[ WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ]
Willoughby named
top WAC femaleThe senior-to-be is the first
in school history to earn the honor
Kim Willoughby's burgeoning shelf of awards may run out of room soon.
The dual-sport athlete was named the 2002-03 Joe Kearney Award winner for the Western Athletic Conference yesterday.
The award, given annually to the top female and male athletes in the conference, is named after former WAC commissioner Joe Kearney.
Fresno State golfer Nick Watney won the male athlete honor as selected by the athletic directors in the conference.
The WAC Senior Women's Administrators chose the female athlete of the year.
The Kearney Award has been given since 1992.
Willoughby is the first Rainbow Wahine to earn the WAC's highest honor and only the second volleyball player. Mikki Kane-Barton, a former All-American basketball player from Utah who also played volleyball, earned the distinction in 1993.
Willoughby led Hawaii to the final four last December and finished second in the nation in kills per game (6.31), a year after topping the nation as a sophomore with 7.21.
The Louisiana native blasted 76 aces last season and broke the school record for aces while rewriting a few of her own school and conference records. The two-time WAC Player of the Year smashed 38 kills in a four-game victory against Washington to set a record for kills in a four-game match.
The two-time first-team volleyball All-American also competed on the Rainbow Wahine basketball team and was second in the conference in free-throw percentage (82 percent).
"Kim is one of those special persons blessed with athletic talent and ability who's able to excel in any sport she decides to focus on," said Hawaii SWA Marilyn Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano in a release. "There is no doubt, overall, that she is the most accomplished athlete in our program in both volleyball and her yet-to-be-realized potential in basketball."
Willoughby's focus is on volleyball. The senior-to-be is taking summer school so she may complete her degree in December and join the U.S. national team full time next January.
Wahine picked to take WAC again: It doesn't take a crystal ball or any great powers of divination to predict that the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team will win the Western Athletic Conference championship. Yesterday, WAC volleyball coaches confirmed what most in the league already knew. Until Hawaii's All-American outside hitters Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku complete their playing careers, WAC teams will likely be playing for second.
The Wahine received nine first-place votes in the WAC preseason coaches poll and tallied 81 points. Fresno State was picked to finish second with 70 points and one first-place vote. Nevada (66), Rice (57) and San Jose State (48) round out the top five.
Coaches cannot vote for their own team.
The Rainbow Wahine have won eight straight regular-season titles and, including WAC tournament matches, have a 74-match conference win streak.
WAC preseason coaches poll
Team, first-place votes, points1. Hawaii (9) 81
2. Fresno State (1) 70
3. Nevada 66
4. Rice 57
5. San Jose State 46
6. Texas-El Paso 35
7. Southern Methodist 33
8. Louisiana Tech 25
9. Boise State 23
10. Tulsa 14