Junior Kim Willoughby was named the AVCA national player of the week yesterday. It wasn't the first time the All-American outside hitter has received the national honor, but she is a little baffled by the latest award. Willoughby says others
more deserving of honor
By Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.com"I'm not going to lie. I don't know why I got it," Willoughby said. "I don't know what they saw that I did this week to deserve it.
"In my opinion, I would say Lily, if anyone, deserves it. I mean (Lauren) Duggins had a great week. I'm the last person that deserved that recognition. I didn't play in every game. I didn't play six matches in eight days.
"Lily did and she led the team every night and she did everything she needed to do to see our team through."
Willoughby did post astonishing numbers. The Napoleonville, La., native averaged 7.78 kills in nine games and finished the week with 70 kills. Willoughby also did her job defensively, coming up with 3.89 digs per game.
Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said the Rainbow Wahine's brutal schedule helped Willoughby's numbers.
"When we play quality opponents, her numbers are going to be higher than when we play weaker opponents," he said.
"In her case, she played in three quality matches. When it comes down to it, you get more opportunities against better teams. You get more rotations ... more attempts the longer the games are. Last week, she put up huge numbers because we played a lot of competitive matches."
Against Notre Dame -- the nation's best blocking team -- Willoughby pounded 23 kills both nights and hit for a high percentage. Her performance tends to elevate against a higher level of competition.
"She just rises whenever we need something," Shoji said. "She can will herself into a position where she's going to get the job done whether it's front court or back court. She's tremendous in the back court as well."
No change: In the latest AVCA coaches poll, the top five spots didn't move, with top-ranked USC and No. 2 Hawaii continuing their stay on top. Florida, Nebraska, and UC Santa Barbara round out the top five.
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