WAHINE VOLLEYBALL
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Susie Boogaard of Hawaii put a kill past Alice Borden of New Mexico State last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
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Wahine’s 900th victory proves Aggie-nizing
Hawaii blows a two-game lead before beating New Mexico State in five
It will go down as victory No. 900, a milestone only six other women's volleyball programs have ever reached.
Wahine Volleyball
Hawaii: 3
NMSU: 2
Next Up vs. LaTech
Tonight
Louisiana Tech (15-16, 2-13) at No. 9 Hawaii (21-6, 15-0), 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center
Radio: Live, KKEA (1420-AM)
TV: Live, KFVE (Ch. 5)
Series: Hawaii leads, 5-0.
Promotion: Senior night for Wahine Susie Boogaard, Victoria Prince and Ashley Watanabe
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And it embodied a little bit of all those wins over the past 31-plus years. Domination, letdown, comeback, drama.
A lot of drama.
No. 9 Hawaii moved within one victory of its seventh straight undefeated Western Athletic Conference season last night, rallying past New Mexico State 30-19, 30-26, 25-30, 24-30, 15-12. A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 5,222 (7,008 tickets) saw freshman Jamie Houston put down a career-high 25 kills and Juliana Sanders and Susie Boogaard team up for three straight blocks at the end of Game 5 to lead the Rainbow Wahine (21-6, 15-0) to their 106th consecutive WAC win.
It took 2 hours and 23 minutes for Hawaii to subdue New Mexico State (19-6, 11-5) in five for the second time this year. On Oct. 1, the Wahine rallied from an 0-2 deficit before pulling it out.
Hawaii, winning its 15th straight, finishes out the regular season against Louisiana Tech (15-16, 2-13) tonight. The Wahine do it with a huge sigh of relief.
"It was a very competitive match," said Wahine setter Kanoe Kamana'o, who served for the final three points. "We knew they'd compete hard, we expected it. They made the right adjustments in Games 3 and 4 and we didn't.
"My only thought when I was serving was to get the ball in. Susie and Juliana made the right adjustments at the end. It was a big win for us. It would have been very disappointing to lose this one, heading into the WAC tournament. We didn't want a roadblock now."
It would have been the biggest win in NMSU's history ... for the second time in seven weeks. Aggie coach Mike Jordan left, feeling good about his young team but wanting a beer as well.
"It's frustrating and I can't buy into a 'moral' victory," Jordan said. "Hawaii made the plays when they had to.
"Alice (Borden) was playing well, was our go-to player. If I had to do it all over again, maybe go to Amber Simpson but ... I think we're getting more confident and hopefully we get another crack at them."
It could happen a week from tomorrow for the WAC championship in Reno, Nev. Hawaii coach Dave Shoji thinks so.
"We'll probably see them in the final," he said. "I think this was kind of a wake-up call for us. But we made plays when we had to. They outhit and outdug us, completely controlled the middle of the net. We knew we had to do a better job on (Borden) or we would lose."
Sanders said it wasn't going to happen.
"We lost focus for a while," the sophomore middle said. "At the end, all I was thinking was to get my hands over the net and close. It was one point at a time. We made sure we got that last block. This was big for us. Losing ... we weren't going to let it happen."
The Aggies avoided being swept for just the third time this season when controlling Game 3 from the outset. New Mexico State had four of its 11 blocks and Borden put down eight of her team-high 21 kills to help the Aggies gain momentum.
It carried over into Game 4, where New Mexico State broke a 10-10 tie on a kill by Borden. The Aggies never trailed after that in forcing a fifth game, the fifth for Hawaii this season, the third for NMSU.
The Wahine won their third five-game match after trailing late 11-10. An Aggie service error by Tanya Allen tied it at 11 and the teams traded points to knot it at 12.
Kamana'o went back to serve and never left, as she watched Sanders and Boogaard block Borden for the final three points. Sanders finished with a career-high nine block assists and Boogaard tied her career-high with eight. The Wahine ended up with 13 1/2 blocks to the Aggies' 11.
