[ COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL ]
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii-Hilo outside hitter Sara Pilgreen hit one down during a match this month. Pilgreen leads a relentless group of seniors.
Statistics a small part
of Pilgreen’s story
Just when the Hawaii-Hilo volleyball program learned to live without a legend, it is going to have to do so again.
When Sharon Peterson retired from coaching the program after 24 years and 511 wins, every game was a celebration of her accomplishments. But to hear the woman who built the program and won seven national championships talk, the most emotional farewell is yet to come.
"This group (of seniors) is special," Peterson said. "There was never a time when we would have to do a clinic and they were grumpy about it. I don't know where it comes from, but they always seem to have time to do more. They came in with the thought of making UH-Hilo better."
UH-Hilo Volleyball Records
Hilo has seven matches remaining this season.
Career Kills Tanya Fuamatu (1992-95) 1,703 Nalani Spencer (1981-84) 1,141 Sara Pilgreen (2000-03) 1,073 Career Attempts Tanya Fuamatu (1992-95) 3,746 Sara Pilgreen (2000-03) 3,505 Nalani Spencer (1981-84) 2,818 Career Digs Tanya Fuamatu (1992-95) 1,559 Thia Palakiko (1985-88) 1,068 Sara Pilgreen (2000-03) 843 Single-season Kills Edna Togiai (1989) 517 Sara Pilgreen (2001) 433 Sara Pilgreen (current) 237 Single-season Attempts Edna Togiai (1989) 1,333 Sara Pilgreen (2001) 1,141 Sara Pilgreen (current) 648 Single-season Digs Edna Togiai (1989) 557 Sara Pilgreen (2001) 314 Sara Pilgreen (current) 180
That group of seniors -- Brittany Baum, Megan Denman, Sara Pilgreen, Tiffanie Ollison and Emily Hutchinson -- joined Peterson four years ago with hopes of doing it all. And they have done it all except win more than they lost, tasting victory in just 37 of their 95 matches. They host Hawaii Pacific tonight hoping to pull their conference record even at 3-3.
Pilgreen has been the main option for the Vulcans during her entire career, leading the team in kills each year and putting herself on pace to break Tanya Fuamatu's school record for attempts before she is done. She is third in the team record books in digs and kills. While Peterson will be remembered for the many wins, Pilgreen and her friends will be remembered as being the group strong enough to lose and keep showing up the next day determined to correct it.
"I love the sport, love the game," Pilgreen said. "There is nothing I love more than being out there in a good match. The wins we do get are uplifting. It's hard to lose all the time."
Although the numbers will define her career when the next Sara Pilgreen comes along, the statistics she has racked up do not begin to tell the story. Pilgreen has been doing it alone for so long, but remains committed to the team. That's what happens when you enter a program with five other girls and four of them are still living with you.
"From the time they came on the scene they have been really close, as close as any group I've seen," Peterson said. "Although they didn't know each other, it was like they were best friends from Day 1."
Pilgreen and her mates could have made life very difficult for incoming coach Julie Morgan. They represented 55 percent of the offense last year and were asked to adjust to a new coach's way of doing things. But Pilgreen and her fellow seniors bought into Morgan's philosophy from the first day, saving the new coach the task of cleaning house before improving it.
"I think anyone who knows me knows it's hard to make things hard for me," Morgan said. "But that was never an issue with this group. For any coach to pick up five seniors and have such a good experience, wow. I have enjoyed being a part of their career and glad they have accepted me."
It didn't hurt that she had so much to work with. Morgan, who coached Illinois State and Utah for 19 years, says that she saw Pilgreen as an NCAA Division I caliber player from the moment she saw her. Pilgreen had offers from Portland State and Oregon State, but chose Hilo because it was far away from her hometown of Springfield, Ore., and would allow her to keep her life off the court. Her love for the game didn't allow her to back off no matter what the level.
"She is totally committed and loves the game," Morgan said. "She studies it almost to a fault. I have to tell her 'don't think about it, just do it.' Physically she can do almost anything you tell her to and she always gets the job done.
"I still believe that in their own way they are having a winning season."
The seniors gave Hilo a shocking upset or two each year, but their greatest contributions came off the court. Last year, Pilgreen organized a fund-raiser for the program on her own. It was the first time Peterson can recall a player doing so, and all five of the seniors do similar things every day. All five are good students with a lot of options -- Pilgreen plans to travel before settling down to lend her talents to making money -- and plan on checking in from wherever they land to see if the foundation they set up allows Hilo to compete in the toughest conference in the country without having to play the role of spoiler.
"We've had a good four years here, just had a lot of fun," Pilgreen said. "It is pretty rare to see so many stick together for so long in college. A lot of times you end up hating the coach or hating the school.
