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SMALL COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

No quit in
Vulcans, ’Swords

The Chaminade and Hawaii-Hilo women's volleyball teams have no shot at postseason play, yet when the two meet this weekend in their final matches of the year, the contests should be anything but academic.

The Vulcans host the Silverswords for two games this weekend at UHH Gymnasium before both teams call it a season. Saturday night's match will be the last Pacific West Conference game for both teams. Sunday afternoon's season finale will be a nonconference affair.

While both teams have struggled through losing campaigns this year, neither is in a hurry for its season to end.

Chaminade is sixth out of eight teams in the PacWest Pacific Division standings at 5-8 (6-15 overall), yet the Silverswords have won their last two matches, both in conference play. Hawaii-Hilo is in last-place in the Pacific Division at 2-11 (6-15 overall), but the Vulcans hope to finish the season on a winning note, much as they started it when they reeled off three victories in a row.

"We started off the year playing freely, which helped us get the early victories, but then that stopped and we started to struggle," Vulcans coach Sharon Peterson said. "This weekend we want to go in prepared and play freely once again. We plan to attack and fight all the way to the end."

"We're not going to Hilo just to get the season over with," said Silverswords coach Glennie Adams. "We want to do well and win our final two games. It's hard when you lose this many games. Some teams fold, but we haven't."

Both Chaminade and UH-Hilo have young squads - each has at least three freshmen and neither has a senior on its roster. Also, both teams have individuals playing out of their normal positions.

Despite the youth and inexperience, and also the numerous losses, both Adams and Peterson were upbeat when evaluating their teams and seasons.

"We knew one week into the season that we were going to take our lumps, because our setter walked off," Adams said. "I'm competitive and I don't like to lose, but after what we've been through this year and how far we've come, I'm real proud of my team."

Said Peterson: "This has not been a disappointing season. In terms of wins and losses, maybe. But in terms of progress and team chemistry, this year has been very satisfying and I've enjoyed this team as much as any other I've had."

Said Adams: "I think we have a bright future ahead of us and I sense a real excitement from the players and rest of the coaching staff about next season."

Seasiders on playoff doorstep

BYUH (10-2, 14-5) needs just one more win in its final two games or a loss by Central Washington of the West Division to clinch the final at-large spot in the PacWest Championship Tournament, to be held Nov. 10-11.

The Seasiders play at MSU-Billings tonight before concluding their regular season at Western New Mexico Saturday night. HPU (12-0,19-0) already has clinched a spot in the tournament and will play host at the Blaisdell Arena as the Pacific Division champion.

HPU's Robert best in PacWest

HPU outside hitter Roberta Robert was named PacWest Player of the Week Monday. The 6-foot-2 junior from Curitiba, Brazil, played a huge role in three victories last week that propelled the Sea Warriors to a division championship. The left-handed hitter had 25 kills, 32 digs, seven blocks, seven aces and 10 assists.

Andreasson solid stopper

HPU goalkeeper Fredrik Andreasson was cited as PacWest Player of the Week Monday for his effort in a 3-0 shutout over rival BYUH over the weekend. It was the 6-3 sophomore's school-record seventh shutout of the season. The native of Malmo, Sweden, hasn't surrendered a goal in 367 minutes of play, lowering his conference-leading goals against average to 0.48.

More importantly, Andreasson has kept the Sea Warriors on track for a conference championship with a 4-1 (9-2-1 overall) record. HPU can clinch a tie for the PacWest title with home wins over both MSU-Billings Saturday and Humboldt State Monday.

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Brandon Lee,

Special to the Star-Bulletin