Thursday, October 29, 1998
One down,
two to go for
streaking Wahine
They dominate Pepperdine on
From staff and wire reports
the first stop of a volleyball road tripMALIBU, Calif. -- Good things are supposed to come in threes.
The Hawaii women's volleyball team is hoping that holds true for road victories. Yesterday, the No. 9 Wahine needed just 92 minutes to kick off their three-match road trip with a 15-13, 15-6, 15-10 victory over Pepperdine.
"We needed this one to set up the weekend," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "We played well against a pretty good opponent in an away game. It was a nice win and was a good way to start the trip."
The Wahine (17-2) were to leave Los Angeles this afternoon for El Paso and the first of two Western Athletic Conference matches. Hawaii takes on UTEP tomorrow (4:30 p.m. HST) and is at New Mexico on Saturday (4 p.m. HST).
Yesterday was Hawaii's first visit to Firestone Fieldhouse in 17 years. Shoji estimated that half the crowd of 550 were Wahine fans, bolstered by the families of the five Wahine players from California: Heather Bown, Jessica Sudduth, Jennifer Roberts, Heidi Ilustre and Nikki Hubbert.
All but Ilustre (.115) hit better than .300. Bown had 17 kills, hitting .577, and had three of Hawaii's nine aces. Sudduth added 11 kills, hitting .308.
"We did serve pretty well. Aces always help," Shoji said after the Wahine's fifth consecutive victory. "The team is just playing well. We continue to hit for a very high percentage (.385 overall).
"Our middles continue to play very well. Heather, Veronica (Lima) and Jenny Roberts are doing a very good job. And our left-siders keep banging away.
"I feel the key to the game was how we took charge in Game 1. It was a good sign that down 13-11, we steadied out, got some points and took charge."
Pepperdine (11-8) broke an 11-11 tie in Game 1 on an ace by Ana Witkowski and a kill by Julie Hinsche. After a Hawaii timeout, it took all of five minutes for the Wahine to close out the game with a 4-0 run, capped by one of Hubbert's three aces.
Hawaii rolled in Game 2, spotting the Waves a 3-1 lead before coming back with an 8-0 spurt. Hubbert's serve continued to give Pepperdine problems as did Hawaii's taller block, which helped close out the game with two consecutive stuffs.
The Wahine fell behind, 6-8, in Game 3, but took advantage of five mishandled balls by the Waves to go ahead for good, 12-9. Following a solo block by Ilustre and an ace by Sudduth, Hubbert polished off the night with her third ace.
Pepperdine was led by freshman hitter Lindsay Phillips (19 kills) and senior hitter Kristin Lee (11 kills). The Waves were missing their leading hitter and blocker (Jamie Hill, broken fibula) and starting setter Melissa Plass played sparingly with a heavily bandaged broken thumb.
"Phillips was outstanding," Shoji said. "She's going to be quite a player.
"Obviously, they're still pretty banged up and that was something we capitalized on."
The win avenged last year's five-set upset by the Waves at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The match started at 5 p.m. (3 p.m. HST) due to campus religious commitments. Shoji said the early start time didn't bother the team.
"It was like our practice time," Shoji said. "We usually go at 3. We felt right on schedule."
Wahine volleyball
Tomorrow: No. 9 Hawaii (17-2, 7-1 WAC) at Texas-El Paso (10-8, 2-5), 4:30 p.m. HST
1998 UH Wahine Volleyball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
