Wahine want to defend first place
POSTED: Sunday, October 12, 2008
It's not quite the Red River Rivalry. But the volleyball matches with New Mexico State have become the most anticipated ones for Hawaii since the Aggies joined the Western Athletic Conference in 2005.
New Mexico State (10-7, 5-1) at No. 6 Hawaii (13-2, 6-0)When: Today, 5 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: KFVE (Ch. 5)
Radio: KKEA 1420-AM
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Today's 5 p.m. contest is no different. At stake—as has become the norm—is the lead in the WAC standings.
No. 6 Hawaii (13-2, 6-0) has a one-game margin over New Mexico State (10-7, 5-1). The Rainbow Wahine would love to add to that cushion, while the Aggies would love to knot it up by winning their first at the Stan Sheriff Center.
New Mexico State has had a long two weeks to think about the 26-24, 25-20, 25-23 loss to Hawaii in Las Cruces, N.M. That memory includes the Aggies being up 18-13 in Set 3 only to be outscored 12-5 down the stretch.
“;That was really frustrating,”; NMSU senior libero Krystal Torres said. “;It's not that we played bad, but they just played better than we did.
“;Sometimes you can get a lead on a team and you start to relax. The games are so short (to 25) ... before you know it, something like that can happen so quickly. But it's in the past. Hopefully, we can change things tomorrow.”;
The Hawaii-born Torres, expecting several dozen family members to be in the seats today, has plenty of incentive. The WAC dig leader (4.36 dps) had only 11 digs against the Wahine on Sept. 29 and was aced twice.
“;Krystal had a sub-par match for her,”; Aggies coach Mike Jordan said. “;She didn't pass like she usually does and that just doesn't happen. I haven't seen a better libero than she is this year, and we've played some very good teams.
“;It was one of our poorer serve-receive games this year. That fact that they had five aces and we had none is not acceptable. I don't think we need to be great, just better than we were.”;
”;Kaufman has given us nothing but trouble the past two years.”; Mike Jordan
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The goal for the Wahine is be better—a lot better—than they were in Friday's lackluster sweep of Louisiana Tech. Hawaii had 12 service errors and “;we don't normally serve that poorly,”; UH coach Dave Shoji said after yesterday's practice. “;I'm not sure what was up with that.
“;We definitely need to be sharper with our passing. We need to execute.”;
Two weeks ago, the Wahine kept to their game plan, which included slowing down senior hitter Lindsey Yon (11 kills, .135). They still had trouble with senior middle Amber Simpson (nine kills, .412).
For the Aggies, the one Wahine they'd like to figure out is junior middle Amber Kaufman. She had eight kills with just one error, hitting .438.
“;Kaufman has given us nothing but trouble the past two years,”; Jordan said. “;She hits for big percentages against us and we have to find a way to slow her up.
“;The thing about Hawaii is, they have no 'ghost.' That's our term for a player you don't have to pay attention to. They don't have one of those.”;
Hawaii didn't have much enthusiasm Friday in extending its win streak to 12. That won't be the problem today, according to senior hitter Jamie Houston.
“;It was hard to get excited,”; Houston admitted. “;New Mexico State is a good team and we'll be ready.
“;As long as we follow the game plan, serve and pass well, we'll be fine. Plus, we're home and I love playing at home because our fans are so great. They need to be here and be here at 5.”;
Note
Freshman Kanani Herring's playing status remains a game-time decision. She played less than half of Friday's match on a sore ankle, seeing limited playing in the front row.
“;But they beat us without her (in the front row),”; Jordan said.
Herring had five digs and four assists against the Aggies while playing only in the back row. Stephanie Ferrell has replaced Herring in the front row the past four matches, including Friday, when Ferrell had eight kills and hit .778 after coming in early in Set 2.
