Sunday, August 26, 2001
[ WAHINE VOLLEYBALL ]
Wahine STOCKTON, Calif. >> The Wahine volleyball team found another source of offense last night.
remain winless
The last time Hawaii lost its first
2 games was 21 years agoBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comUnfortunately for the Wahine, Maja Gustin's 16 kills were far from enough, as No. 4 Wisconsin swept fifth-ranked Hawaii 30-22, 31-29, 30-26 in the consolation match of the State Farm/NACWAA Classic.
Gustin and Kim Willoughby combined for 80 of 123 attacks for the Wahine, who fell to 0-2 for the first time since 1980. That year, the Wahine opened 0-3 en route to a 34-10 season.
Willoughby, who was named to the all-tournament team, had 21 kills and was the leading Wahine attacker for the second night in a row.
"We got some offense from Maja tonight -- well, Kim and Maja -- but we really need to get some kills from our other three positions," Hawaii head coach Dave Shoji said. "We can't set two people all night and expect to beat a good team."
In the championship game of the tournament, Nebraska defeated Pacific 30-21, 32-30, 27-30, 30-24. Nebraska's Nancy Metcalf was named tournament MVP.
After starting Jennifer Carey at setter, then bringing in Margaret Vakasausau and using both in a 6-2 offense (in which three players can hit) in Friday's season-opening loss to No. 1 Nebraska, Shoji stuck with Carey as the starting setter for the match with Wisconsin.
Carey improved from Friday night, as Hawaii hit .211 compared to .143.
But she didn't receive much help from her teammates in the passing department. Hawaii was aced eight times during the 77-minute match.
"We dug a lot more balls tonight and played better defense," Shoji said. "We didn't make as many unforced errors in the hitting department, but we still have a long way to go.
"One telling factor (from Friday night to last night) was that they had no service aces (Friday) night. Either their serving got a lot better or our passing is still very, very weak."
Wisconsin middle blocker Sherisa Livingston figured to be the biggest threat for the Wahine. Livingston, who was academically ineligible last week, received clearance Friday morning and boarded a plane that day. Livingston led the Badgers (1-1) in hitting with 14 kills.
But it was outside hitter Lisa Zukowski whom the Wahine wished had stayed home. She delivered six aces with an unpredictable jump serve that traveled deep, then short, and had the Wahine chasing down balls all over the court.
"I felt a little off (Friday) night," Zukowski said. "I was way more aggressive (last night)."
The aggression paid off, as Zukowski also pounded 12 kills for the Badgers.
"She got some streaks of points that really paid off for us," Wisconsin coach Pete Waite said.
The Wahine had 22 hitting errors and gave up 35 total points from unforced errors. Hawaii missed the opportunity to win Game 2 after tying the match at 29. Willoughby netted and Lauren Duggins hit wide to end the game.
Despite the 0-2 start, the Wahine are still optimistic.
"The tournament was a good experience for us because we can see where we are," Gustin said. "And now we can build our team up ... we can take advantage of it. We'll see what happens at the end of the season."
It wasn't supposed to be a rebuilding year, but the Wahine will have precious little time to construct a better offense with the 14th annual Hawaiian Airlines Classic this Friday. The Wahine host Kansas State, UCLA and Michigan in the three-day tournament.
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Ka Leo O Hawaii