Wednesday, October 14, 1998
Excitement running high
By Cindy Luis
for Law-abiding Vulcans
Star-BulletinWhen the clock strikes midnight Friday, Jeff Law hopes his Vulcans will turn into a basketball team.
Law gets his first turn at being a college head coach with Hawaii-Hilo's Midnight Madness at the UHH Gym.
Although the first day of practice is officially tomorrow, the Vulcans will celebrate Midnight Madness -- just like hundreds of other schools from Maine to Manoa -- late Friday night.
"I'm looking forward it," said Law, a former assistant and game strategist with the University of Hawaii. "It won't be a big carnival, like it is at Manoa. But it will give the community and the students something to do past 10 o'clock.
"We'll get to show the team off and have some good, wholesome fun."
Hawaii-Hilo is the only NCAA Division II team in the state that will make a big deal of it. BYU-Hawaii, Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific are all taking a low-key approach while opening practice tomorrow.
The Vulcans' event begins at 10:30 p.m. with a band, costume contest, routines by the UHH cheerleaders and a shooting contest (a semester's tuition for making a half-court shot). Following the team's introduction at 12:01 a.m., there will be a 3-point shooting and dunk contests and a scrimmage.
"I think Hilo is excited about basketball," Law said. "And the community has accepted me with open arms. I know there are people who want to make sure that it's worth coming out for. My goal is to give them something to grab onto, give them more than flash. I want to give them substance.
"The players have worked hard on their conditioning, but I think the guys are sick of the workouts and are ready to get on the floor."
The Vulcans have four returnees, including all-Conference forward Merriel Jenkins, and eight freshmen.
"The key is to stay healthy," Law said. "We don't have a lot of depth or experience.
"The guys are great. We put on two clinics last week. We want to be part of the community. Now we're ready to get it going."
SEASIDERS WIN: At Silver City, N.M., Vanessa Valansi had 20 kills to lead the top-ranked Brigham Young-Hawaii women's volleyball team to a 12-15, 15-4, 15-4, 15-7 victory over Pacific West opponent Western New Mexico last night.
The win was the Seasiders' 52nd in a row, tying a school record set over the 1995 and '96 seasons. BYU-Hawaii improved to 16-0 overall and 11-0 in the PacWest. The Mustangs fell to 7-12 and 3-5.
The match drew 1,100 spectators, the most of the season for Western New Mexico. The teams meet again tonight.
VULCANS FALL: At Anchorage, Alaska, Ginelle Palau's match-high 23 kills wasn't enough as Hawaii-Hilo fell to Alaska-Anchorage, 5-15, 15-4, 6-15, 15-11, 15-10, in PacWest volleyball last night.
The Vulcans (9-10, 4-5) are at Alaska-Fairbanks today. The Seawolves (12-11, 5-3) host Chaminade tonight.
SILVERSWORDS WIN: At Fairbanks, Alaska, Joan Lilio had 16 kills and Gerrine Sam Fong added 12 to lead Chaminade to a 15-9, 7-15, 15-3, 15-11 PacWest volleyball victory over Alaska-Fairbanks last night.
The Silverswords improved to 6-14 overall and 3-9 in the conference. The Nanooks fell to 1-10 and 8-14.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
