WAHINE VOLLEYBALL
Kamana‘o leads Wahine to another sweep
FRESNO, Calif. » The heart and soul of Hawaii volleyball has been its setting. Great hitters have come and gone, but the foundation of the Rainbow Wahine's success is a tradition of outstanding setters.
Don't ask coach Dave Shoji to choose the best one he's had in his 30-plus years. Nahaku Brown, Joyce Ka'apuni, Tita Ahuna, Martina Cincerova and Robyn Ah Mow deserve consideration.
History will want to add Kanoe Kamana'o to the list.
With 51 assists in yesterday's 30-24, 30-17, 30-24 sweep of Fresno State, the junior All-American moved into second place on the UH career assist list with 4,346. She needs 292 to pass Cincerova and, considering Kamana'o is averaging about 14 per game, it is likely that she will take over the top spot about the time the Wahine (17-6, 11-0) open WAC tournament play on Nov. 24.
"Kanoe is obviously one of our all-time bests at the position," Shoji said after 10th-ranked Hawaii won its 102nd straight regular-season WAC match. "She's just a complete volleyball player. She could have been a hitter on a lot of teams. Her blocking numbers are very good for someone who's 5-foot-7."
Kamana'o was in on five of the team's 16 blocks as the Wahine took only 94 minutes to win their 11th in a row, the last nine in straight sets. She again connected well with her middles: senior Victoria Prince and sophomore Juliana Sanders had 10 kills each with just one error between them in a combined 36 attempts (.528).
Junior hitter Sarah Mason continued to pace Hawaii in kills, putting down 14. Sophomore middle Alisha McKee led Fresno State (4-17, 2-9) with 14 kills and sophomore hitter Angela Wiggins added 10.
Kamana'o had the Wahine hitting .325, including .472 in Game 2. She also had two aces, as did Prince and Mason.
"All the hitters did their jobs," Shoji said. "Most of the hitting errors came because our players were trying to hit 'high hands.' They went too high. The Fresno players aren't that tall.
"It's always nice to get a win on the road. There wasn't a lot of emotion but then we didn't need a lot of it. We hit for a good percentage and everyone knows what they need to continue working on. Every player has something to do out there in trying to make themselves better."
Shoji was happy with the 16 total blocks, including two solo blocks each by Sanders and Mason. Prince was in on five in the first two games before being replaced by sophomore Kari Gregory.
"We need to get Kari some more playing time and she did a nice job," Shoji said. "I never thought we were in trouble. We got out in front early, lost a little focus, but the match was under control.
"We weren't real sharp at times. It is hard but we need to continue to play at a higher level. We can't be satisfied just to win the match."
The Bulldogs challenged the Wahine at several junctures but each time Hawaii was able to turn back the threat. The most serious came toward the end of Game 3 when Fresno pulled to within 21-20 after Jessica Peterson and McKee teamed to block Mason.
A kill by Mason started a 5-0 Hawaii run and the Bulldogs never got closer than four the rest of the way.
Senior libero Ashley Watanabe finished with a match-high 20 digs as Hawaii won the battle on defense 64-51. Watanabe has 322 digs for the season; the school's single-season record is 432.
The Wahine were scheduled to return today. They have just one match this week, against Idaho (13-10, 5-5) on Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Shoji said the team would take a few days off before "cranking it up at the end of the week," he said. "It's almost a bye week and it comes at a good time. We can use the rest, get well physically and let our players be regular students."
Hawaii def. Fresno State
30-24, 30-17, 30-24
Rainbow Wahine (17-6, 11-0 wac)
|
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct. |
bs |
ba |
d
|
Sanders |
3 |
10 |
1 |
17 |
.529 |
2 |
4 |
2
|
Boogaard |
3 |
5 |
3 |
12 |
.167 |
0 |
2 |
7
|
Hittle |
3 |
5 |
3 |
16 |
.125 |
0 |
1 |
9
|
Kamana'o |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
5 |
5
|
Prince |
2 |
10 |
0 |
19 |
.526 |
0 |
5 |
1
|
Mason |
3 |
14 |
6 |
35 |
.229 |
2 |
1 |
8
|
Gregory |
1 |
4 |
0 |
7 |
.571 |
0 |
3 |
2
|
Keefe |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
2 |
0
|
Arnott |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
6
|
Houston |
2 |
9 |
3 |
16 |
.375 |
0 |
1 |
3
|
Watanabe |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
20
|
Thurlby |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Totals |
3 |
57 |
16 |
126 |
.325 |
4 |
24 |
64 |
Bulldogs (4-17, 2-9 WAC)
|
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct. |
bs |
ba |
d
|
Mori |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
10
|
Keune |
3 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
.333 |
0 |
0 |
7
|
Peterson |
3 |
1 |
4 |
12 |
-.250 |
0 |
1 |
3
|
McKee |
3 |
14 |
2 |
30 |
.400 |
1 |
1 |
6
|
Wiggins |
3 |
10 |
5 |
37 |
.135 |
1 |
1 |
6
|
Spencer |
3 |
7 |
3 |
19 |
.211 |
1 |
1 |
1
|
Pitton |
3 |
6 |
6 |
26 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Nihipali |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Selenak |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
12
|
Rempel |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
.333 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Gilford |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
5
|
Totals |
3 |
41 |
20 |
135 |
.156 |
3 |
4 |
51 |
Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces -- Hawaii (6): Kamana'o 2, Prince 2, Mason 2. Fresno State (4): Peterson 2, Mori, Selenak. Assists -- Hawaii (54): Kamana'o 51, Boogaard, Hittle, Gregory. Fresno State (40): Keune 36, McKee 2, Selenak, Gilford.
T -- 1:34. Officials -- John Martin, Bob McCarthy. A -- 716.