Volleyball champions honored at banquet
Jan. 2, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- Reservations are required by Friday, Jan. 5, for the annual WMU volleyball banquet. This year's banquet honors the 2000 MAC champions and will be held at the Kalamazoo Country Club, beginning at noon, Sunday, Jan. 14.
The cost for the volleyball banquet is $25 per person. Call 387-3062 for more information or to make reservations.
On Nov. 25, Western Michigan University's volleyball Broncos won their eighth Mid-American Conference championship and their first since 1988. WMU finished the season with a record of 25-6 overall, 17-1 MAC, and earned an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
Playing on their home court in the MAC tournament, Western Michigan defeated Northern Illinois, 3-0, in a semifinal match and defeated Ball State, 3-1, for the title. In the championship match, WMU had 21.0 team blocks (seven solo blocks and 28 assists), tying the MAC tournament record set in 1987. For the entire tournament, Western hit .333 as a team, which ranks second in tournament history.
Bronco head coach Cathy George recorded her 300th career coaching victory in the MAC championship match.
Junior middle blocker Zakiya Pope and senior outside hitter Alberta Griffin were named to the All-Tournament Team. Pope was the tournament's most-valuable player and was also selected as the conference's MVP for the 2000 season.
Among other season highlights, four Broncos were named to MAC All-Conference Teams. Junior outside hitter M'Myia McQuirter was selected for the honorable mention team, sophomore setter Ashley Ritter was chosen for the All-MAC Second Team, and Pope and senior outside hitter Monyka Paul were MAC First-Team selections. This was the second consecutive year that two Broncos were chosen for the six-player all-conference first team.
Media contact: Thom Myers, 616 387-8400, thomas.myers@wmich.edu