Saturday, November 28, 1998
BYU and Hawaii
By Cindy Luis
going at it again
Star-BulletinLAS VEGAS -- Something to gain, something to lose. There was more on the line today than just the WAC Women's Volleyball Tournament title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
No. 6 Brigham Young and No. 7 Hawaii came into the 1 p.m. HST match with identical 28-2 records and very little difference between them in the district rankings and national polls. They split during the regular season, each winning at home; they both won their semifinal matches in straight sets yesterday: Hawaii 15-4, 15-7, 15-12 over San Jose State and BYU, 15-12, 15-10, 15-6, over UNLV.
A win for the Wahine would keep them ahead of the Cougars in the district and give them a higher seed when the NCAA Tournament pairings are announced tomorrow. A win for BYU would move the Cougars ahead of Hawaii in the district ratings and keep them in the running to host a regional.
Both teams want the victory. Hawaii probably needs it more psychologically. This is the third WAC Tournament, and the third time the Wahine and Cougars have met for the championship.
BYU has won the two previous times, in 1996 as the underdog and in 1997 as the favorite.
"Am I tired of losing to them?" Hawaii coach Dave Shoji asked. "It's been on my mind. It's kind of like us losing to Long Beach State in the NCAA Tournament (five times between 1989-94).
"It's been us and them for the last three years. It's not a huge tradition. We haven't played them enough to feel the same way as our football and basketball teams. They're just another good team that we would like to beat. We would sure like to have the automatic berth that comes with winning the WAC."
BYU has four players who have been named to the all-tournament teams the previous two years, including junior setter Anna-Lena Smith, a two-time selection.
Hawaii has two players who have no tourney history with the Cougars: junior transfer Heather Bown and freshman Veronica Lima. The two middles should make the all-tournament team today if they put up the same kind of numbers they did against the Spartans last night -- Bown had 14 kills and 12 blocks, while Lima had 11 kills and hit .474.
Heidi Ilustre added 13 kills last night and Hawaii outblocked San Jose State, 16-5. The Spartans (21-11) had four players in double-kill figures, led by Joslynn Gallop's 13.
"I think it's going to be an exciting match," UNLV coach Deitre Collins said of the Hawaii-BYU meeting. "It's all about size and power at this level and that's what we didn't have against BYU."
Collins and her Rebels learned they could compete with the WAC's elite, refusing to fold against the Cougars. UNLV fell behind 8-1 in both Games 1 and 2, rallied to 12-9 in Game 1 and 11-10 in Game 2.
The Cougars were just too big and balanced in the end. Korie Rogers and Mari Carpenter both had 10 kills as BYU won its seventh in a row.
The Rebels (23-2) got 14 kills from Angie Sylvas and 11 from Christel Eves. UNLV now waits for word on whether it makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance or not.
"I hope we can get five WAC teams in the tournament," BYU coach Elaine Michaelis said. "I think Colorado State was in good shape until they lost to UNLV. UNLV helped themselves getting this far in the tournament.
"Playing Hawaii prepares us all the more for the NCAA tournament. I'm looking forward to a great match."
Hawaii is the only WAC team with a winning record against BYU. The Wahine are 12-5 against the Cougars but have lost three of the last five meetings.
"BYU doesn't have a real weakness," Shoji said. "They're a lot like us. We need to do the same things we did against them that we did at home: Hit smart, serve intelligently. Every phase of our game has to be on."
Hawaii def. San Jose State, 15-4, 15-7, 15-12
Spartans (21-11)
g k e at pct. d bs ba Kamau 3 2 2 9 .000 4 0 1 Myers 3 10 2 17 .471 0 1 3 Sarkees 3 0 0 3 .000 7 0 0 Hintz 3 11 9 34 .059 8 0 3 Gallop 3 11 9 40 .050 8 0 1 Walker 3 13 4 27 .333 15 0 0 Blair 1 1 3 4 -.500 0 0 0 Smith 3 1 0 1 1.000 2 0 0 Burningham 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Totals 3 49 29 135 .148 44 1 8Wahine (28-2)
g k e at pct. d bs ba Karratti 3 10 2 23 .348 7 1 4 Bown 3 14 3 30 .367 6 1 11 Hubbert 3 5 1 9 .444 8 0 4 Lima 3 11 2 19 .474 7 0 3 Roberts 3 5 3 13 .154 0 0 2 Illustre 3 13 2 31 .355 10 0 3 Bradley 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 1 Sudduth 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Miyashiro 3 0 0 1 .000 5 0 0 Kim 3 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 Totals 3 58 13 126 .357 45 2 28Aces--San Jose State (5): Kamau 2, Walker 2, Sarkees 1. Hawaii (4): Illustre 2, Karratti 1, Miyashiro 1. Assists--San Jose State (46): Sarkees 37, Kamau 2, Gallop 2, Smith 2, Myers 1, Hintz 1, Walker 1. Hawaii (53): Hubbert 46, Illustre 2, Miyashiro 2, Karratti 1, Bown 1, Lima 1.T--1:38. Officials: Verna Klubnikin, Patsy Malta.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
