[ WAHINE VOLLEYBALL ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii's Lily Kahumoku hit over a San Jose State blocker during the Western Athletic Conference championship match yesterday. Kahumoku was named tournament MVP.
Wahine win
WAC titleUH sweeps San Jose State
to advance to the
NCAA Tournament
RENO, Nev. >> It was like watching the tote board at a race track, with numbers flashing to signal which place a horse was running.
Except yesterday, it was the scoreboard at the Virginia Street Gym that was flashing, with numbers representing kills. And instead of horses, it was players who were battling it out in the championship of the Western Athletic Conference volleyball tournament.
Hawaii hitters Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku were going swing for swing against San Jose State hitters Kimberly Noble and Carrie Nash. At the finish, it was Willoughby by two kills over Noble, and the Rainbow Wahine over the Spartans for their fourth consecutive conference tournament title.
Willoughby put down a match-high 21 kills and Kahumoku, the tourney MVP, 17, as Hawaii rode to a 30-28, 30-26, 30-20 victory over surprising San Jose State in front of a pro-UH crowd of 541. The Wahine (30-1) won their 29th straight match as well as the WAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, which starts Dec. 4.
The two teams met Nov. 15 in Honolulu, with Hawaii winning a match that was 10 minutes shorter than yesterday's 101-minute one. San Jose State scored two fewer total points yesterday than it did at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Still, the Spartans played better overall, with the same intensity that had them upsetting third seed Fresno State on Friday and second seed SMU on Saturday. Beating Hawaii would be the only way San Jose State (10-18) would get into the NCAA Tournament.
"I think the difference between them tonight and last Saturday is they had more to gain," said Willoughby, who tied libero Melissa Villaroman for team-high in digs with 15. "They win tonight, they're in the NCAA Tournament. Last Saturday, they didn't have anything to gain."
Hawaii was prepared to handle Noble, who had a combined 96 kills in the wins over Fresno State and SMU. The Wahine found Carrie Nash harder to handle.
The 5-foot-6 Nash reminded long-time Wahine fans of former Hawaii outside hitter Mahina Eleneki, who played bigger than 5-6 for the 1987 NCAA title team. Nash finished with 16 kills, seven coming in the tight Game 1.
A kill by Kahumoku gave the Wahine game point at 29-26, but a net violation on Hawaii and Noble's seventh kill pulled the Spartans to 29-28. Hawaii coach Dave Shoji called a timeout "to slow momentum and slow the other team down," he said.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lori Hernandez, lower left, and 7-year-old Lehua Alana cheered on Hawaii during yesterday's match in Reno, Nev.
The Wahine won it on an off-play where Nohea Tano's dig floated back over and down on the Spartans' side of the court.
Game 2 was nearly as close, with San Jose State pulling ahead at 16-15. A Spartan hitting error tied it at 16. With Kahumoku serving, the Wahine took the lead for good, pulling ahead 21-16 behind two blocks by Lauren Duggins and Kanoe Kamana'o.
San Jose State rallied to within 26-25 and 27-26, helped by Nash's three kills. But Willoughby turned it into a solo act with three consecutive kills to finish it.
Game 3 was never close, with Hawaii wearing down the smaller Spartans. When Duggins and Kamana'o again teamed to block Nash, it gave the Wahine a 15-6 lead. Hawaii led by as many as 11 (25-14) and had two chances at match point.
Fittingly, it was decided on the serves by the two leading hitters. Willoughby, who had Hawaii's only ace of the match, served long to make it 29-20; Noble, who had one of the Spartans' four aces, served long to end it.
"I think San Jose State is the most improved team in the conference," said Shoji. "I don't think we played a great match, but we were efficient enough.
"We knew Noble would get her kills, but we didn't expect Nash to have a big night."
When asked what it would have taken to beat Hawaii last night, Noble deadpanned: "Grow."
"They're big girls," said Noble, noting Hawaii's 11 team blocks. "I wanted to keep going hard and hit over or around them.
"I felt we played really well. Everyone was putting us down (before the tournament) and we showed that we could play with Fresno, that we can play with SMU and we can play with Hawaii.
"I'm happy we proved the point that we're a good team."
The Wahine acknowledged that, while also saying they were not worried about losing.
"Player for player, I don't think the scoresheet is an indication of how close it really was," said Kahumoku, who also had 11 digs "But we have enough poise and maturity and experience to know we are the better volleyball team. I don't think it was ever in question that we were going to lose."
Added Willoughby: "You look at our outside hitters and their outside hitters and I think we're a little more physical and a little more dominating. I think that, if it's a game between our outsides and theirs, we win every time."
Just as the Wahine did for the third time over the Spartans this season and the 49th time in 53 meetings.
"We were really happy to be here (in the finals) at first," said Spartan coach Craig Choate. "Then it was like, 'Let's try to win this match.' We tried really hard. We played them in the skill category toe-to-toe until we just got worn out. They were too big for us.
"I think this weekend was a complete success. I honestly believe we're playing at NCAA Tournament level. I know we're not going to go, but I think we found the right level (for next year)."
San Jose State finishes the regular season at the Baden Thanksgiving Tournament, playing UC Irvine on Friday and Georgia Tech on Saturday. Hawaii travels to the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament and will face Weber State on Thursday and Kentucky on Friday.
Hawaii def. San Jose State
SPARTANS (10-18)
30-28, 30-26, 30-20
WAHINE (30-1)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Dillon 3 1 0 3 .333 0 2 10 Nash 3 16 7 39 .231 0 1 9 Herald 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 2 Conrad 3 0 1 6 -.167 0 1 0 Rudd 3 9 1 22 .364 1 2 2 Noble 3 19 8 63 .175 0 1 10 Lewis 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 10 Dahlstedt 1 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0 Shull 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 16 Thompson 2 1 1 10 .000 1 1 0 Wlodarczyk 2 2 1 11 .091 0 1 0 Totals 3 48 19 155 .187 2 9 59
Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
g k e att pct. bs ba d Willoughby 3 21 6 45 .333 0 2 15 Tano 3 9 2 13 .538 0 3 9 Kahumoku 3 17 3 44 .318 0 3 11 Kamana'o 3 2 0 6 .333 0 3 6 Gustin 3 6 1 13 .385 0 5 4 Duggins 3 8 2 22 .273 0 6 7 Boogaard 2 0 0 1 .000 0 0 1 Lundqvist 1 1 0 1 1.000 0 0 0 Arnott 1 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0 Watanabe 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 1 Thurlby 2 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0 Villaroman 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 15 Totals 3 64 14 147 .340 0 22 69
Aces -- Spartans (4): Dillon, Rudd, Noble, Lewis. Hawaii (1): Willoughby. Assists -- Spartans (45): Dillon 37, Conrad 3, Nash, Herald, Rudd, Shull, Wlodarczyk. Hawaii (59): Kamana'o 48, Thurlby 4, Willoughby 2, Tano 2, Kahumoku 2, Duggins.
T -- 1:41. Officials -- Eric Asami, Margie Ray. A -- 541.
