Wahine get SALT LAKE CITY, Utah >> On the day before Thanksgiving, No. 2 Hawaii could be grateful to No. 24 Utah for a couple of things.
Shoji 800th ‘W’
Hawaii gets around Utah's
block for a sweep in its last
match of the regular seasonBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comYesterday, the Rainbow Wahine (30-1) faced the NCAA tournament-bound Utes (24-8), and were pushed in their last match before the postseason. Playing against a team of Utah's caliber made the trip worthwhile and also sweetened Hawaii coach Dave Shoji's 800th victory.
Before 1,065 at Crimson Court -- a gym that had the feel of a hidden but well-lit dungeon -- Hawaii swept Utah 31-29, 30-16, 30-18 in 88 minutes. The Rainbow Wahine had their best blocking night of the season in a match that Shoji called "one of the finest comebacks we've had all year".
"Utah was playing as good as you can play," Shoji said. "I didn't see any weaknesses there. But our players didn't panic. They didn't get discouraged. They just hung in there and kept siding out."
The victory boosted Hawaii's confidence. Shoji said the Utes were the type of team the Wahine would see in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
"To finish our five-game road trip with this kind of match is great," senior Jennifer Carey said. "It gives us a lot of confidence."
Carey's confidence should be booming. The senior setter stuffed six balls and dished out 22 assists in an extremely well-played match. Carey and middle Lauren Duggins (eight blocks) were the wall that slowed Utah into a .124 hitting percentage, 100 points below its season average.
Duggins also did her part on offense, hitting .478 with 13 kills. Once Duggins and Maja Gustin (six kills, .400) warmed up, their presence had to be respected. They diverted attention from outside hitters Kim Willoughby (18 kills ) and Lily Kahumoku (14 kills), whose effectiveness was limited by the enormous block that was often in front of them.
"Everybody commits blocks on Kim and Lily," Utah coach Beth Launiere said. "If the other players get it done, then there's a problem."
Hawaii had all the problems in Game 1. It took the Wahine half a game to get adjusted to the rhythm of the match.
Perhaps tired from its fifth match in six days or simply not expecting Utah's quick offense, Hawaii spotted Utah a 6-3 lead and trailed most of the game. The Wahine's prolific offense was getting stuffed, with 6-foot-5 middle Lyndsey Phillips (three blocks) and 6-2 Kim Turner (eight kills, four blocks) patrolling the net.
Utah also played tenacious defense behind its block and doubled Hawaii's score at 12-6 after Kahumoku was blocked three times in a row on the same play.
Hawaii caught Utah at 22-22 after a crosscourt kill by Willoughby that probably dented the hardwood floor in Crimson Court. The score was tied four more times when setter Kelsie Kartchner dumped the ball to give Utah game point. But Kartchner, who had fired her jump serve with a ton of heat early in the game, served long to knot the score at 29. The Wahine got back-to-back blocks to end the game. The match was basically decided in Game 1.
"We played well," Launiere said. "We did a nice job. It would have been nice to get that game.
"Hawaii really stepped it up. We went at them pretty good and they stepped it up. We lost that game. We haven't had the passing problems that we got into in Game 2."
Hawaii had two huge serving runs as Utah's passing crumbled in Game 2. Gustin served seven straight, including an ace that gave Hawaii a 19-10 lead. Willoughby crushed her 10th kill of the match to ignite an 8-0 run by the Wahine that closed out the game. Launiere, the winner of her 250th match last weekend, had run out of timeouts and could not slow Hawaii's momentum.
Game 3 didn't go much longer than Game 2, with Hawaii hitting .389 and Utah unable to do anything to stop the Wahine. Duggins had seven of her 13 kills in the final game. Her seventh kill brought Hawaii to 26-17. Three kills from Willoughby and a net violation by Utah ended the game.
After the match Shoji was lifted off the ground, but not tossed in the air by his team. He was given noogies on the head in front of a small contingent of Hawaii fans (led by former Wahine Aven Lee's brothers) chanting "8-0-0."
"It was really hard to focus on that," Shoji said. "I told the team I didn't want them thinking about that. I told the team it had to be a win for them."
The win betters Hawaii's case for hosting a regional, as only three other teams (USC, Florida, Nebraska) have one loss. The NCAA will announce the 64-team bracket during its selection show Sunday at 4 p.m. Hawaii time. The Wahine have bid to host for the first and second rounds and the regional. The matches would be on Thursday and Friday (Dec. 5-6, 12-13.)
Notes: Taryn Horner, a 2000 Iolani grad, played in two games and had one dig for Utah. Sylva Strzinkova led the Utes with 10 kills. ...Freshman Susie Boogaard rolled her right ankle before the start of the match and left the gym on crutches.
UH Athletics
