The Matchups
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRYANT FUKUTOMI BFUKUTOMI@STARBULLETIN.COM Stats, facts and rosters for
tomorrow's semifinal matches
of the NCAA women's
volleyball tournament
Hawaii Rainbow Wahine
The No. 2 Wahine (36-1) defeated Georgia Tech in four to advance to their eighth final four, and third in four years. Hawaii has not lost since the second match of the season, that coming in a sweep by Southern California.
Kim Willoughby
UH is led by senior All-American outside Kim Willoughby, the national leader in kills (6.65 kpg) and regional MVP. Senior All-American outside Lily Kahumoku leads the team in digs (3.47) and is the winningest player in the program's history (130-7).
Senior rightside Nohea Tano is hitting .405 and came up big against the Yellow Jackets with 10 kills, five in the deciding Game 4. Senior middle Lauren Duggins averages a team-leading 1.25 blocks per game.
Coach Dave Shoji is in his 29th season (840-148-1) with four national titles (AIAW 1979, NCAA 1982, '83, '87).
As a team, Hawaii out-hits its opponents in kills per game (18.18-12.98) and in hitting percentage (.341-.172). The Wahine went undefeated in the Western Athletic Conference (16-0) for their seventh conference title. Hawaii leads the series with USC 18-16 and Minnesota 6-0. The series with Florida is tied 2-2, with both Gator wins coming in 1998, including a 3-2 win in the 1998 regional final.
Roster
NO. Name POS. Ht. CL. HOMETOWN 1 Juliana Sanders MB 6-2 Fr Kaneohe 2 Susie Boogaard OPP 6-2 So Bellflower, Calif. 3 Kim Willoughby OH 6-0 Sr Napoleonville, La. 4 Kari Gregory MB 6-3 Fr Las Vegas 5 Nohea Tano OPP 5-11 Sr Kailua 6 Karin Lundqvist MB 6-3 Sr Stockholm, Sweden 7 Alicia Arnott OH 6-0 Fr Honolulu 8 Melody Eckmier MB 6-3 Jr Simi Valley, Calif. 9 Lily Kahumoku OH 6-2 Sr Honolulu 10 Kanoe Kamana'o S 5-8 Fr Honolulu 11 Ashley Watanabe L 5-6 So Aiea 12 Maja Gustin MB 6-3 Sr Maribor, Slovenia 13 Cayley Thurlby S 5-10 Fr Naperville, Ill. 14 Lauren Duggins MB 6-0 Sr Fullerton, Calif. 15 Melissa Villaroman L 5-6 Sr Carson, Calif.
Probable starters
S: Kamana'o
OH: Willoughby, Kahumoku
MB: Duggins, Lundqvist
Opp: Tano
L: Villaroman
The statistics
G K K/G E TA Pct. BS BA Total B/G 15 Melissa Villaroman 121 3 0.02 0 3 1.000 0 0 0 0.00 5 Nohea Tano 96 177 1.84 36 348 .405 2 58 60 0.62 6 Karin Lundqvist 51 64 1.25 10 135 .400 4 36 40 0.78 3 Kim Willoughby 110 731 6.65 196 1391 .385 13 51 64 0.58 14 Lauren Duggins 118 306 2.59 76 631 .365 12 135 147 1.25 12 Maja Gustin 97 216 2.23 60 431 .362 4 83 87 0.90 10 Kanoe Kamana'o 119 53 0.45 15 120 .317 3 59 62 0.52 2 Susie Boogaard 69 81 1.17 23 194 .299 1 26 27 0.39 9 Lily Kahumoku 104 467 4.49 138 1,109 .297 8 53 61 0.59 8 Melody Eckmier 23 20 0.87 7 50 .260 1 12 13 0.57 7 Alicia Arnott 63 79 1.25 42 238 .155 1 17 18 0.29 13 Cayley Thurlby 47 3 0.06 4 11 -.091 1 1 2 0.04 11 Ashley Watanabe 58 0 0.00 2 2 -1.000 0 0 0 0.00 HAWAII 121 2,200 18.18 609 4,663 .341 50 531 315.5 2.61 Opponents 121 1,571 12.98 749 4,776 .172 56 328 220.0 1.82
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Florida Gators
The No. 3 Gators (35-1) swept Penn State to advance to their seventh final four since 1992. Their lone loss came in the season opener against USC.
Aury Cruz
Senior hitter Aury Cruz, the regional MVP, leads the team with 4.42 kpg and 3.40 dpg. At .475, 6-foot-2 middle Sherri Williams is the team leader in hitting percentage.
As a team, Florida has held its opponents to a collective .093 hitting percentage while hitting .346. The Gators have won an NCAA-record 106 consecutive games and haven't dropped a game since losing Game 3 to Kansas State on Aug. 23 at the NACWAA Classic.
Coach Mary Wise is in her 13th season (430-42) and is 511-105 in her career.
Florida is 1-4 against USC, having lost the last four meetings. The Gators are 1-1 against Minnesota, evening the series with a sweep of the Gophers on Sept. 13.
