WAC still belongs to Wahine
POSTED: Monday, November 24, 2008
It was worth the wait. Well worth it.
NEXT UP |
From Hawaii finally getting to host the Western Athletic volleyball tournament for the first time to the sixth-ranked Rainbow Wahine rewarding the record-setting crowd with possibly their best performance of the season.
Led by senior hitter Jamie Houston's MVP outing and a gutsy performance by reserve setter Stephanie Brandt, Hawaii convincingly won the rubber match with New Mexico State yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center. A crowd of 4,855 (5,250 tickets) watched as Houston put down a match-high 22 kills and turned in her fifth double-double with 11 digs in a 25-19, 25-27, 25-18, 25-9 victory over the Aggies.
“;I think it was our best match of the year,”; coach Dave Shoji said after Hawaii won its ninth straight WAC tournament title. “;Our players really did a nice job following the game plan. Our players just bothered the New Mexico State players.
“;It was really beautiful. It's fun when you can see that all your efforts will be rewarded if you play smartly and aggressively. We did that tonight.”;
The Wahine (26-3) extended their winning streak to 13 with aggressive serving (five aces) and smart blocking (11 stuffs). Hawaii frustrated New Mexico State senior middle Amber Simpson, one of the most dominating players in the WAC, into .042 hitting with just seven kills.
“;They did serve tough,”; NMSU senior libero Krystal Torres said. “;And we didn't execute as well as we can.”;
The Wahine outblocked the Aggies 11-10, including 3-0 in the deciding Set 4 of the 2-hour and 7-minute match. Hawaii also went on scoring runs of 5-0 three times and 4-0 once in holding NMSU to nine points, its lowest single-set score of the season.
“;We didn't pass very well,”; NMSU coach Mike Jordan said. “;We handed them a lot of points, pretty much handed them Game 3 and they kicked our tail in Game 4.
“;There was a momentum shift (in Set 3) with the match hanging in the balance. Our attitude was too soft at the end.”;
Hawaii likely felt that it went soft as well in Set 2 after opening with a 6-1 lead. The Wahine backed off on their serves, being more conservative according to Shoji, and the Aggies made the Wahine pay.
NMSU took its first lead 13-12 and served for the set at 24-23. Hawaii scored twice for a shot at taking a 2-0 lead at 25-24, but the Aggies scored three straight to even the match.
The momentum switched back to Hawaii at 14-14 in Set 3. Houston had two kills to give Hawaii the lead for good at 17-15 and the Wahine closed it out with an 8-3 run, setting up the Set 4 blowout.
Senior hitter Lindsey Yon led NMSU with 12 kills and 14 digs in joining her teammates Torres and Simpson on the all-tournament team. Also making the team were Hawaii's Brandt—setting in place of injured starter Dani Mafua—and Aneli Cubi-Otineru (12 kills, 10 digs); Idaho's Haley Larsen and Colleen Burke of San Jose State.
Hawaii takes today off before returning tomorrow to prepare for Cal Poly (16-11) on Wednesday and Friday.
“;It's a fast turnaround,”; Shoji said. “;We're kind of high right now but will need to come right back and practice hard.”;
Hawaii def. New Mexico State
25-19, 25-27, 25-18, 25-9
Aggies (23-8)
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
||
| Birmingham | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13 | .154 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5.5 |
|
| Gintant | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .500 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Woods | 4 | 5 | 6 | 14 | -.071 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6.5 | |
| Yon | 4 | 12 | 9 | 43 | .070 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 12.5 | |
| Altermatt | 4 | 7 | 6 | 29 | .034 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
|
| Simpson | 4 | 7 | 6 | 24 | .042 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8.5 |
|
| Torres | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 12 | 0 | 0 | -3 | |
| Rodgers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
| Phillips | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
| Brennan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
| Brown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
| Devries | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.000 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -2 | |
| Goodan | 4 | 4 | 2 | 16 | .125 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| Totals | 4 | 40 | 31 | 144 | .062 | 46 | 0 | 20 | 40 |
Rainbow Wahine (26-3)
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
||
| Kaufman | 4 | 7 | 4 | 18 | .167 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | |
| Danielson | 4 | 9 | 6 | 26 | .115 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 10.5 | |
| Houston | 4 | 22 | 8 | 41 | .341 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 23 | |
| Thomas | 4 | 4 | 1 | 16 | .188 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| Brandt | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1.5 |
|
| Cubi-Otineru | 4 | 12 | 4 | 24 | .333 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 13 |
|
| Ferrell | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -.333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hittle | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
| Keefe | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
| Ka'aihue | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mafua | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
| Totals | 4 | 54 | 24 | 131 | .229 | 58 | 3 | 16 | 63 |
Key—s: sets played; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills + blocks + aces)
Aces—Hawaii (5): Brandt 2, Hittle, Houston, Kaufman. Assists—N.M. State (37): Gintant 20, Devries 13, Torres 3, Yon. Hawaii (48): Brandt 45, Danielson 3 .
T—2:07. Officials—Eric Asami, Margie Ray. A—4,855.
