Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Friday, November 17, 2000
Wahine make it The University of Hawaii women's volleyball team sent out a message to the rest of the NCAA with its 15-7, 15-4, 15-9 sweep of the University of Nevada last night.
3 WAC titles
in a row
UH sweeps Nevada and
is ready to make some
noise in the postseasonBy Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinIf the Wahine can hit .368 as a team and put four players in double-digit kills without their offensive leader, imagine what they'll do when they have her back.
Senior left-side hitter Jessica Sudduth had one of her best all-around nights of the season with 18 kills, 15 digs and a .441 hitting percentage as Hawaii (24-0, 14-0 WAC) clinched its third consecutive Western Athletic Conference title before 4,205 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Sophomore left-side hitter Lily Kahumoku, who's been averaging a team-leading 4.64 kills a game, sat out for the third time in the past six matches. She is wearing a cast until Sunday to help heal her injured right wrist.
"If Jessica can get four, five or six kills a game every night that would really help the team," said Wahine head coach Dave Shoji.
"Lily's going to get hers. If we can get 'em from both left sides, we'll be that much tougher to beat."
It was Sudduth's sixth double-double of the season.
She needs only 11 digs to break into the Wahine's top-10 all-time list. She's already cracked the top 10 in kills.
"My opportunities to play in front of this crowd are coming down to a very, very short few, and I'm just fired up," Sudduth said.
Particularly encouraging to Shoji was the performance of freshman Lauren Duggins, who started on the right side in place of another freshman, Kim Willoughby.
Willoughby was held out until the third game as discipline for arriving late at a practice.
Playing the first two games, Duggins had 10 kills, seven digs, was in on four blocks, had two assists and hit a sizzling .750.
"I think Lauren Duggins did a phenomenal job tonight," said Devin Scruggs, head coach of the Wolf Pack (13-13, 10-5 WAC). "We were hoping we'd see a little weakness tonight without Lily."
Duggins won over the crowd early with her hustling defense as she dived for balls and played smart offense at the net, sometimes using feathery taps to place the ball into open spaces on the Nevada side.
Duggins said she wasn't told she was going to start until just before game time in the locker room.
Asked if she had butterflies, she said, "An extreme amount." Duggins said she's glad she got a chance to prove herself and show that the Wahine are even deeper than people originally thought.
"I had a lot of confidence because she's played well in practice over the past couple of weeks," Shoji said.
"I won't hesitate to use her now if we need her."
Shoji said he thinks Duggins could start for any other team in the WAC.
Also in double-digit kills for the Wahine were freshman Maja Gustin, who had 14, and junior Tanja Nikolic, who matched her career-high with 12. Nikolic started for Kahumoku for the third time this season.
The most difficult of the three games for Hawaii was the last one.
After the Wahine went up 3-0, the Wolf Pack came back to tie. Sudduth ignited a 5-0 run after that but Nevada came back with a 6-0 run of its own to go ahead, 9-8.
After Sudduth tied it at 9-9, the Wolf Pack never scored again.
"We sided out very well, and if you can do that you're not going to lose a game," Shoji said. "So I was pretty happy with the consistency in our attack."
Shoji said he expects Kahumoku to play in Tuesday's match at home against Rice.
"It'll (the cast) come off Sunday and she'll get a lot of treatment and she'll be ready to go," he said.
Hawaii closes out the WAC schedule with the University of Texas-El Paso on Wednesday before flying to (No. 16) Long Beach State for a Thanksgiving tournament.
Hawaii def. Nevada, 15-7, 15-4, 15-9
Wolf Pack (13-13 overall, 10-5 WAC)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Chambers 3 2 3 14 -.071 0 3 1 Oliver 3 9 3 18 .333 0 5 1 Harris 3 0 0 5 .000 0 0 5 Jameson 3 2 0 4 .500 0 0 2 Stemler 3 8 4 21 .190 1 0 6 Stonebarger 3 13 4 33 .273 0 1 13 LaBossiere 3 1 3 6 -.333 0 0 4 Ramsay 3 1 1 9 .000 0 3 2 Baracco 3 0 0 2 .000 0 0 5 Couwenhoven 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 More 3 4 3 22 .045 0 2 3 Totals 3 40 21 134 .142 1 14 42 Wahine (24-0 overall, 14-0 WAC)
Key--g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
g k e att pct. bs ba d Nikolic 3 12 4 27 .296 0 3 7 Carey 3 3 1 6 .333 0 3 16 Sudduth 3 18 3 34 .441 1 1 15 Lima 3 6 5 20 .050 0 6 4 Gustin 3 14 2 25 .480 0 3 3 Duggins 2 10 1 12 .750 0 4 7 Vakasausau 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Willoughby 1 3 0 7 .429 0 1 2 Gomez Tukuafu 3 0 0 1 .000 0 0 6 Lee 2 0 1 1 -1.000 0 0 1 Villaroman 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Totals 3 66 17 133 .368 1 21 61
Aces--Nevada (4): More 2, Navonna, Stemler. UH(2): Lima, Gustin.
Assists--Nevada (36): Harris 25, Couwenhoven 9, Chambers 2. UH (61): Carey 50, Lima 4, Duggins 2, Vakasausau 2, Willoughby 2, Gomez-Tukuafu 1.
T-1:40 Officials: Kevin Cull, Wayne Lee. Att: 4,205.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii