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Tuesday, November 28, 2000
Wahine reap Lily Kahumoku, the University of Hawaii's powerful sophomore left side hitter, reacted to the good news the way she reacts any time she's in the spotlight.
WAC volleyball
awards
Kahumoku named Player
of the Year as entire starting
lineup, Shoji earn honorsBy Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin"It's nice but it's very awkward," said Kahumoku after being named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year by the conference's coaches. "I don't know if it was well-deserved."
All of the Wahine's six starters earned WAC honors.
Kahumoku beat out San Jose State's Joslynn Gallop, who leads the WAC in kills (5.51 kpg). Gallop was the most recent conference player of the week.
Healing from a right wrist injury since Oct. 26, Kahumoku missed three matches but now believes she's 98 percent.
The award, she admits, helps her psychologically.
"It helps my self-confidence a little, but it really doesn't affect me," Kahumoku said. "I would rather trade this honor for that match at Long Beach State. Ultimately all that matters is that I want a ring, and so do the rest of my teammates."
Kahumoku referred to Hawaii's first loss of the season at The Pyramid last Saturday.
It's the fifth straight year that Hawaii has had the WAC's top player.
Past Wahine winners were Angelica Ljungquist (1996), Cia Goods (1997), and Heather Bown (1998-99). Kahumoku is also the 10th Wahine all-time to win a conference player of the year honor.
Hawaii (27-1), which opens play in the NCAA tournament on Thursday at home against Davidson, also had the WAC's co-freshmen of the year in right sider Kim Willoughby and middle blocker Maja Gustin.
Four Wahine made the All-WAC first team: Kahumoku, senior left sider Jessica Sudduth, Gustin and junior middle blocker Veronica Lima. Kahumoku and Sudduth are first team repeaters.
Sophomore setter Jennifer Carey and Willoughby were named to the WAC's second team.
Hawaii's Dave Shoji shared coach of the year honors with UTEP's Revis Ward-Daggett.
"I think we got everyone recognized who should've been recognized," Shoiji said. "I was afraid someone might get left off. But I was a little bit surprised that we got that many people on."
It was the sixth coach of the year award for Shoji. He won WAC coach of the year honors in 1996 and 1998 and Big West coach of the year in 1987, 1988 and 1995.
Kahumoku ranks second in the WAC in kills (4.54 kpg) and third in hitting percentage (.367).
Gustin, listed as "day to day" for the NCAA opener with a sprained right ankle, leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.382) and blocks (1.57 bpg). Gustin's blocks per game ranks fifth in the nation.
Willoughby ranks eighth in the WAC in digs (3.09 dpg) and 14th in blocks (0.98).
The duo accounted for 30 percent of the Wahine's kills and 73 percent of the team's blocks.
ALL-WAC
First team
Player School Pos. Cl. Lily Kahumoku Hawaii OH So Veronica Lima Hawaii MB Jr. Jessica Sudduth Hawaii OH Sr. Maja Gustin Hawaii MB Fr. Sarah Davis UTEP DS So Joslynn Gallop San Jose State MB Sr. Suzanne Stonebarger Nevada OH Jr.
Player of Year
Lily Kahumoku, Hawaii
Co-Coaches of Year
Dave Shoji, Hawaii, Revis Ward-Dagggett, UTEP
Co-Freshmen of Year
Maya Gustin and Kim Willoughby, Hawaii
Second team
Player School Pos. Cl. Jennifer Carey Hawaii S So. Kim Willoughby Hawaii OH Fr. Veronica Acosta UTEP S Jr. Brianna Blair San Jose State OH Jr. Christina Lukens San Jose State DS So. Michelle More Nevada MB So. Jacqui Nosan UTEP MB Jr.
Hawaii: Maja Gustin, Kim Willoughby. Fresno State: Kara Venwey. Nevada: Tiffany Oliver. San Jose State: Liz Hudson, Kimberly Noble. All-Freshman team
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
