Hawaii rebounds at Utah State
POSTED: Friday, October 17, 2008
Frustrated by one team of Aggies on Sunday, Hawaii took out its frustrations on a second team of Aggies last night.
The ninth-ranked Rainbow Wahine volleyball team got back in the win column with a 25-18, 25-18, 25-18 victory over Utah State in front of a season-high crowd of 756 at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah.
Hawaii (14-3, 7-1 Western Athletic) kept pace with New Mexico State (12-7, 7-1) for the lead in the conference standings; NMSU followed up its upset of Hawaii in Honolulu on Sunday by routing Idaho (12-7, 5-3) in Las Cruces, N.M., last night 25-17, 25-21, 25-12.
NMSU holds the tiebreaker over Hawaii, based on how the Aggies have fared against Idaho, the current third-place team. NMSU has swept the Vandals twice, while the Wahine beat the Vandals 3-1 last month in Honolulu; UH plays at Idaho on Nov. 8.
“;But we're not even thinking about the tiebreaker,”; Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said by phone. “;We're more concerned about us.
“;We're just taking each opponent one at a time and the only thing we're thinking ahead to is Nevada.”;
The Wahine are 29-1 against the Wolf Pack, winning the last 29. Nevada turned back Fresno State 23-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-11 last night, with sophomore hitter Kylie Harrington (St. Francis '07) putting down 10 kills with 10 digs, and freshman reserve setter Tatiana Santiago (Kamehameha '08) adding six digs and two aces.
Santiago's high school teammate Kanani Herring was even more effective for the Wahine last night. The freshman outside hitter, hampered by a sprained ankle the past three weeks, put down 12 kills, with an ace and three block assists.
Tying Herring for team-high honors was senior hitter Jamie Houston, who added a team-high eight digs and three block assists. Hawaii outblocked Utah State 11-3, with junior Catherine Fowler in on four despite playing just Set 3.
“;It was nice to have Kanani back,”; Shoji said. “;She played her way out of the soreness and had a complete game.
“;Obviously her absence has thrown us off. We're not as balanced with her out.”;
Herring had played sparingly in the front row the past two matches and only in the back row the three road matches prior to last week.
Senior hitter Melissa Osterloh led Utah State with 12 kills. The Aggies hit .079 to the Wahine's .337.
Hawaii also won the ace category 5-2, with sophomore setter Dani Mafua serving two, including the match-ender.
The teams played evenly through the early going of each set. In Set 1, a solo block by Mafua on setter Chelsea Fowles gave Hawaii the lead for good at 15-14.
At 10-10 in Set 2, the Wahine used a 5-1 run to pull away. The Aggies' only lead of Set 3 came at 1-0. Utah State got as close as 19-16, only to have Hawaii close it out with a 6-2 string, highlighted by Mafua's second ace that ended it after 84 minutes.
“;I thought we played with a little more purpose tonight,”; Shoji said. “;It was good to get back on track. Now we need to get another one.”;
Hawaii def. Utah State
25-18, 25-18, 25-18
| Rainbow Wahine (14-3, 7-1 WAC) |
||||||||||
| g | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
||
| Kaufman | 3 | 4 | 4 | 14 | .000 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8.0 |
|
| Herring | 3 | 12 | 3 | 23 | .391 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14.5 |
|
| Houston | 3 | 12 | 3 | 23 | .391 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 12.5 |
|
| Thomas | 2 | 3 | 11 | 6 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.0 |
|
| Mafua | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | .667 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5.0 |
|
| Cubi-Otineru | 3 | 5 | 1 | 11 | .364 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 5.0 |
|
| Ferrell | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.5 |
|
| Hittle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.0 |
|
| Keefe | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
|
| Ka'aihue | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
|
| Brandt | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
|
| Fowler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2.0 | |
| Totals | 3 | 41 | 12 | 86 | .337 | 33 | 1 | 20 | 54.0
|
|
| Aggies (6-13, 4-4 WAC) |
||||||||||
| g | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
||
| Fowles | 3 | 5 | 2 | 7 | .429 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3.5 |
|
| Osterloh | 3 | 12 | 5 | 29 | .241 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12.5 |
|
| Astle | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.5 |
|
| Anderson | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.0 |
|
| Hymas | 3 | 7 | 9 | 28 | -.071 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 |
|
| Kortsen | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.5 |
|
| Morrill | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 13 | 0 | 0 | -1.0 |
|
| Wilson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 |
|
| McArthur | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | -.375 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 |
|
| Hillier | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 |
|
| Totals | 3 | 34 | 26 | 101 | .079 | 29 | 0 | 6 | 37.0 |
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—Hawaii (5): Mafua 2, Kaufman, Herring, Cubi-Otineru. USU (2): Wilson, Hillier. Assists—Hawaii (39): Mafua 37, Houston, Cubi-Otineru. USU (29): Fowles 21, Morrill 3, Hillier 2, Osterloh, Astle, Hymes. T—1:24. Officials—Glenn Sapp, Tom Given. A—756.
WAC Standings
| W | L | Pct. | GB | All |
||
| Hawaii | 7 | 1 | .875 | — | 14-3 |
|
| New Mexico St. | 7 | 1 | .875 | — | 12-7 |
|
| Idaho | 5 | 3 | .625 | 2 | 12-7 |
|
| Nevada | 4 | 4 | .500 | 3 | 9-9 |
|
| Utah State | 4 | 4 | .500 | 3 | 6-13 |
|
| San Jose St. | 4 | 5 | .444 | 3 1/2 | 8-11 |
|
| Boise St. | 3 | 5 | .375 | 4 | 6-12 |
|
| Fresno St. | 2 | 6 | .250 | 5 | 5-12 |
|
| Louisiana Tech | 0 | 7 | .000 | 7 1/2 | 3-13 |
Yesterday
Hawaii def. Utah State 25-18, 25-18, 25-18
Boise State def. Louisiana Tech 25-22, 25-28, 20-25, 25-17
Nevada def. Fresno State 23-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-11
New Mexico State def. Idaho 25-17, 25-21, 25-12
Tomorrow
Hawaii at Nevada, 4 p.m. Hawaii time
Boise State at New Mexico State
Utah State at Fresno State
Idaho at Louisiana Tech
Cal State Bakersfield at San Jose State
