Wahine will
be without
their starKim Willoughby will
miss the team's road trip
with strep throat
It's a big loss.
But if any women's volleyball team can afford to have a two-time All-American and the national kill leader not making a road trip, it's Hawaii. The No. 2 Rainbow Wahine will miss senior Kim Willoughby -- and her 6.76 kills per game -- but the team is confident it will return Sunday with two Western Athletic Conference victories.
Willoughby, sidelined with strep throat, won't make the road trip to Boise State (5-13, 1-3) and Texas-El Paso (5-13, 0-4) this week. Wahine players say they'll miss the senior outside hitter but don't expect to have their winning streaks of 68 straight WAC matches and 14 consecutive matches this season ended on this road trip.
WAC women's volleyball
Tomorrow: No. 2 Hawaii (15-1, 3-0) at Boise State (5-13, 1-3), 3 p.m. HST
Saturday: Hawaii at UTEP (5-13, 0-4), 9 a.m. HST
Radio: Live, KKEA 1420-AM.
Internet: www.kkea1420am.com
"Not that these games aren't important, but this is probably the only time during our season that we could afford not to have her," senior All-American hitter Lily Kahumoku said. "She is such a vital part of this team, personally and offensively, and has a tremendous role. She takes a lot of swings.
"But we've been diversifying the offense. I think we'll be fine."
Willoughby is also expected to be fine. She had complained of fatigue last week and said after Saturday's win over Nevada that she suspected she had mononucleosis.
She was diagnosed with strep throat yesterday and is expected to be back at practice next week. The Wahine have three home matches next week, beginning with the Oct. 16 date with Louisiana Tech.
"What does this change for us?," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji asked rhetorically. "We've got to find another seven kills a game. But I don't think we'll miss a beat against these two teams. If she had to miss any, these are the two."
The Wahine will face a Bronco team tomorrow that has lost its last three matches as well as junior hitter Kelsey Young. The 6-foot-1 transfer from Long Beach State, was second on the team in kills before breaking her hand in practice last week.
On Saturday, Hawaii takes on the Miners, who have lost seven in a row. UTEP has lost seven straight WAC matches, dating back to last season.
The biggest challenge for Hawaii may be beating boredom. The Wahine have extensive layovers in Denver, both going to and from El Paso.
"That and the fact that we have to get up early," Shoji said of today's scheduled 7 a.m. flight to San Francisco. "We've done some of these road trips in the past where we've played on back-to-back days and I'd prefer that. We have a lot of down time with the day in between and it can be a drain."
Hawaii will take 11 players on the trip. The Wahine have a roster of 17, with 13 players having seen action.
"Knowing that we don't have a dominate player with us means we will need to step it up even more," said freshman setter Kanoe Kamana'o. "But I think we'll still do just fine. This will show the balance of our team."
Notes: The Wahine have not dropped a game since their 3-2 win over Stanford, a streak of six consecutive straight-set victories ... The team will celebrate two birthdays this week. Assistant coach Charlie Wade is 40 today while senior middle Maja Gustin will be 24 on Saturday.
