StarBulletin.com

Rainbow Wahine survive Cal Poly


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POSTED: Thursday, November 27, 2008

Once is not enough, not for three of Hawaii's seniors. The trio of Jamie Houston, Nickie Thomas and Tara Hittle decided to make senior night a two-day celebration, turning in performances crucial to No. 6 Hawaii's nail-biting outing at the Stan Sheriff Center last night.

A turnstile crowd of 3,571 watched as the Rainbow Wahine kept their record in five-set matches perfect this season with a 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-13 victory in 2 hours and 26 minutes.

Houston had a match-high 19 kills, Thomas was in on a career-high 11 blocks and Hittle added a team-high 14 digs in Hawaii's 14th straight victory. It was the third consecutive meeting between the two that had gone five.

Hawaii (27-3) and Cal Poly (16-12) finish out the regular season tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Rainbow Wahine freshman Kanani Danielson finished with 16 kills, including the final two that capped the victory.

“;I have no idea how we won that match,”; Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. “;We made all the plays down the stretch in the games we won, and we didn't make the plays down the stretch in the games we lost.

“;The only thing I liked about tonight was the scoreboard. It was nice to win a close match against a good team when you're not playing your best. It was good to see our team gut it out.”;

Kylie Atherstone and Jaclyn Houston had 15 kills each to lead Cal Poly and Dominique Olowolafe added 13. The Mustangs also had 11 aces, five by Atherstone.

“;We were able to squeak a few points past them at the end,”; said Thomas, who added nine kills. “;We got more fired up as the match went on.

“;They're a good team, the type of team we'll see in the NCAAs. We needed to get a win like this.”;

“;It would have been a junk Thanksgiving if we had lost this one,”; said sophomore defensive specialist Elizabeth Ka'aihue, coming up with key digs in the final set. “;We weren't really clicking out there, but we picked each other up. The crowd was very helpful tonight.”;

The fans got their money's worth. Set 5 saw two lead changes and five ties, the last at 13-13 when Danielson was blocked. The freshman came back with two consecutive kills, the last off an assist by Ka'aihue, to end it.

Hawaii is 3-0 in five-set matches. Cal Poly dropped to 2-4.

The Wahine found a way to win Set 1 despite trailing until late. Three consecutive errors by Cal Poly—a service foot fault, an overreach and a hitting error—gave Hawaii its first lead at 21-20.

It was tied three times before Jamie Houston put down her third kill and Thomas her fourth to end it.

Set 2 was a near replay, with the Mustangs pulling away at 17-13 on three straight aces by Atherstone, Cal Poly's first four-time first-team All-Big West selection. Again, Hawaii rallied, edging ahead at 23-22, only to have the Mustangs even the match on a kill by Olowolafe and two hitting errors by Jamie Houston.

It was Aneli Cubi-Otineru's serving run that proved the difference at the end of Set 3. The junior helped turn an 18-17 deficit into a 22-18 advantage. Hawaii needed two swings at set point, with Jamie Houston ending it with her 13th kill.

Set 4 got away from Hawaii early, as the Wahine dug themselves into a 4-0 hole that included Cal Poly's 10th ace. With Dani Mafua replacing Brandt at setter, the Wahine were able to close to 19-17 and 21-19 but got no closer.


Hawaii def. Cal Poly

25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-13
Mustangs (16-12)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

skeattpctdbsbapts
Olowolafe513327.37000817
Waller57735.0017028
Atherstone515845.15660321.5
Law5000.0009000
Houston515527.37000316.5
Fithian5001.000712-1.0
Mort5000.000500-1.0
Smith53412-.0833113.5
Bertoni32313-.0771024
Rivera4036-.5001013.5
Totals55533166.1334922279

Rainbow Wahine (27-3)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

     

 

 


skeattpctdbsbapts
Kaufman59217.4125019.5
Danielson516740.22580317.5
Houston5191350.12031521.5
Thomas59218.389101114.5
Brandt5022-1.0008022
Cuni-Otineru57622.04512037.5
Ferrell2203.6670002
Hittle5000.00014001
Keefe2000.0000000
Kaaihue5000.00011000
Mafua2001.0001000
Lee1000.000000-1.0
Totals56232153.1966312574.5

 

       

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—Cal Poly (11): Atherstone 5, Rivera 3, Waller, Smith, Bertoni. Hawaii (4): Houston, Brandt, Cubi-Otineru, Hittle. Assists—Cal Poly (49): Fithian 47, Atherstone 2. Hawaii (59): Brandt 41, Mafua 11, Thomas 3, Danielson 2, Houston, Ka'aihue.

T—2:26. Officials—Dickson Chun, Denice Hanson. A—3,571.