DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Lily Kahumoku had 14 kills on 35 attempts last night as the Wahine swept Houston.

Willoughby steps up
in sweep

The Wahine get 17 kills from the outside
hitter in a win over Houston

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By Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.com

On a night when second-ranked Hawaii did very little wrong, junior Kim Willoughby was even more impressive.

Every little thing Willoughby touched was magical as she bombed five aces and collected 17 kills to lead the Hawaii volleyball team past Houston. The Rainbow Wahine swept the Cougars 30-17, 30-17, 30-20 before 4,957 at the Stan Sheriff Center yesterday.

Hawaii needed just 81 minutes to win its ninth match in a row. (Tuesday's exhibition did not count toward UH's record.) The Cougars lost their fourth straight and dropped to 7-4.

"Kim just goes hard no matter who the opponent is," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "I didn't think she was actually elevating, but she was certainly bringing some heat.

"She's just so strong physically that even when she doesn't get a max jump, she can just tear through the block anyway."

Willoughby showed exceptional range and athleticism. The All-American had no hitting errors until the last game, when it didn't matter.

She was poison to Houston's offense in Game 1. She blasted four aces, including one on her first serve of the match. Hawaii was already ahead 13-8 when Willoughby collected three more and decimated Houston's passing.

The Wahine offense, on the other hand, was cruising, hitting .545 vs. .179 for the Cougars. Willoughby crushed six kills in eight attempts, and no Wahine hit below .333 for the game.

The defense played its part, too, with five blocks and 11 digs.

"It was critical to pass the jump serve better," Houston setter Donna Sellen said. "The first thing we had to do was sideout immediately when she (Willoughby) was serving. ... That ball just screams coming out of her hands."

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii middle blocker Lauren Duggins had nine kills and seven block assists last night.

In Game 2, Hawaii didn't let up, nor did Houston pose a challenge. The Cougars' offense went south (-.176) and never came back. There was very little drop-off in Hawaii's play, despite the Wahine experimenting with their lineup. Setters Jennifer Carey and Margaret Vakasausau played only in the back row, while hitters Nohea Tano and freshman Susie Boogaard replaced them in the front. Boogaard collected four kills -- the same number Houston had as a team -- in five swings.

"We blocked them early and I think they got a little gun-shy after that," Shoji said. "They tried to go around it. They started hitting out. That's what you try to do, get them out of their rhythm."

The Cougars showed a bit more bite in Game 3. Houston pulled even with Hawaii at 7 before the Wahine scored six unanswered points to shut the door. Shoji emptied his bench and every Wahine who wasn't injured or redshirting got into the match. The Cougars ended the match the same way they began, serving out.

Houston suffered with middle blocker Jenny Tanneberger unable to play at full strength. Tanneberger had five kills, the same number as Sellen, the setter.

Hawaii outhit (.435-.044) and outblocked (13-3) Houston. Outside hitter Lily Kahumoku hammered 14 kills, while middle blocker Lauren Duggins chipped in nine. Duggins also had seven blocks for the Wahine.

Hawaii plays St. Mary's (3-4) today at 7 p.m. in its last match before opening conference play next week.

Gaels setter Brooke Lowry was named to the Nike all-tournament team last week. Outside hitters Jill Parmele (3.14) and Lindsey Bogason (3.36) average more than three kills per game. Former AVP pro Jon Stevenson is in his first year as head coach of St. Mary's.

Hawaii def. Houston

30-17, 30-17, 30-20

Cougars (7-4)	g	k	e	att	pct.	bs	ba	d
Sellen	3	5	2	12	.250	0	1	4
Vasconcellos	3	1	0	2	.500	0	0	7
Tanneberger	3	5	3	21	.095	1	2	0
Dews	3	4	3	10	.100	0	0	0
Koster	3	4	7	21	-.143	0	0	5
Karasek	3	4	6	19	-.105	0	1	11
Gonzalez	3	0	0	0	.000	0	0	8
Roberts	3	0	0	0	.000	0	0	1
Knox	3	2	0	5	.400	0	0	1
Totals	3	25	21	90	.044	1	4	37

Wahine (9-0)	g	k	e	att	pct.	bs	ba	d
Vakasausau	3	0	0	0	.000	1	0	3
Willoughby	3	17	2	25	.600	0	1	7
Tano	2	3	0	9	.333	0	4	2
Lundqvist	3	4	1	12	.250	0	4	1
Kahumoku	3	14	5	29	.310	1	4	9
Duggins	3	9	1	16	.500	0	7	2
Boogaard	2	7	0	13	.538	0	1	0
Carey	3	2	0	4	.500	0	1	6
Ilustre	2	0	0	0	.000	0	0	3
O'Brian	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Watanabe	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Villaroman	2	0	0	0	.000	0	0	4
Totals	3	56	9	108	.435	2	22	37

Key--g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.

Aces -- Houston (0). Hawaii (6): Willoughby 5, Duggins 1. Assists -- Houston (22): Sellen 14, Vasconcellos 3, Koster 2, Gonzalez 2, Karasek. Hawaii (49): Vakasausau 26, Carey 16, Willoughby 2, Tano, Kahumoku, Ilustre, Boogaard, Villaroman.

T -- 1:21. Officials -- Wayne Lee, Denice Hanson. A -- 4,957.

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UH Athletics