FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Lily Kahumoku's chronic back spasms kept her out of practice yesterday in Dallas.
Back spasms sideline
UH’s KahumokuThe senior outside hitter says
she will be ready to play in today's
semifinal against Florida
DALLAS >> There must be something about NCAA final-four practices and Lily Kahumoku that don't mix.
Hawaii's senior outside hitter had the flu last year and didn't practice the day before the semifinal match with Stanford in New Orleans. Yesterday, Kahumoku sat out with back spasms.
The spasms, a chronic problem for Kahumoku, are not expected to keep her out of the lineup for today's match with No. 3 Florida.
"I'll be ready to play," she said as the team left Reunion Arena yesterday. Kahumoku missed four matches in mid-October with the same back problems.
The No. 2 Rainbow Wahine have another question mark in their lineup. Senior blocker Maja Gustin practiced yesterday but left the arena with an ice pack on her right ankle.
"Maja's not 100 percent," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "If she's not ready to go (by this morning's practice), then Karin Lundqvist will get the start."
Lundqvist replaced Gustin after she went down with the ankle sprain during Game 2 in the first-round match with Idaho. Gustin did not play in the second-round match against Brigham Young or the regional semifinal against Illinois, and had a very brief appearance in the regional championship against Georgia Tech.
Beach bummer: There will not be another Duggins wearing a Hawaii uniform next season. Hitter/defensive specialist Elise Duggins, the sister of Wahine senior middle Lauren, has committed to Long Beach State.
Lauren Duggins said her sister will be a walk-on for the 49ers.
"It's a better situation for her there," said Duggins, whose family lives in Fullerton, Calif. "I think it fits her needs. She needed to be closer to home.
Fan-tastic: Hawaii, which led the nation in attendance for the ninth consecutive season, is expected to use all of its 150-ticket guaranteed allotment. A number of Wahine backers were in the Reunion Arena seats to watch yesterday's open practice, which drew several hundred spectators.
Florida requested 220 tickets.
No respect: Aretha Franklin sang about respect, spelling it out starting with the letter 'R.'
But for Minnesota coach Mike Hebert, the lack of respect includes the letter 'R.' Hebert was introduced at yesterday's press conference as Mike Herbert. His name was misspelled on his name tag, as it was in the NCAA Tournament media guide.
Hebert is only the fourth coach to advance to the national semifinals with two different schools. He had his Illinois team in the 1987 and 1988 semifinals, losing to Hawaii both times.
The others are Southern California's Mick Haley, whose Texas team defeated Hawaii for the 1988 title; Stanford's John Dunning, who coached Pacific to titles in 1985 and '86; and Michigan State's Chuck Erbe, the coach of USC's 1981 championship team.
When asked about being back in the final four after a 15-year absence, the 59-year-old Hebert said: "The first time around, I didn't have to take naps."
Minnesota is the lowest seed to ever reach the NCAA semifinals. The Golden Gophers were the fourth seed in the Long Beach regional, beating top-seeded Pepperdine and third-seeded Washington to advance to the first final four in school history.
Unbeaten jinx: Southern California is the 14th team to come into the NCAA Tournament undefeated, but only the fifth to make it to the final four. After beating UCLA, the Women of Troy (33-0) joined Long Beach State (1998, 2001), Penn State (1998) and Nebraska (2000) as the teams to advance to the national semifinals with perfect records.
Only Long Beach State (1998) and Nebraska (2000) have taken home the championship trophy with a perfect record. The 49ers defeated previously unbeaten Penn State in 1998 in five, the only time two undefeated teams met for the championship.
Long Beach State (1972) and USC (1977) were the only unbeaten AIAW champions. The Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women oversaw women's college sports until the 1981-82 school year, when it was dissolved, ceding its job to the NCAA.
Six degrees: Texas, under current USC coach Mick Haley, won the 1981 AIAW title but in a weak field. The majority of Division I schools had moved over to the NCAA prior to that season.
In 1981, Hawaii was the top-ranked team for most of the season but ended up losing to USC in the regional final. The coach of that team was Chuck Erbe, whose Michigan State team ended the Rainbow Wahine's perfect record (31-0) in the 1995 regional final.
Parting shot: When asked how her team planned to stop Hawaii's Kim Willoughby, Florida coach Mary Wise replied: "We're going to borrow helmets from the Dallas Cowboys and duck. We know she's going to get her kills but we can't let her get kills on out-of-system plays. If she morphs into the super-human she can be, we'll just roll the ball back to their server."
