Willoughby
honored by WACKim Willoughby added a fifth Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week honor to her collection yesterday.
Willoughby earned the award after blasting 73 kills in three matches in the Aston Imua Challenge. The All-American broke her own school record for kills in a four-game match with 38 in Hawaii's 3-1 victory over Washington on Saturday. Willoughby received four POW honors last season.
Moving on up: Hawaii inched up one spot from fourth to third in the latest AVCA coaches' poll. Nebraska dropped to fourth after losing to second-ranked USC last week. The Cornhuskers are the only top-five team with a mark in the loss column. Top-ranked Stanford, USC, Hawaii and fifth-ranked Long Beach State have 6-0 records.
The Rainbow Wahine's next match is Friday against Cal Poly at 7 p.m.
Three players with Hawaii connections were involved in New England's 30-14 victory over Pittsburgh last night. Penalties by Kimo and Fu costly
Nine-year NFL veteran Kimo von Oelhoffen, who grew up in Molokai, made four tackles with one sack for the Steelers.
Steelers running back Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, a St. Louis School alumnus, caught one pass for 6 yards.
With the score tied at 7, the five-year pro was stopped at the New England 1-yard line after making the catch, but he was called for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty.
The Steelers lined up for a field goal, and von Oelhoffen was called for a false start, costing another five yards.
Kicker Todd Peterson missed a 39-yard field goal on the next snap.
New England tackle Adrian Klemm, a Hawaii alumnus, was used as a backup.
Elsewhere in the NFL, center Steven Grace, who played at Kamehameha, was waived by the Arizona Cardinals yesterday.
Seasiders fall below .500
Vanja Kalabic scored four goals, but the Brigham Young-Hawaii water polo team lost 14-9 to No. 14 Cal Baptist at Riverside, Calif., yesterday.Stu Johnson gave the Seasiders the first lead in the game, but Cal Baptist scored the next three and were never in danger.
BYUH drops to 1-2 and will play No. 9 UC Santa Barbara today at 4 p.m.
Chun takes over as KGMB sports director
KGMB-TV sports anchor Liz Chun has been promoted to sports director, making her the the first female sports director in Hawaii television history."It's very unexpected," said Chun, 28, who takes over Sept. 16. "Channel 9 has been very supportive of my career, from being the only female photographer to being the first female sports anchor."
The Roosevelt High School graduate replaces Dave Vinton.
"Change is part of the business," said the 32-year-old Vinton, who has been with the station for nine years. "I would like to stay in something related to sports. It's been great covering everything from the World Series with Benny Agbayani to the final fours with Hawaii volleyball.
"I wish Liz the best. She's a great friend and journalist. I have no doubt she will do well."
Garcia gone early from Boost Mobile Pro
Sunny Garcia was eliminated from the Billabong Boost Mobile Pro in the fourth round yesterday, losing to Danny Willis 17.65-15.65 in San Clemente, Calif.Garcia was Hawaii's only surfer left in the tournament.
Kelly Slater, Luke Egan, Guilherme Herdy and Michael Campbell will compete in the semifinals today, surf permitting.
Silverswords improve to 6-1 after home win
It was a happy homecoming for the Chaminade women's volleyball team Sunday. After six games on the road, the Silverswords opened their home season with a 3-1 victory over Cal State Los Angeles at McCabe Gym.Valasi Sepulona had 19 kills and Kahala Kabalis added 17 to lead Chaminade over CSULA 27-30, 30-23, 30-22, 33-31. Silverswords setter Janeen Waialae had 50 assists.
Chaminade hosts Montana State-Billings on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Lin wins PacWest Player of the Week
Brigham Young-Hawaii freshman Chun Yi Lin was named the Pacific West Conference player of the week, becoming the second Seasider to win the award in consecutive weeks.Lin, a middle blocker from Pingtune, Taiwan, led the Seasiders in kills in four of the five matches the Seasiders played. She hit .548 and was named the most valuable player of the Western Washington Invitational.
Freshman outside hitter Yu Cheng Weng won the honor last week.
The Seasiders play their first home game today against Cal State Los Angeles before going into conference play against Montana State-Billings on Saturday.