Saturday, September 8, 2001
[ WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL ]
Throughout her career, Hawaii Pacific women's volleyball player Andrea Wean has been good at fulfilling her role. HPU wins PacWest opener
By Brandon Lee
blee@starbulletin.comThat remains the case this season, even though the senior middle blocker has gone from role player off the bench to full-time starter and leader for the Sea Warriors for the first time.
Behind another strong performance from Wean last night, HPU defeated visiting Hawaii-Hilo 30-26, 30-28, 30-28 in both teams' Pacific West Conference opener before 285 fans at St. Andrew's Priory gym.
Wean matched her career high (established in the first match of this season) in kills, with a match-high 17. She has not had fewer than 12 kills in a match this season. Wean also had match-highs with a .500 hitting percentage and five total blocks to go along with three service aces and nine digs.
"I think I could have done it last year, but they didn't need me," Wean said. "But I am exceeding my own expectations and it's just exciting, because I never really knew I had that much in me."
The top-ranked and defending NCAA Division II national champion Sea Warriors remained undefeated for the season (7-0 overall, 1-0 PacWest), and kept their affiliation-best winning streak alive at 35 games. The Division II record is 46 straight by Ferris State in 1984. HPU also has a streak of 26 conference wins in a row.
The Vulcans (5-4, 0-1) dropped their second match of the season and 12th straight overall to HPU, but have a chance for redemption tonight when the two teams hook up again at 7:30 p.m. at St. Andrew's Priory.
"We got some lucky breaks," Sea Warriors coach Tita Ahuna said. "We dug ourselves some deep trenches and UH-Hilo is an outstanding team. We'll see what happens (tonight)."
As for Wean's performance, Ahuna said: "I always knew Andrea had it in her, I think she just needed the confidence in herself. This year, she's the middle blocker everyone looks up to."
The Vulcans actually outhit HPU .244 to .164, but were ultimately done in by the Sea Warriors' advantage in blocks (8-3) and the service game (11 aces to eight).
"I was really pleased with how the team battled," Vulcans coach Sharon Peterson said. "We dug some great balls, our attacking was good, we just want to have a better finish. (HPU) has the experience on the court in tough situations. We're still growing."