WAHINE VOLLEYBALL
Rainbow Wahine win as a team
STORY SUMMARY » | READ THE FULL STORY
There's a noticeable difference with this year's team. And the emphasis is on team.
NEXT UP
vs. St. Mary's on Thursday
|
When No. 11 Hawaii struggles a bit this volleyball season, coach Dave Shoji has been able to go to the bench "and they come in and do their jobs," he said.
"There is a different feel. Tonight we used (Jessica) Keefe and (Stephanie) Brandt, they did their jobs and they're happy to contribute. We need to be a team and so far the girls have responded to their roles."
The difference has added up to a three-match winning streak, capped by yesterday's 25-11, 25-17, 25-23 sweep of Cincinnati.
CINDY LUIS
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jamie Houston went up for a kill attempt against Cincinnati's Jessica Elley during last night's Volleyball Challenge match.
|
|
FULL STORY »
Don't be impressed by the ease with which No. 11 Hawaii handled Cincinnati for the first 45 minutes of yesterday's Volleyball Challenge match.
Instead, be impressed by the way the Rainbow Wahine responded after falling behind 17-12 and 21-18 in Set 3 against the Bearcats.
There was no panic. There was no pressing.
There was no Set 4.
A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 3,656 (5,565 tickets) witnessed Hawaii's resiliency and an emerging star in freshman hitter Kanani Herring. Herring put down a match-high 13 kills, hitting .571, with nine digs as the Rainbow Wahine (4-2) won their third straight via a sweep of Cincinnati 25-11, 25-17, 25-23.
Herring was named the tournament's most outstanding player and "Kanani played hard," senior hitter Jamie Houston said. "She has played great against good teams."
Houston, who sat out Friday's win over Wyoming, added 12 kills, hitting .367, and was in on two of Hawaii's six blocks. Watching the match did wonders for Houston's hitting percentage and perspective; she hit .116 on Thursday against No. 12 Minnesota.
"Jamie had an opportunity to see the flow of the match," Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. "She was able to rehearse her position in her mind. She did a much better job on offense and she played well in the backcourt.
"She really wants to be a complete player. I thought she made a huge jump over the weekend."
Houston and Herring were part of Hawaii's outside punch that included junior Aneli Cubi-Otineru (seven kills).
"I think Aneli is the key, the glue for their team," Cincinnati coach Reed Sunahara said after his team fell to 4-2, 1-2 in the tournament. "She's not a star, but she does everything well.
"Their outside hitters were unstoppable. This was a good test for us. If we can't learn from this weekend, then why come?"
The Bearcats' two losses were to the two ranked teams in the field. Cincinnati rebounded from Saturday's disappointing loss to the Golden Gophers with a Set 3 that pushed Hawaii.
"I told them to go out and have fun," Sunahara said of his locker room speech between Sets 2 and 3. "Told them we haven't showed what we're capable of or our potential. We did a better job of communicating and executing.
"They went out and did what I had been looking for from the start. We didn't capitalize on some of the plays we should have, made errors because of our inexperience. But it was a great experience to play in front of a great crowd against a very good team."
All-tournament selection Stephanie Niemer led the Bearcats with nine kills. Her eighth kill gave Cincinnati a 21-18 lead, but by the time she got her final kill, her team was trailing 23-22.
In between, the Wahine went on a 5-1 run with kills by Herring, setter Dani Mafua, Cubi-Otineru and Amber Kaufman, and a hitting error by Kelsey Brand that sailed out of bounds. Kaufman's fifth kill gave the Wahine match point and, one sideout later, Cubi-Otineru pounded one off Bearcats libero Jaime Frey to end it after 85 minutes.
Hawaii next hosts the Chevron Invitational featuring No. 9 Washington, St. Mary's and Pacific, Thursday through Saturday.
Note
Junior defensive specialist Jayme Lee reinjured her shoulder during Friday's match and sat out yesterday. She was scheduled to see a doctor today. ... Sophomore libero Elizabeth Ka'aihue is expected to be cleared to practice this week. She's been out with a knee injury.
All-tournament team
Hawaii: Kanani Herring (most outstanding player), Aneli Cubi-Otineru, Tara Hittle. Minnesota: Brook Dieter, Lauren Gibbemeyer. Cincinnati: Stephanie Niemer. Wyoming: Jenna Arneson.
Hawaii def. Cincinnati
25-11, 25-17, 25-23
Cincinnati (4-2)
|
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct |
d |
bs |
ba |
pts |
Brandl |
3 |
7 |
4 |
14 |
.214 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
8.5 |
|
Fesl |
3 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
.500 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
2.5 |
|
Niemer |
3 |
9 |
6 |
27 |
.111 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
10
|
Nevitt |
3 |
8 |
3 |
16 |
.312 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
9.5
|
Elley |
3 |
6 |
0 |
21 |
.286 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
6.5
|
Harpenau |
3 |
4 |
4 |
17 |
.000 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
4
|
Peterson |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Guenther |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Frey |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Nevelle |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Totals |
3 |
37 |
17 |
100 |
.200 |
33 |
0 |
8 |
43 |
Rainbow Wahine (4-2)
|
|
g |
k |
e |
att |
pct |
d |
bs |
ba |
pts
|
Kaufman |
3 |
5 |
2 |
15 |
.200 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
8.5
|
Herring |
3 |
13 |
1 |
21 |
.571 |
9 |
0 |
1 |
15.5
|
Houston |
3 |
12 |
1 |
30 |
.367 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
13.5
|
Thomas |
3 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
.400 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
4.5
|
Mafua |
3 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
1.000 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
4
|
Cubi-Otineru |
3 |
7 |
2 |
19 |
.263 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
9
|
Ferrell |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
.500 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Hittle |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Keefe |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.000 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Brandt |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Totals |
3 |
44 |
7 |
96 |
.385 |
37 |
2 |
8 |
57 |
Key - g: games; 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 - Cincinnati (2): Brandl, Guenther. Hawaii (7): Kaufman 2, Herring 2, Mafua, Cubi-Otineru, Brandt. Assists - Cincinnati (30): Fesl 26, Harpenau, Guenther, Frey, Nevelle. Hawaii (40): Mafua 34, Thomas 2, Kaufman, Houston, Cubi-Otineru, Brandt. T -1:25. Officials - Ernest Ho, Denice Hanson. A -3,656.