Saturday, October 3, 1998
Wahine find romp
By Cindy Luis
good for what ails ’em
Star-BulletinMost of the team was battling a lingering flu virus.
Their starting middle blocker (Veronica Lima) was out with a chronic back problem.
But even sick, the Wahine still romped.
Chicken soup may cure the common cold but the best medicine for No. 10 Hawaii (10-1, 2-0) was a relatively quick WAC volleyball victory over Texas-El Paso. Last night's first meeting between the schools lasted 72 minutes at the Stan Sheriff Center -- and it wasn't as close as the 15-8, 15-4, 15-5 score.
"With me, when I'm sick, I get a little more focused," said senior captain Leah Karratti. "Practice has been going OK but Dave (coach Shoji) wanted us to think about what we need to be doing when we're on the court. We needed to bring back our energy."
Karratti lit up the arena last night, accounting for more than a quarter of the team's kills, nearly a third of its blocks and almost a fourth of the digs. Switching from left-side to right-side hitter, she turned in the first double-double of her career with a personal best 11 kills to go with 10 digs and five blocks.
"Leah was awesome," said Wahine freshman middle Adrianne Bradley. "She stepped it up as the team captain. She's such a happy person on the court and it reflects on the rest of us."
There was some motivation. Shoji reminded the Wahine that they were more than halfway through their home schedule and "I told them to make every moment count," he said. "I want them to play better but I want them to enjoy it."
The Miners (8-4, 1-1), who have yet to play a home match, weren't having much fun in front of the crowd of 4,785 (6,112 tickets issued). UTEP had two kills in Game 1, both by Felicia Fahey at the end of the game, neither for a point.
Hawaii gave UTEP seven of its eight points via hitting errors. The other point came on Krista Gronert's service ace.
The Miners took a 3-1 lead in Game 2, then didn't score again until the Wahine were comfortably ahead at 12-3. After taking a 7-0 lead in Game 3, Hawaii hit a lull while UTEP worked out of negative hitting percentage; 14 minutes later, the Wahine had won their eighth straight of the season and their 51st consecutive league match.
"We got what we expected," UTEP coach Norm Brandl said. "It was a bunch of firsts for us. No one on the playing roster had ever been to Hawaii. We've never played in front of such a large crowd (580 was the previous high) and it's been a while since we've played a team as good as Hawaii.
"But like the sign in my office reads: 'Once you cross inside the white lines, there are no excuses.' Hawaii did exactly what we had seen on tape. They hit high, they hit hard, but it's hard to duplicate that in practice."
Shoji doesn't want a repeat performance tomorrow when facing New Mexico (6-7, 0-1). Although their record doesn't reflect it, Shoji believes the Lobos are a better team -- on paper -- than the Miners. Of New Mexico's seven losses, four have been to ranked teams: Long Beach State, Stanford, Wisconsin and San Diego.
"I'd like us to get a good, even, consistent performance on Sunday," Shoji said. "Heidi (Ilustre) and Jessica (Sudduth) are still struggling on the left and they need to have a good game Sunday so they can feel confident on the road trip.
"I thought we were getting a little lackadaisical so I said something (between Games 2 and 3). I wanted them to get excited, have fun, enjoy it more."
Both Sudduth and junior middle Heather Bown finished with nine kills. Ilustre had 10 digs.
Fahey finished with a team-high six kills for the Miners.
NOTES: Lima, who has a bulging disc, is expected to miss tomorrow's match as well. Shoji wanted her to rest as much as possible heading into next week's road trip to Utah Friday and No. 5 Brigham Young Saturday. .. In for her campus visit this weekend is Wahine recruit Jennifer Fopma, a 6-3 middle blocker from Long Beach, Calif.
At Stan Sheriff Center Hawaii def. UTEP
15-8, 15-4, 15-5Miners (8-4 overall, 1-1 WAC)
g k e at pct. bs ba d Fahey 3 6 10 31 -.129 0 1 5 Polhamus 3 5 1 11 .364 2 0 3 Acosta 3 2 0 6 .333 0 0 5 Zimmerman 3 5 3 19 .105 0 0 7 Marquell 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 3 Mosher 3 4 3 12 .083 0 0 0 Adams 2 0 1 1 -1.000 0 0 0 Gronert 3 0 0 1 .000 0 0 9 Nosan 3 1 2 9 -.111 1 1 1 Totals 3 23 20 90 .033 3 2 33Wahine (10-1 overall, 2-0 WAC)
g k e at pct. bs ba d Sudduth 3 9 4 30 .167 0 2 2 Bown 3 9 3 19 .316 0 3 7 Hubbert 3 4 2 9 .222 0 2 3 Kim 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 2 Roberts 2 2 1 5 .200 0 3 1 Ilustre 3 4 5 14 -.071 0 1 10 Karratti 3 11 2 18 .500 2 3 10 Bradley 1 1 1 2 .000 0 2 2 Miyashiro 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 4 Totals 3 40 18 97 .227 2 16 41Key: g-games. k-kills. e-hitting errors. at-attempts. pct.-hitting percentage. bs-block solos. ba-block assists. d-digs.Aces--UH (8): Hubbert 3, Karratti 2, Ilustre 2, Sudduth 1. UTEP (1): Gronert 1. Assists--UH (38): Hubbert 33, Karratti 2, Bown 1. UTEP (23): Acosta 16, Gronert 2, Mosher 2, Fahey 1, Zimmerman 1, Nosan 1.
A--6122. T--1:12. Officials: Tom Given and Denice Hanson.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
