Wahine cruise to win at Fresno

Houston comes back to help UH sweep the Bulldogs

FRESNO, Calif. » A change of scenery did not change the outcome for the Hawaii women's volleyball team last night.

Hawaii    Fresno St. 3 0 Next up at San Jose St., today

The 15th-ranked Rainbow Wahine successfully opened their first road trip of the season with a 30-23, 30-22, 30-23 victory over Fresno State in front of 1,404 at the Save Mart Center. Behind sophomore Jamie Houston's 12 kills and a 15-4 edge in blocks, Hawaii ran its Western Athletic Conference winning streak to 109 as well as upped the series edge to 39-0 over the Bulldogs.

"It was a great win for us, to get a road win under our belts," said senior setter Kanoe Kamana'o, who had 45 assists and 10 digs in beating Fresno State for the second time in less than a week. "It sets the tone for the rest of our road trips the rest of the season. We wanted to stay focused when not playing in our arena, in front of our fans.

"Fresno had a good crowd, small but still a good crowd that could have gotten to us. But we didn't let them."

Senior Sarah Mason had 10 kills and 10 digs, and freshman Amber Kaufman had 10 kills and hit .444 in playing just two games for the Wahine (8-4, 2-0). Hawaii makes a quick turnaround, playing at San Jose State (9-6, 0-2) tonight (5 p.m. Hawaii time).

Hawaii coach Dave Shoji anticipates a tougher time against the Spartans.

"I think they're a good ballclub and they always play well against us," Shoji said of San Jose State. "With no travel day, we know it's going to be a lot tougher playing back-to-back.

"We needed to have a game like this under our belts, it being the first road trip. We played OK but let them (the Bulldogs) hang around a little too long. I don't think we were totally focused and that's why we gave up some unforced errors."

Of some concern were the eight aces -- five in Game 1 -- by Fresno State. Several caught the top of the net tape and trickled over.

"They served really tough," Kamana'o said. "We were one step too late or we hesitated, thinking it was going out. But I thought we got our lanes going on passing and our blocking was good.

"And it was good to have Jamie back. She's a go-to hitter."

Houston, who hit .333 in playing in Games 1 and 2, missed her first start of the season last Saturday after violating an unspecified team rule. She was reinstated Monday.

The Bulldogs got eight kills each from Angela Wiggins and Nicole Sandino. Fresno State hit .064 to Hawaii's .282 over the hour and 44 minutes.

"The main thing is we got a win in three," Shoji said. "It was a little uneven, but I was happy with the outcome. We blocked well, especially early, and we accomplished what we needed to do."

For the second week in a row, the Bulldogs had no answer for the Wahine's more physical middles. Junior Juliana Sanders hit .357 with seven kills and six blocks in two games.

Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Keefe had a match-high seven blocks for Hawaii.

Fresno State threatened in Game 1, pulling to within 23-22. Hawaii finished it off with a 7-1 run, helped by three kills and a block from Houston.

The Wahine started Game 2 with a 5-0 run, expanding it to 19-10. Kaufman had five kills, hitting .571, and was in on three blocks as Hawaii took a 2-0 lead.

The Bulldogs staged mini-rallies in Game 3, pulling to within 26-23. Hawaii closed it out with two kills from Keefe, one by Kari Gregory and a Fresno hitting error.

Note: The American Volleyball Coaches Association earlier this week announced its fourth annual Hall of Fame class, which will be inducted in conjunction with the Dec. 11-16 AVCA Convention in Omaha, Neb. Recognized for their significant contributions to the AVCA and the sport of volleyball this year are: Deborah Chin, Carol Dewey, Sue Gozansky, Mick Haley, Mike Hebert, Sue Woodstra and John Zoltek.

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