Saturday, November 17, 2001
[ DIVISION II SPORTS ]
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. --There will be no repeat for the 16th-ranked Hawaii Pacific University women's volleyball team. Host Cal State San Bernardino saw to that with a 30-10, 30-26, 30-23 victory over the Division II defending national champion Sea Warriors. Sweep ends Sea
Warriors’ seasonStar-Bulletin staff
The top-seeded Coyotes were on the Coussoulis Arena floor for only 70 minutes, much to the delight of the 1,460 fans attending last night's semifinals of the Pacific Regional. Seeded fourth, the Sea Warriors lost the first five points of the opening game and never recovered. They finished 19-5 for the season. San Bernardino is 29-2 and ready to make a run for a national championship of its own.
The Coyotes can thank Kim Ford and Kim Morohunfola for the total dominance of the Sea Warriors.
Ford managed 21 kills and Morohunfola added 12 of her own to key the sweep. Ford managed a hitting percentage of .500. She had only four errors in 34 attempts and played well on the defensive end as well with 11 digs.
Morohunfola hit .280 to round out the offensive assault. Bridget Harris and April Nicolson handled the defensive side of things for San Bernardino. They had 13 digs each. As a team, San Bernardino hit .363.
Such was not the case for HPU. Much like Thursday night, the Sea Warriors got off to a slow start. But unlike in the eventual victory over Seattle Pacific, they never recovered, losing in three.
"We stumbled out of the blocks and they played outstanding at the net in Game 1, but I think it would have been a different match if we would have pulled out the second game," HPU head coach Tita Ahuna said. "They are an outstanding team. They can jump, they're quick, they pass well and will be very hard to stop. If we were going to lose, I'm glad it's to the champions, which I'm sure they will be.
Roberta Robert led the HPU attack with 10 kills, but her hitting percentage was a paltry .152. As a team, HPU accounted for only 31 kills and a hitting percentage of .093. Senior Nia Tuitele finished with 23 assists. She set a school record with 4,748 assists. HPU was 103-13 during her four years on the court.
"I'll certainly remember the championships," Tuitele said. "But I'll forever remember the friendships I developed with the players and the coaches."
Andrea Wean, who ended her HPU career with the best attack percentage in school history (.358), had nine kills, three blocks and three digs in last night's loss. It snapped HPU's string of 32 consecutive victories on the continental United States. Earlier this year, the Sea Warriors' had their overall 42-game win streak stopped by UH-Hilo.
Despite not winning a national championship, HPU still advanced to its fourth consecutive NCAA Division II national championship tournament. The Sea Warriors had an 11-2 tournament record during that run. This will be the first time in eight years that a Hawaii team hasn't won the NAIA or Division II volleyball championship.
The team is scheduled to arrive home tomorrow at 11:45 a.m. on Delta flight 203.
Hawaii Pacific
BYU-Hawaii
Chaminade
U.H. Hilo