Sickness doesn’t slow Wahine down

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FRESNO, Calif. » It was quite a get-well present, for the team and its coach.

No. 11 Hawaii, playing without flu-stricken coach Dave Shoji, clinched its 12th straight Western Athletic Conference regular-season volleyball championship last night, sweeping Fresno State in 100 minutes.

Hawaii    Fresno 3 0 NEXT UP vs. San Jose State, Thursday

The Rainbow Wahine (20-4, 14-0 WAC), with all but a few players also suffering from the flu, defeated the Bulldogs (5-21, 3-11) 30-26, 30-25, 30-23.

Outside hitters Jamie Houston and Aneli Cubi-Otineru turned in double-doubles, Houston with 17 kills and 15 digs, and Cubi-Otineru 14 kills and 13 digs.

Associate head coaches Mike Sealy and Kari Ambrozich ran the team, with Shoji remaining in Reno, site of Hawaii's win Thursday over Nevada.

"It just shows how tough these girls are," Sealy said. "They are amazing.

"Maybe it's because we travel so much, that they're used to playing with jet lag and not feeling perfect. The thing is, they kept getting better as the match went on."

Shoji was expected to rejoin the team today in San Francisco for the flight back to Honolulu.

Hawaii finishes the regular season with 7 p.m. home matches Thursday against San Jose State and Sunday against Utah State.

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FRESNO, Calif. » Even when sick they played well.

And well enough to clinch the regular-season conference volleyball title and the Western Athletic Conference tournament top seed.

With about two-thirds of the Rainbow Wahine 12-player roster stricken with stomach flu over the past two days and an ailing head coach some 200 miles away, No. 11 Hawaii still was able to defeat Fresno State for the 42nd straight time. The Wahine needed just 100 minutes to sweep the Bulldogs 30-26, 30-25, 30-23 in front of 1,327 at the Save Mart Center.

Jamie Houston and Aneli Cubi-Otineru both notched their eighth double-doubles of the season, Houston with 17 kills and 15 digs, and Cubi-Otineru 14 kills and 13 digs. Tara Hittle just missed a double-double, finishing with nine kills and 11 digs; Juliana Sanders had nine kills and was in on six blocks; and libero Elizabeth Ka'aihue again anchored the Wahine defense with 16 of the team's 63 digs.

Associate head coaches Mike Sealy and Kari Ambrozich ran the team while head coach Dave Shoji remained in Reno, where Hawaii had defeated Nevada on Thursday night. It's believed to be just the third time that Shoji has missed a match in his 33 seasons, the last in 2005 when he remained in Honolulu for his father's funeral while the team played at Utah State.

"I think everyone could have played in some capacity if they were called upon," Sealy said. "They showed how really tough they were. They were just amazing.

"Everyone bounced back and got stronger as the match went on. And Fresno State played great. They outblocked us (15-8) and they could beat any other team in the league the way they played tonight."

The 15 blocks were a Fresno State school record. Kelly Leonard was in on seven and Alisha McKee six.

"It's been a season of ups and downs, and tonight was an up," Bulldogs coach Ruben Nieves said. "We competed well and kept pressure on Hawaii throughout the match.

"They stepped up and they know how to do that being the No. 11 team in the country. They just make plays when they need to."

Each time the Wahine were pressed, they responded, whether it was when trailing 19-16 in Game 1 or in a 19-19 tie in Game 2. Hawaii controlled most of Game 3, leading by as much as 22-12, then pulled away after the Bulldogs had rallied to within 24-20.

"This says just how tough this team is," Sealy said. "I was a little concerned. We usually meet at 6 before a game and when I walked in at 5:59, everyone was sleeping.

"Aneli was sick both nights, but she just toughed it out. (Setter Stephanie) Brandt was an absolute trouper. Everyone could have just packed it in and didn't."

He said that, as of last night, only Houston, Sanders, Dani Mafua and Amber Kaufman hadn't become ill. Defensive specialist Jayme Lee, taking a later flight because of illness, wasn't available to play since she arrived after the match had started.

The rest of the Hawaii team was stalled earlier when the flight from Reno to San Francisco was delayed by 2 hours. The Wahine didn't get to their hotel here until 3 hours before the match.

Hawaii finishes out the WAC regular season at home with matches against San Jose State on Thursday and Utah State next Sunday.

Note: All of the WAC tournament matches will be available online via streaming video. Subscribers can buy single matches for $9.95 each or the eight-match package for $19.95.

More information is available at www.wac.tv.