DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii’s Lily Kahumoku had seven kills and three errors on 30 attempts last night against Ohio State in her first match back with the Wahine after sitting out a year.
Wahine open It wasn't a stunning first performance from a team hoping to reach the final four, but No. 4 Hawaii shrugged off a slow start to defeat ninth-ranked Ohio State last night.
with sweep
UH is rusty at first, but comes
around to easily handle Ohio StateBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comThe Wahine used a combination of old (Kim Willoughby and Lauren Duggins) and new (Karin Lundqvist) to grind out a 30-24, 30-24, 30-23 win in front of an eager crowd of 8,469 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"We got off to a slow start," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "It was just a little nerves. It was hard to find the tempo of the game. It was a little faster than we had been practicing."
Unlike last year when a slow start sometimes spelled trouble, Shoji has the luxury of depth and experience this season. He substituted liberally throughout the match when the Wahine needed to sideout or score points.
Ohio State, on the other hand, didn't have that luxury.
"We have a lot of kids who haven't played before," Ohio State coach Jim Stone said. "We have a freshman and a sophomore out there and that's part of the learning curve.
"We saw the top end of volleyball tonight. It was a very educational thing. Hopefully we'll learn and get better tomorrow."
If the Buckeyes seemed young, they certainly didn't show it. Ohio State jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead to start the match. But the Wahine eased into the game and took back the lead after a kill by Lundqvist at 14-13. The junior started in place of Maja Gustin, who injured her left foot.
The gentle giant's anticipated return to the middle was slightly delayed, but she did enter later when Shoji felt the team needed to sideout. Gustin scored Hawaii's 24th point with a poke that landed untouched and blasted another kill five plays later.
Hawaii started slow again in Game 2 before its blocking brought it back. The Wahine had back-to-back stuffs and forced middle Suzie Stiling into two hitting errors to knot the score at 12. Then Hawaii's lethal outside hitters got hot. Lily Kahumoku started the run with a kill and Willoughby took over from there.
The Wahine broke away from a 17-17 tie with Willoughby's ninth and 10th kills of the match. The junior became unstoppable and added two more as Hawaii surged to a 23-19 lead. The Wahine newcomers pushed Hawaii further, as freshman Susie Boogaard made her short debut a sweet one with a block and a kill. Lundqvist added a solo stuff and a kill before Willoughby finished off the game with two more kills.
The All-American finished with 18 kills and nine digs.
In Game 3, Hawaii cruised, as Shoji emptied his bench. The Wahine never looked back from 8-8 after Duggins served four straight. The junior hit .769 with 10 kills and no errors.
Sophomore Stacey Gordon led the Buckeyes with 13 kills.
"We needed more offense. We relied on a few people way too much," Stone said. "I thought we competed well the first two games and I didn't like the way we played Game 3. We needed to have more of a middle attack to loosen things out."
Hawaii does not play today. The Wahine return to action tomorrow at 5 p.m. against Colorado.
In the early match, Colorado, coached by Kamehameha Schools graduate Pi'i Aiu, fought off a sweep but did not prevail against UCLA. The Bruins defeated the Buffs 30-15, 30-28, 26-30, 30-27. It was not a pretty match for either team. UCLA featured a new look with several new players in the lineup.
"Everybody had some rough edges that needed to be polished. That's what the season is for," UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said. "We showed signs of being able to become a good team by the end of the year. For our first time out, I was happy we were able to hit .274."
The Bruins were balanced with four hitters in double-digit kills. Senior Lauren Fendrick led the attack with 17 kills. Outside hitters Brynn Murphy and Heather Cullen each contributed 13 while middle blocker Cira Wright added 11.
Middle blocker Monique Gerlach paced Colorado with nine kills.
Notes: Athletic director Herman Frazier made his first appearance at a UH event yesterday. Frazier read Gov. Ben Cayetano's letter of commendation to Shoji, who was honored by USA volleyball as one of the All-Time Greatest Coaches. Shoji received a standing ovation before the start of the match.
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30-24, 30-24, 30-23 Hawaii def. OSU
Buckeyes (0-1) g k e att pct. bs ba d Virtue 3 0 1 5 -.200 0 2 1 Pongonis 3 9 4 29 .172 0 0 6 Anderson 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 4 Stiling 3 7 6 19 .053 0 2 0 Gordon 3 13 10 40 .200 0 2 15 Draeger 3 9 5 20 .200 0 0 6 Higgins 3 3 3 11 .000 0 1 0 Whalen 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 5 Miller 1 2 0 2 1.000 0 0 1 Drake 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Schardt 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Totals 3 43 29 126 .111 0 7 38
Wahine (1-0) g k e att pct. bs ba d Vakasausau 3 1 1 2 .000 0 0 8 Willoughby 3 18 5 38 .342 1 2 9 Tano 2 1 2 4 .250 0 2 1 Lundqvist 3 4 2 12 .167 1 2 4 Kahumoku 3 7 3 30 .133 1 1 8 Duggins 3 10 0 13 .769 0 3 11 Boogaard 2 2 0 4 .500 0 1 1 Carey 3 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 Ilustre 3 0 1 1 -1.000 0 0 0 Eckmier 1 0 0 1 .000 0 2 0 Watanabe 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Gustin 1 2 0 3 .667 0 0 1 Villaroman 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 1 Totals 3 45 14 108 .287 3 14 44 Key--g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces -- Hawau (3): Lundqvist, Duggins, Illustre. OSU (2): Gordon, Draeger. Assists -- Hawaii (41): Vakasausau 28, Carey 9, Willoughby, Tano, Lundqvist, Boogard. OSU (42): Virtue 35, Schardt 5, Gordon 2.
T -- 1:32. Officials -- Denise Hanson, Ernest Ho. A--9,495.
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