NMSU had four other hitters in double-figure kills with Kim Oguh putting down 18, Simpson 12, Sara Silagy 11 and Allen 10. The loss snapped the visitors' winning streak at six.
Wahine hitter Tara Hittle finished with a double-double, 17 kills and 15 digs.
WAC standings
|
Conference |
Overall
|
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
W |
L
|
x-Hawaii |
15 |
0 |
1.000 |
21 |
6
|
New Mexico State |
11 |
5 |
.688 |
19 |
6
|
Nevada |
10 |
5 |
.667 |
17 |
10
|
Utah State |
10 |
5 |
.667 |
18 |
11
|
Idaho |
7 |
8 |
.467 |
15 |
13
|
San Jose State |
7 |
8 |
.467 |
12 |
15
|
Fresno State |
4 |
11 |
.267 |
7 |
19
|
La. Tech |
2 |
13 |
.133 |
15 |
16
|
Boise State |
2 |
13 |
.133 |
6 |
17 |
x-clinched regular-season title
Last night's results
Hawaii def. New Mexico State, 30-19, 30-24, 25-30, 26-30, 15-12
Idaho def. Fresno State, 24-30, 30-25, 30-23, 30-25
San Jose State def. Boise State, 28-30, 30-27, 30-18, 30-27
Tonight's match
Louisiana Tech at
Hawaii, 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center
Tomorrow's matches
San Jose State at Idaho
Fresno State at Boise State
Nevada at Utah State
End regular season
Hawaii def. New Mexico St.
30-19, 30-26, 25-30, 24-30, 15-12
Aggies (11-5, 19-6 WAC)
|
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct. |
bs |
ba |
d
|
Silagy |
5 |
11 |
4 |
31 |
.226 |
0 |
3 |
2
|
Choi |
5 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
.000 |
0 |
1 |
9
|
Oguh |
5 |
18 |
2 |
27 |
.593 |
1 |
2 |
0
|
Allen |
5 |
10 |
6 |
40 |
.100 |
0 |
1 |
16
|
Simpson |
5 |
12 |
3 |
23 |
.391 |
1 |
5 |
0
|
Borden |
5 |
21 |
13 |
53 |
.151 |
1 |
2 |
2
|
Torres |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
8
|
Callis |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.000 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
Akrie |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
14
|
Guerre |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Bostic |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
17
|
Totals |
5 |
74 |
30 |
186 |
.237 |
4 |
14 |
69 |
Rainbow Wahine (21-6, 15-0 WAC)
|
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct. |
bs |
ba |
d
|
Sanders |
5 |
7 |
4 |
24 |
.125 |
1 |
8 |
0
|
Boogaard |
5 |
5 |
3 |
22 |
.091 |
0 |
8 |
14
|
Hittle |
5 |
17 |
2 |
39 |
.385 |
1 |
1 |
15
|
Houston |
5 |
25 |
10 |
51 |
.294 |
0 |
1 |
2
|
Kamana'o |
5 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
.000 |
0 |
2 |
13
|
Prince |
5 |
9 |
4 |
24 |
.208 |
0 |
3 |
1
|
Gregory |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Arnott |
5 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
6
|
Thomas |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Watanabe |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
12
|
Thurlby |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Ong |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Woolford |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Totals |
5 |
65 |
25 |
172 |
.233 |
2 |
23 |
65 |
Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces -- NMSU (7): Choi 2, Bostic 2, Allen, Torres, Akrie. Hawaii (6): Prince 3, Hittle 2, Watanabe. Assists -- NMSU (70): Choi 66, Silagy 2, Bostic 2. Hawaii (61): Kamana'o 56, Boogaard 3, Sanders, Woolford.
T -- 2:28. Officials -- Eric Asami, Denise Hanson. A -- 5,222.