Aggies arrive
POSTED: Monday, October 13, 2008
Excuses?
None.
Simply put, New Mexico State played well. Very well.
And No. 6 Hawaii simply didn't play well at all.
Last night, the unranked Aggies did to the Rainbow Wahine what the Rainbow Wahine had done to the Aggies two weeks ago in Las Cruces, N.M. Pull off a sweep of the host team.
That Hawaii did so in the Pan American Center on Sept. 27 wasn't a complete surprise.
That New Mexico State did it in the Stan Sheriff Center — 25-22, 26-24, 25-21 in 99 minutes — was a stunner. NMSU becomes just the second Western Athletic Conference team to win in Honolulu in 13 seasons of league play, and the second in two years (Utah State also won 3-0 last year).
What does it all mean?
It's a huge win for New Mexico State (11-7, 6-1), the first victory over a top-10 team in the program's history.
For Hawaii (13-3, 6-1), it means more than the end of a 12-match winning streak. It means a drop in the national poll as well as having practice today instead of taking a scheduled day off.
“;For me personally, it's one of the worst losses we've had,”; Wahine senior hitter Jamie Houston said. “;We didn't go out and play like we can. They played their game on their side and we didn't do it on ours.
“;They kept the ball in play, we didn't. We started playing selfish and we all got timid.”;
Houston finished with 11 kills, but got little support. Hawaii, hitting .298 coming into the match, finished at .023. It is the lowest hitting percentage in the rally-scoring era that began in 2001.
Some of it was the Wahine's doing, with erratic passing and setting. A lot of it was the Aggies, who got 11 kills from Amber Simpson and 10 from Lindsey Yon.
The biggest difference between Hawaii's win two weeks ago and last night was in blocking. NMSU won that battle 12-7.5, including 5-0 in Set 3.
A turnstile crowd of 4,976 (6,619 tickets) saw the Aggies also finish with a huge edge in digs (56-42). Senior libero Krystal Torres anchored the defense with 18.
“;I don't think they were expecting us to play as well as we did,”; said the Hawaii-born Torres, playing in front of a number of relatives. “;They're a great team. It was a great crowd.
“;I don't think there was a turning point. We kept our composure and didn't let it get into our head. We came together as a team.”;
If there was a turning point, it came in Set 2. Hawaii took huge leads (9-2 and 16-11) and served for the set three times, the last at 24-23.
Houston was blocked for the second straight time, tying it at 24-24. Simpson served NMSU's only ace, but it was a big one that gave the Aggies set point. UH's Aneli Cubi-Otineru hit long, leaving the Wahine down 0-2 heading into the locker room.
It didn't get much better in Set 3, with NMSU breaking away from a 10-10 tie to take command at 16-11. It was quickly 21-13 and, although Hawaii managed to close to 24-21 when holding off three match points, it was too little, too late.
“;It's very big for us, to beat a great team like Hawaii, something we've talked about doing ever since we got into the league,”; Aggies coach Mike Jordan said. “;For us to finally get it done, I'm really proud of my team.
“;It's great for our conference. We need to have other teams besides Hawaii to play well and get big wins. This is a real big deal for us.”;
Hawaii coach Dave Shoji searched to find positives, looking at the statistics and saying, “;Ooh, that's ugly.”;
“;Nationally, it sets us back a notch or two, but we still have enough quality wins to be in the top 10,”; he said. “;No one is taking this lightly. We're all upset, about the way we played and the way we coached. It was inadequate.
“;This will serve as some kind of incentive. I hate saying that something is a good loss, but we've got to turn this into a good loss.”;
New Mexico State def. Hawaii
25-22, 26-24, 25-21
aggies (11-7, 6-1 WAC)
| g | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts | |
| Birmingham | 3 | 5 | 0 | 7 | .714 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8.0 |
| Gintant | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -.250 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.0 |
| Woods | 3 | 5 | 3 | 9 | .222 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8.0 |
| Yon | 3 | 10 | 7 | 33 | .091 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 8.5 |
| Altermatt | 3 | 9 | 8 | 36 | .028 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 7.5 |
| Simpson | 3 | 11 | 4 | 19 | .368 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 14.5 |
| Torres | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 18 | 0 | 0 | -1.0 |
| Rodgers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Devries | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.0 |
| Goodan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | .300 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4.5 |
| Totals | 3 | 43 | 23 | 118 | .169 | 56 | 3 | 18 | 48.0 |
Rainbow Wahine (13-3, 6-1 WAC)
| g | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts | |
| Kaufman | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | .091 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 6.0 |
| Herring | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -.167 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 |
| Houston | 3 | 11 | 7 | 41 | .098 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 13.0 |
| Thomas | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.5 |
| Mafua | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1.000 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Cubi-Otineru | 3 | 5 | 8 | 29 | -1.03 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 7.0 |
| Ferrell | 3 | 7 | 3 | 27 | .148 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 |
| Hittle | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.000 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keefe | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Kaaihue | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1.0 |
| Brandt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1.0 |
| Totals | 3 | 30 | 27 | 128 | .023 | 41 | 0 | 15 | 36.5 |
Key — g: games; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills + blocks + aces - service errors)
Aces —NMSU (1): Simpson. Hawaii (4): Cubi-Otineru 3, Kaufman. Assists — NMSU (39): Gintant 22, Devries 11, Rodgers 3, Torres 2, Woods. Hawaii (28): Mafua 26, Hittle, Brandt. T —1:39. Officials — Kent Kitade, Dickson Chun. A — 4,976.
WAC standings
| W | L | Pct. | GB | All | ||
| Hawaii | 6 | 1 | .857 | — | 13-3 | |
| New Mexico St. | 6 | 1 | .857 | — | 11-7 | |
| Idaho | 5 | 2 | .714 | 1 | 12-6 | |
| Utah State | 3 | 3 | .500 | 2 1/2 | 5-12 | |
| San Jose St. | 4 | 5 | .444 | 3 | 8-11 | |
| Nevada | 3 | 4 | .429 | 3 | 8-9 | |
| Fresno St. | 2 | 5 | .286 | 4 | 5-11 | |
| Boise St. | 2 | 5 | .286 | 4 | 5-12 | |
| Louisiana Tech | 0 | 6 | .000 | 5 1/2 | 2-12 |
Yesterday
New Mexico State def. Hawaii 25-22, 26-24, 25-21
Tomorrow
Louisiana Tech at Centenary
