NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Bruins bruise Wahine
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An Olympic gold medalist courtside.
An Olympic silver medalist in the baseline stands.
What more could the Stan Sheriff Center fans want than having decathlete Bryan Clay and former Rainbow Wahine All-America setter Robyn Ah Mow-Santos sharing their volleyball experience yesterday?
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vs. Minnesota on Thursday
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Not to be greedy, but a win over UCLA?
It didn't happen, as the sixth-ranked Bruins continued their recent dominance over Hawaii, fending off the 12th-ranked Rainbow Wahine in the longest match of this year's Hawaiian Airlines Classic. Dicey McGraw put down 15 kills to help UCLA defeat Hawaii 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 30-28 in 2 hours and 26 minutes.
It was the fourth consecutive win over the Wahine, dating back to 2006. Hawaii leads the all-time series 34-32.
Jamie Houston had 18 kills for Hawaii (1-2), which finished third in this event.
Earlier yesterday, No. 1 Penn State (3-0) cruised to the HAL Classic title with its third sweep. Led by tournament most outstanding player Nicole Fawcett, the Nittany Lions rolled past winless Ohio 25-15, 25-19, 25-9.
CINDY LUIS
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Dani Mafua set the ball for a teammate during last night's match against UCLA. The Bruins defeated the Rainbow Wahine 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 30-28 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
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Not much separated No. 6 UCLA and No. 12 Hawaii last night.
A mere two points in each set.
And four times, all the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team needed was one point to force a fifth and deciding set. Instead, the Bruins came through when it counted most, silencing a raucous Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,948 (6,552 tickets) at the end of 2 hours and 26 minutes.
Led by Dicey McGraw's 15 kills and a stifling block that came up big when needed, UCLA defeated Hawaii for the fourth consecutive time, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 30-28 in the Hawaiian Airlines Classic final. The Bruins (2-1) finished behind top-ranked Penn State (3-0), which rolled past Ohio 25-15, 25-19, 25-9 in yesterday's opener.
For the second straight season, Hawaii opened 1-2. But unlike last year, Wahine coach Dave Shoji walked out of the arena with a better feeling about his team.
"We had our chances to win all three games, but didn't get the play we needed," he said. "It was disappointing we couldn't close.
"We didn't play a very good match and we still could have, should have won. In a way, it's very encouraging because we can fix a lot of the technical things that went wrong."
Perhaps most encouraging was the Wahine's ability not to quit when they could have. After losing Sets 2 and 3, Hawaii found itself down 22-17 in Set 4.
"I thought we stayed composed," said freshman hitter Kanani Herring, who capped her debut tournament with a career-high 14 kills and 18 digs. "We could have gotten blown out, but it was just relax, chill.
"We beat ourselves, and UCLA did a nice job of playing their game."
With the Penn State players cheering from the endline, Hawaii rallied from down 22-17 and 24-21 to tie it at 24 behind three straight kills from Herring. Jamie Houston put down one of her match-high 18 kills to give the Wahine the first of four swings to push it to five.
Despite spectacular defense - anchored by libero Tara Hittle (16 digs) - Hawaii couldn't break through. At 28-28, Amanda Gil blocked Dani Mafua and then Gil and Nellie Spicer blocked Houston to end it.
"You asked why we keep coming back?" UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said. "It's for that kind of experience we had when it was 23-all every set. The crowd was raucous, the loudest I've heard in quite a while. It was deafening.
"We learned and grew a little tonight. And I think Hawaii was as good as I thought they would be. Dave's going to be in great shape this year."
But fatigue was obviously a factor last night, with Shoji subbing players to keep fresh legs out there. Giving a noticeable spark was outside hitter Stephanie Ferrell.
"I thought we played really well, but there's a lot of room for improvement," Ferrell said. "In December, we'll be there."
Hawaii has a quick turnaround, hosting the Volleyball Challenge beginning Thursday.
Senior middle Nickie Thomas finished with a career-high 13 kills and Aneli Cubi-Otineru added 12 for the Wahine. Hawaii was outblocked 18.5 to 10.5 but won the dig battle 72-54.
No. 6 UCLA def. No. 12 Hawaii
23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 30-28
Bruins (2-1)
|
s |
k |
e |
att |
pct |
d |
bs |
ba |
pts
|
Spicer |
4 |
8 |
1 |
14 |
.500 |
11 |
0 |
3 |
9 |
|
Daley |
4 |
12 |
4 |
41 |
.195 |
14 |
1 |
3 |
11
|
Gera |
4 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
.000 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
-2
|
Camp |
4 |
8 |
1 |
14 |
.500 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
10
|
Gill |
4 |
12 |
4 |
26 |
.308 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
13
|
Machado |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
McGraw |
4 |
15 |
5 |
34 |
.294 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
15
|
Clements |
2 |
4 |
2 |
8 |
.250 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
4
|
Fine |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
-1
|
Piggott |
3 |
4 |
2 |
25 |
.080 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
3
|
Machado |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
-2
|
Totals |
4 |
63 |
19 |
165 |
.267 |
54 |
4 |
29 |
60 |
Rainbow Wahine (1-2)
|
s |
k |
e |
att |
pct |
d |
bs |
ba |
pts
|
Kaufman |
4 |
6 |
6 |
21 |
.000 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
8
|
Herring |
4 |
14 |
6 |
40 |
.200 |
18 |
0 |
1 |
11
|
Houston |
4 |
18 |
10 |
46 |
.174 |
15 |
2 |
3 |
18 |
|
Thomas |
4 |
13 |
3 |
19 |
.526 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
13
|
Mafua |
4 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
.667 |
11 |
0 |
1 |
13
|
Cubi-Otineru |
4 |
12 |
5 |
25 |
.280 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
2
|
Ferrell |
3 |
4 |
1 |
10 |
.300 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
|
Hittle |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
4
|
Keefe |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Brandt |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Simmons |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Lee |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Totals |
4 |
69 |
31 |
166 |
.229 |
72 |
5 |
11 |
69 |
Key - s: sets; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills + blocks + aces - service errors)
Aces - UCLA (2): Spicer, Gil Hawaii: (1): Kaufman. Assists - UCLA. (56): Spicer 45, Daley 4, Gera 3, Gil 2, Camp, Fine. Hawaii (65): Mafua 52, Brandt 5, Herring 2, Thomas 2, Cubi-Otineru, Lee. T -1:14. Officials - Dickson Chun, Wayne Lee
A - 4,948.
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Penn State 3, Ohio 0
The Nittany Lions (3-0) made the most of their six-time-zone trek, picking up their second HAL Classic title in three trips and running their record in the islands to 10-1, including the 1999 NCAA championship. Penn State's 10th consecutive win here was a 66-minute sweep of the Bobcats that was close early and a blowout late.
Senior hitter Nicole Fawcett capped her most-outstanding-player performance with 15 kills, hitting .619. with an ace and three blocks.
Olympic tribute
During the break between Sets 1 and 2 of the Hawaii-UCLA match, UH's Olympians were recognized. Former UH athletes went 10-for-10 in medals at the Beijing Games.
In attendance yesterday was volleyball silver medalist Robyn Ah Mow-Santos. Also recognized were Bryan Clay (Castle), the gold medalist in the decathlon, and wrestler Clarissa Chun (Roosevelt), who finished fifth in the 105-pound division.