DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Kim Willoughby had a match-high 21 kills last night, as the Wahine, who were without Lily Kahumoku, swept Cal Poly.
Wahine sweep Mustangs If you can't match the firepower of your opponent, don't bother trying.
Despite missing Gustin and
Kahumoku, UH scores an easy winBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comUnranked Cal Poly San Luis Obispo didn't bring any heavy hitters with it, so the Mustangs used an unexpected strategy to challenge third-ranked Hawaii.
The Mustangs' variety of offspeed shots and slow swings off the block confused the Rainbow Wahine in the early parts of the match. But the Rainbow Wahine's hard hitting became too much to handle as Hawaii prevailed 30-28, 30-27, 30-26 before a crowd of 5,202 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
With outside hitter Lily Kahumoku out of the lineup, the Wahine were out of sync early in Game 1. The All-American battled illness most of the week and did not play. Kahumoku could play in today's 7 p.m. rematch. If she can't go, look for freshman Susie Boogaard to start in her place.
"Obviously, we missed having Lily in there," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "Susie did as good as she could, but she hasn't had many reps on the left side. It's really not the same team without her and Maja (Gustin)."
Hawaii turned to more players to carry the offensive load. All-American Kim Willoughby hit .193 but still collected 21 kills. The junior also torched the Mustangs with a career-high six aces.
"The difference was Kim getting six aces," Shoji said. "She got them at crucial times."
The Wahine also showed signs of a middle attack. Junior Lauren Duggins chipped in 10 kills, while middle Karin Lundqvist added nine.
The Mustangs' most efficient hitting performance came from setter Carly O'Halloran who had seven kills in 13 swings. O'Halloran distributed the offense evenly but didn't find a terminating hitter. Twin sister Kristen O'Halloran was the only hitter in double-digits with 11.
That was fortunate for the Wahine, who had to improvise most of the night.
Boogaard struggled against the Mustangs' imposing block. Cal Poly capitalized on four Hawaii serving errors to build a 14-8 lead.
The Wahine battled back with Lundqvist at the serving line. Lundqvist strung together five straight with a deep float serve that caused passing problems for the Mustangs. Serving decided the game as Willoughby bombed her first two aces to bring Hawaii to game point. Nicole Betotti served out to end the game two plays later.
Hawaii turned up its defense a notch in Game 2. The Mustangs' shots that fell early in the match were gobbled up by the defense. The game was even at 15 before the Wahine burst ahead on a 5-1 run.
The Mustangs didn't go away and closed to within two twice, but Willoughby buried her 15th kill of the match to end the game.
The rallies went mostly Hawaii's way in Game 3, although the Mustangs stayed close.
"I don't think we're a bad team," Cal Poly coach Steve Schlick said. "We have to find ways of getting greater consistency."
Note: Samorodok, a Russian team and Hawaii's next opponent, watched the match.
Hawaii def. Cal Poly
30-28, 30-27, 30-26 Mustangs (1-6) g k e att pct. bs ba d Lien 3 6 2 21 .190 2 4 1 O'Halooran, K. 3 11 4 28 .250 0 2 10 O'Halooran, C. 3 7 0 13 .538 0 2 5 Diepersloot 3 9 2 26 .269 0 1 5 Duncan 3 7 2 23 .217 0 2 17 Bertotti 3 3 2 14 .071 0 3 1 Benesh 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Ellington 3 1 0 1 1.000 0 0 10 Hubbard 3 0 0 2 .000 0 0 1 Mulder 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 1 Totals 3 44 12 128 .250 2 14 51 Wahine (7-0) g k e att pct. bs ba d Vakasausau 3 0 1 1 -1.000 0 0 6 Boogaard 3 6 6 35 .000 0 1 2 Willoughby 3 21 10 57 .193 0 3 13 Tano 3 6 0 12 .500 0 2 8 Lundqvist 3 9 1 18 .444 1 1 5 Duggins 3 10 3 15 .467 0 4 8 Carey 3 2 0 3 .667 0 1 6 Ilustre 3 1 0 2 .500 0 0 5 Watanabe 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Villaroman 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 11 Totals 3 55 21 143 .238 1 12 64 Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces -- Cal Poly (3): Bertotti 2, Duncan. Hawaii (8): Willoughby 6, Tano, Ilustre. Assists -- Cal Poly (42): C. O'Halloran 34, K. O'Halloran 6, Ellington 2. Hawaii (51): Carey 30, Vakasausau 14, Tano 4, Willoughby, Duggins, Villaroman.
T -- 1:46. Officials -- Denice Hanson, Dan Hironaka. A--6,608.
UH Athletics
