Wahine open It's no fun being the bully every year.
WAC with Rice
No. 2 Hawaii brings a
The WAC teams
52-match conference winning
streak into tomorrow's openerBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comBefore Hawaii begins its seventh year of Western Athletic Conference volleyball tomorrow, let's get one irrefutable fact out of the way -- the Rainbow Wahine own the WAC.
UH has an 86-1 record in the conference (the loss was in 1998 to Brigham Young, now a member of the Mountain West Conference) and a streak of 52 conference wins. Including WAC tournament matches, the Rainbow Wahine have won 58 straight and are in little peril of having that streak broken.
Second-ranked Hawaii (10-0) will not lose a conference match this year, and it is doubtful that it will even lose a game en route to its seventh regular-season conference championship. Hawaii opens against Rice tomorrow at 7 p.m.
Owls coach Julio Morales doesn't think it's a daunting task to begin WAC play against the Wahine.
"All along, they have been the standard in our conference," Morales said. "It's a good team to have in our conference. That's the standard we're (trying) to emulate. If we do our blocking and we can maintain it, then we stand to have a pretty good match.
"We always thought we match up well against them. We've had some very good matches against them and that's what we want to have. They're stronger this year. They're much more balanced in their attack, even without (Maja) Gustin. They're just an excellent team and their balance makes them so strong this year."
The Owls won the East Division of the conference last year. Rice lost its first four matches of this season with Rebeca Pazo -- last year's freshman of the year -- out of the lineup. Pazo turned an ankle in a scrimmage, but since her return, the Owls have gone 8-2 and captured the Knoxville Lady Vol Classic.
"(Rice) had a rough start, but they're playing really well now," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "They're better in the middle. Their players have been there for a couple years now, so I expect them to block well. We're not a great team if we don't take someone seriously so that'll be the focal point this week.
"We'll make sure our blockers know where Pazo is. ... We'll try to slow that down a little bit. Other than her, we'll play pretty much straight up. Our defense and our block will honor everybody."
Taking teams seriously will be Hawaii's biggest challenge. It's hard not to turn on the auto-pilot and cruise during conference play. Two years ago, UH dropped one WAC game (on the road at Nevada) on its way to the program's sixth final four.
Last season the Wahine, with a younger and perhaps physically less-talented squad than previous years, came the closest they've been in four years to losing a WAC match. San Jose State took UH down to the wire, but outside hitter Kim Willoughby pulled the Wahine through in the fifth game. Barring more injuries, don't expect any more close calls.
"If we come out and are clicking and everyone is working together, we should win the match," senior Jennifer Carey said.
"San Jose, Fresno, Nevada, they're all usually competitive. They've taken games off us before. Our goal is just to get out of there with a 'W' in the match. It's tough playing in the WAC. To go out and play teams that are just not even your level, it's not fun."
It may not be fun, but that's the reality of life in the No. 10 conference in the nation. The only thing the Wahine can hope for is that the teams will get better. Shoji said he's seen progress.
"The WAC is much improved. There's going to be a stretch of games that we're going to have to play really well to win," Shoji said. "There's been a couple of really dramatic turnarounds. One is Louisiana Tech, who is (11-5) now. Last year, they only won a couple of games.
"I'm really encouraged by some of the progress of the teams in the WAC. Tulsa has to be improved even if their schedule is not great. Some teams like SMU ... I think they've upped their schedules. Everyone is better."
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The WAC, Team by team
Here are the schools listed by the coaches' preseason balloting. Hawaii plays West Division teams twice (home and home) and East Division teams once.
2. San Jose State (5-5)
2001 conference record: 9-4, West
Players to watch: Liz Hudson, Stephanie Pascucci, Kimberly Noble, Jeanine Haldi
Outlook: The Spartans had two major holes in the lineup to fill -- setter Savannah Smith and outside hitter Brianna Blair finished their eligibility last year -- but they have two experienced middles in Hudson and Pascucci. Noble gets the most sets and averages 3.97 kills a game. San Jose has struggled this year with a tough pre-WAC schedule. The Spartans have enough veterans in the lineup and should smooth out the ruffles soon.
3. Fresno State (12-1)
2001 WAC record: 7-6, West
Players to watch: Whitney Arena, Java Johnson, Christy Burnett, Carrie Hartt
Outlook: The Bulldogs are off to their best start since 1998. They've won three preseason tournaments and their only loss was to 10th-ranked UC Santa Barbara. Arena averages 11.86 assists per game. Fresno State serves extremely well with four players in double-digit aces. Burnett is a threat from the service line (32 service aces) and plays stellar defense (3.09 dpg). Freshman outside hitter La'akea Campbell was part of Iolani's state championship team last year.
4. Rice (8-6)
2001 WAC record: 10-3, East
Players to watch: Rebeca Pazo, Briana Cook, Rebekah Neal
Outlook: Rice won the WAC East last year and has three starters back from that team. Pazo was the first Owl player to be named the conference freshman of the year. The sophomore averages 4.17 kills per game. Cook is the school's all-time block assists leader and should be a force at the net again.
5. Nevada (10-2)
2001 WAC record: 9-4, West
Players to watch: Michelle More, Jill Couwenhoven, Emily Baracco
Outlook: Nevada was hit hard by graduation, losing four seniors and the bulk of their offense. The experience of the three seniors is key to the Pack's season as Nevada has the largest freshman class in the conference with nine players. Couwenhoven is a two-year starter and her favorite target is More. The all-WAC performer pulls double duty for Nevada, leading the team in offense (5.82 kills per game) and defense (1.02 blocks per game). More was named the national player of the week and became the school's leader in blocks earlier this season.
6. Southern Methodist (6-8)
2001 WAC record: 8-5, East
Players to watch: Leslie Lasiter, Kristen Peterson, Beth Karasek, Jessica Mihm
Outlook: The Mustangs surprised a few teams last year and could do the same this season. Peterson leads the WAC in digs (4.19 per game). Mihm is a freshman but already adjusting well to the college game. She dishes out 12.13 assists per game, which is good for second in the conference.
7. Texas-El Paso (5-5)
2001 WAC record: 5-8, East
Players to watch: Jennifer Abbruzzese, Sarah Davis, Ana Beatriz Fontes, Samantha Herzog
Outlook: New coach Scott Swanson inherited five starters from last year's team. The Miners are off to a mediocre start and it is doubtful that they'll get much better. UTEP will get its wins against the teams below it in the WAC, but don't expect much else.
8. Tulsa (12-2)
2001 WAC record: 3-10, East
Players to watch: Vanessa Thon, Kristin Bailey, Dana Weddle, Tammy Leuer
Outlook: The Golden Hurricane are short on experience with only two seniors on a roster full of underclassmen. Thon is a 5-foot-6 setter and achieves in spite of her small stature. She ranks third in the conference in service aces per game and is one of the reasons Tulsa leads the WAC in serving. Weddle is the most efficient Hurricane hitter (.363).
9. Louisiana Tech (11-5)
2001 WAC record: 0-13, East
Players to watch: Cristine Sant'Anna, Lia Mora, Brianna Sibley
Outlook: The only team not to win a conference match last year has already shown signs of massive improvement. The Lady Techsters captured their first tournament in nine years when they won the Southern Mississippi tournament. Mora's return from a knee injury in 2000 has been a major factor in Tech's progress.
10. Boise State (1-10)
2001 WAC record: 1-12, West
Players to watch: Megan Tranter, Tameisha Hastings
Outlook: A season with only one win was enough to send former national team coach Fred Sturm running. Sturm resigned last spring. New coach Scott Sandel hasn't fared much better, but the Broncos have already equaled the number of wins they had last year.
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