"I'm happy with the way things have turned out. Hilo is my home more than any other place."
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PacWest Standings
x-eliminated from conference race
Conf GB Overall Hawaii Pacific 6-0 -- 15-2 .882 BYU-Hawaii 6-0 -- 14-2 .875 Chaminade 3-2 2 1/2 8-8 .500 Hawaii-Hilo 2-3 3 1/2 5-10 .333 x-Western N.M 1-6 5 1/2 10-13 .435 x-Montana St.-Billings 0-7 6 1/2 4-16 .200
Regional Poll
Top six teams advance to regional tournament
Overall Region 1. UC-San Diego 17-3 15-3 2. Western Washington 17-1 16-1 3. Cal State-San Bernardino 17-3 12-2 4. BYU-Hawaii 14-2 12-2 5. Cal State-Bakersfield 10-6 9-5 6. Hawaii Pacific 15-2 12-1 7. Chaminade 8-8 7-6 8. Cal Poly Pomona 14-7 11-6 9. Alaska-Fairbanks 9-6 8-6 10. Cal State-Los Angeles 15-5 9-4 Hitting Percentage
Minimum .200/3.0 attacks per game
G K E Tot Pct Chun Yi Lin, BYUH 55 237 30 473 .438 Barbara Martin, HPU 62 168 37 326 .402 Ashley Moeai, BYUH 55 217 62 451 .344 Nadica Karleusa, HPU 57 246 72 534 .326 Patti Hardimon, CU 55 161 53 354 .305 Paula Nascimento, HPU 55 103 32 257 .276 Flavia Brakling, HPU 64 280 105 682 257 Yu Chuan Weng, BYUH 55 21 783 539 .249 Sara Pilgreen, Hilo 58 277 102 745 .235 Emily Hutchinson, Hilo 58 147 60 388 .224 Kills
G K Avg. Sara Pilgreen, Hilo 58 277 4.78 Kahala Kabalis, Chaminade 55 256 4.65 Flavia Brakling, HPU 64 280 4.38 Nadica Karleusa, HPU 57 246 4.32 Chun Yi Lin, BYUH 55 237 4.31 Ashley Moeai, BYUH 55 217 3.95 Yu Chuan Weng, BYUH 55 217 3.95 Valsai Sepulona, Chaminade 55 210 3.82 Olivia Munro, MSUB 66 247 3.74 Silvia Oliveira, BYUH 28 101 3.61 Assists
G A Avg. Kaala Lo, BYUH 55 749 13.62 Vera Oliveira, HPU 62 751 12.11 Michelle Norman, Chaminade 55 626 11.38 Megan Denman, Hilo 41 397 9.68 Brittany Baum, Hilo 36 325 9.03 Kari Jones, MSUB 49 441 9.00 Amy Goodnight, WNMU 56 430 7.68 Malia Kauhi, WNMU 66 495 7.50 Service Aces
G No. Avg. Kaala Lo, BYUH 55 33 0.60 Kahala Kabalis, Chaminade 55 33 0.60 Paula Nascimento, HPU 55 29 0.53 Nadica Karleusa, HPU 57 27 0.47 Yu Chuan Weng, BYUH 55 25 0.45 Patti Hardimon, Chaminade 55 25 0.45 Liz Narkon, WNMU 83 37 0.45 Shannon Hillier, Hilo 49 21 0.43 Vera Oliveira, HPU 62 26 0.42 Flavia Brakling, HPU 64 25 0.39 Blocks
G S A Tot. Avg. Chun Yi Lin, BYUH 55 23 41 64.0 1.16 Barbara Martin, HPU 62 14 55 69.0 1.11 Katrina Dahlgren, MSUB 60 11 50 61.0 1.02 Laree Green, WNMU 76 16 60 76.0 1.00 Suzanne Bruchhauser, WNMU 83 9 73 82.0 0.99 Cortney Metzler, MSUB 64 8 55 63.0 0.98 Cori Sutter, Hilo 54 3 48 51.0 0.94 Nadica Karleusa, HPU 57 12 40 52.0 0.91 Ashley Moeai, BYUH 55 14 30 44.0 0.80 Brittany Uffelman, MSUB 63 11 37 48.0 0.76 Digs
G No. Avg. Kahealani Silva, Hilo 56 234 4.18 Frederica Tonon, BYUH 28 105 3.75 Sara Pilgreen, Hilo 58 217 3.74 Kalae Araujo, Chaminade 54 198 3.67 Silvia Oliveira, BYUH 28 102 3.64 Alberta Letoa, MSUB 66 216 3.27 Yu Chuan Weng, BYUH 55 172 3.13 Olibia Munro, MSUB 66 206 3.12 Kim Tano, WNMU 87 258 2.97 Lesina Funaki, BYUH 55 159 2.89
