[ WAHINE VOLLEYBALL ]
Pro-Hawaii crowd lifts
Rainbow Wahine to win
LAS VEGAS >> Think of it as the Stan Sheriff Center-East.
The stands were filled with Hawaii fans wearing green T-shirts and chanting, "Let's Go, 'Bows!" The crowd was volleyball-savvy, booing passes that could have been called lifts and applauding long rallies. They stayed afterward to take pictures and have players sign autographs. There were leis.
It could have easily been mistaken for a Rainbow Wahine home match if it weren't for two things:
Thanksgiving Tournament
All times Hawaii timeWhere: Cox Pavilion (3,000), Las Vegas
Today: No. 2 Hawaii (31-1) vs. Kentucky (14-17), 3 p.m.; UNLV (13-16) vs. Weber State (7-19), 5 p.m.
TV: None
Radio: Hawaii match, KKEA 1420-AM
>> The public address announcer couldn't pronounce Kanoe Kamana'o's name, nor that of Ashley Watanabe.
>> And an ailing Kim Willoughby hit negative for the first time in her life (minus-.182).
No. 2 Hawaii had to put its Thanksgiving dinner plans on hold for about 30 minutes longer than expected against scrappy Weber State last night at the Cox Pavilion. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes before the Wahine (31-1) were able to leave with their 30th consecutive victory, a 30-15, 28-30, 30-17, 30-22 win over the Wildcats (7-19) in the opening match of the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament.
Hawaii concludes its final regular-season road trip today (3 p.m. Hawaii time) with its fifth match in eight days against Kentucky (14-17). In last night's second match, the host Rebels (13-16) defeated the Wildcats 27-30, 30-17, 27-30, 30-25, 15-11.
The Wahine fly home tomorrow, having been on the mainland since Nov. 20 and "we've been on the road a long time," said Hawaii coach Dave Shoji. "I think the team sees the light at the end of the tunnel. I think we'll be more fired up (for Kentucky).
"It's just a matter of getting excited instead of going through the motions out there. Lily (Kahumoku) got us going and Lauren (Duggins) did a nice job of getting everyone into it."
Kahumoku finished with 16 kills, hitting .333., with 11 digs for her eighth double-double in 11 matches. Duggins had 13 kills and was in on four of the team's nine blocks.
Maja Gustin added 14 kills in hitting .500. She put down 13 kills on 15 swings before committing her first hitting error on her 16th attempt with the Wahine leading 17-13 in Game 4.
"Hawaii has so many weapons that when you take away their All-American (Willoughby), everybody else beats you," said Weber State coach Al Givens after his team lost its fourth straight. "Their middles (Gustin and Duggins) crushed us and Lily hurt us.
"They're a very talented team, but they've been on the road for a long time. It's real easy to lose focus. I don't think they played to their capabilities, but maybe they didn't have to. For us it was an opportunity to play a great team and not too many teams in the country can say they played the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in one season and were able to take a game off them."
When the Wildcats took Game 2 off Hawaii, it was only the 12th game the Wahine had dropped out of 105 this season. Weber State also won Game 2 against Stanford when the two met on Sept. 12 in Honolulu at the Hawaii Sprint Invitational.
Last night, the Wildcats camped out on Willoughby, who had been bothered by an upset stomach all day. Willoughby, 16th nationally in hitting percentage (.394), was blocked on her first attempt and on two of the next three.
The senior hitter had just two kills after Game 1, hitting .222, and then just three kills in Game 2. She left the match after the second game with five kills and nine errors in 22 swings.
"I have never, ever hit negative before," she said after the match. "Not in club, not in high school. Not ever."
Willoughby has had matches where she hit negative early but was always able to hit a positive percentage by the end of the match. Her lowest percentage of this season was .226 in the three-game loss to No. 1 Southern California in the second match of the season.
Last night, Shoji had her on the bench after the Wildcats had evened it at 1-1.
"Kim had a poor start and couldn't work her way out of it," said Shoji. "No, I've never seen her play this bad and I hope I never see it again."
Shoji was able to use all 13 players on the roster, with freshman Alicia Arnott having an impressive outing. She had eight kills, hit .333 with nine digs and three aces in playing the final three games.
For Weber State, Michelle Smith had 11 kills and Michelle Hoerman was in on seven of the team's 13 blocks.
The decidedly pro-Hawaii crowd was estimated at 500, one of the largest in the Cox Pavilion for women's volleyball this season. More than half of the fans left when the Wahine did.
"Well, Las Vegas is the home away from home for Hawaii people," said Kahumoku. "I was a little surprised and shocked at how much support we had on a Thanksgiving night. They're all leaving, so they did come to see just us. It just went a little longer than we had initially planned."
