Wednesday, November 7, 2001
[ WAHINE VOLLEYBALL ]
WAC title in hand, As entertaining as it might have been, Hawaii's hiatus from Western Athletic Conference play was only temporary.
UH looks to
national ranking
Shoji hopes Hawaii can keep winning
in order to host some postseason matchesBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comAfter sweeping No. 21 UC-Santa Barbara on Monday, the 12th-ranked Wahine play their last conferences matches this week.
UH hosts San Jose State tomorrow at 7 p.m. Friday's match against Fresno State will be senior night with the annual alumnae vs. alumnae match preceding it at 5 p.m.
Monday night's contest was reminiscent of more competitive times in the Big West conference. Hawaii coach Dave Shoji admitted that he does miss having matches like that more often.
"It'd be nice to play a match like that every week," Shoji said "But not twice a week."
Shoji's concern of two tough matches in the same week could happen tomorrow against the Spartans.
San Jose State pushed Hawaii to the limit last month before outside hitter Kim Willoughby pulled the team out of a 12-10 hole in the fifth game. Willoughby scored five straight points and pounded a WAC-record 43 kills to lift the Wahine past the Spartans.
Though Hawaii has already clinched its sixth WAC title, the motivation is still there to extend its 18-match win streak.
"Our motivation is to keep our national ranking," Shoji said. "Theoretically the top 16 teams get to host the first and second rounds. We'd like to be able to do that.
"Our players understand how competitive San Jose can be. And they know that San Jose was in a position to win that last match."
The Spartans nearly undid the Wahine's 50-match WAC win streak with tough serving and career nights from outside hitters Brianna Blair and Kimberly Noble.
When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m., San Jose State; Friday, 5 p.m., alumnae vs. alumnae; 7 p.m., Fresno State GAMEDAY
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: KFVE, Ch. 5
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Internet: uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Notes: UH leads the series 41-4. ... San Jose State is second in the conference in serving, averaging two aces a game. ... Spartan defensive specialist Karli Silveira was also a three-year member of the women's soccer team.
San Jose is the second toughest serving team in the WAC with two aces per game. (Nevada is slightly better with 2.01 aces per game.) Five starters have notched 20 or more aces this season, including 45 by Noble.
Blair (4.68 kills per game) and Noble (3.86 kpg) are second and fifth in the conference in hitting. Shoji said that Hawaii will need to improve its blocking against the two.
"They have four really good hitters and you have to respect that," Willoughby said. "I still remember them coming here last year and getting off to an 8-1 start. They play a lot better when they come here. We can't let them get big runs on us.
"It's not about the WAC anymore. It's about national stuff. If any of them beats us, that would hurt our rankings."
Notes: Willoughby's season total of 571 kills is 118 short of the single season Wahine record of 688. If she continues her torrid hitting pace, the sophomore could eclipse that record at the Bankers Classic later this month. She has already obliterated two school records (number of kills in a three-game match and a four-game match). ... San Jose St. and Fresno St. are tied for third in the conference. The Spartans defeated the Bulldogs last week 30-25, 30-26, 17-30, 46-44.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HAWAII (19-4, 11-0 WAC)
Ht. KPG Aces DPG S Margaret Vakasausau (Jr.) 5-8 .41 14 2.47 MB Nohea Tano (So.) 5-11 1.62 4 1.32 MB Lauren Duggins (So.) 6-0 1.83 19 2.87 OH Maja Gustin (So.) 6-3 3.79 22 0.98 OH Kim Willoughby (So.) 6-0 6.96 19 3.54 Opp Tanja Nikolic (Sr.) 6-0 2.43 18 2.03 L Hedder Ilustre (Jr.) 5-7 .05 5 1.96 SAN JOSE STATE (19-5, 8-3)
Ht. KPG Aces Digs S Savannah Smith (Sr.) 5-8 0.66 27 2.74 MB Liz Hudson (So.) 6-1 2.69 38 2.77 MB Stephanie Pascucci (Jr.) 5-11 2.89 20 0.62 OH Jeanine Haldi (Jr.) 5-8 0.30 5 3.35 OH Kimberly Noble (So.) 5-10 3.86 45 1.47 Opp Brianna Blair (Sr.) 5-10 4.69 23 1.94 L Christina Lukens (Sr.) 5-10 0.01 14 2.41
UH Athletics
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