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Saturday, September 23, 2000
Kahumoku Lily Kahumoku seems to show another dimension of her offensive ability every night she plays. Against No. 8 and previously unbeaten Pepperdine she said she had no choice but to be creative.
kicks it up against
Pepperdine
The No. 2-ranked UH
women's volleyball team rallies
to beat the No. 8 Waves
in five gamesRealAudio: 'Net broadcast Click Here
By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin"When you have someone 6-foot-3 and 6-4 in front of you who can jump, I think you have to make adjustments," said the 6-2 sophomore known for her high-velocity hits.
Her season-high 23 kills led the No. 2 University of Hawaii women's volleyball team to a 12-15, 15-5, 15-2, 4-15, 15-7 victory over the Waves before 7,161 fans last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
It was the first time the Wahine were extended to five games this season. And Kahumoku was at her best in the fifth game decided by rally scoring.
Kahumoku's kills came on everything from rifle shots to delicate placements into tiny spaces on Pepperdine's side of the net.
"You can only bring the heater so many times," said the left-sider dubbed the "Poi Pounder."
"Pepperdine is a very physical team. They have a lot of height, a lot of athleticism, and they're good volleyball players. You can't have just one shot against a team like that."
The Wahine (9-0) face the Waves (9-1) again today at 7 p.m. in what will probably be their last major test on the court until the Long Beach State Thanksgiving Tournament.
Hawaii head coach Dave Shoji has said a sweep of Pepperdine could help the Wahine secure the right to host an NCAA regional.
"But I think this (3-2 loss) gives them (Pepperdine) a great incentive," said Kahumoku. "I think their coaches are telling them, 'Hey, you went five with them, you can beat them."
Pepperdine head coach Nina Matthies said she told her team exactly that.
And she said she also told her players that she considers Hawaii the No. 1 team in the country.
"I've voted them No. 1 in every poll," said Matthies.
Kahumoku, who had 12 digs while hitting .346 and getting in on six blocks, led four Wahine in double-digit kills.
It was her third double-double performance of the year.
"At the beginning of the game I was trying to hit a lot of high seam into the deep corner and then they dug me four or five times in a row," she said. "So, I thought, try something different. Back 'em up and then throw in a roll shot when they're so far back they can't make an adjustment ."
Kahumoku was most impressive picking off stray balls at the net.
"Lily is creating a lot of kills on her own," said Shoji. "She has such good control with her arm swing that if she sees something, she can take advantage of it."
Kahumoku's view: "I see ball, I hit ball."
Freshmen Maja Gustin and Kim Willoughby, who affectionately call Kahumoku, "our mother," combined for 26 kills.
The 6-2 Gustin not only had 14 kills but she played huge at the net, involving herself in 14 blocks.
She combined with Willoughby on three of those in the rally scoring fifth game.
"I love to play against big people," said the Slovenian native.
Willoughby had 12 kills and 10 digs for her second double-double.
"Everybody had to make adjustments," said Kahumoku.
"For example, Veronica was hitting a lot of line shots while she usually hits cross court."
Veronica Lima started with only two kills , four digs and a .100 hitting percentage in the first game but wound up with her third double-double of the season (11 kills, 14 digs) while hitting .143.
"That's her maturity," said Shoji of the 23-year-old Brazilian.
Outside hitter Melissa Snow led Pepperdine with 17 kills (.316).
Hawaii lost as many games last night as it had all season coming into the match.
Up 2-1, the sky-high Wahine just couldn't keep their feet on the ground long enough to stop the Waves in game 4.
"I think we thought we were going to win just by stepping on the court," said Shoji.
Hawaii def. Pepperdine, 12-15, 15-5, 15-2, 4-15,15-7
Pepperdine (9-1 overall)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Fopma 5 8 1 20 .350 2 9 8 Taylor 3 3 2 11 .091 0 1 7 Rouwenhorst 5 8 7 33 .,030 1 2 8 Snow 5 17 5 38 .316 0 4 13 Plass 5 5 1 14 ..286 2 3 11 Wilkins 3 5 5 21 ..000 1 0 3 Hache 2 1 1 3 .000 0 1 0 Rackauskas 5 0 0 2 .000 0 0 5 Borom 5 6 5 23 .043 0 2 3 Totals 5 53 27 165 .158 6 22 58 Wahine (9-0 overall)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Willoughby 5 12 6 24 .250 0 4 10 Carey 5 1 1 5 .000 0 6 10 Sudduth 5 9 6 36 .083 0 2 10 Kahumoku 5 23 5 52 .346 1 5 12 Lima 5 11 7 28 .143 0 3 14 Gustin 5 14 5 28 .321 1 13 2 Nikolic 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Vakasausau 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Lee 5 0 0 0 .000 0 0 9 Gomez-Tukuafu 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Villaroman 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 1 Totals 5 70 30 173 .231 2 33 68 Key--g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces--Pep (3): Fopma 2, Hache. UH (4):Carey, Sudduth, Kahumoku, Lima.
Assists--Pep (50): Plass 41, Taylor 2, Rouwenhorst 2, Snow 2, Fopma, Wilkins, Rackauskas. UH (63):Carey 58, Willoughby 2, Sudduth, Lee, Vakasausau.
T-2:06. Officials: Ernest Ho, Dan Hironaka. Att: 7,161.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
