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Monday, September 25, 2000
The No. 2-ranked University of Hawaii women's volleyball team opens the Western Athletic Conference season this weekend in California hitting a solid .288 and looking like the prohibitive favorite to annex a third straight conference title. Wahine begin
defense of WAC titleBy Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinThe Wahine's 10-0 record includes five wins against nationally ranked teams (Texas A&M, UCLA, UC-Santa Barbara and Pepperdine). If injuries don't interfere, there is a very good chance Hawaii will go unbeaten through its next 16 matches.
That would bring the Wahine into the Long Beach State Thanksgiving Tournament, where they would face the No. 6-ranked 49ers.
Hawaii will play at Fresno State on Friday and at San Jose State on Saturday.
"We're getting pretty good production out of everybody," said Wahine head coach Dave Shoji. "Seems every night we have someone leading the team in kills and that's a good sign."
The team's two left-siders had career-high kill nights in a weekend sweep of No. 8 Pepperdine. Sophomore Lily Kahumoku had 23 kills in Friday's 3-2 rally-scoring victory and senior Jessica Sudduth had 23 kills in Saturday's come-from-behind 3-1 victory over the Waves.
The wins were significant for Hawaii, as Shoji indicated before the weekend, because they could keep the Wahine in the top four in the nation and secure a home regional NCAA berth.
"Jessica has led the team in two of the last three games and we need production out of her," Shoji said.
Sudduth, who had a slow start to her offensive season, is now hitting .244 and averaging 3.29 kills per game.
But Kahumoku has been the steadying influence on attack in 2000.
"Lily continues to play very well and I think she's been the most consistent offensively of anybody," said Shoji. "I think everyone knows she can put the ball down and looks to her if we need a sideout or a point. She had some big games last year but she didn't hit for as high a percentage last year."
Kahumoku hit .291 last season and is now hitting .322.
"That's pretty high for a left-side hitter," Shoji said.
Compared with her 3.31 kills average in 1999, Kahumoku is now averaging 4.65.
Next up is Fresno State, which is 7-7.
"Fresno is a tough place to play," Shoji said. "They have a very, very small gym, usually a very vocal crowd and pretty loyal boosters who come out no matter what the situation is. For us to go into a strange gym for the first time, we might have some adjustment problems but I'm hoping that's not the case."
At San Jose State, the Wahine will come up against Joslyn Gallop, WAC co-player of the year in 1999 with Heather Bown.
The 6-1 middle blocker is off to a fast start this year, having been named WAC player of the week two weeks in a row. In leading the Spartans to a 9-3 record, Gallop is averaging 5.76 kills per game. Her team is hitting .238.
"We have enough depth to get us by right now," Shoji said. "I wouldn't say we're real, real deep. But we have enough. If we have to go one or two more deep there won't be much of a dropoff. But that's not the plan."
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
