Wahine top Fresno,
remain atop division
Hawaii runs its winning streak
From staff and wire reports
to 10 matchesFRESNO, Calif. -- The team vans were warmed up, but the University of Hawaii women's volleyball team had to delay its departure from North Gym last night. Host Fresno State's sudden shift from neutral to overdrive in the third game kept the Wahine from another straight-set victory. Hawaii went four games with a Western Athletic Conference opponent for only the second time this season, finally beating the Bulldogs, 15-3, 15-11, 13-15, 15-4, in an hour and 55 minutes. The second-largest crowd at an FSU women's volleyball match (1,692) saw the Wahine extend their winning streak to 10 overall and 19 over the Bulldogs. UH improved to 16-4 overall and 8-0 in the WAC.
"I think tonight was huge for us," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "It puts some distance between us and Fresno State in the standings and this should mean that we'll be a first or second seed in the (WAC) tournament.
"You would think this was the tougher match of our trip. But you just never know what's going to happen on the road."
The top two teams in the Pacific and Mountain Divisions receive a first-round bye in the WAC tournament. Hawaii is a game ahead of San Diego State, which defeated San Jose State last night, 15-9, 15-13, 6-15, 15-13.
The Wahine meet San Jose State tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. HST). The match was moved from 8 p.m. PDT to accommodate ESPN2's broadcast of the Spartans-Air Force football game.
"We haven't played an afternoon game in a while," Shoji said. "It does change our routine. We're driving to San Jose and will practice there (today) at the same time as Saturday's game. "We just need to focus on playing and not worry about what time it is."
Hawaii led 13-8 in the third game, but several missed serves and hitting errors by UH allowed the Bulldogs to score seven unanswered points for the win.
In the fourth game, the Bulldogs trailed 5-4, but didn't score again. Seven FSU hitting errors for points and one of Heidi Ilustre's four aces allowed the Wahine to go on a 10-0 run, capped by Therese Crawford's kill.
Crawford finished with a team-high 14 kills and 14 digs. Ilustre added 13 kills and 14 digs and Cia Goods 13 kills with no errors (.500). She was also in on five blocks. Jennifer Roberts added to Hawaii's block party with nine.
"It's a challenge being on the road," said Roberts, a reserve last season. "But you watched last year's seniors playing and saw their confidence on the road. That gave us returnees confidence.
"I've been having trouble blocking all season and it's something we've been working on in practice every day. So when I get there and actually block some balls it helps me know that we're doing something right."
Diana Nalbandian led the Bulldogs (15-8, 5-3) with 17 kills and 17 digs. Shanus Bennett added 13 kills.
"I think we got fatigued in Game 3," Shoji said. "We had them at 13-8 and it looked like we were going to end it there. We would have ended it there but we started playing loose and their left-side hitters got hot.
"They came back in Game 4 (at 5-4), and at that point, I thought we were in trouble. If they had put any pressure on us . . . well, I was just hoping we could respond. Blocking's been our strength for us all year and it certainly saved us tonight."
At Fresno, Calif. Box Score
Hawaii def. Fresno State, 15-3, 15-11, 13-15, 15-4
Wahine (16-4 overall, 8-0 WAC)
g k e at pct. bs ba d Crawford 4 14 9 43 .116 0 6 14 Goods 4 13 0 26 .500 1 4 10 Sudduth 4 7 5 24 .083 0 0 13 Hubbert 4 2 2 6 .000 0 5 8 Miyashiro 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 14 Ilustre 4 13 3 34 .294 0 2 14 Karratti 2 0 1 1 -1.00 0 0 2 Cordray 1 3 2 14 .071 0 0 0 Elkington 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Roberts 4 6 3 19 .158 1 8 2Totals 4 58 25 167 .198 2 25 77
g k e at pct. bs ba d Aufdermaur 4 5 1 14 .286 1 1 9 Bennett 4 13 10 53 .057 1 0 9 Buckelew 4 4 7 30 -1.00 0 1 10 Sankey 2 2 1 7 .143 1 2 2 Nalbandian 4 17 10 56 .125 1 0 17 Malu 4 6 1 15 .333 0 4 8 Satele 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 2 Thoreson 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 3 Anderson 1 0 2 2 -1.00 0 0 0 Wiborg 3 1 0 2 .500 1 2 4 Totals 4 48 32 179 .089 5 10 64Key: g-games. k-kills. e-hitting errors. at-attempts. pct.-hitting percentage. bs-block solos. ba-block assists. d-digs.Aces--UH (8): Ilustre 4, Crawford 1, Goods 1, Hubbert 1, Miyashiro 1. FSU (3): Aufdermaur 1, Bennett 1, Nalbandian 1. Assists--UH (55): Hubbert 52, Goods 1, Miyashiro 1, Ilustre 1. FSU (47): Aufdermaur 41, Sankey 2, Nalbandian 2, Bennet 1, Malu 1.
A--1,692. T--1:55. Officials: Verna Klubnikin, Eric Asami.
1997 UH Wahine Volleyball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
