Hawaii picked up another weekly Western Athletic Conference accolade yesterday, but it's not who you might think. Duggins gives Hawaii’s
front line its fifth
WAC Player of the Week
By Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comOutside hitters Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku have been the WAC's weekly best two times each this season. But neither earned last week's award.
So who was the WAC's premier player? The one that's least likely to be heard on the court.
Junior Lauren Duggins hit .528 with 21 kills in two road sweeps of Utah and Brigham Young. The 6-foot junior also totaled 11 blocks (1.83 blocks per game) en route to earning her first career WAC Player of the Week award.
Though Duggins has been a steady performer most of the season, it is only recently that her presence in the middle has been felt. Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said that Duggins' game has taken off since her duties on the court have been focused on just the front row.
Last season, Duggins was an all-conference middle that passed, played defense and hit for the Wahine. This year, the middle blocker has been able to concentrate more at the net with libero Melissa Villaroman coming into games for her in the back row.
"She's had some really good matches over the course of the year. She's a much improved player," Shoji said. "She's really stepped up lately and been a reliable offensive player now. She's always been what we think is a real good blocker.
"She's a quiet type player but she's stepped it up here in the last couple of weeks. She's been one of the unsung players on our team but people recognize her value to the team."
Unnoticed is how Duggins would prefer it. She deflects most of the credit that people try to give her.
"Last week was particularly good," Duggins said. "Jen (Carey) and I connected really well. We started playing together with good chemistry, that's what helps as far as the offense goes.
"With blocking, after the Stanford game we really worked on that a lot. When Jen and I are on the right side, she talks to me. We have a pretty solid block up there most of the time. It's just starting to click."
For the season, the Fullerton, Calif., native is hitting .408 with 2.53 kills per game. Duggins said her improvement can be attributed to greater overall strength and the setters' increased confidence in the middle attack.
"I'm a lot stronger than I was last year, I know it doesn't look like it," Duggins said. " (And) the setters are probably more confident in giving the middles the ball. Instead of last year when it was all Kim and Maja (Gustin). They're starting to realize a lot of times that we have either nobody up or one up."
Hawaii did not practice yesterday. The Rainbow Wahine open the first round of NCAA play against Western Kentucky (33-4). The Hilltoppers have not lost a match since Sept. 21 and are riding a 19-match win streak.
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