GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii's Kim Willoughby recorded match point with her 23rd kill as the Wahine swept Rice in their WAC opener last night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Wahine improved to 11-0 overall.

UH rolls in
WAC opener

The Wahine blitz Rice in three
quick games to improve to 11-0

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By Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.com

There is an obvious disparity between the best teams in the two divisions of the Western Athletic Conference.

From the beginning last night, second-ranked Hawaii made it clear that it belonged in a division all its own and that it didn't give a hoot about playing the best team from the East. A crowd of 5,448 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Hawaii sweep Rice 30-19, 30-13, 30-20. The Rainbow Wahine needed 81 minutes to clear the nest of the Owls.

"We got off to a really good start," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "That's a key, to not allow the other team to get their confidence going."

The Wahine (11-0, 1-0) didn't allow much, nor did they have to do much beyond the basics. With its veteran-laden team, Hawaii was simply superior in every aspect of the game. The Owls (8-7, 0-1) started four sophomores and were inexperienced in playing volleyball in the arena-like atmosphere.

In spite of the loss, Rice coach Julio Morales thought his team did a good job.

"There's obviously some difference in the talent, skills and the level of players we have," Morales said. "We did all the things we need to do to win a match. They did it more often than we did. We blocked, we hit, but the difference is they keep coming."

The dynamic duo of Kim Willoughby (23 kills, 13 digs, one ace) and Lily Kahumoku (18 kills, six digs) carried the Wahine again. Defensive specialist Hedder Ilustre led the serving blitz with three aces.

Hawaii's passing was a bit erratic so it didn't really have a middle attack. Middle blockers Lauren Duggins and Karin Lundqvist saw a combined 23 of 104 sets. Duggins dug herself out of a huge hitting hole and finished with seven kills despite three errors in Game 1.

Hawaii's offensive options may have been limited, but not as much as the Owls'. Only sophomore Rebeca Pazo (11 kills) was able to attack the ball.

"They couldn't get the passing going," Ilustre said. "We didn't get many blocks because they didn't really run an offense."

Surprisingly, Rice outserved Hawaii (two aces to none) in Game 1, yet it was the Wahine's serving that was more disruptive. Rice's offense didn't manage much (seven kills with eight errors), while Hawaii's hitters had their way. Kahumoku was the go-to girl early in the game, but Willoughby took over the latter half. The Owls knotted the score at 7 but gave up seven straight points and just couldn't recover.

Rice's passing absolutely crumbled in Game 2. Ilustre served nine straight points, including three aces for a 14-3 Hawaii lead. The Owls barely averted being held to single digits. The highlight of the game was when Willoughby blasted a Rice overpass straight down at the 3-foot line. The All-American hammered four kills to close out the game.

"(Lily) carried us early and Kim was pretty good at the end," Shoji said. " There's no defense for it. They were pretty much defenseless on some of Kim's hits."

The Owls showed a bit more fight in Game 3, but only Pazo was able to do anything against Hawaii's defense.

Hawaii meets Louisiana Tech for the first time at the Stan Sheriff Center next Saturday.

Note: In another WAC opener, Nevada defeated Fresno State 3-1 on Thursday.

Hawaii def. Rice

30-19, 30-13, 30-20

Owls (8-7, 0-1)	g	k	e	att	pct.	bs	ba	d
Kainz	3	5	1	12	.333	0	2	1
Carter	2	0	3	5	-.600	0	1	0
Cook	3	3	2	10	.100	0	3	2
Hoban	3	1	2	9	-.111	0	2	1
Davenport Pollock, M.	3	0	0	0	.000	0	0	9
Pazo	3	11	4	34	.206	0	1	6
Sigman	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
DuPont	3	4	1	11	.273	0	1	1
Davenport Pollock, E.	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Neal	3	0	1	1	-1.000	0	0	3
Tomasovic	3	0	2	4	-.500	0	0	2
Donohue	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Scott	3	5	2	16	.188	0	0	2
Totals	3	31	18	102	.108	0	10	27
Wahine (11-0, 1-0)	g	k	e	att	pct.	bs	ba	d
Vakasausau	3	0	0	0	.000	0	0	7
Willoughby	3	23	3	32	.625	0	0	13
Tano	1	2	0	4	.500	0	0	2
Lundqvist	3	3	1	7	.286	1	3	0
Kahumoku	3	18	5	37	.351	0	2	6
Duggins	3	7	3	16	.250	0	2	5
Boogaard	2	3	0	8	.375	0	3	0
Carey	3	0	0	0	.000	0	0	1
Ilustre	3	0	0	0	.000	0	0	5
Eckmier	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Watanabe	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	1
Villaroman	3	0	0	0	.000	0	0	8
Totals	3	56	12	104	.423	1	10	48

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

Aces -- Rice (2): Pazo, Neal. Hawaii (6): Ilustre 3, Willoughby, Lundqvist, Kahumoku. Assists -- Rice (28): Neal 15, M. Davenport Pollock 12, Hoban. Hawaii (51): Vakasausau 22, Carey 19, Tano 3, Kahumoku 3, Boogaard 2, Ilustre, Willoughby.

T -- 1:21. Officials -- Charles Priebe, Denice Hanson. A -- 5,5448.

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UH Athletics