WAHINE VOLLEYBALL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii outside hitter Aneli Cubi-Otinero spiked against Boise State's Sadie Maughan, left, and Mandy Klein during yesterday's WAC tournament in Las Cruces, N.M.
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Wahine beat up on Boise
Still smarting from Utah State loss, UH sweeps into semis
STORY SUMMARY »
LAS CRUCES, N.M. » Hawaii was so mad at Utah State for last Sunday's sweep at home, the Rainbow Wahine pounded Boise State in three yesterday during the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference women's volleyball tournament.
The Wahine advanced to today's semifinal round against Nevada, a team they have knocked off 28 consecutive times. Not that head coach Dave Shoji will be taking the Wolf Pack lightly -- far from it. As Nevada head coach Devin Scruggs pointed out, "As we've seen in this conference, on any given night any team can win."
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LAS CRUCES, N.M. » It was just like falling off a bicycle. There were bruises -- and bruised egos -- but nothing major broken, nothing that couldn't be fixed.
WAC Tournament
At Las Cruces, N.M. All times Hawaii time
YESTERDAY
First Round
» Boise State def. Louisiana Tech 23-30, 30-22, 30-25, 27-30, 15-11
Quarterfinals
» Nevada def. Idaho 30-22, 31-33, 30-16, 30-28
» Hawaii def. Boise State 30-13, 30-15, 30-22
» San Jose State def. Utah State 24-30, 30-28, 19-30, 30-28, 17-15
» New Mexico State def. Fresno State 30-23, 30-25, 30-23
TODAY
Semifinals
» Nevada (16-10) vs. Hawaii (22-5), 2 p.m.
» San Jose State (14-14) vs. New Mexico State (25-4), 4 p.m.
TOMORROW
Championship
» Semifinal winners, 4 p.m.
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And there was no better Band-Aid than getting back up and getting the ride going again.
That was how the 11th-ranked Hawaii volleyball team rebounded from Sunday's stunning loss to Utah State. Yesterday, the top-seeded Rainbow Wahine rode the arm of sophomore hitter Aneli Cubi-Otineru (17 kills) to a 30-13, 30-15, 30-22 sweep of eighth-seeded Boise State in 80 minutes at the Pan American Center. Hawaii (22-5) won its 22nd Western Athletic Conference tournament match in a row and faces Nevada in today's first semifinal (2 p.m. Hawaii time) at the Pan American Center.
The fourth-seeded Wolf Pack (16-10) eliminated Idaho (13-14) in yesterday's first quarterfinal, 30-22, 31-33, 30-16, 30-28.
Yesterday, Cubi-Otineru added 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Junior hitter Jamie Houston overcame a slow start for her 10th double-double as well (14 kills, 18 digs).
"Everybody has off days, and I don't think Houston having two in a row is a concern for us," junior captain Tara Hittle said of the newly crowned WAC Player of the Year. "It doesn't change the player that she is.
"I wasn't concerned how we'd play today. It was a good loss for us (Sunday). Obviously we don't like to lose, but all we can do is prepare and leave it behind us."
Hawaii (22-5) didn't take much time to leave the Broncos behind, exorcising any demons of doubt that might have hung around the past few days. The Wahine needed less than 10 minutes to establish their dominance over the weary Broncos (6-23), jumping out to a 12-2 lead in Game 1 with a multi-faceted offense in which six different Hawaii players had at least one kill.
Today will be the fifth time in six years that Hawaii and Nevada meet in a semifinal. The previous four came in Reno, and Wolf Pack coach Devin Scruggs hopes a change of venue, as well as a change in perception of the Wahine's invincibility, will mean a different outcome.
"That Utah State was able to beat Hawaii in Hawaii in three absolutely gives us the knowledge that they are beatable," Scruggs said. "Just because someone else did it doesn't mean we can't be that team tomorrow, too."
Hawaii will contend with two All-WAC first-teamers in senior hitter Teal Ericson (4.82 kpg) and senior middle Karly Sipherd (4.01 kpg). They combined for 43 kills and nine blocks in the win over Idaho.
"Hawaii is always a challenge," said Ericson, 0-10 against the Wahine in her career. "The ideal match for me would be to ... have the best day of our careers."
And that is a worry for Hawaii coach Dave Shoji.
"When you have seniors facing elimination it's always a concern," Shoji said. "We also have to pay attention to (Allison) Hernandez. She played a nice game today and played a good one against us the last time."
Hernandez, a libero most of her career, has played left-side hitter for part or all of the past six matches. She had 11 kills, 15 digs and three of the team's 10 aces yesterday against the Vandals.
Hawaii had five aces yesterday, three by sophomore defensive specialist Jayme Lee. Senior middle Juliana Sanders put down 10 kills with one error in 20 swings and was in on three of the Wahine's eight blocks.
Hawaii def. Boise State
30-13, 30-15, 30-22
Broncos (6-23)
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g |
k |
e |
att |
pct. |
bs |
ba |
d
|
Klein |
3 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
.333 |
0 |
0 |
5
|
Starring |
3 |
6 |
2 |
19 |
.211 |
0 |
2 |
6
|
Ardron |
3 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
-.143 |
0 |
1 |
1
|
Ericson |
3 |
0 |
7 |
22 |
-.318 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Maughan |
3 |
2 |
2 |
14 |
.000 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
Jenkins |
3 |
3 |
4 |
23 |
.043 |
1 |
2 |
0
|
Rose |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
1 |
3
|
Lewis |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Van Lith |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
1 |
0
|
Hewitt |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
.000 |
0 |
2 |
0
|
Claussen |
3 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
.000 |
0 |
1 |
7
|
Hamm |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
-1.000 |
0 |
0 |
10
|
King |
3 |
2 |
2 |
14 |
.000 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
Totals |
3 |
19 |
21 |
112 |
-.018 |
3 |
10 |
34 |
Rainbow Wahine (22-5)
|
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct. |
bs |
ba |
d
|
Sanders |
3 |
10 |
1 |
20 |
.450 |
0 |
3 |
2
|
Kaufman |
2 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
1.000 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Hittle |
3 |
7 |
4 |
15 |
.200 |
0 |
2 |
8
|
Houston |
3 |
14 |
9 |
36 |
.139 |
0 |
2 |
18
|
Brandt |
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
.500 |
0 |
1 |
4
|
Cubi-Otineru |
3 |
17 |
2 |
29 |
.517 |
0 |
1 |
10
|
Gregory |
3 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
.000 |
1 |
3 |
2
|
Keefe |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Ka'aihue |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
16
|
Mafua |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1.000 |
0 |
1 |
1
|
Woolford |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.000 |
0 |
1 |
0
|
Lee |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1.000 |
0 |
0 |
3
|
Totals |
3 |
57 |
17 |
114 |
.351 |
1 |
14 |
66 |
Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces --Boise St.(3): Klein, Starring, Rose. Hawaii (5): Lee 3, Gregory, Ka'aihue. Assists -- Boise St. (19): Klein 12, Starring 2, Hamm 2, Ardron, Ericson, Lewis. Hawaii (52): Brandt 30, Mafua 18, Ka'aihue 2, Sanders, Keefe.
T -- 1:20. Officials -- Margie Ray, Craig Smith. A -- 492.