RAINBOW WAHINE VOLLEYBALL
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kari Gregory of Hawaii went for a kill against Fresno State during Saturday's WAC opener at the Stan Sheriff Center. The teams face off again tomorrow in Fresno.
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Wahine hit the road for rematch
UH opens its first trip of the season against Fresno State
Deja vu ... with a 2,520-mile, 3-hour time difference.
Less than a week after hosting Fresno State, it's Hawaii's turn to play guest when the Rainbow Wahine travel to face the Bulldogs to open their first road trip of the volleyball season.
No. 15 Hawaii (7-4, 1-0) left last night, hoping that the collective short-term memory of Saturday's 83-minute victory made it along with the luggage. The Wahine also hope Saturday's return baggage includes two victories, which would increase their Western Athletic Conference winning streak to 110.
WAC VOLLEYBALL
Tomorrow: No. 15 Hawaii (7-4, 1-0) at Fresno State (2-11, 0-2), 4 p.m. Hawaii time
Saturday: Hawaii at San Jose State (9-6, 0-2), 4 p.m. Hawaii time
Radio: Fresno State match only, KKEA, 1420-AM
TV: None
Live stats: www.gobulldogs.com (tomorrow); www.sjsuspartans.com (Saturday)
Series: Hawaii leads Fresno State 38-0 and San Jose State 53-4.
Note: Tomorrow's Hawaii-Fresno State match is one of four Webcasts available on WAC.tv this week. The cost is $3.95 per match and can be purchased at www.wac.tv.
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Hawaii is traveling with just 11 players, including sophomore defensive specialist Elise Duggins. This is the first road trip for the Long Beach State transfer, who didn't make the travel roster her freshman year with the 49ers.
"This will be my very first road trip and I don't know what to expect," Duggins said. "I'm excited, getting to stay in the hotel with my teammates, playing in front of a different crowd.
"My parents are really excited, too. They're driving up (from Fullerton) and I have a couple of aunts in the area, so they're going to come, too."
It's a unique situation for Duggins, who remembers traveling while in high school to see Hawaii play when her older sister, Lauren, was on the Wahine squad (2000-03).
"I remember going to a tournament at UNLV," she said of the 2003 Thanksgiving Tournament in Las Vegas. "There were more UH fans than UNLV fans."
The Wahine again expect to draw more fans than the
home teams this week at Fresno State and San Jose State. When Hawaii is in town, it's all but a guarantee that the host will have its largest crowd of the season.
"It goes to show how true our fans are," senior hitter Sarah Mason said. "It's an amazing thing. They travel so far to see us play and, even if they're no longer living in Hawaii, they're still our fans."
Tomorrow's match against the Bulldogs is at the 15,596-seat Save Mart Center. The first athletic event in the arena was the Hawaii-Fresno State volleyball match in 2003, which drew 4,708 ... still the school record.
(The Bulldogs' total attendance through six home matches this season is 4,607).
"It's a huge arena, but it won't be like how our arena is, with all our fans," UH senior setter Kanoe Kamana'o. "We'll get a lot of fans at San Jose and it's always nice to have fans on our side, cheering us on.
"It is a little surprising, seeing our fans in other places. You know people will be there, wearing green, waving signs with our names. But once you see them, it's like, wow, they're actually here. There are a lot of people from Hawaii on the mainland now who want to see us play."
Hawaii expects to see a different Fresno State team than the one that was swept last Saturday. If nothing else, the Bulldogs will be very eager to improve on last night's disappointing exhibition loss to Division II Fresno Pacific.
The Sunbirds, ranked No. 2 in Division II, topped the Bulldogs 30-27, 32-30, 30-24. Fresno State got a team-high 15 kills from junior hitter Alisha McKee, who didn't play against Hawaii, and 13 kills from junior hitter Angela Wiggins, who had a team-high 10 kills against the Wahine.
"We know they'll make some adjustments," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "Usually when you play back to back, the losing team comes out a little differently. They'll be at home. We have to pay attention to what they're doing and try to counteract it."
Hawaii has had a few tight matches in its series with Fresno State, the most recent being in 2002, when the Wahine went up 2-0 but had to rally to win in five. Still, UH has a 38-0 edge against FSU.
Shoji said the team also will have to pay attention to Saturday's opponent, San Jose State, the school Hawaii has beaten more than any other (53 times). The Spartans have lost their last three five-gamers, including to then-No. 8 Santa Clara after leading 2-0.
San Jose State dropped both its WAC matches last week on the road in four, at Nevada and at Utah State. Shoji said he was high on the Spartans until they lost to Utah State.
"I don't know what to think," he said. "But I kind of think we'll see the real San Jose team, the one that played Santa Clara tough. They were at home that night.
"They've got good players, All-WAC people. We'll have to pay attention and play well."
Shoji said he expects upward of 800 Hawaii fans at the San Jose State match.
"We usually draw really well there," he said. "It shouldn't surprise me, but when I see all the local people who come out, it is surprising they all got the word we'd be there."
Except for some minor aches and pains, Hawaii is healthy. After two three-day tournaments and two back-to-back matches, last week's single match with Fresno State allowed the team to recuperate as well as work on improving what has become a revolving-door lineup due to injuries.
"We've been able to focus on things we were struggling with instead of being forced right back into a game without being able to figure out what happened the last time out," Mason said. "I thought we played well against Fresno and we need to play like that all the time.
"We have to be more efficient on our side. If we eliminate our errors, we'll be in a better position than even last Saturday."