Friday, October 19, 2001
Hawaii wriggles The Hawaii volleyball team survived a scare last night.
by San Jose State
Willoughby's 43 kills is
a WAC record and just
2 short of the Wahine recordStar-Bulletin staff
Pushed to a fifth game for only the second time this season, UH squeaked by San Jose State 30-19, 26-30, 30-20, 27-30, 15-13 in a 2-hour, 25-minute battle at the Event Center in San Jose.
"It felt good to win a close competitive match away," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "It gives us confidence going into Fresno. We're happy to get the win. We're fortunate to get the win. They always give us trouble."
But outside hitter Kim Willoughby gave the Spartans more trouble, turning in her 13th double-double of the season and dominating offensively with 43 kills, a .386 hitting percentage and 16 digs.
Willoughby broke the Western Athletic Conference match record for kills. The previous record of 41 was set by Colorado State's Jill Johnson in 1990. Willoughby's performance was just two kills shy of breaking Teee Williams' record of 44 set in 1989.
Despite tweaking her ankle in game four, Willoughby brought the Wahine out of a huge hole in the fifth game. With the team down 12-10, Willoughby pounded her 40th kill to give Hawaii a much needed sideout. Her 41st kill tied the score and then a tip gave Hawaii a 13-12 lead.
Brianna Blair had a kill for the Spartans to tie the score, but Willoughby finished off the match with her 43rd kill and a block.
"We scored when we had to," Shoji said. "That was the best thing about the match. We executed when we really had to. We played well in games one and three. We should have won in four, but we just let it go.
"(Liz) Hudson and (Kim) Noble were hard to stop. At times, we had trouble with all their hitters."
Savannah Smith ran a balanced attack for the Spartans, with four hitters in double digits in kills. Noble led the attack with 19 kills, while Blair posted 18 kills.
Despite a hip contusion, Margaret Vakasausau collected 73 assists and 10 digs. Maja Gustin started slow but finished strong with 22 kills. Middle blocker Nohea Tano, who continues to improve, put away 10 kills.
The Wahine play Fresno State tomorrow at 9 a.m. Hawaii time.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
