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Wednesday, November 22, 2000
Kahumoku, It's been a while since the University of Hawaii women's volleyball team has made an opposing team feel the full impact of its left jab.
Sudduth
unstoppable
The two combine for 23 kills
as the Wahine sweep Rice and
improve their record to 25-0By Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinBut that's what happened last night as junior Lily Kahumoku returned from a week in a cast to combine with senior Jessica Sudduth for a 23-kill attack from the left side that blew out Rice University, 15-3, 15-6, 15-3, before 3,957 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center.
With a victory against the University of Texas-El Paso tonight at the Sheriff Center, the Wahine will complete a sweep of the Western Athletic Conference schedule.
Hawaii is 25-0 overall and 15-0 in the WAC while Rice fell to 17-16 and 6-10.
Tonight is the night for seniors Sudduth, Aven Lee and Andrea Gomez Tukuafu to bid a formal farewell to their fans.
They will be back to host an NCAA tournament first-round match next month, but Hawaii head coach Dave Shoji said tonight is really the only time appropriate for a ceremony.
"It's the best time to honor them," he said. "Certainly you can't do it in a playoff match because that's a different atmosphere."
Sudduth led Hawaii with 12 kills (10 in the past two games), six digs and a .545 hitting mark.
"With Jessica, it's a matter of rhythm," said Shoji. "If she's in a rhythm and she feels confident, she's hard to stop. And the big thing is that she had no errors in 22 swings. That's hard to do."
But Sudduth was more interested in the fact that Kahumoku was back in action.
"Lily's the bomb," said Sudduth. "And she'll play even better in the next match."
Kahumoku, who started in the back row, looked tantalizingly like the "Poi Pounder" of old, making 11 kills and four digs while hitting .474.
"It's (the right hand) not the same yet, but I'll be there, I'll be there," Kahumoku said.
"We wanted to give her some reps in the backcourt to see how she felt," Shoji said. "We need her obviously in the front row for her hitting but we also like to use her in the back row, attacking the ball."
Shoji said he badly needs Kahumoku as the NCAA tournament approaches. But he's sensitive to the pain she is still feeling. Kahumoku suffered bruised cartilage in her right wrist during a practice mishap in Texas on Oct. 26. She has missed three of the past seven matches due to the injury.
"If she shies away from balls because of her wrist, then she has to come out," Shoji said. "But I didn't notice too much of it tonight. Just once I noticed it."
Rice head coach Julio Morales said he was surprised Kahumoku played as much as she did.
"But she did excellent out there," Morales said. "I think this team, if they can tune it up over the next week and get excited, has the depth and discipline to go all the way. I hope they go all the way."
Junior outside hitter Tanja Nikolic had seven kills in two games while freshman middle blocker Maja Gustin had six, including an incredible blast off the mitts of Klara Zelinka in Game 2.
Freshman right side hitter Kim Willoughby, usually one of Hawaii's top offensive guns, had only five kills. She did lead the defense with 13 digs and had four block assists.
Shoji said it was understandable that Willoughby was not as much a part of the offense.
"If your lefts are hitting as well as they did tonight, it's hard to go to the right," Shoji said. "You're going to go with what's successful. I think (sophomore setter) Jenn Carey felt that's where we were having success and decided to stay with it."
Asked how hard this week's strenuous schedule of four matches in five nights will be, Sudduth just smiled.
"With school and traveling, it is what it is," she said, "but game on. Bring it on."
After tonight, the Wahine will travel on Thanksgiving to Long Beach, Calif., to prepare for weekend matches against Cal Poly and the No. 16 Long Beach State.
Hawaii def. Rice, 15-3, 15-6, 15-3
Owls (17-6 overall, 6-10 WAC)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Kl.Zelinka 3 3 6 20 -.150 0 0 3 Cook 3 2 3 9 -.111 0 2 0 Neal 3 3 4 19 -.053 0 1 8 Leman 3 9 4 21 .238 0 1 9 Ka.Zelinka 3 4 3 19 .053 0 0 5 Smith 3 0 0 2 .000 0 0 0 Aderohunmu 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 5 Craven 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 2 Davenport 1 0 0 4 .000 0 0 0 Totals 3 21 20 94 .011 0 4 32
Rainbow Wahine (25-0 overall, 15-0 WAC)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Willoughby 3 5 2 14 .214 0 4 13 Carey 3 1 0 4 .250 0 0 3 Sudduth 3 12 0 22 .545 0 3 6 Kahumoku 3 11 2 19 .474 0 1 4 Gustin 3 6 0 13 .462 1 1 2 Lee 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 2 Vakasausau 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 1 Nikolic 2 7 1 10 .600 0 2 5 Cravens 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 2 Lima 1 1 0 4 .250 0 1 1 Gomez 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 6 Villaroman 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 3 Totals 3 43 5 86 .442 1 12 48 Key--g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces--Rice (1): Ka. Zelinka 1. UH (1): Kahumoku 1.
Assists--Rice (17): Neal 11, Leman 6. UH (41): Carey 35, Vakasausau 3, Nikolic 1, Sudduth 1, Nikolic 1.
T-1:10. Officials: Kent Kitade,
UH Athletics Denice Hanson.
Ka Leo O Hawaii