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1,000 ...
and counting
UH gives Dave Shoji his 850th
win in his 1,000th match
This one was played with a sense of purpose and of history.
There was no way Hawaii would lose this one.
Not with some 30 of its alumnae judging and applauding their legacy. Not with the biggest Stan Sheriff Center crowd of the season -- 7,377 (8,656 tickets) -- watching history.
The No. 6 Rainbow Wahine remained one of six undefeated ranked teams last night, giving their coach, Dave Shoji, his 850th victory in his 1,000th match.
Hawaii (10-0) defeated Pepperdine (2-7) in 2 hours and 23 minutes, getting a career-high-tying 23 kills from Susie Boogaard and 19 from Alicia Arnott in a 30-17, 27-30, 30-25, 30-23 victory.
It was Hawaii's 182nd consecutive win over an unranked opponent.
It was anything but easy.
But Hawaii scrambled well when it had to, outdigging Pepperdine 119-109. Sophomore setter Kanoe Kamana'o tied a school record for digs in a match with 30, while Arnott added 26.
The 119 digs broke the school record for digs in a rally-score match. The previous mark was 92 vs. Pacific in a match that went five; the record for a four-game rally score match was 83.
"Wow, 10-0, who would have thought," said Kamana'o. It's incredible. What can I say?
"We're happy that we're undefeated, but we can't let down. We have to keep pushing and kept our mental focus strong."
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UH freshman Tara Hittle, who finished with 13 kills and no errors in 32 swings, keyed a 5-0 run in Game 4. She banged two straight balls off Pepperdine defenders as the Wahine pulled out of an 8-8 tie to take a 13-8 lead.
Hawaii turned back every challenge Pepperdine mustered. Kamana'o capped a superb night with two kills to give the Wahine match point at 29-23. Arnott finished it with her 19th kill.
"Losing 1,000th ... it was always a possibility," Shoji said. "As for being 10-0 ... the odds might have been 99-to-1 at the beginning of the season that we wouldn't be.
"But I think our conditioning in these long matches has shown. Boogaard had 76 swings and she looked just as strong at the end as she did at the beginning."
The match turned on Game 3 when the Wahine pulled away from the Waves late. At 26-23, Arnott put down two kills during a 3-1 run that gave UH game point at 29-24. A kill by Kristen Shultz staved off the inevitable for one point before Arnott and Juliana Sanders stuffed Christina Hinds to end it.
Hawaii dominated early, with Boogaard nearly unstoppable in Game 1. The junior put down seven kills before committing her first hitting error in two nights when called for a questionable lift at 27-16.
Pepperdine rebounded in Game 2, taking control late. Leading 26-24, the Waves closed it out helped by good defense and a couple of Wahine hitting errors.
Hawaii held off two game points, pulling to 29-27 only to have setter Melissa Mehlhorn's dump shot end it.
Katy Daly, who had 25 kills in Friday's loss, again led the Waves with a quiet 17 kills. Shultz added 16.
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Pepperdine slowed Victoria Prince offensively (eight kills) but the junior transfer came back with nine blocks to tie a UH record in the rally-score era.
"I think Game 1 was the best we've played all season," Shoji said. "Everything seemed to be working. Then we started to feel good about ourselves and didn't work as hard.
"I don't think any changes when we go on the road (next week). We're a young team that hasn't been on the road together. The teams in the WAC are going to give us trouble. We just have to keep doing what we're doing."
Notes: The alumnae match was a split, with the White defeating the Green 24-22 and the Green winning 25-11. Some 30 alumnae participated. ... Four decades of alumnae were represented in the pre-match ceremony for Shoji: Marilyn Moniz-Kahoohanohano and Beth McLachlin ('70s), Lisa Strand Ma'a ('80s), Robyn Ah Mow-Santos ('90s) and Lily Kahumoku ('00s). ... Also remaining unbeaten among the Top 25 teams are No. 3 Washington (10-0), No. 4 Penn State (10-0), No. 8 UC Santa Barbara (8-0), No. 20 Ohio State (12-0) and No. 22 Texas (11-0). ... Hawaii opens Western Athletic Conference play Thursday at Fresno State.
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Hawaii def. Pepperdine
30-17, 27-30, 30-25, 30-23Waves (2-7)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Milo 4 9 6 34 .088 0 6 2 Mehlhorn 4 4 2 14 .143 0 6 10 McClune 3 1 1 4 .000 0 0 0 Hinds 4 9 4 40 .125 0 1 21 Daly 4 17 7 62 .161 0 3 20 Shultz 4 14 5 44 .205 0 0 22 Crabbe 4 0 0 0 .000 0 0 32 Roberts 4 10 4 26 .231 0 4 2 Bayer 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Totals 4 64 29 224 .156 0 20 109 Rainbow Wahine (9-0)
g k e att pct. bs ba d Sanders 4 7 3 23 .174 0 3 1 Boogaard 4 23 8 76 .197 0 2 20 Hittle 4 13 0 32 .406 0 1 7 Arnott 4 19 6 52 .250 0 3 26 Kamana'o 4 5 0 6 .833 0 4 30 Prince 4 8 3 31 .161 1 8 3 Gregory 1 1 0 3 .333 0 0 0 Watanabe 4 0 1 2 -.500 0 0 21 Fotu 3 0 0 1 .000 0 1 8 Thurlby 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 1 Ong 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 2 Totals 4 76 21 226 .243 1 22 119 Key -- g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct.: hitting percentage; bs: block solos; ba: block assists; d: digs.
Aces -- PU(2): Hinds, Roberts. Hawaii (6): Prince 3, Boogaard 2, Watanabe . Assists -- PU (58): Mehlhorn 50, Crabbe 3, Daly 2, Shultz 2, Hinds 1. Hawaii (74): Kamana'o 62, Hittle 8, Fotu 2, Arnott, Boogaard.
T -- 2:23. Officials -- Ernest Ho, Wayne Lee. A --7,377.
