Rainbow Wahine have jumped out to a 3-0 mark to win the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic. Hawai'i defeated No. 10 Ohio State (3-0) and No. 18 Colorado (3-1) to advance to the tournament final against No. 7 UCLA. In the championship game, the Rainbow Wahine downed the Bruins, 3-1, behind Lily Kahumoku's 26-kill performance. On the season, Kim Willoughby packs the scoring punch with 4.90 kills per game. Kahumoku is right behind her with 4.60 kpg. Running the offense is Margaret Vakasausau who averages 9.80 assists per game. Defensively, the Rainbow Wahine are led by Willoughby and Lauren Duggins with 3.20 and 3.11 digs per game, respectively.

This Week Around The Pac-10: Tournament Round-Up

Arizona hosts Wildcat Classic (Arizona, Nebraska, New Mexico, Pepperdine)

Arizona State @ South Carolina Tournament (ASU, South Carolina, Creighton, Pacific)

California @ UNLV Gameworks Classic (California, UNLV, Ball State, Texas Tech)

Oregon @ Miami Tournament (Oregon, Miami, Fordham, Howard)

Oregon State hosts OSU Volleyball Classic (OSU, Boise, CS Northridge)

Stanford hosts Stanford Invitational (Stanford, Utah, San Jose State, Cal Poly)

UCLA @ Minnesota Tournament (UCLA, Minnesota, Northern Iowa, Rhode Island)

USC @ BYU Tournament (USC, BYU)

Washington State @ Alaska Tournament (WSU, Alaska Fairbanks, Southwest Texas State, Weber State)




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Volleyball Comes Up Short Against No. 4 Hawaii In Tournament Championship, 3-1
Benjamin records 20 kills and Tomasevic adds 21 digs in Husky loss.

Sept. 7, 2002

Box Score

HONOLULU, HI -- The University of Washington (5-1) volleyball team scared No. 4 Hawaii (6-0) by taking the first game in the Eighth Aston Imua Wahine Volleyball Challenge Championship. The Huskies couldn't hold on for the victory, however, as the Rainbow Wahine won the next three to edge Washington, 3-1 (30, 26, 22-30, 27-30, 28-30).

Senior Paige Benjamin (Redmond, Wash.) had a big night for the Huskies with 20 kills and 10 digs. Sanja Tomasevic (Uzice, Yugoslavia) added 15 kills and 21 digs, while Kaitlin Leck (Carson City, Nev.) had 13 kills and seven blocks. Setter Gretchen Maurer (San Clemente, Calif.) capped off her outstanding performance in the tournament with 51 assists and 10 digs against Hawaii.

The match was evenly played throughout with Hawaii just squeaking out advantages in kills, 70-67, and hitting percentage, .234-.230.

Hawaii's Kim Willoughby single-handedly kept the Huskies at bay with her school record 38-kill and 18-dig night.

Benjamin and Leck were both named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts over the weekend.

The Huskies now turn their focus to the Mean Green Classic, Sept. 13-14. Washington will face tournament host North Texas, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Louisiana Tech.

AGATE: Washington vs. Hawaii (Honolulu HI) - September 7, 2002

Hawaii (6-0) def. Washington (5-1), (3-1), 26-30, 30-22, 30-27, 30-28

Kills: UW 67 (Benjamin 20), UH 70 (Willoughby 38); Hitting: UW .230, UH .234; Assists: UW 58 (Maurer 51), UH 67 (Vakasusau 43); Service Aces: UW 7 (Maurer 3), UH 5 (Willoughby 3); Digs: UW 79 (Tomasevic 21), UH (93 (Willoughby & Villaroman 18); Team Blocks: UW 15.5, UH 8.

--www.gohuskies.com--




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Volleyball Heads To Texas To Play In The Mean Green Classic
Huskies put 5-1 mark on the line with matches against North Texas, Texas A&M- Corpus Chrisit and Louisiana Tech.

Sept. 11, 2002

Washington Travels To North Texas Tournament
The Huskies pack their bags again this weekend for their third straight tournament on the road. Washington takes an impressive 5-1 record to Denton, Texas to compete in the Mean Green Classic against host North Texas, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Louisiana Tech, September 13-14. The Huskies failed to lose a game in their first five matches of the season , before falling to No. 3 Hawaii, 3-1, in the championship game of the Eighth Aston Imua Wahine Volleyball Challenge, September 7.