Roster
NO. Name POS. Ht. CL. HOMETOWN 2 Rhian Davis L 5-7 Fr Austin, Texas 3 Sherri Williams MB 6-2 Jr Orlando, Fla. 6 Stefanie Douglas MB 6-2 Fr Belton, Texas 7 Michelle Chatman OH 5-11 Jr Woodridge, Ill. 8 Rachel Engel S 5-6 So Littleton, Colo. 9 Aury Cruz OH 5-11 Sr Levittown, Puerto Rico 10 Benavia Jenkins MB 6-0 Sr Fort Pierce, Fla. 13 Amber McCray OH 6-0 Fr Longview, Texas 15 Jen Mandes DS/L 5-6 Sr Carolina, Puerto Rico 22 Taylor Williams L/OH 6-1 So Gainesville, Fla. 23 Lauren Moscovic S 5-10 Jr Stockton, Calif. 33 Jane Collymore OH 6-0 So Englewood, Colo. 56 Jacque Robinson Opp 6-2 Sr Merced, Calif.
Probable starters
S: Moscovic
OH: Cruz, Collymore
Opp: Robinson
MB: Williams, Chatman
L: Mandes
The statistics
G K K/G E TA Pct. BS BA Total B/G 3 Sherri Williams 106 325 3.07 58 562 .475 30 108 138 1.30 10 Benavia Jenkins 67 212 3.16 45 359 .465 23 75 98 1.46 6 Stefanie Douglas 20 6 0.30 2 9 .444 4 12 16 0.80 23 Lauren Moscovic 105 87 0.83 17 197 .355 3 62 65 0.62 13 Amber McCray 57 63 1.11 20 129 .333 3 32 35 0.61 9 Aury Cruz 106 468 4.42 129 1,064 .319 18 47 65 0.61 7 Michelle Chatman 88 142 1.61 50 292 .315 8 49 57 0.65 33 Jane Collymore 103 369 3.58 124 838 .292 12 44 56 0.54 56 Jacque Robinson 48 84 1.75 35 197 .249 5 23 28 0.58 2 Rhian Davis 18 0 0.00 0 2 .000 0 0 0 0.00 22 Taylor Williams 88 0 0.00 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.00 8 Rachel Engel 102 2 0.02 5 15 -.200 0 1 1 0.01 15 Jen Mandes 106 2 0.02 4 9 -.222 0 0 0 0.00 FLORIDA 106 1,760 16.60 489 3,673 .346 106 453 332.5 3.14 Opponents 106 1,165 10.99 809 3,840 .093 37 241 157.5 1.49
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Minnesota Golden Gophers
The No. 10 Golden Gophers (26-10) outlasted Washington 3-2 to advance to their first final four.
Cassie Busse
Senior opposite Cassie Busse, the regional MVP, leads the team in kills (4.62) and hitting (.295). Junior hitter Trisha Bratford is second in kills (3.77 kpg).
As a team, Minnesota averages 16.66 kpg to its opponents' 14.45. After starting the season 0-3 at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic, the Gophers lost seven more times, five in conference play. The other loss came at Florida on Sept. 13.
Minnesota went 15-5 in the Big Ten, 6-4 in away matches. The Gophers entered the NCAA Tournament as the 13th seed and knocked off No. 4 Pepperdine in five in the regional semifinal en route to getting to their first final four.
Coach Mike Hebert is in his eighth season at Minnesota (199-76) and is 771-333 in his career. While at Illinois, his Illini made the final four twice (1987-88), falling to Hawaii both times in the semifinals.
