Monday, November 19, 2001
[ WAHINE VOLLEYBALL ]
Wahine rise way SAN JOSE >> At the start of the Western Athletic Conference Championship final, tournament host San Jose State was introduced as the visiting team.
above WAC world
Hawaii completes tourney unchallenged,
sweeping San Jose State in the finalBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comIt was a fitting designation, because the Spartans could only manage short visits to the Wahine volleyball world.
From start to finish of the three-day tournament, Hawaii's play soared to a level high above its WAC opponents. Yesterday's final was no different as Hawaii swept San Jose State 30-22, 30-27, 30-22 before a small afternoon crowd of 535 at the Event Center. The Wahine posted their 23rd consecutive victory this season and brought their three-year total of wins against WAC opponents to 58. They also received the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
"San Jose played well," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "They did everything they had to try to win this match. Our team responded well when we got behind in Game 2. Our team just continues to amaze me. They can get up night after night or day after day.
"This was not an easy tournament or an easy victory for us. It looked easy ... sometimes. Kim makes it look easy a lot of the times, but everybody else has to work really hard to get some kills."
Willoughby led the Wahine attack with a match-high 26 kills. With 687 this season, the sophomore is two kills short of breaking another school record.
But it was Maja Gustin's consistent offensive performances, including an 18-kill effort against the Spartans, that made the Wahine untouchable.
The outside hitters administered lethal shot after shot. Even with blockers stacked against them, they dominated and hammered balls off hands or through the block.
"We played as well as we did in the other two matches of the tournament," San Jose State coach Craig Choate said. "It's just that it doesn't matter against Hawaii. And not only is Kim fabulous but Gustin's real good. There's nothing we can do unless they decide not to jump. The fact that we came within two or three inches at times, we were playing as well as we could against them."
Though the Spartans extended the Wahine to five during the last meeting in San Jose, Choate said that Gustin's performance was the main difference in the sweep.
Hawaii was nearly unstoppable in Game 1. San Jose State started the match emotionally flat and didn't have the defense to contain Hawaii, nor did it muster much offense. Gustin and Willoughby combined for 15 of the team's 22 kills
The Spartans awoke in Game 2 and surged to a 5-0 lead with Stephanie Pascucci serving. They took advantage of short lapses in Hawaii's passing and a few Wahine hitting errors for a 10-4 lead. But San Jose State couldn't sustain the pressure as Hawaii knotted the score at 15 and used a 5-1 run to take a 20-16 lead. Gustin and Brianna Blair added kills as the two teams battled to a 23-23 tie. Two Spartan errors and two kills by Willoughby, including one that went off the face of defensive specialist Karli Silveira, gave the Wahine game point. The Spartans rallied to within two at 29-27, but Willoughby ricocheted a kill off setter Savannah Smith's shoulder to end the game.
Kim Willoughby, OH, Hawaii (MVP) All-Tournament Team
Brianna Blair, OH, San Jose State
Lauren Duggins, MB, Hawaii
Maja Gustin, OH, Hawaii
Shauna McQuaid, MB, Fresno State
Michelle More, MB, Nevada
Stephanie Pascucci, MB, San Jose State
Karli Silveira, DS, San Jose State
Margaret Vakasausau, S, Hawaii
"We just let them come back in and we shouldn't have," Spartan outside hitter Brianna Blair said. "Our passing dropped down and we couldn't run options. If our passing was better, we could have spread out the offense."
Hawaii's serving and defense grounded San Jose's hitting options. The normally potent four-hitter Spartan attack was reduced to two. Blair led San Jose with 16 kills, while Kimberly Noble posted 11.
Despite three days of dominance, Hawaii's focus wasn't on opposing teams or winning the championship. It was on playing consistently.
"We needed to maintain our high level of play and I think we were able to accomplish that," setter Margaret Vakasausau said. "It surprises me how much better we can still get. I think the tournament (next week) will be the ultimate test to see how well we've turned it around and made progress."
Hawaii returned home yesterday and leaves Wednesday night for the Bankers Classic at Pacific. The Wahine will play Utah on Friday at 3 p.m.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii