Saturday, November 21, 1998
Wahine sweep Spartans
By Cindy Luis
Star-BulletinSAN JOSE -- All season long, opponents have had no problem getting motivated to play the Hawaii women's volleyball team.
Time after time, opposing coaches have said their team had played its best match of the season, even in defeat against the Wahine.
Now is the time for No. 7 Hawaii to start playing like the underdog. At some point, should they go deep into the NCAA Tournament, they will not be favored.
Hawaii practiced some of that mentality last night in front of a decidedly pro-Wahine crowd at the Event Center.
Hawaii rallied from deficits in Games 1 and 2, then held off a late charge by San Jose State to win, 15-11, 15-12, 15-9.
It was Hawaii's 13th consecutive victory heading into tonight's final regular-season match at Fresno State. The Wahine improved to 25-2 overall, 12-1 in the Western Athletic Conference. Fresno State, which defeated San Diego State last night, is 18-8, 7-6.
"All of our matches on the road have been like this," said Wahine senior captain Leah Karratti, after a 14 kill, 13 dig performance. "We have been slow getting started. We need to get rolling earlier and not have this same problem at the WAC Tournament."
Hawaii is seeded No. 2 in next week's tournament in Las Vegas. The Wahine open play Wednesday, facing the winner of Tuesday's first-round match between the Mountain-3 (Wyoming or UNLV) and the Pacific-6 (San Diego State or New Mexico.
"We've had this problem," said Hawaii coach Dave Shoji. "There's so little motivation for us. These games (with San Jose State and Fresno State) mean nothing in terms of the WAC Tournament.
"What we have been talking about is playing for pride and national seeding. We are working on that killer instinct."
Last night, the Spartans refused to die. They led in Game 2, 4-0, before Hawaii went on a 10-0 run and eventually pulled away. The Wahine jumped out to a 13-3 lead in Game 3 but the Spartans rallied to within 14-9. Hawaii served for the match six times before Heather Bown ended it after 1 hour and 33 minutes with her 17th kill.
"Our intensity was good," said Bown. "They gave us a run but when we calmed down we were able to take care of them. Being on the road you need these kinds of challenges. You need to know you can come back if you get behind."
The Spartans, 18-10, 6-7, have played their last two matches against No. 6 BYU and No. 7 Hawaii.
"We've played our best in those two matches," said Spartans senior hitter Tanya Kamau, a Waiakea graduate. "We're due to win one of these."
The teams were pretty even except in one major area: blocking. Hawaii outblocked San Jose State, 14-4, with Bown in on eight of those. Heidi Ilustre had 14 kills and 12 digs.
Box Scores
Hawaii def. San Jose State, 15-11, 15-12, 15-9
Wahine (25-2 overall, 12-1 WAC)
g k e at pct. bs ba d Karratti 3 14 3 33 .333 0 2 13 Bown 3 17 7 38 .263 2 6 5 Hubbert 3 1 1 7 .000 0 3 4 Lima 3 9 4 17 .294 0 6 12 Roberts 3 8 0 14 .571 0 3 0 Illustre 3 14 6 42 .190 0 4 12 Bradley 2 1 1 2 .000 0 0 0 Huihui 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Miyashiro 3 0 1 1 -1.00 0 0 5 Kim 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 5 Valentzas 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Totals 3 64 23 154 .266 2 24 56Spartans (18-10 overall, 6-7 WAC)
g k e at pct. bs ba d Kamau 3 6 1 10 .500 0 2 5 Myers 3 8 4 17 .235 0 0 0 Sarkees 3 1 1 7 .000 0 0 2 Hintz 3 10 9 38 .026 0 1 7 Gallop 3 14 4 34 .294 0 1 10 Walker 3 13 3 38 .263 0 1 18 Blair 2 2 0 5 .400 0 0 1 Smith 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 5 Burningham 3 0 1 1 -1.00 0 3 1 Fernandez 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Totals 3 54 23 150 .207 0 8 49Aces--UH (6): Bown 2, Kim 2, Hubbert 1, Lima 1. SJS (6): Kamau 2, Myers 2, Hintz 1, Gallop 1. Assists--UH (62): Hubbert 55, Karratti 2, Roberts 2, Lima 1, Illustre 1, Miyashiro 1. SJS (47): Sarkees 44, Gallop 2, Hintz 1.A--675. T--1:33. Officials: Verna Klubnikin and Cathy Trent
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
