Wahine sweep up
By Cindy Luis
road foes
Star-BulletinMission accomplished. It was a clean sweep for the University of Hawaii women's volleyball team last week as the Wahine turned their opponents into road kill. Three matches in three days equaled three straight-set wins.
"We pretty much did everything we wanted to do on the trip," said Wahine assistant Charlie Wade. "Going just nine games pretty much says it all."
Hawaii (13-4 overall, 5-0 WAC) has not dropped a set in its last seven matches, corresponding with its seven-match win streak. The Wahine also ran their regular-season conference winning skein to 40 in a row, dating back to November of 1994.
Hawaii should add to its string this week when it hosts Rice (4-14, 1-4) Thursday night and Tulsa (4-18, 0-5) Saturday night. Rice's only WAC win this season came against Tulsa.
The Wahine capped their 9,000-mile road trip Saturday night with a 15-11, 15-6, 15-1 win over Texas Christian.
Game 1 lasted for nearly half of the 61-minute match, with the Volleyfrogs matching the Wahine point for point to tie it at 11-all.
Tough serves by sophomore Heidi Ilustre helped Hawaii's run of four straight points that quickly closed out Game 1. Freshman Jessica Sudduth put down two kills and senior Cia Goods was in on one of her match-high eight block assists to pull it out.
"TCU came out fired up," said Hawaii coach Dave Shoji. "I didn't know if it was because we were ready to go home or what. We weren't playing too well in the middle of that first game, but our kids hung in there, straightened things out and played pretty well the rest of the way."
Shoji pointed to Goods' play Saturday (9 kills, hitting .615, 8 block assists) as a key to the team's success. The senior blocker will be in contention for WAC Player of the Week honors after hitting .557 in last week's three matches with a combined 38 kills, 14 digs and 13 total blocks.
"Cia had a great series," said Shoji. "She hit well, blocked well and showed senior leadership. We really needed that. When you're on the road, you need leadership because things don't always go your way. She certainly showed she can do that for us."
Hawaii repacks soon after Saturday's match. The Wahine will be on the road the next two weeks, with two trips to the West Coast: Fresno State Oct. 23 and San Jose State Oct. 25, followed by San Diego State Oct. 30, Long Beach State Nov. 1 and UNLV Nov. 2.
WAC Women
Pacific Division
Conference Overall Team W L Pct. GB W L Pct. Hawaii 5 0 1.000 -- 13 4 .765 San Diego St 4 1 .800 1 8 7 .533 Fresno St 4 2 .667 1-1/2 14 6 .700 San Jose St 4 2 .667 1-1/2 10 6 .625 Texas Christ. 2 4 .333 3-1/2 11 9 .550 So. Methodist 2 4 .333 3-1/2 12 10 .545 Rice 1 4 .200 4 4 14 .222 Tulsa 0 5 .000 5 4 18 .182
Conference Overall Team W L Pct. GB W L Pct. Brigham Young 6 0 1.000 -- 15 4 .789 Colorado St 5 1 .833 1 15 3 .833 Utah 5 1 .833 1 14 4 .788 Wyoming 4 2 .667 2 11 8 .579 New Mexico 1 4 .200 4-1/2 8 10 .444 Nev-Las Vegas 0 4 .000 5 7 9 .438 Air Force 0 4 .000 5 5 15 .250 Texas-El Paso 0 5 .000 5-1/2 10 6 .625
1997 UH Wahine Volleyball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
