Hawaii Grown Report: College Athletics
Billy Hull
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MPSF volleyball tourney still has Hawaii presence
THE Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball tournament has plenty of local flavor despite the absence of the Warriors.
UC Irvine junior Brent Asuka (Iolani '05) kicked off the tournament Wednesday with nine digs to lead the Anteaters to a five-game victory over Southern California in the play-in game.
USC freshman Tri Bourne (Academy of the Pacific '07) hit .333 with 11 kills and finished with a match-high 15 digs. Riley McKibbin (Punahou '07) also saw some time on the court for the Trojans.
The win moved UC Irvine into the quarterfinals tomorrow against Brigham Young.
Another quarterfinal match between third-seeded Cal State Northridge and sixth-seeded Stanford could feature as many as four local players on the floor.
The Cardinal finished the season with home wins against the Anteaters and the Bruins last weekend.
Sophomore setter Kawika Shoji (Iolani '06) had 52 assists and six digs against UCLA and 45 assists and eight digs against UC Irvine as the Cardinal finished the season 17-10 overall and 12-10 in conference play.
Freshman Spencer McLachlin (Punahou '07) had 11 kills and Jordan Inafuku (Kamehameha '07) had 11 digs against UC Irvine.
The Matadors are led by senior outside hitter Isaac Kneubuhl (Kamehameha '03), who finished the season second on the team with 309 kills and 29 aces. Kneubuhl averaged 3.72 kills a game for Cal State Northridge, which finished the season winning 16 of its last 18 games.
The final quarterfinal match features fifth-seeded Pepperdine and junior middle blocker Eric Liebert (Punahou '04) at No. 4 UCLA
The Waves ended their season by splitting two matches at Hawaii last weekend.
Long Beach State is the tournament's top seed and doesn't play until hosting the semifinals Thursday. The MPSF championship will be decided two days later.
Baseball
» Willamette junior
Kelsey Nakata (Mililani '05) pitched a complete game in an 8-5 victory over the University of Puget Sound. Nakata gave up eight hits and walked four while striking out three to improve to 3-1 with a 3.27 ERA.
» Southern Utah sophomore Bucky Aona (Punahou '06) broke through with his first home run of the season and had four hits in a 14-10 victory over Brigham Young on Tuesday. Chester Wilson (Saint Louis '05) doubled and drove in two runs for the Thunderbirds and Kelii Zablan (Saint Louis '05) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Cougars first baseman Kasey Ko (Punahou '05) went 1-for-3.
Women's Golf
» Gonzaga senior
Sarah Sheffield (Keaau '04) finished 20th in the West Coast Conference championships that ended Tuesday in University Place, Wash. Sheffield shot back-to-back rounds of 82 before finishing with an 85. Portland freshman
Lisa Okazaki (Mid-Pacific '07) finished in 22nd place.
» New Mexico sophomore Britney Choy (Leilehua '06) shot a 1-over 73 yesterday and is in third place after the first round of the Mountain West Conference championships in Albuquerque, N.M. Choy was named MWC women's golfer of the month on Monday after finishing 11th in the PING/ASU Invitational. Choy shot a career-best 70 in the opening round in a field that included five top-10 teams.
» Stanford junior Mari Chun (Kamehameha '05) fired a final round 3-over-par 74 to finish in a tie for third place in the Peg Barnard Invitational. Chun finished the two-day event at 4 over to help the Cardinal win the tournament for the second straight year. Portland State junior Kayla Morinaga (Sacred Hearts '05) finished tied for 47th.
Men's Golf
» San Francisco junior
Kurt Nino (Damien '05) shot two rounds of 75 and a 79 to finish tied for 24th place in the West Coast Conference championships in University Place, Wash. Portland sophomore
Thomas Robertson (King Kekaulike '06) finished in 36th place and Gonzaga senior
Reyn Tanaka (Mid-Pacific '04) placed 40th.