Benjamin Makes A Killing
Senior Paige Benjamin led the Huskies in all three matches last weekend, inclusing a career-high 23-kill performance against San Diego State on Thursday. She follwed up with a 18-kill outing against San Francisco in which she committed no errors to hit .562. In the tournament championship, Benjamin led Washington with 20 kills and 10 digs. On the season, she leads the team with 5.21 kills per game and is second with a .386 hitting percentage.

An Ace On Serve
Kaitlin Leck was deadly on serve against San Francisco, tying the school record with eight aces in three games. The record was originally set in 1984 by Kara Hardesty and was tied in 1994 by Dragana Djordevic, both in five-game matches.

All-Tournament Honors
Paige Benjamin and Kaitlin Leck were named to the Eighth Aston Imua Wahine All-Tournament team last Saturday. Benjamin led the team with 61 kills (6.10 kpg) and hit .397 over the three matches. Leck showed her versatility with 25 kills (2.50 kpg), 17 digs (1.70 dpg) and 12 service aces (1.20 apg). It marked the second such honor for Benjamin and Leck this season who were also selected to the All-Tournament team at the Miami-Best Western Classic along with teammate Alexis McDonald.

Tomasevic Is Tremendous
Sophomore Sanja Tomasevic's addition to the Husky volleyball program this season has been instrumental in Washington's early success in 2002. Tomasevic leads the squad with a 3.47 digs per game average and ranks second with a 3.58 kills per game average. In UW's six matches this season Tomasevic has recorded double-figure kills five times, including 15 kills against No. 3 Hawaii. She has also collected double-digit digs twice, including 21 against the Rainbow Wahine.

Maurer Power
Senior Gretchen Maurer has been the heart of the Washington offense, dishing 13.37 assists per game. She also ranks second on the team with nine aces and is third in blocks with 18 stops. As a team, Washington averages three assists more than its opponents per game (14.7 to 11.4). Last season, Maurer averaged 12.53 apg to rank 28th nationally and fourth in the Pac-10.

A Look Back
Washington continued its winning ways in Hawaii, sweeping San Diego and San Francisco before dropping to No. 3 Hawaii. With the wins, the Huskies improved their win streak to five matches, equalling the best season start for Washington since 1987, in which the Huskies started the season 9-0. In the championship game of the Eighth Aston Imua Wahine Volleyball Challenge, Washington stunned Hawaii by winning the first game, 30-26. The Huskies were unable to hold on, however, as the Rainbow Wahine won the next three games to win the match and tournament title.

Scouting North Texas
Washington and North Texas will meet for the first time in history Friday, September 13. The Mean Green, under Head Coach Cassie Headrick, enter the tournament on a four-match slide and a 2-7 record. North Texas lost all three of its matches last weekend to Arkansas (3-0), Southern Mississippi (3-2) and Tennessee-Martin (3-0). The Mean Green is led by Corina Marginas and Brieanne Fowler who rank first and second in both kills and digs. Marginas leads the squad with 4.14 kills per game and 3.12 digs per game, while Fowler adds 2.91 kpg and 2.85 dpg. Setter Kristin Sheppard runs the offense with a 10.14 assists per game average. She also ranks fourth on the team with 2.34 dpg. North Texas averages a .180 hitting percentage but has won both matches in which it hit .266 or better, including a sweep over Air Force (.284) and a five-game victory against UT- San Antonio (.266).

Scouting Texas A&M- Corpus Christi
The Huskies face off against Texas A&M Corpus Christi on September 14 for the first time in the program's history. The Islanders, under Head Coach Frances Kinnison started the season with a shaky 0-4 start before winning four of their next five matches. Texas A&M-CC is led on offense by Lauren Smith with 3.07 kills per game and Laney Bardin with 2.60 kpg. Jennifer Darilek runs the Islander offense as the starting setter and averages 8.57 assists per game. Anchoring the Texas A&M-CC defense are Erin McClanahan (2.50 digs per game) and Alexis Berger (2.40 dpg).

Scouting Louisiana Tech
Saturday evening's match between Washington and Louisiana Tech will be the first ever. After dropping their first three matches of the season, the Bulldogs have won five of their last six matches, including three consecutively to improve to 5-4 overall. The Bulldogs receive their offensive punch from Christine Sant' Anne (3.48 kills per game), Brianna Sibley (2.90 kpg) and Tanya Jarvis (2.67 kpg). Louisiana Tech's quarterback is Lia Mora who averages 11.52 assists per game. Sant' Anne also leads the team defense with 3.07 digs per game followed by Heather Anderson who chips in 2.76 dpg.




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