Wahine Playbook

vs. Loyola Marymount

Bown is Wahine's intimidator

Schedule-Tonight and Tomorrow: No. 23 Loyola Marymount (9-2) at No. 3 Hawaii (9-0), 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center.

Coaches-Hawaii: Dave Shoji (25th season, 690-135-1); LMU: Steve Stratos (10th season, 200-83).

Series: The Wahine and Lions are tied at 2-2 with LMU winning the past two meetings, both in 1997. The Lions are looking to become the first team to defeat the Wahine twice at the Stan Sheriff Center. LMU eliminated Hawaii for the NCAA Tournament, 3-0, in a first-round match at Long Beach State. In Honolulu, Hawaii leads, 2-1..

Tentative starting lineups_Hawaii: Heather Bown (6-3 Sr. MB) 4.48 kpg, .386, 2.39 bpg, 10 aces; Lily Kahumoku (6-2 Fr. LS) 3.38 kpg, .288, 2.59 dpg; Jessica Sudduth (6-2 Jr. LS), 3.07 kpg, 2.90 dpg, 1.00 bpg; Veronica Lima (6-2 So. MB) 2.07 kpg, .295, 2.7 dpg, 1.29 bpg, 13 aces; Jennifer Carey (6-1 Fr. S) 0.97 kpg, .347, 12.26 apg, 2.87 dpg, 1.03 bpg; Jennifer Roberts (6-2 Sr. RS) 1.65 kpg, .320, .089 bpg. LMU: Sarah McFarland (6-6 Jr. Opp) 8.49 kpg, .322, 14 aces, 2.86 dpg, 0.51 bpg; Allison Gustorf (6-0 Jr. MB) 2.46 kpg, .360, 2.37 dpg; Jaimee Brubacher (6-0 Fr. OH) 1.42 kpg, 11 aces, 2.30 dpg; Jeannette Hecker (5-8 Sr. S) 14.91 apg, 2.62 dpg;Laura Gustorf (5-9 Fr. OH) 2.20 kpg, 3.43 dpg; Lydia Day (6-3 Sr. MB) 2.63 kpg, .303, 0.89 bpg.

About the Wahine: Hawaii is off to its best start in three years and has already defeated four nationally ranked teams (UCLA, USC, Long Beach State and Colorado). The Wahine are coming off a win over defending national champion Long Beach State last Thursday, a victory that snapped the 49ers' 42-match winning streak. On Friday, Hawaii swept the Buffs in 83 minutes in the Wahine's 100th match in the Stan Sheriff Center ... Bown was named the National Player of the Week after averaging 4.14 kills and 2.57 blocks, hitting .345 in the two victories ... Shoji is 10 wins away from the 700 career mark and will become the sixth coach to reach that milestone ... UH continues to lead the country in attendance with an average of 7,157, nearly 3,500 more than No. 2 Nebraska. LMU averages 226... As a team, Hawaii is averaging 16.39 kills per game to LMU's 18.78. Hawaii's block average is 3.85 bpg to LMU's 1.72 ... Andrea Gomez Tukuafu, a transfer from BYU-Hawaii, has been declared ineligible for the season by the NCAA. She will be able to play as a senior next year.

About the Lions: Snubbed by the NCAA selection committee last season despite an 18-8 record, LMU is making some noise early. The Lions have won their last five in a row. Their losses have been to then-No. 24 Colorado State and then-No. 12 BYU... Stratos picked up his 200th career win last week when LMU defeated Texas-El Paso to win the Dominos Pizza Classic. Allison Gustorf was named the MVP while McFarland was named to the all-tournament team in her third consecutive tourney ... In the loss to LMU, Texas Tech was led by former Wahine Lori Garber (18 kills, .400) ... McFarland was National Player of the Week after putting down 52 kills in the upset of No. 14 Ohio State Sept. 10. It was her first appearance as a left-side hitter after playing on the right the past two seasons. She averages nearly nine kills a game, three more than anyone else in the the country.

On the air: Live on KFVE TV (Channel 5) and KCCN radio (1420-AM).

Tickets: $5-$9 (upper level only).

End quote: "Loyola Marymount is a very good team and I'm very concerned,'' said Shoji. "They thumped us pretty badly the last time. They will cause us a lot of problems if our mental state is not good. They had a premier player the last time (Sarah Noriega) and they have a premier player this time (McFarland). They are very capable of beating us.''