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Monday, December 4, 2000
Wahine ready to Like the Union Army in the Civil War, the closer the University of Hawaii women's volleyball team gets to Richmond, Va., the tougher the battles get.
hit the Beach
Hawaii faces nemesis
Long Beach State in Thursday's
regional semiBy Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinIf you're student of history, you might say that this week Hawaii begins its Wilderness Campaign.
One slip-up and the war's over.
If Dave Shoji's troops can soften the artillery and storm the walls of Long Beach State on Thursday, the invasion of the old Confederate capitol might be at hand.
On Friday, the Wahine (29-1) would find either No. 9 Minnesota (30-3) or No. 14 UC-Santa Barbara (25-7) the lone regiment standing between them and the Final Four. (Hawaii defeated UC-Santa Barbara, 3-1, at home on Sept. 15.)
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL WEST REGIONAL
When: Semifinals, Thursday. Championship, Friday.
After Friday night's sweep of No. 19 Utah, Shoji said it didn't matter whom they played in the opening of the West regionals.
But still smarting from the 13-15, 8-15, 15-13, 10-15 defeat they suffered only nine days ago in front of a taunting Long Beach crowd, one can bet they're glad to have the 49ers in their house this time.
"Welcome to The Pyramid, Hawaii!" was the frequent razz as Long Beach State built a two-game lead on Nov. 25. The 49ers exploited the absence of Hawaii's 6-foot-3 freshman All-WAC middle blocker Maja Gustin with unstoppable blasts over the top by 6-7 Tayyiba Haneef and athletic 6-2 middle blocker Cheryl Weaver.
The 49ers have one of the best and biggest front rows in the NCAA.
Now the battleground is the Stan Sheriff Center. This time only one side will survive to fight another day .
Demonstrative Long Beach State head coach Brian Gimmillaro and his successful 49ers program (three NCAA titles since 1989) are the perfect antagonists for volleyball-mad Hawaii.
Unlike the low-profile Shoji, Gimmillaro is an aggressive and vocal presence on the sidelines. For Hawaii fans who love to hate him, he's worth part of the price of admission.
The fact that Hawaii has never been able to beat The Beach in postseason will also fuel the home fire.
Shoji said he's a lot more comfortable at home because it "wasn't fun" to face the 49ers in The Pyramid. But he added one sobering thought.
"I don't downplay the home court advantage but Long Beach certainly feels this is a second home," he said, referring to the fact that the 49ers were 5-3 in Hawaii during the 1990s.
Last year, without playing Hawaii, the 49ers advanced here to the Final Four while the Wahine were ousted by Texas A&M.
Long Beach State had to go to rally scoring to beat host Santa Clara, 9-15, 15-17, 15-9, 15-10, 19-17, on Friday night but Shoji doesn't believe the emotionally draining victory will negatively affect the 49ers in Hawaii.
He and associate head coach Charlie Wade believe having Gustin back from her sprained right ankle will be crucial. She is the NCAA's No. 6 blocker and leads the team in hitting percentage with possibly the highest velocity hit of any Wahine.
"When you play a team Long Beach State) with that much physical size, having more big kids on the floor will help," said Wade. "Even without having her against Long Beach, we knew we were in the match at times. So having her back will not only help us physically but emotionally."
Wade said what Gustin confirmed last weekend. She was devastated at not being able to play the first two rounds of her first NCAA tournament.
"I was ready on Wednesday for practice, and I was ready Thursday and Friday for game," said Gustin. "I waited all year for this."
Shoji said he held her out as long as he could get away with to let her strengthen the ankle.
Gustin, who said she prefers to face bigger women on the other side of the net, vowed to play "tough match" against Haneef.
"I can't wait," she said. "I'm not afraid."
Shoji said Gustin has a much better chance of getting a hand on the slams of Haneef than anyone else he's used at middle blocker.
"She has a better chance to slow her down than Kim (Willoughby, who's 5-10) or Tanja (Nikolic who's 5-11)," he said.
"Haneef is not blockable," said Shoji. "So we need to try to get a hand on the ball and dig her. We have to serve tough and make them set her where they don't want to -- away from the."
He said the closer to the net Haneef is set, the more dangerous she becomes, as was seen in Long Beach.
In the absence of Gustin the past three matches, Shoji has been using combinations of Willoughby in the middle and Nikolic on the right, and Lauren Duggins in the middle and Willoughby on the right.
"If Maja's in that all goes out the window," said Shoji.
Besides Haneef, who had 36 kills against Santa Clara, Weaver, who had 27, and 6-2 middle blocker Elisha Thomas, who had 19, are his other major worries.
The trio combined for 60 of the 81 kills the 49ers rained down upon Hawaii on Nov. 25.
"We have to serve aggressively and get them out of their rhythm," said Shoji, noting that Gustin will also play a big role in the serve. She leads the team in service aces.
"But we've been a streaky serving team," he said.
He said that senior Jessica Sudduth and Kahumoku,who play the left side, will have to step in front of Weaver to slow her down.
"Weaver is awesome," said Shoji. "She can run and has more shots."
Long Beach State is No. 7 in the NCAA in team blocking while Hawaii is No. 16. Hawaii is No. 5 in hitting percentage to Long Beach State's No. 9.
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Ka Leo O Hawaii
