Saturday, September 25, 1999
No. 1 Sea Warriors
handed first loss
Vanessa Valansi's serving
By Ben Henry
the difference for BYUH
Special to the Star-BulletinSideout, Seasiders.
Second-ranked Brigham Young-Hawaii regained advantage in the fight for NCAA Division II volleyball supremacy yesterday, sweeping defending champion Hawaii Pacific, 16-14, 15-9, 15-11, at St. Andrew's Priory gym, HPU's home court.
The top-ranked Sea Warriors (11-1, 0-1 Pacific West Conference), who swept the Seasiders in the final of the Hawaiian Style Classic Sept. 4 in Hilo, hadn't dropped a single set coming into the match.
With the series now tied at one, the same two teams play again tonight at BYUH's Cannon Center in Laie at 7:30 p.m. to decide who is No. 1 in Division II.
The Seasiders (11-1, 1-0) used the experimental jump serve of Vanessa Valansi to spark come-from-behind victories in the first two sets yesterday, throwing the Sea Warrior passing game off-rhythm.
"I told Vanessa to just go ahead and try," BYUH head coach Wilfred Navalta said. "She's a great athlete with a great arm and a great jump serve with control."
It was the first time Valansi had ever tried a jump serve during a match, and it worked. In both the first and second sets, BYUH scored seven points off her serve, and at crucial times.
"I started practicing it after Hilo," said Valansi, who finished the match with five aces. "My serve in practice was going the way I wanted it to go, then (coach Navalta) gave me the green light."
Down 9-1 in Game 1, BYUH scored the next three points with Valansi serving, keeping the Sea Warriors' lead within reach.
HPU eventually gained a 14-9 lead, but BYUH fought back. After Valansi evened the score at 14, she recorded two consecutive aces with her jump serve and scored the final three points, as the Seasiders stole the first set.
"Everyone on our team serves the same floating serve," Valansi said. "So when you have something different, it throws them off."
Hawaii Pacific had its chances, serving for game point in the first set five times. "I think if we weren't as tentative, we would have been fine," said HPU head coach Tita Ahuna. "They gained momentum, and once they got the momentum going, they never stopped."
HPU started strong again in the second set, going up 7-1, but a timely Valansi ace ignited a BYUH 14-2 run. "(Valansi) had a fantastic jump serve -- everything worked for them," Ahuna said.
In the second set, Valansi came up big again, with her jump serve devastating HPU's passing game. She served up the last five points of the set.
In Game 3, BYUH this time jumped out to a 7-1 lead, but HPU came back to tie it at 11. HPU couldn't sustain its comeback bid, as BYUH scored the next four points to win the match.
"It's still very early in the season," Navalta said. "A month and a half from now, it'll be a different game."
BYUH def. HPU, 16-14, 15-9, 15-11
Seasiders (11-1 overall, 1-0 Pacific West Conference)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Meatoga 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 4 Lima 3 4 4 14 .000 0 2 9 Valansi 3 15 11 49 .082 1 2 13 Svobodova 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 3 Ribeiro 3 5 0 14 .357 1 2 5 Silva 3 21 4 40 .425 1 7 8 Elkington 3 2 2 9 .000 0 4 4 Peniata 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 3 Maluo 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 1 Neria 3 4 3 14 .071 0 1 4 Totals 3 51 24 140 .193 3 18 54Sea Warriors (11-1, 0-1)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Rocha 3 5 2 17 .176 0 1 11 Wong 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 8 Tuitele 3 1 2 5 -.200 0 0 9 Wang 3 7 4 23 .130 0 0 7 Sant' Anna 3 14 5 46 .196 0 0 8 Gabinio 3 5 7 24 -.083 0 1 4 Penebacker 3 4 2 7 .286 0 2 2 Lezchuk 2 0 0 2 .000 0 0 5 Totals 3 36 22 124 .113 0 4 54Aces--BYUH (10): Valansi 5, Ribeiro 2, Svobodova 1, Silva 1, Peniata 1; HPU (1): Gabinio 1. Assists--BYUH (47): Lima 39, Silva 3, Valansi 2, Ribeiro 1, Elkington 1, Neria 1; HPU (32): Tuitele 27, Sant' Anna 3, Wang 1, Gabinio 1.A--536. T--1:35. Officials--Dan Hironaka, Verneda Thomas.
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http://www.hpu.edu
