Friday, October 16, 1998
Busy seven days
By Cindy Luis
Wahine volleyball
Star-BulletinIt takes 19 hours to get from Brazil to Hawaii. So what's a five-hour flight to California to Veronica Lima? More like a commute over the Pali from town.
"I love to travel," the freshman middle blocker for the Hawaii women's volleyball team said. "It's one of the reasons I came here. I don't want to spend my life in one place.
"I'm excited because it's a different place than I've been before. I've been to Europe a couple of times (with the Brazilian junior national team) but going to San Diego is a big deal for me, too."
This road trip, the second in as many weeks, is a big deal for the 10th-ranked Wahine. Tomorrow, they take on WAC opponent San Diego State; Monday, it's their first-ever meeting with No. 16 San Diego.
"The loss to BYU (last Saturday) didn't hurt us in the national picture," Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. "But we can't afford to lose between now and when we next play BYU (Nov. 5).
"This is a very important road trip. Every game is important to us. San Diego State poses a threat. And San Diego is a legitimate Top 20 team. My problem is convincing my team that USD is capable of beating us."
San Diego State managed just 17 points against Hawaii in the Sept. 18 WAC opener in Honolulu. But the Aztecs have the potential to upset some teams behind junior blocker Nicole Curtis and senior hitter Michaela Paz.
"I look for ways the other team can beat us," Shoji said. "If they play as well as they can play, they'll be in the match. Their players are putting up good numbers despite their record. We need to guard against not coming out and playing hard.
"And USD will be a dangerous team if we're not ready."
USD has one of the top players in the country in 5-11 hitter Petia Yanchulova, who is ranked nationally in kills (5.39 kpg) and digs (4.02 dpg) while hitting .300. The Bulgarian was the national player of the week after leading the Toreros to wins last week over Pepperdine and No. 14 Loyola Marymount.
Hawaii is coming off its first road trip, and its first road loss. The defeat at BYU also snapped a 53-match conference regular-season conference winning streak.
"That road trip was harder than I expected," Lima said. "I was distressed with myself, frustrated that I couldn't help my team the way I expected. I was not happy with the way I played.
"But I'm feeling much better now. There's no reason to be sad. We are still in a good place (in the rankings), in the running for the nationals. We have a nice team, a beautiful crowd at home and I'm playing volleyball, which I love to do.
"BYU is No. 5, we're No. 10. They were supposed to beat us. But it was more than that. We didn't enjoy the game. We needed to play happier and relaxed. My feeling is if you don't enjoy the game, it doesn't matter if you win or lose."
Lima has a chronic back problem (bulging disc), which forced her to miss the two matches prior to last week's trip. She said her back is feeling better but she is one of four Wahine who may not be at 100 percent.
Junior hitter Heidi Ilustre is still bother by soreness in her hitting shoulder and missed a practice this week. Junior blocker Heather Bown is recovering from an ankle sprain and sophomore defensive specialist Tehani Miyashiro missed a day's practice because of an ear infection.
This is a tough stretch of the season for Hawaii with four matches in seven days and a 5,000-mile round trip. The Wahine return home Tuesday with just one day to prepare for San Jose State (Thursday) and Fresno State (Friday).
"The next seven days are going to be tough for us," Shoji said. "I just hope we can create more desire and energy on the court. I felt we didn't have that fire Saturday night. We need to be a little more excited about playing."
The schedule doesn't bother Lima one bit.
"We practiced for seven months for this," she said. "It's going to be a tough week but that's the meaning of everything. For me, if we have to play 10 games in a week, I will. And with a big smile."
Wahine volleyball
Saturday: No. 10 Hawaii (12-2, 4-1) at San Diego State (4-14, 1-5), 4 p.m. HST.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
