Wahine play on

Hawaii beats USC in five and faces UCLA tonight for a spot in the final four

They have had epic battles before, with even more riding on the outcome. Thirty-four years ago, it was for the NCAA championship, when the tournament was just 2 years old.

Hawaii    USC 3 2 Next Up vs. UCLA tonight

Last night, it was to keep alive hopes to play for the 26th title, what would be the fourth NCAA banner for either school.

When the clouds of emotion finally cleared, after 2 hours and 22 minutes, the Rainbow Wahine -- just as they had in 1982 -- prevailed in five.

Unexpectedly, surprisingly, emphatically.

Behind Jamie Houston's career-high 35 kills and 24 by Sarah Mason, a vocal crowd of 7,006 (7,479 tickets) at the Stan Sheriff Center saw 12th-seeded Hawaii upset fifth-seeded Southern Cal 28-30, 30-21, 21-30, 30-27, 15-5 to advance to tonight's regional final. The Rainbow Wahine (28-6), winning their 16th straight, will face fourth-seeded UCLA (32-3) at 6:30 p.m., the winner earning a spot in next week's final four in Omaha, Neb. The Bruins needed just 96 minutes to eliminate No. 13 seed Oklahoma 30-22, 30-16, 30-26.

Senior middle Nana Meriwether's spectacular performance -- match highs of 17 kills with no errors and eight blocks -- led the Bruins into the regional final via their seventh straight victory. It will be the 64th meeting between UCLA and Hawaii, with UH holding a 34-29 lead in the series

"We fought as hard as we could, but we couldn't stop Houston," USC coach Mike Haley said. "In the end we made too many errors and Hawaii didn't. That did us in. And Houston went off.

"I have to take the blame for the Game 5 debacle."

The Game 5 finish was as stunning as it was anticlimatic. Houston's kill gave Kanoe Kamana'o the serve with UH ahead 4-3. When the setter gave it back -- 10 points later -- the Wahine had already taken one swing at the match, comfortably ahead at 14-4. USC fended off the inevitable once more before the arena erupted a split-second after Houston nailed her final swing.

"Jamie was elevating like no one I've seen -- no one could touch her," Mason said. "You have to keep setting someone like that when they're on fire."

Hawaii nearly pulled off the improbable when clawing its way back in Game 1. USC scored nine straight points to open a 10-2 lead only to have the Wahine rally to tie it at 28-all behind six kills by Houston.

Kills by Jessica Gysin and Diane Copenhagen gave USC the game, but the Wahine had found a rhythm and momentum. Both carried over to Game 2, with Mason putting down 10 kills, Houston seven, and Hawaii outblocking USC 4-1.

Asia Kaczor, so effective in Game 1 (nine kills), was limited to two, her second coming late when bringing her team to 24-17. USC got as close as 25-20, but the Wahine used a 5-1 run to end it, stuffing Taylor Carico and Gysin to even the match.

Momentum again traded sides with the Women of Troy, breaking a 5-5 tie to take the Game 3 lead for good. Despite Hawaii winning the block war 5-2, the Wahine slowed but never quite stopped Copenhagen (five kills) or Gysin (four kills).

Hawaii regrouped to survive several controversial calls in Game 4, tying it at 23-23 on a kill by Mason. Houston skied for her 27th kill and Amber Kaufman and Juliana Sanders stuffed Kaczor for game point.

USC held off one attempt but not a second, with Houston putting down her 28th kill.

"We put some doubt in their minds in the middle of Game 4 and that was key," Shoji said. "And we've had 7,000 in the arena before, but the noise level tonight was amazing."

The Wahine finished with an 18-14 block advantage, led by Sanders' career-high 14 block assists, tying a school record. Hawaii also won the defensive battle with a 77-71 edge in digs, led by Mason's 22.

Kaczor finished with 22 kills and Copenhagen 17.

UCLA 3, Oklahoma 0

Nana Meriwether, the most outstanding player of last September's Hawaiian Airlines Classic, continued to make herself at home, hitting an outrageous .708. She took over Game 2 with seven kills in nine swings and added four blocks.

The Bruins had just one hitting error in Game 2, that coming when Ali Daley hit wide, allowing the Sooners to pull to 22-14. UCLA closed it out with an 8-2 run, with Meriwether accounting for five of the points, in holding Oklahoma to the fewest points in a single game all season.

Oklahoma (28-6) led for the first time in the match at 1-0 in Game 3, and the last time at 2-1, with UCLA continuing to dominate from service line to the net. The Bruins outblocked the Sooners 13-1 and had an 8-2 advantage in aces, three each by Ali Daley and Colby Lyman.

"And we are one of the better blocking teams in the Big 12," Oklahoma coach Santiago Restrepo said.

Overall, UCLA hit .378 and "it was one of our better team performances offensively," Bruin coach Andy Banachowski said. "We came out, played hard and played well. I thought we did a good job in all the important aspects of the game.

"I've been fussing around with the lineup (since playing here in September) and I finally fell like we have it right."

Gators gone: Minnesota surprised host Florida last night, ousting the Gators 30-23, 25-30, 30-21, 30-26. The Gophers (26-7) take on top-seeded Nebraska (30-1), which swept San Diego, in tonight's regional final.

In tonight's other regional finals, host Washington (28-4) meets Penn State (32-2) and host Texas (24-6) faces Stanford (28-3).

Last night's winners all did it in sweeps, with the defending champion Huskies downing Ohio State, the Nittany Lions beating Purdue, the Longhorns eliminating Wisconsin, and the Cardinal holding off Cal.

---