Friday, September 28, 2001
Wahine open WAC After a monthlong stay at home, the Hawaii volleyball team begins Western Athletic Conference play tomorrow night at Louisiana Tech.
at Louisiana Tech
Hawaii is on the road,
but Willoughby will feel
right at homeBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comThe match is the first of four road tests for the Wahine, who will stay on the mainland for almost two weeks to play a nonconference match with Houston before facing Rice and Tulsa.
Hawaii's greatest challenge on this trip is to not play to the level of its opponents.
"This will be our first road trip, so it's hard to say how this team will play on the road," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "Our teams in the past have played just as well on the mainland as they have here. One of the issues is being able to play as well as you can regardless of where you are and what the circumstances are."
It is the first time flying for Hawaii since the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. But the Wahine aren't worried about being in the air.
"I wish we didn't have to (fly) because it's a long flight," setter Jennifer Carey said. "(But) from what I've heard, airports are the safest place to be right now. It will be interesting to see what procedures we have to go through. I hope all these safety procedures help."
No place will be safe for Louisiana Tech (6-6) despite being perfect at home this season. The overmatched Lady Techsters are billing tomorrow night's contest with No. 12 Hawaii as one of the biggest volleyball matches in school history.
The Wahine, however, won't expect much of a battle, at least not a physical one.
"Mentally, we're better," defensive specialist Hedder Ilustre said. "We're more prepared. We're fighting more. (But) without the crowd it might be a little harder."
It shouldn't be too tough for sophomore Kim Willoughby.
The Napoleonville, La., native anticipates about a hundred friends and family attending the match, many of them making the six-hour trek from Napoleonville to Ruston.
Willoughby's alma mater, Assumption High School, even rescheduled a volleyball tournament from tomorrow morning to tonight to make sure the two events didn't conflict.
Note: Defensive specialist Melissa Villaroman will not play tomorrow night. Villaroman is participating in the wedding of older sister Kathy and will rejoin the team in Texas.
Tuesday's match against Houston will be at 2:30 p.m. Hawaii time instead of 2 p.m.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
