Monday, October 12, 1998
Wahine are on
the road again
Hawaii looks to bounce back
By Cindy Luis
from Saturday's streak-ending
loss to Brigham Young
Star-BulletinAfter hitting the road for the first time this season, the Hawaii women's volleyball team learned a valuable lesson. The road can hit back -- and hard.
For the first time ever, the Wahine lost a regular-season Western Athletic Conference match, falling to No. 5 Brigham Young, 13-15, 15-4, 15-12, 15-8, on Saturday night. The loss ended Hawaii's conference winning streak at 53, a run dating back to Nov. 10, 1994.
No. 10 UH has little time to regroup and repack before heading back across the Pacific. The Wahine (4-1, 12-2) are at San Diego State on Saturday and No. 17 San Diego on Oct. 19.
"We needed to be energetic and excited, but we came out flat against BYU," Wahine junior Heather Bown said after the team arrived home yesterday. "We were always trying to catch up. We needed to take control but didn't. It wasn't one big thing, but a lot of things.
"We were definitely focused on the match, but not prepared for the environment. It was a lot different from being at home. This was the first time we had the crowd against us."
The crowd of 2,031 had plenty to cheer about as the Cougars (14-1) remained undefeated in the WAC (3-0).
BYU had four returning starters back from the team that swept Hawaii for the WAC Tournament title in November. But two new Cougars did the most damage.
Junior transfer Mari Carpenter had a team-high 17 kills and freshman Nina Puikkonen had 15 kills and 10 blocks. Jessica Sudduth led UH with 18 kills. Bown, still nursing a sprained ankle, had 14 kills.
"We couldn't control Carpenter," Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. "And Puikkonen is such an unorthodox hitter. The timing on our block against her was off.
"We didn't block well as a team or hit well as a team. We gave up too many unforced errors.
BYU hit .295 to .127 for Hawaii -- UH's Veronica Lima and Heidi Ilustre both hit negative -- and the Wahine were outblocked, 19-6.
Hawaii was able to rally in Game 1, overcoming BYU leads of 7-2 and 10-5 for a 15-10 victory. The Wahine were never in Game 2 and threatened only briefly in Game 3.
In Game 4, Hawaii led 6-2, but was outscored 13-2 the rest of the way. During the match-ending run, the Cougars served two of their three aces.
The Wahine's focus turns to this week's trip to San Diego. And Shoji is concerned.
"San Diego is a very good team," Shoji said of the Torreros. "And I just hope San Diego State doesn't wake up. They've been struggling, but they are due to put one together.
"This trip was a learning experience for us," Bown said. "We need to push through and persevere if we're going to compete as one of the top teams.
"Honestly, BYU is not that much better than us. We gave them the game with our errors. If we play our game, play at our tempo, we're a very good team. When they come here (Nov. 5), we'll have had the experience of playing them and know more what to expect."
WAC women
Pacific Division
Conference Overall W L Pct. GB W L Pct. Brigham Young 3 0 1.000 -- 14 1 .933 San Jose St 3 0 1.000 -- 14 3 .824 Hawaii 4 1 .800 -- 12 2 .857 Fresno St 3 1 .750 1/2 14 2 .875 Utah 1 2 .333 2 11 5 .688 Texas-El Paso 1 3 .250 21/2 8 6 .571 San Diego St 1 5 .167 31/2 3 14 .176 New Mexico 0 4 .000 31/2 6 10 .375
Conference Overall W L Pct. GB W L Pct. Colorado St 4 0 1.000 -- 14 4 .778 Wyoming 4 0 1.000 -- 9 8 .529 Nev-Las Vegas 3 0 1.000 1/2 14 3 .824 So. Methodist 1 2 .333 21/2 10 8 .556 Rice 1 3 .250 3 12 6 .667 Tulsa 1 3 .250 3 8 6 .571 Air Force 0 3 .000 31/2 7 8 .467 Texas Christian 0 3 .000 31/2 3 15 .167
1998 UH Wahine Volleyball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