Roster
NO. Name POS. Ht. CL. HOMETOWN 1 Kelly Bowman S 5-11 Fr Maple Grove, Minn. 2 Lisa Reinhart DS/LIB 5-8 Jr White Bear Lake, Minn. 3 Lindsey Taatjes S 5-10 Jr Prinsburg, Minn. 4 Trisha Bratford OH 5-11 Jr Reseda, Calif. 5 Meredith Nelson MB 6-3 Fr St. Croix Falls, Wis. 6 Marci Peniata S/DS 5-8 Fr Plymouth, Minn. 7 Erin Lorenzen OPP 6-2 Sr Pipestone, Minn. 8 Jen Bowman S 5-9 Sr Maple Grove, Minn. 10 Jessica Byrnes OH 6-2 So Minnetonka, Minn. 11 Cassie Busse OPP 6-2 Sr Prior Lake, Minn. 12 Amanda Cipperly OH 5-10 Jr Andover, Minn. 13 Erin Martin OH 6-0 Jr Ames, Iowa 14 Athena Mallakis MB 6-1 Fr Simi Valley, Calif. 15 Paula Gentil DS/LIB 5-9 So Fortaleza Ceara'/Brazil
Probable starters
S: Taatjes
OH: Bratford, Martin
Opp: Busse
MB: Nelson, Byrnes
L: Gentil
The statistics
G K K/G E TA Pct. BS BA Total B/G 11 Cassie Busse 128 591 4.62 190 1,359 .295 19 89 108 0.84 10 Jessica Byrnes 126 259 2.06 110 590 .253 5 76 81 0.64 13 Erin Martin 125 470 3.76 170 1,215 .247 36 42 78 0.62 3 Lindsey Taatjes 124 89 0.72 34 229 .240 15 50 65 0.52 4 Trisha Bratford 130 490 3.77 202 1,256 .229 42 59 101 0.78 1 Kelly Bowman 60 24 0.40 11 59 .220 0 8 8 0.13 5 Meredith Nelson 130 199 1.53 88 533 .208 19 146 165 0.27 14 Athena Mallakis 19 21 1.11 14 59 .119 1 16 17 0.89 6 Marci Peniata 110 9 0.08 6 29 .103 0 0 0 0.00 7 Erin Lorenzen 13 11 0.85 8 42 .071 3 3 6 0.46 12 Amanda Cipperly 17 14 0.82 11 44 .068 1 1 2 0.12 15 Paula Gentil 127 5 0.04 3 34 .059 0 0 0 0.00 2 Lisa Reinhart 113 0 0.00 2 16 -.125 0 0 0 0.00 MINNESOTA 131 2,182 16.66 850 5,466 .244 141 490 386.0 2.95 Opponents 131 1,893 14.45 871 5,444 .188 59 485 301.5 2.30
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USC Trojans
The No. 1 Women of Troy (33-0) set an NCAA record for consecutive victories (45) when defeating rival UCLA in the regional final. The defending national champions are seeking to become the third team to finish the season unbeaten; Long Beach State in 1998 and Nebraska in 2000 are the others.
April Ross
USC is led by 6-foot-1 senior hitter April Ross with 3.65 kpg. Emily Adams, a 6-6 junior middle, is second at 3.40 kpg and leads the team in hitting percentage (.447) and blocks (1.41). Junior hitter Keao Burdine, the regional MVP, is averaging 3.35 kpg.
Coach Mick Haley is in his third season at USC and is 862-193-1 in his career. He has three national titles, two at Texas (AIAW 1981, NCAA 1988).
As a team, USC is out-hitting its opponents 17.72-12.72 and has a .346-.131 advantage in hitting percentage. The Women of Troy went undefeated in the Pac-10 Conference for the first time in school history.
USC handed the Wahine and the Gators their only losses of the season, both coming in sweeps in the season-opening NACWAA State Farm Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Roster
NO. Name POS. Ht. CL. HOMETOWN 1 Kimi Freeburg S 5-9 Fr New Castle, Ind. 2 Debora Seilhamer DS/L 5-5 Fr Ponce, Puerto Rico 3 Toni Anderson S 5-10 Sr Yorba Linda, Calif. 4 Nicole Davis L 5-6 Sr Stockton, Calif. 5 Anne Montgomery DS 5-7 Fr Menlo Park, Calif. 7 Bibiana Candelas MB 6-5 So Torreon, Mexico 8 Keao Burdine OH 6-1 Jr Pico Rivera, Calif. 9 Emily Adams MB 6-6 Jr Phoenix, Ariz. 10 Alex Dunphy S 6-0 Fr Malibu, Calif. 12 Kelli Lantz MB 6-3 Sr Bakersfield, Calif. 13 Alicia Robinson OH 6-2 Jr Phoenix, Ariz. 14 April Ross OH 6-1 Sr Newport Beach, Calif. 21 Staci Venski MB 6-3 So California City, Calif. 33 Katie Olsovsky MB 6-3 Sr Torrance, Calif.
Probable starters
S: Anderson
OH: Ross, Burdine
Opp: Olsovsky
MB: Candelas, Adams
L: Davis
The statistics
G K K/G E TA Pct. BS BA Total B/G 14 April Ross 106 387 3.65 104 926 .306 27 47 74 0.70 9 Emily Adams 105 357 3.40 64 655 .447 38 110 148 1.41 8 Keao Burdine 98 328 3.35 101 820 .277 12 28 40 0.41 7 Bibiana Candelas 104 313 3.01 60 582 .435 20 110 130 1.25 33 Katie Olsovsky 99 253 2.56 72 560 .323 8 87 95 0.96 13 Alicia Robinson 63 93 1.48 40 224 .237 3 20 23 0.37 12 Kelli Lantz 17 24 1.41 4 42 .476 0 5 5 0.29 21 Staci Venski 74 101 1.36 17 218 .385 5 28 33 0.45 3 Toni Anderson 106 20 0.19 1 35 .543 2 16 18 0.17 2 Debora Seilhamer 76 1 0.01 0 2 .500 0 0 0 0.00 4 Nicole Davis 99 1 0.01 1 3 .000 0 0 0 0.00 1 Kimi Freeburg 96 0 0.00 3 6 -.500 0 1 1 0.01 5 Anne Montgomery 21 0 0.00 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.00 USC 106 1,878 17.72 467 4,073 .346 115 452 341.0 3.22 Opponents 106 1,348 12.72 800 4,191 .131 41 269 175.5 1.66
