NMSU doesn't make it easy for Shoji to collect 1,000th
POSTED: Sunday, October 18, 2009
They came by the thousands, some waiting in line for more than an hour for tickets, just to be part of history.
They shared stories of the sweat box, termite-swarm nights in Klum Gym. The younger generation, “;spoiled”; by the air conditioning and real seats in the Stan Sheriff Center, chimed in with memories of 10,000-plus sellouts.
The 8,199 now have a collective memory—that of watching Hawaii coach Dave Shoji earn his 1,000th victory.
The win over New Mexico State may have taken longer than expected, but it was well worth the price of admission for the 2 hours of entertaining volleyball.
With 15 kills each by Kanani Danielson and Aneli Cubi-Otineru, and a defense that drew several standing ovations, the third-ranked Rainbow Wahine defeated the Aggies 25-13, 22-25, 25-21, 25-8. It was the 12th consecutive win for Hawaii (16-2, 7-0 Western Athletic Conference).
The Aggies, getting 11 kills from Whitney Woods, dropped to 11-7 and 6-2.
After Brittany Hewitt blocked Stephanie Ziegler to end it, Shoji was swarmed by his players shooting Silly String.
Burdened with leis and wearing a crown, he thanked the crowd, with his first words asking for the fans to acknowledge New Mexico State coach Mike Jordan and his team “;who played a terrific match.”;
“;I'm glad our players got to be part of this; Dave deserves something like this,”; Jordan said. “;Hawaii's defense was just tremendous. There must have been a dozen times I said, 'That's a kill' and they brought the ball back from the dead.
“;And their serving ... “;
Hawaii had nine aces, four by Cubi-Otineru and three by Amber Kaufman. Anchoring the Wahine's defense was Elizabeth Ka'aihue, who had 25 digs.
Hawaii hosts Louisiana Tech tomorrow. Fans can redeem last night's tickets for mementos at Friday's match against Brigham Young-Hawaii.
WAC STANDINGS
| W | L | Pct. | GB | All | |
| Hawaii | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 16-2 |
| NMSU | 6 | 2 | .750 | 1 1/2 | 11-7 |
| Fresno State | 4 | 3 | .571 | 3 | 11-8 |
| Idaho | 4 | 3 | .571 | 3 | 8-11 |
| Utah State | 3 | 4 | .429 | 4 | 12-8 |
| Nevada | 3 | 4 | .429 | 4 | 7-13 |
| LaTech | 2 | 5 | .286 | 5 | 12-11 |
| Boise State | 2 | 6 | .250 | 5 1/2 | 2-18 |
| SJSU | 1 | 5 | .167 | 5 1/2 | 1-16 |
Yesterday
Hawaii def. New Mexico State, 25-13, 22-25, 25-21, 25-8
Fresno State def. Boise State, 19-25, 25-21, 25-18, 20-25, 15-11
Idaho def. Nevada, 25-23, 25-23, 25-22
San Jose State def. Louisiana Tech, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 15-12
Tomorrow
Louisiana Tech at Hawaii, 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center
Idaho at Utah State
Thursday
San Jose State at Louisiana Tech
Utah State at Boise State
Nevada at idaho
Fresno State at New Mexico State
NO. 3 HAWAII DEF. NMSU 25-13, 22-25, 25-21, 25-8
| Aggies (11-7, 6-2 WAC) | ||||||||
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | |
| Birmingham | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Brennan | 4 | 2 | 3 | 12 | -.083 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Brown | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Devries | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Giddens | 4 | 10 | 9 | 37 | .027 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| Altermatt | 4 | 8 | 5 | 39 | .077 | 12 | 0 | 2 |
| Roberts | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wolfe | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Goodan | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .000 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Ziegler | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | -1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Woods | 4 | 11 | 0 | 26 | .192 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Phillips | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 4 | 35 | 27 | 132 | .061 | 50 | 2 | 28
|
| Rainbow Wahine (16-2, 7-0 WAC) | ||||||||
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | |
| Ferrell | 4 | 5 | 8 | 21 | -.143 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kaufman | 4 | 5 | 1 | 17 | .235 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Hewitt | 4 | 8 | 0 | 13 | .615 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Danielson | 4 | 15 | 10 | 45 | .111 | 12 | 2 | 1 |
| Mafua | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | -.500 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| Cubi-Otineru | 4 | 15 | 6 | 41 | .220 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| Cascioppo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kaaihue | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandt | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Lee | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 4 | 48 | 27 | 142 | .148 | 62 | 4 | 14 |
Key —s: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists
Aces—New Mexico State (0). Hawaii (9): Cubi-Otineru 4, Kaufman 3, Brandt 2 . Service Errors—New Mexico State (11): Wolfe 4, Brown 2, Phillips 2, Altermatt, Birmingham, Giddens. Hawaii (4): Cubi-Otineru 3, Ferrell. Assists—New Mexico State (32): Devries 21, Wolfe 6, Brennan, Brown, Phillips, Woods. Hawaii (42): Mafua 40, Brandt 2.
T—2:00. Officials—Kent Kitade, Dickson Chun. A—8,199.
