The Rematch has redeeming quality
But Hawaii's best effort might not be enough to defeat mighty Stanford
By Cindy Luis
Star-BulletinWhether by coincidence or by design, Cia Goods wore the T-shirt from the 1996 NCAA women's volleyball final four to practice this week. It was an apt reminder of how far the University of Hawaii senior has come since last December, when the Wahine lost to Stanford in the NCAA final.
Goods is at the top of her game. She is second in the country in blocking and was named the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division Player of the Year this week.
Meanwhile, No. 14 Hawaii (23-5) has struggled against the nation's elite, going 1-5 against ranked opponents. Hawaii gets another shot at a top team Sunday when it travels to No. 3 Stanford (27-2) for a 3 p.m. (HST) match at Maples Pavilion.
The match is more about redemption than revenge. This UH team in no way resembles the one that lost to the Cardinal, 15-7, 15-3, 15-5, 11 months ago.
Stanford, however, "probably is as good, if not better, than when we played them last year," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "They're awesome. They've got five starters back, all a year older, stronger and better.
"We'll have to play the best match of our season to even be in the game. I'm not sure we can beat them even if we do play our best match. But that's our goal - to have our best match of the season."
Goods and Therese Crawford are the only returning UH players who saw substantial time in the final against Stanford.
The Cardinal stuffed a flu-stricken Angelica Ljungquist - the NCAA Player of the Year - on the first play of the match. It ended in 91 minutes with Stanford holding the Wahine to 15 points, the lowest total ever in the final.
"Of course, there are regrets and we'd like to play that game again with a healthy Angelica," said Goods, who led UH with 11 kills and four blocks in the match. "But that was last year, and for whatever reason, they were the better team that night. We're so different now, like a whole new team this year, that there is no revenge in people's minds. To me, they're just another good team and I'm hoping that we'll go out and play hard. We're excited about playing another good team."
Stanford was the No. 1 preseason pick, but lost twice to Penn State within two weeks early in the season. The losses came while the Cardinal were without 1996 freshman of the year Kerri Walsh, who was coming off shoulder surgery.
Walsh, the NCAA Tournament MVP, is back and Stanford has won 21 straight en route to its fourth consecutive Pac-10 title. Shoji said he has picked Stanford No. 1 in the coaches poll since Penn State lost to Wisconsin a month ago.
"I think they're the best team in the country," Shoji said in comparing Stanford to No. 1 Long Beach State. "Are they better than Long Beach? I guess we'll find out."
"We're excited to play them because they're another great team," Crawford said. "I know it's going to be a huge challenge.
"I've talked to people and they say that last year was our big chance (for the title) and that we should have done it. Well, that's last year and there's nothing that we can do about it. I think it would be great to surprise people."
UH got blown out at Long Beach State three weeks ago, 15-8, 15-5, 15-0. The 13 points was the lowest total ever for Hawaii. The previous low came in the loss to Stanford.
"We weren't competitive last time out against a good team," Shoji said of the Long Beach State match. "We're hoping that this time out we'll be in the ballgame and compete. Stanford has a lot of talent. We'll see if we've learned anything in the last few weeks."
The facts
Sunday: No. 14 Hawaii (23-5) at No. 3 Stanford (27-2), 3 p.m. HST
