By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
The Wahine's 66-4 run through the last two seasons by far
outshines the heartbreaking loss to Stanford in the
NCAA volleyball finals on Saturday.
Hawaii's 15-7, 15-3, 15-5 pounding by Stanford in Saturday's championship match was a bittersweet end to a 35-3 season. This Wahine team was the first to make it past the regional since 1988; it was also the team that scored the fewest points ever - 15 - in the title match.
"If you had told me that we could hold Hawaii to 15 points, I'd say you don't know much about volleyball," said Stanford hitter Kristin Folkl, who had 16 kills and 6 blocks in the Cardinal's victory. "We beat a great team. Angelica (Wahine senior middle Ljungquist) is a great player and I hope I never have to play the Swedish national team. She just had an off night."
Ljungquist, the national Player of the Year, had just seven kills in Saturday's loss. She also had no blocks for the first time in her Wahine career; coming into the match, she was the leading blocker in the country.
But she also had a fever of 102 degrees and spent most of Saturday in bed, missing the team's morning practice. Perhaps more hindering was a painful strained Achilles tendon in her left foot that limited her ability to take off on her trademark - and usually successful - step-out play.
"But I don't want to use anything as an excuse," said Ljungquist, who finishes as Hawaii's career leader in block assists and hitting percentage. "I tried my best. We played as hard as we could but didn't have any luck out there."
Saturday was the first time in four final four meetings that the Cardinal had managed to defeat the Wahine. Hawaii had won semifinal meetings in 1982 and 1983, and defeated Stanford in 1987 for the last of its four national championships.
"I'm disappointed the scores looked like we played poorly, but I don't feel we did," said Wahine coach Dave Shoji. "I'm not disappointed in the season. Sure we wanted to win but we realize we got beat by the better team. It's not like we didn't compete. We ran into a really hot team.
"I really hope that this loss doesn't take away from the tremendous season we had. We made it back here (to the final four). We expect to be back again. And it's not going to take another eight years until the next time."
Shoji loses five seniors off a team that went 66-4 over the past two seasons. Leaving a winning legacy behind are Ljungquist, All-American setter Robyn Ah Mow, hitters Joselyn Robins and Chastity Nobriga, and defensive specialist Nalani Yamashita.
"Obviously, we're not going to find another player like Ang for a while," Shoji said. "We're not going to have a Robyn Ah Mow forever. But every team is different. This team had those two, maybe our next great team will have more balance, no stars.
"Chastity had a great year, a year she deserved. We hope we'll find someone to play Nalani's role next year. And we'll miss the leadership and work ethic of Jos. The thing the next team will have to live up to is the work ethic of this particular team."
Hawaii returns two starters who will both be seniors: blocker Cia Goods and hitter Therese Crawford. Both performed well during the playoffs with Goods putting down a team-high 11 kills and getting in on four blocks against Stanford.
Also returning for junior seasons will be setter Nikki Hubbert, Ah Mow's heir apparent, hitter Kelli Cordray and defensive specialist Lori Higashida. The incoming sophomore class includes hitters Heidi Ilustre and Aven Lee, and middles Kapu Elkington and Jennifer Roberts.
Three players were redshirted: 6-foot-3 sophomore blocker Lori Garber, freshman setter Keala Nihipali and sophomore hitter Leah Karratti.
Shoji is still looking for a middle blocker to add to his recruiting class. He has received verbal commitments from three prep all-Americans: hitters Jessica Sudduth and Jameka Stevens, as well as all-around player Tehani Miyashiro of Punahou.
"Cia and Therese had good tournaments and that's a pretty good foundation for next year," Shoji said. "I like our recruiting class but I can't talk about them (until after they officially sign in February). Our bench has a lot of work to do before we're back in this situation again.
"Can we make it back next year? That's really up to the players, how well they train and how much they improve. Based on what we have coming back, we have a long way to go.
"This year's team was pretty special. We had quite a ride."