Pack Adds Three to 2009 Volleyball Team

Reno, Nev. - University of Nevada head volleyball coach Devin Scruggs has added three recruits for the 2009 volleyball season in high school seniors Janelle Batista, Elissa Ji and Kelly Chang.

Batista is a 5-11 right side/middle blocker who played her prep volleyball at Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, Ore. where she earned first-team all-state honors as a senior after leading the Raiders to an eighth place finish at the state tournament. She was named Mid-Willamette Conference co-MVP following her senior season and was a two-time first-team all-conference selection. As a sophomore she was named the all-conference second team. A three sport athlete she also competed in basketball where she earned first-team all-conference honors her junior year and was second team selection as a sophomore. She helped guide the CVHS basketball team to a fifth place finish at the state tournament her junior season. Twice she earned all-district honors competing in track & field her sophomore and junior seasons. She plays club volleyball for Northwest Juniors.

One of two players that will be joining the Wolf Pack next season from Honolulu, Hawaii is Ji, a 5-10 outside hitter who played her prep volleyball at Maryknoll High School where she earned second-team all-state honors the past three seasons. She was honored with the 2008 Senior Volleyball Invitational Impact Player Award. A four-year member of the Jammers Volleyball Club she along with Chang helped the team to a second place finish at the 2008 Junior Olympics in Dallas.

The second Hawaii player that will join the Pack next season is libero/defensive specialist Kelly Chang who played her prep volleyball at the Hawaii Baptist Academy. She earned first-team all-state and Interscholastic League of Hawaii honors her senior year. The team’s most valuable player she helped Hawaii Baptist to a pair of league titles and two state titles. A seven-year member of the Jammers Volleyball Club she along with Ji helped the team to a second place finish at the 2008 Junior Olympics in Dallas.

“I am very pleased with our class of 2009 recruits,” said Scruggs. “We have athleticism, volleyball IQ, and fantastic ball control all rolled into each of these players. Janelle Batista will bring athleticism and an energy that I am very excited to have the opportunity to coach. Both Elissa and Kelly come from a very strong club out of Hawaii. They have ball control and they know how to win.”

Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown/Previous School/Club Team
Janelle Batista RS/MB 5’11” Fr. Corvallis, Ore./Crescent Valley HS/Northwest Juniors VBC
Elissa Ji OH 5’10” Fr. Honolulu, Hawai`i/Maryknoll HS/Jammers VBC
Kelly Chang L/DS 5’2” Fr. Honolulu, Hawai`i/Hawaii Baptist Academy/Jammers VBC

Nevada Volleyball Team To Host Spring Tournament This Weekend

Reno, Nev. - The University of Nevada will host a spring volleyball tournament at the Virginia Street Gym on Friday and Saturday. Chico State, Pacific, Sacramento State and The College of Southern Idaho along with the Wolf Pack will compete in the event. The tournament is free and open to the public.

The Pack will take on The College of Southern Idaho in the only match on Friday at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday two courts will be used to complete the 10 matches. All matches will be two games played to 25 points.

Nevada Spring Volleyball Tournament Schedule

Day Time Court 1 Court 2
Friday 7:00 p.m. Nevada vs. College of Southern Idaho
Saturday 9:30 a.m. Nevada vs. Sacramento State Chico State vs. Pacific
Saturday 10:30 a.m. Nevada vs. Pacific Sacramento State vs. College of Southern Idaho
Saturday 11:30 a.m. Nevada vs. Chico State College of Southern Idaho vs. Pacific
Saturday 1:00 p.m. Chico State vs. College of Southern Idaho Pacific vs. Sacramento State
Saturday 2:00 p.m. Nevada vs. College of Southern Idaho Sacramento State vs. Chico State

Brittany Puzey ties the school record with a 17-game hitting streak

Senior Brittany Puzey has tied the school record with a 17-game hitting streak. That matched teammate Noelle Micka, who had a 17-game streak earlier this year. That is also the longest hitting streak in the WAC this season.

NEVADA COACH MATT MEUCHEL ON PUZEY

“Brittany is the most decorated offensive player to play at Nevada and her senior season is sure to be her most productive yet. She has taken a large leadership role this season and has continued to be a versatile player, especially this season where she will play in the outfield and bring depth to our pitching staff.”

Minette Earns All-America Honors

University of Nevada diver Candice Minette has
earned All-America honors based upon her 16th place finish in Thursday’s
1-meter event at the 2009 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championship being hosted at
the Student Recreation Center Natatorium on the campus of Texas A&M University
in College Station, Texas.

Minette, a senior from Glendale, Ariz. placed 16th with 249.95 points in the
consolation finals. In the preliminary round she totaled 278.75 to advance to
the consolation finals. She becomes the first member of the Nevada swimming &
diving team to earn All-America honors since 2000 when Limin Liu, Jia Lin Sun,
Ping Luo, Terina Dutton and Laura Bartle grabbed All-America honors.

In her final event at Nevada she placed 20th in the 3-meter event held today
with a score of 292.60. She was scheduled to participate in Saturday’s
platform but along with her coach Jian Li You has decided to scratch from the
event thus concluding her Pack career.

Note: Minette plans to move to Indianapolis, Ind., to join the USA Diving Team
and begin training in preparation for the 2012 Olympics trials.

Lady Pack Loses

The University of Nevada women basketball team fell in the final
game of the WAC Tournament falling to Fresno 56-49 Saturday afternoon at Lawlor Events Center in front of 2,281 fans.

With the loss third-seeded Nevada fell to 18-14 overall while the top-seeded Fresno State Bulldogs improved to 24-8 and earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Shavon Moore led Nevada with 10 points and eight rebounds while Dellena Criner scored nine points. Brandi Jones recorded eight rebounds and scored eight points.

Nevada had a six-point lead 10-4, with 15:30 left in the half before Fresno State tied the game at 14-14 with 12:04. The Bulldogs extended its lead to nine, 27-18, with just over two minutes and pushed its lead to 11, 31-20, at the
half.

Jones, Moore and Cherlanda Franklin each had four points at half for the Pack.

The Pack shot 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from the floor in the first half while

Fresno State shot 28.2 percent (11-of-39) from the floor.

In the second, Nevada went on a 14-5 run to open the half and tied the game at 36-36 with 14:01 left in the game. Fresno State pushed its lead back to six, 47-41, with 6:36 remaining in the game.

Nevada tied the game at 47-47 on a layup by Brandi Jones with 5:08 left in the game but Nevada was held to just one field goal over the final five minutes of the game as the Bulldogs posted the 56-49 win.

As a team Nevada shot 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the floor while Fresno State shot 31.3 percent (21-of-67) from the floor. Fresno State outrebounded Nevada 56-49 in the game including 26 offensive rebounds to the Pack’s nine.

Nevada Softball Climbs In Rankings

Coming off a 3-1 start to the season, the Nevada softball team moved up in both national polls this week.

In the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25, Nevada moved up five spots to No. 18. In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25, the Wolf Pack moved up one spot from No. 22 to No. 21.

Nevada beat Cal State Bakersfield, then-No. 9/11 Northwestern and Wichita State and fell to then-No. 7 Arizona last weekend.

The Wolf Pack is back in action this weekend at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic, hosted by UNLV. Nevada will play Utah, Southern Utah, Louisville, Portland State and the host Rebels in the tournament.
-Paul Klein

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