Wednesday, October 28, 1998
Seasiders,
By Cindy Luis
Sea Warriors to see
who’s tops—for now
Star-BulletinAll may be fair in love and war, but not in NCAA Division II women's volleyball.
Only one team will emerge from the West Regional and advance to the national tournament Nov. 20-21.
The battle for ratings and psychological supremacy continues tomorrow when No. 1 Brigham Young-Hawaii takes on No. 4 Hawaii Pacific in a 7:30 p.m. Pacific West match at St. Andrew's Priory gym. The Seasiders (20-0), four-time defending NAIA champions, have won their last 56 matches; the Sea Warriors (23-1) have won 17 in a row since their five-set loss to BYUH six weeks ago.
"HPU is humming right now," BYUH coach Wilfred Navalta said. "They've been destroying their competition and we've been struggling against ours.
"I still believe we should be ranked 1-2. And our positions could be switched anytime. We're that close in talent and abilities right now. It will be interesting to see how we adjust to each other as the match progresses."
Tomorrow is the second meeting of the season between the two PacWest leaders and will determine the Pacific Division winner and host of the PacWest Tournament. They are scheduled to meet two more times during the regular season and should see each other in the finals of the PacWest Tournament and the West Regional.
"Emotionally, beating them would do so much for our confidence level," HPU junior Dawn Penebacker said. "We know we can beat them, but it's getting everyone to go out there and not make the mental errors we did the last time.
"It's going to depend on who plays the hardest. We want it a whole lot. Last year, they beat us in less than an hour. We took two games off them the last time and it was at their gym. If we play our game, I think we'll beat them once or twice before it's all over."
HPU has not defeated BYUH in the last 17 meetings dating back to 1994. The Seasiders lead the series, 66-9.
The Sea Warriors tuned up last night with a 15-7, 15-4, 15-8 PacWest win over Chaminade at St. Andrew's Priory gym. It was HPU's 23rd win of the season, tying the school record for most victories in a season set in 1990, the year the Sea Warriors won their only national title.
Debbie Sant'Anna led HPU with 15 kills, hitting .560. Chaminade, getting 11 kills from Joan Lilio, hit .077.
"For us to win, we first have to be mentally strong," HPU coach Tita Ahuna said. "BYUH is so strong mentally that you can be beating them 14-1 and they'll still come back to win, 16-14.
"Their record speaks for itself. To beat them would be tremendous, not just for the ratings but for our confidence, our egos. If it goes to five again, whoever makes the fewest mistakes is going to win."
The match brings together a number of the top players in NCAA Division II. BYUH is led by All-Americans Becky Laubach and Arlete Silva, the PacWest leaders in hitting percentage and blocks.
HPU counters with All-American candidates Hai Yan Wang and Sant'Anna, ranked 1-2 in kills in the PacWest.
And both teams feature excellent setters: Juliana Lima of the Seasiders and Nia Tuitele of the Sea Warriors.
"It's going to be a tough match again," Navalta said. "The key will be to get to 15 before they do."
MANANGAN CITED: Hawaii Pacific sophomore goalie Carissa Manangan was named the PacWest Player of the Week in women's soccer.
Manangan had seven saves in the Sea Warriors' 1-0 victory over 17th-ranked Cal Lutheran. It was her fifth consecutive shutout.
ALOHA, SENIORS: Saturday's 7:15 p.m. match against Chaminade is the final home match for six seniors on the Hawaii-Hilo women's volleyball team: Heather Campbell, Lisa Ha'unga, Kalei Nathaniel, Ginelle Palau, Heather Wride and April Jacobson.
Jacobson, a 5-foot-10 middle blocker from California, is the first mainland player to compete for four years for the Vulcans.
HONORABLE MENTION: BYU-Hawaii's Arlete Silva and Hawaii Pacific's Hai Yan Wang were honorable mention selections for PacWest Player of the Week.
Silva had 35 kills, 23 digs and eight blocks in last week's win over Hawaii-Hilo. Wang had 44 kills, seven blocks and a .543 hitting percentage in two Sea Warriors victories.
PacWest Volleyball
Tomorrow: No. 1 BYU-Hawaii (20-0, 13-0) vs. No. 4 Hawaii Pacific (23-1, 12-1), 7:30 p.m.
