Pressure is on Rainbow Wahine at home
POSTED: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
One point at a time, one set at a time, one match at a time.
The pressure is on No. 6 Hawaii this week as the Rainbow Wahine host the Western Athletic Conference tournament for the first time.
There is pressure to continue their dominance and win their ninth consecutive WAC tournament title.
There is pressure not to look past tomorrow's quarterfinal with Boise State by thinking about a possible rubber match with New Mexico State for the championship Sunday.
And, of course, there is the pressure to perform well in front of the home fans. For the first time in 11 WAC tournaments, the Wahine faithful don't have to travel to watch the team play.
The WAC attendance record should fall by the end of Friday's semifinals. The mark is 13,554, set in 1998 in Las Vegas; heading into the Boise State match, Hawaii is averaging a national-best 6,452.
“;I'm looking forward to playing at home. I think we play better here,”; Wahine senior Jamie Houston said. “;We don't care who we play. Whoever it is, we want to show them who we really are.”;
Houston is in position to extend a couple of streaks—personal and team—in this event. Since 1998, when the Wahine claimed the first of eight straight tournament titles, a Hawaii player has also been named the MVP, with Houston winning the last two.
“;I don't care about all that,”; Houston said of her awards, including the preseason player of the year. “;I just want to go out, play well and have us win.
“;I don't think we'll be looking ahead. We know we have to play every point.”;
Hawaii probably will have to do it—at least tomorrow—without sophomore setter Dani Mafua (right hamstring), who sat out practice for the second day in a row yesterday. Junior Stephanie Brandt, an All-WAC tournament selection last year, is expected to start.
“;We are a different team than last year with a faster offense,”; associate coach Mike Sealy said. “;We have the fourth-highest hitting percentage in the country, based on the fact that we're running a quicker system.
“;It's more challenging to put in a new setter in that system. She has to adjust to the offense, not the other way around. Brandt's doing a good job. She just hasn't had much opportunity to run it in a game.”;
There may be a switch in setter, but it doesn't change the mind-set this week, according to coach Dave Shoji.
“;We want to win, we want to protect our national ranking,”; he said. “;There's no question that we want to win the WAC and we're not thinking about anything other than that happening.
“;It starts with Boise State. We need to start playing well and put together three good matches.”;
Hawaii swept both meetings with the Broncos this season, including a 70-minute victory in Boise two weeks ago. Houston had a match-high 11 kills; the Broncos had 18 kills total.
As for Mafua, her situation is day-to-day. The current WAC assists leader sat out the past two practices.
WAC Team RECORDS
(Current members only):
| School | Tourn. | W | L | Pct. | Titles |
| Hawaii | 10 | 28 | 2 | .933 | 8 |
| New Mexico State | 3 | 5 | 3 | .625 | 0 |
| Nevada | 7 | 9 | 7 | .533 | 0 |
| San Jose State | 10 | 10 | 10 | .500 | 0 |
| Utah State | 3 | 2 | 3 | .400 | 0 |
| Fresno State | 10 | 6 | 10 | .375 | 0 |
| Boise State | 5 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 0 |
| Idaho | 3 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 0 |
| Louisiana Tech | 6 | 0 | 6 | .000 | 0 |
TEAMS AT A GLANCE
The WAC tournament began in 1996 and was held the first three seasons in Las Vegas. Since then, San Jose State and New Mexico State have hosted once and Nevada five times. Hawaii is hosting for the first time this week. There was no tournament in 1999 and 2000:
No. 1 New Mexico State (21-7)
» On the rise: The Aggies earned a share of the WAC regular-season title for the first time since joining the conference in 2005.
» On a roll: The Aggies have won their last 13 dating to the loss to Hawaii on Sept. 27 in Las Cruces, N.M.
» Sweet sweep: Last week, NMSU swept Utah State and San Jose State.
» Torres on top: Senior libero Krystal Torres is the reigning WAC player of the week, averaging 4.50 digs last week. She leads the conference in digs (4.60).
» Double trouble: Senior hitter Lindsay Yon picked up her 10th double-double of the season (13 kills, 11 digs) on senior night against the Spartans.
No. 2 Hawaii (23-3)
» Rare seed: This is only the second time the Rainbow Wahine have been seeded second, the first since 1998.
» Eight-for-eight: Hawaii has won the last eight WAC tournaments and are 28-2, both losses coming to BYU (1996 and 1997).
