Wahine take wind out As expected, Hawaii demolished another Western Athletic Conference opponent yesterday.
of Golden Hurricane
with sweep
Though much improved, Tulsa is
no competition for HawaiiBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comTulsa was the latest victim, as the Rainbow Wahine capped a festive, sports-filled weekend that had the Wahine just wanting to do their part.
Before an announced crowd of 6,830, second-ranked Hawaii cruised to its 55th WAC victory in a row, sweeping Tulsa 30-20, 30-15, 30-12. The Rainbow Wahine (13-0, 3-0) did it with unstoppable hitting and blocking that clicked at just the right time. The Golden Hurricane (16-6, 1-3 WAC) came to town much improved from last season but still unable to challenge.
"Our goal is to be efficient," senior Jennifer Carey said. "One of our goals was to play every play, don't take a rally off. We got production out of everybody. It was nice to have the kills more spread out."
That much was obvious, as Carey and Margaret Vakasausau distributed to five different hitters. All-Americans Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku did the most damage with 14 kills each. Middle blocker Karin Lundqvist added nine kills while her counterpart Lauren Duggins chipped in eight.
"We didn't play very well," Tulsa sophomore Vanessa Thon said. "They're a great team, there's no question about it . I just thought we could've given them a better game."
Not with Hawaii setting the tone early. On the second play of the match, Kahumoku smashed her first set over Tulsa's block as though it didn't exist. The Rainbow Wahine outhit the Golden Hurricane (.432-.152) and served tough with three aces. Kahumoku connected beautifully with Vakasausau on her first six swings and made the game look easy.
Tulsa surprised Hawaii with a 4-0 run to start Game 2, but Hawaii responded with a scoring blitz of its own. Hedder Ilustre served four straight points and had an ace as the Wahine grabbed a lead they would not relinquish. The Golden Hurricane did very little right during an 8-1 Wahine run that put Hawaii up 16-7. Tulsa passed poorly and never had the opportunity to set anyone besides outside hitters Kristin Bailey and Patricia Marques, who both struggled against Hawaii's well-positioned block.
The Wahine added four blocks in Game 2, including a solo stuff by Willoughby. With Hawaii ahead 28-15, Willoughby connected on her first back slide of the game to bring Hawaii to game point. Lundqvist ended the game a play later with her seventh kill of the match.
"I wasn't making smart shots in my case," Bailey said. "I was hitting into the block and we're told to challenge the block."
Tulsa coach Matt Sonnichsen reconfigured his lineup for Game 3 to give his youthful squad playing time. Freshman Evyn Bandy started the match at libero but replaced Thon. It didn't have much of an effect since the Golden Hurricane hitters had a hard time finding the court. And when they did, Hawaii defenders were there.
Hawaii leaves tomorrow night for its first road trip of the season. The Wahine face Texas-El Paso on Thursday and Southern Methodist on Saturday.
Notes: Middle blocker Maja Gustin is out of her soft cast but will not make Hawaii's first road trip of the season. The junior is recovering from a stress fracture in her left foot. Gustin did celebrate her 23rd birthday Friday. ... Tulsa may not leave lasting impressions on Hawaii, but the Golden Hurricane definitely remember the Rainbow Wahine. Three players (Lindsay Eaves, Dana Weddle, and Vanessa Thon) have playing Hawaii listed as their most memorable volleyball moment at Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane donned straw hats during the prematch introductions and tossed them into the crowd before the first whistle to show some "Tulsa" to the crowd. ...UH president Evan Dobelle watched yesterday's game.
30-20, 30-15, 30-12 Hawaii def. Tulsa
Hurricane (16-6, 1-3) g k e att pct. bs ba d Weddle 3 5 5 22 .000 0 0 1 Eaves 3 3 1 13 .154 0 1 2 Marques 3 5 7 23 -.087 0 0 5 Thon 2 0 1 4 -.250 0 0 5 Araujo 3 0 1 6 -.167 1 0 7 Bailey 3 6 6 19 .000 0 1 1 Martin 2 1 2 9 -.111 0 0 2 Bandy 3 1 2 6 -.167 0 0 10 Leuer 3 0 1 4 -.250 0 0 3 Rutherford 1 2 2 6 .000 0 0 0 Totals 3 23 28 112 -.045 1 2 36 Wahine (13-0, 3-0) g k e att pct. bs ba d Vakasausau 3 1 0 1 1.000 0 0 5 Willoughby 3 14 2 25 .480 1 0 11 Tano 2 1 1 3 .000 0 2 1 Lundqvist 3 9 2 16 .438 0 4 1 Kahumoku 3 14 5 31 .290 0 1 9 Duggins 3 8 2 15 .400 0 3 6 Boogaard 2 3 0 6 .500 0 1 3 Carey 3 0 0 6 .000 1 3 2 Ilustre 3 0 0 1 .000 0 0 4 Watanabe 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Villaroman 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 5 Totals 3 50 12 104 .365 2 14 47 Key--g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces -- Tulsa (3): Eaves 2, Martin. Hawaii (6): Willoughby 2, Kahumoku, Vakasausau, Ilustre, Duggins 1. Assists -- Tulsa (23): Thon 15, Weddle 2, Martin 2, Bandy 2, Marques, Leuer. Hawaii (49): Vakasausau 24, Carey 20, Willoughby 2, Duggins, Kahumoku, Ilustre.
T -- 1:27. Officials -- Mike Yoshikawa, Wayne Lee. A -- 6,830.
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