DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Lauren Duggins and Lily Kahumoku watched the ball do a balancing act on the net in an exhibition last night vs. USC.
USC takes Spring exhibition volleyball matches involving the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team are not an ordinary event. This year's edition was exceptional too, but not in a good way.
4 games
from Hawaii
The defending national
champions beat the Wahine
in an exhibition matchBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comThe real match ended in 75 minutes with defending national champion USC mopping the floor with Hawaii 30-25, 30-27, 30-18. A fourth game was played with the Trojans winning 30-27.
Much of the anxious crowd of 2,605 (2,800 tickets issued) arrived early and descended into the bowl an hour before the match. When the Wahine jogged out for their warmup, the cheers were as loud as a regular-season match. There wouldn't be much else to celebrate.
The Women of Troy weren't phenomenal but were more consistent. Middle blocker Emily Adams did plenty of damage and looked like she hadn't missed a beat since an All-American sophomore season. At the net, she stuffed seven balls and put away 12 kills.
"We didn't block well, we didn't pass well," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "We need to get more out of our middles. It was pretty much the same thing. We'll go back to work tomorrow.
"Emily Adams' serve really hurt us. We had a pretty good lead and we just couldn't handle her serve. It was coming over hard and moving. We should have won Game 2 but she's pretty tough."
USC exploited Hawaii's passing and made freshman setter Cayley Thurlby's debut a nightmare. Thurlby didn't freeze under the lights but she did struggle setting the outside. The rookie didn't get much of a chance to work the middle as the Wahine were aced 10 times.
"The first couple of points were a little jittery but I got into it and I was feeling comfortable," Thurlby said. "I was getting use to the fans reaction to every ball, every set, every mistake. Officially, I haven't played in a year. I can only get better and more confident out there so that's what I look forward to this spring."
Comparisons to last spring can't be made when both teams were concluding spring training. The Trojans have been practicing for over a month, though it has mostly been individual skills practice. They haven't had many team practices and it would be scary to see them put it all together.
"I got everything I wanted to get accomplished," USC coach Mick Haley said. "We didn't play as well as we wanted to play but for the spring that was really good. We have people at a lot of different positions and we have a lot of options.
"But in all fairness, we've been practicing for five weeks. Hawaii has only been practicing for a week. Team wise, we're not even close to where we were in December but we have a lot of weapons. Our serving was about as good as December. I know Hawaii didn't count on us serving that well."
Outside hitter Alicia Robinson rocketed 17 kills through the Hawaii block and had two aces. All-American April Ross showed off an impressive all-around game. Ross hit outside for the first three games and pounded 16 kills before switching to setter for Game 4.
Hawaii's All-Americans struggled in all aspects of the game. Lily Kahumoku led Hawaii with 18 kills but barely finished hitting above zero. Dual-sport star Kim Willoughby didn't see action until Game 2 and she was unavailable for comment after the match. Willoughby still finished second on the team in kills (14) before dashing off to the airport for an 11:15 p.m. flight with the Wahine basketball team playing in the WNIT in Arizona.
Willoughby made a world of difference for the Wahine in Game 2 after a very forgettable Game 1. She warmed up for seven kills and helped the Wahine take a 25-21 lead before Adams picked apart Hawaii's passing during a five-point serving run to bring the Trojans back. Adams aced Kahumoku twice and Willoughby once as USC regained control of the game. Only when she served out did the run end. By then the damage was done and USC led 28-27. The Trojans pulled out the game after two Hawaii mistakes.
Game 3 was a blowout. Hawaii showed more energy in Game 4 but still couldn't catch the Trojans.
The Wahine leave Friday for a tournament at Pepperdine. Wichita State and the University of San Diego are expected to participate.
Notes: Olympian Robyn Ah Mow watched the exhibition with the newest member of her family. Her son Jordan was born February 2. UH president Evan Dobelle sat at midcourt in the front row on the arena floor.
USC def. Hawaii
30-25, 30-27, 30-18, 30-27
Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
USC g k e att pct. bs ba d Anderson 4 1 0 3 .333 0 4 13 Burdine 4 4 6 28 -.071 1 1 7 Adams 4 12 4 33 .242 7 0 2 Robinson 4 17 4 36 .361 1 0 10 Ross 4 16 1 41 .366 1 0 8 Olsovsky 4 1 2 9 -.111 5 2 9 Davis 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 16 Candelas 4 4 2 12 .167 2 2 5 Lantz 3 9 1 19 .421 3 1 2 Totals 4 64 20 181 .243 24 6 72 HAWAII g k e att pct. bs ba d Boogaard 3 4 4 14 .000 1 0 9 Kahumoku 4 18 15 66 .045 3 0 14 Watanabe 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 3 Gustin 3 7 2 15 .333 5 1 3 Thurlby 4 4 0 8 .500 2 2 11 Duggins 3 4 2 10 .200 1 0 8 Willoughby 3 14 6 40 .200 2 0 13 Tano 2 3 1 6 .333 0 0 6 Eckmier 3 2 3 9 -.111 4 0 2 Villaroman 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 13 Totals 4 56 33 168 .137 18 3 82
Aces -- USC (10): Adams 4, Burdine 2, Robinson 2, Ross, Olsovsky. Hawaii (4): Kahumoku, Thurlby, Willoughby, Tano. Assists -- USC (60): Anderson 45, Ross 9, Adams 2, Burdine, Robinson, Olsovsky, Davis. Hawaii (51): Thurlby 41, Willoughby, Boogaard 2, Tano 2, Kahumoku, Gustin, Villaroman.
T -- 1:43. Officials -- Dan Hironaka, Ernest Ho. Tickets distributed -- 2,605.
UH Athletics
