Saturday, August 25, 2001
[ WAHINE VOLLEYBALL ]
Wahine swept by STOCKTON, Calif. >> After weeks of anticipation and wondering, the Hawaii volleyball team learned exactly where it stood in a matter of minutes.
Cornhuskers in opener
The loss to No. 1 Nebraska gives
UH an idea of where it standsBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comFifth-ranked Hawaii led, trailed and then shot itself in the foot in the first 15 minutes of the match. The Wahine showed they could compete with the top-ranked Cornhuskers but not for any duration of time.
Nebraska didn't exactly live up to its top billing early on but played well enough to sweep Hawaii 30-17, 30-27, 30-24 in the opener of the State Farm Classic/NACWAA tournament.
"We just didn't perform technically well," UH volleyball coach Dave Shoji said. "We had way too many unforced errors. Our passers didn't pass. Our blockers didn't block. Our hitters didn't hit. I don't think we expected to be great tonight but we expected to play technically better than we did."
Hawaii looked great after taking a surprising 6-0 lead in Game 1. The Wahine blocked balls, had kills and forced Nebraska to commit the errors. But the Cornhuskers responded with five straight points and steady play to dominate the game.
"I'm sure both head coaches would have liked to seen a higher quality match," Nebraska coach John Cook said. "It was obvious we came out very tight.
"As the match went on, we started playing a little bit better and got a little bit better rhythm. We started looking somewhat like a team."
Setter Greichaly Cepero ran a balanced Cornhusker attack with four players hitting higher than .400. All-American Nancy Metcalf blasted 11 kills, while middle blockers Jenny Kropp and Amber Holmquist had eight kills a piece.
Hawaii was outhit .400 to .143. Kim Willoughby led the attack for the Wahine with 15 kills, but Willougby's streaky play matched Hawaii's. The sophomore outside hitter started the match slow but picked up her game to become the only Wahine hitter to produce some offense.
"I thought we were going to shut them out after the first five points, but I guess I was wrong," Shoji said. "They're an awesome team. We made too many unforced errors tonight, and at critical times. You just can't do that against a team like Nebraska. They're too big, too strong and they handle the ball too well. We just couldn't stay with them offensively or defensively."
The Cornhuskers outblocked the Wahine 10-4 and outdug Hawaii 34-28.
With Hawaii hitting negative after the first game, Shoji inserted setter Margaret Vakasausau into the lineup. Hawaii trailed 11-7 as Vakasausau adjusted to running the offense. The Wahine then knotted the score on kills by Willoughby and Lauren Duggins, a block by Duggins and an ace by Vakasausau.
The Wahine battled to a 23-23 tie before Nebraska pulled away for good. Two net violations, two hitting errors, an overpass and a serving error ended the game. The Cornhuskers earned only one natural point during the run from a kill by Amber Holmquist.
"We didn't focus enough on making our own points," Vakasausau said. "It's good to sideout. And with rally scoring we've learned that you trade sideouts, it's easy to get a point. But you need to make sure you score your own points."
And not give as many points away.
Hawaii plays Wisconsin in the consolation match today at 2 p.m. Hawaii time. Wisconsin lost to host Pacific 30-24, 33-31, 29-31, 30-25 last night.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