» Streaking: Last week, the Wahine swept Fresno State and Utah Valley to extend their winning streak to 10, dating back to the Oct. 12 loss to New Mexico State.
» Top of the charts: Hawaii ranks fourth nationally in assists (13.94 aps), kills (14.88 kps) and hitting (.303), and fifth in won-loss percentage (.885).
» Hardest hits collection: Junior middle Amber Kaufman (.383), senior middle Nickie Thomas (.383), freshman hitter Stephanie Ferrell (.330) and freshman hitter Kanani Danielson (.304) rank 1-2-3-5 in WAC hitting percentage.
No. 3 Idaho (18-9)
» Much improved: The Vandals' 11 conference wins were the most since joining the WAC and the most conference victories since the 1996 team finished 13-3 in the Big West.
» Perfect week: Idaho went 2-0 last week, topping Nevada in four and sweeping Fresno State.
» Deadly threat: Senior hitter Haley Larsen leads the WAC in kills (4.47 kps) and points (499.5), ahead of Hawaii senior Jamie Houston in both categories.
» Block party: Idaho broke the season-old school record for block assists with 520, the most in the NCAA this season. The Vandals had 513 last year.
No. 4 Utah State (11-16)
» Split decisions: The Aggies split their road matches last week, getting swept at New Mexico State and topping Louisiana Tech in four.
» Not hitting mark: Utah State is hitting .176 to .224 for its opponents.
» Losing legacy: The Aggies have lost in the first round of the WAC tournament the past two years after reaching the championship match against Hawaii in 2005.
» Senior leader: Senior hitter Melissa Osterloh ranks fourth in the WAC in kills (3.57 kps).
No. 5 San Jose State (12-16)
» Familiar foe: This is the second consecutive WAC tournament that the Spartans see Utah State in a quarterfinal. San Jose State prevailed in five last year.
» .500 for week: The Spartans went 1-1 on the road last week, outlasting Louisiana Tech in five and getting swept by New Mexico State.
» Big numbers: Sophomore hitter Brianna Amian (Moanalua '07) had her fifth double-double of the year (16 kills, 13 digs) and a career-high 62 attempts against the Lady Techsters last week.
» Milestone close: Junior libero Kristal Tsukano (Kamehameha '06) needs just one dig to become the sixth SJSU player to record 1,000. The 5-foot-3 Tsukano played outside hitter for the final four sets against LaTech, finishing with a career-high 11 kills, hitting .333.
No. 6 Nevada (12-14)
» Off year: The Wolf Pack had their first losing record (7-9) since joining the WAC in 2000. Nevada had never been seeded lower than fourth before this year.
» .500 for week: Nevada split its matches last week, falling to Idaho in four then snapping a four-match losing skid by sweeping Boise State.
» Ready for Vandals: This will be the third time in four seasons—the second consecutive—that the Pack opens the tournament against Idaho. Nevada won both matches (2005, 2007).
» Leader of Pack: Sophomore hitter Kylie Harrington (St. Francis '07) leads the Pack in double-doubles with eight, fifth-most in the WAC.
No. 7 Boise State (9-18)
» Win column: The Broncos have never won more than six WAC matches since joining the conference in 2002. They won five this season.
» .500 for week: Boise State went 1-1 last week, topping Fresno State in four and getting swept by Nevada.
» 1,000 kills: Senior hitter Jeanette Jenkins became the 11th Bronco to reach 1,000 kills when she finished with 16 against Fresno State.
» Hawaii futility: Boise State is 0-18 against Hawaii and will meet the Wahine in the WAC tournament opener for the second year in a row.
No. 8 Fresno State (6-19)
» Winless week: The Bulldogs finished the WAC season with three losses last week, losing to Hawaii and Idaho in three and Boise State in four, to extend their losing streak to four. They have lost 12 of their last 13.
»
Fab freshman: Freshman hitter Baylee Platt had double-doubles against the Broncos (22 kills, career-high 18 digs) and Vandals (11 kills, 11 digs).
» Fresh faces: Freshman hitter Platt (286) and middle Brianna Clark (220) lead Fresno State in kills.
No. 9 Louisiana Tech (4-23)
» Winless in WAC: The Lady Techsters were winless (0-16) in WAC play, the second time in three years they haven't won a conference contest.
» Winless week: LaTech went 0-2 last week, falling in five to San Jose State and in four to Utah State.
» Building blocks: The Lady Techsters have out-blocked their opponents in 13 matches and are sixth in the WAC (2.07 bps).
