[ WAHINE VOLLEYBALL ]
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Maja Gustin put down a kill against Baylor's Tisha Schwartz last night.
Hawaii, Pacific
set to meet againWin over Baylor sends
Wahine to title match
against the Tigers
It's not the rivalry it once was, but that doesn't mean the respect isn't still there.
Hawaii vs. Pacific. It's always been a battle. It's always been good volleyball.
Tonight, the former PCAA and Big West rivals will serve it up for the 59th time in the series history. This time will be for the title of the 9th Aston Imua Challenge at the Stan Sheriff Center at 7 p.m.
The second-ranked Rainbow Wahine (6-1) warmed up for the Tigers with last night's 30-16, 30-20, 30-26 victory over Baylor. In yesterday's opening match, UOP (3-0) defeated a feisty Wichita State team 24-30, 30-27, 30-24, 30-24.
The Bears (3-3) and the Shockers (2-3) meet for third place at 5 p.m.
As 5,011 watched, Hawaii needed just 99 minutes for its fifth consecutive sweep. It took about eight minutes for Baylor to become a little shell-shocked.
FL MORRIS
Hawaii's Lily Kahumoku hit one against Baylor last night in the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Wahine held a 13-11 lead in Game 1 when senior All-American Kim Willoughby went back to serve.
When the smoke cleared, it was 22-11. Willoughby had three aces during the run and Lily Kahumoku had two kills off overpasses.
Willoughby again helped the Wahine pull away in Game 3. A 12-11 UH lead turned into a 16-11 advantage with Willoughby serving up her sixth ace, tying a school single-match record she shares with six others.
Willoughby also became UH's all-time ace leader with her ace in Game 3. She now has 140, one ahead of Martina Cincerova.
"Kim is an amazing server," said senior libero Melissa Villaroman, who led the team with eight digs. "Tonight, she seemed to have extra energy.
"As for Pacific ... I remember the rivalry when I was growing up. For me, it's kind of personal. I'm a senior, I want to beat them this year."
Willoughby again led the Wahine attack with 21 kills. Kahumoku had 18 kills, hitting .593.
Hawaii outblocked Baylor 8-1 with Maja Gustin in on four. As a team, the Wahine hit .485 to the Bears' .184.
Tisha Schwartz put down 10 kills for Baylor.
In yesterday's opening match, the Pacific Tigers got 21 kills from All-American Jennifer Joines and 15 from Ashley Groothuis to remain undefeated.
"I think we're still struggling with a lot of things," Pacific coach Jayne McHugh said. "We have a very young lineup (one senior) and it's still trying to figure out how to play with each other.
"Against Hawaii, we're going to have to play every point tough. We don't want to give them any easy points and make them earn it."
It took the Shockers three years to earn enough money to afford the trip to Hawaii. It's been worth it, Wichita State coach Chris Lamb said.
"I liked what I saw out there," he said. "Three years ago, if you had said we'd be in the match with UOP, I wouldn't have believed it. We competed pretty hard and the girls are growing up."
The Shockers had three players in double-figure kills: Jackie Brown (15), Cori Meyer (13) and Lara Geer (11).
The Tigers dominated the net with 15.5 blocks to six for the Shockers.
Note: Prior to the Wahine match there was a moment of silence to remember the late Dr. Allen Richardson, who passed away Monday. He had been associated with UH athletics, particularly Wahine volleyball, for the past 25 years ... Hawaii leads the series with UOP 33-25. The Tigers won the last meeting in 2001, 3-2, in Stockton, Calif.
Hawaii def. Baylor
30-16, 30-20, 30-26
BEARS (3-3) g k e att pct. bs ba d Huston 3 3 3 8 .000 0 0 3 Schwartz 3 10 5 39 .128 0 0 5 Odion 3 9 2 16 .438 0 0 2 Vakulya 3 4 2 14 .143 1 0 3 LeBlanc 3 2 1 7 .143 0 0 0 Guilliard-Young 3 5 1 7 .571 0 0 2 Kersten 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Spriggs 2 0 2 2 -1.000 0 0 0 Nicholas 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 7 Chlebana 1 0 0 1 .000 0 0 1 Kovacs 2 1 0 4 .250 0 0 0 Totals 3 34 16 98 .184 1 0 23 Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
WAHINE (6-1) g k e att pct. bs ba d Willoughby 3 21 6 38 .395 0 0 4 Tano 3 3 0 7 .429 0 0 3 Kahumoku 3 18 2 27 .593 0 2 6 Kamana'o 3 0 0 0 .000 0 2 6 Gustin 3 8 1 12 .583 1 3 0 Duggins 2 4 0 6 .667 1 2 6 Boogaard 1 4 1 8 .375 0 2 1 Lundqvist 1 3 0 4 .750 0 1 4 Arnott 2 0 1 1 -1.000 0 0 1 Watanabe 2 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Thurlby 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Villaroman 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 8 Totals 3 61 11 103 .485 2 12 39
Aces -- Bears (2): Vakulya, Guilliard-Young. Hawaii (8): Willoughby 6, Kahumoku, Kamana'o. Assists -- Bears (30): Huston 27, Vakulya 2, Schwartz. Hawaii (52): Kamana'o 40, Thurlby 5, Willoughby, Tano, Kahumoku, Duggins, Boogaard, Lundqvist, Villaroman. T -- 1:33. Officials -- Dan Hironaka, Wayne Lee. A --5,011.
