Friday, November 19, 1999
The only similarity was in the black ball caps that read: WAC champions.
Other than that, there was no comparison between last night's title-clinching victory over Rice and last season's teeth-clinching, 3-1/2-hour marathon with Brigham Young in Las Vegas. Fifty-one weeks after playing in the longest-ever match in NCAA history, the third-ranked Hawaii women's volleyball team played in one of the program's shortest.
The Wahine needed just 64 minutes to turn Rice into mochi, pounding out a 15-1, 15-0, 15-8 victory at the Stan Sheriff Center. It was Hawaii's 100th win in the arena against nine losses over five-plus seasons; it was also the second consecutive conference championship, sixth overall.
The Wahine next go for their first perfect league record since an 18-0 mark in 1995 Big West play. Hawaii (24-1, 13-0) finishes up WAC competition next Tuesday against second-place San Jose State (23-5, 9-2) .
"There will never be another match that will ever compare with BYU, except if I'm fortunate to ever win an Olympic gold medal,'' Hawaii senior Heather Bown said of the 15-12, 21-19, 13-15, 16-16-18, 24-22 victory over the Cougars. "I've never been on a team with so much heart and that's what we're still looking for on this team.
"We have a lot of talent this year, but the key to winning a national championship will be heart. We need to all get on the same page on the same day, just like we did last year against BYU.''Hawaii's effort last night was a condensed novel. After 24 minutes, the Wahine had outscored the Owls, 30-1, with Rice threatening to replace Fresno State for the opponent's record in futility (15-2, 15-0, 15-0 in 1983).
The Owls avoided infamy with a 3-0 run to open Game 3. Hawaii took control for good as Lily Kahumoku served for six straight points and an 8-3 lead.
At that point, Bown had as many kills (10) as the entire Rice team. The Owls finished with 14 total kills to Bown's 11, but never came close to her block total; she was in on 11 stuffs while Rice as a team finished with three.
"I guess I had magnets on my arms,'' said Bown, who leads the country in blocks.
Leigh Leman and Kelly Smith led Rice with only four kills each.
"This is the best team overall Hawaii has had in the four years we've been playing them," said Rice coach Julio Morales, who has played Hawaii since the teams joined the WAC in 1996.
"The 1996 team was very good and (Angelica) Ljungquist was certainly imposing. But this team has more balance, more hitting power and a bigger block.''
Winning the conference title this time around was "a little easier,'' said Wahine coach Dave Shoji. "It was not No. 1 vs. No. 2 (in the WAC) and it didn't have the same intensity. But it was nice to clinch it before San Jose State got here.''
The Wahine face the Spartans (23-5, 9-2) next Tuesday in the final regular-season home match. Hawaii's four senior will be honored: Bown, Jennifer Roberts, Heidi Ilustre and Shelley Kim.
WAC STANDINGS
W L Pct. GB Overall x-Hawaii 13 0 1.000 -- 24- 1 San Jose St 9 2 .818 3 23- 5 Fresno St 9 4 .692 4 15-11 SMU 7 4 636 5 18-12 TCU 3 7 .300 8-1/2 9-17 UTEP 3 11 .214 10-1/2 5-22 Rice 2 10 .167 10-1/2 11-21 Tulsa 2 10 .167 10-1/2 8-16Tonight's matches
TCU at Fresno State
Tulsa at Centenary
SMU at San Jose State
Yesterday's results
Hawaii def. Rice, 15-1, 15-0, 15-8
Fresno State def. SMU, 15-10, 15-12, 15-8
HAWAII DEF. RICE, 15-1, 15-0, 15-8
Owls (11-21, 2-10 WAC)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Thon 3 0 0 1 .000 0 0 4 Zelinka 3 3 4 16 -.063 0 0 5 Craven 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 5 Leman 3 4 4 17 .000 1 0 5 C.Smith 3 0 3 4 -.750 0 0 1 K.Smith 3 4 6 25 -.080 0 0 5 Aderohunmu 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Cook 3 1 0 5 .200 1 1 0 Broadfoot 1 0 0 4 .000 0 0 0 M. Dvnprt Pllck 2 2 2 7 .000 0 1 4 Totals 3 14 19 79 -.063 2 2 29Wahine (24-1, 13-0 WAC)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Carey 3 1 1 5 .000 0 5 7 Sudduth 2 3 0 10 .300 0 2 4 Bown 3 11 2 17 .529 1 10 4 Kahumoku 3 6 3 14 .214 0 1 7 Lima 2 1 1 4 .000 0 0 4 Ilustre 3 2 3 17 -.059 0 2 8 Roberts 3 2 1 7 .143 0 4 0 Vakasausau 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 2 Nikolic 1 5 0 6 .833 0 4 0 Makainai 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 2 Lee 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 2 Totals 3 31 11 80 .250 1 28 40Aces--UH (7): Sudduth 2, Bown 1, Kahumoku 1, Vakasausau 1, Roberts 1. Rice (1): C. Smith. Assists--UH (30): Carey 24, Vakasausau 5, Kahumoku 1. Rice (12): Thon 9, M. Davenport Pollock 2, Aderohunmu 1.T-1:04. Officials: Annette Cottle, Ernest Ho.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Ka Leo O Hawaii
