Wahine advance
POSTED: Saturday, December 13, 2008
FORT COLLINS, Colo. » Big Ten. Big block. Big problem.
It's been the case for the Hawaii volleyball team in past NCAA regionals.
Think Michigan State in 1995. Think Wisconsin in 2004.
Think again.
The Rainbow Wahine notched a big win last night, riding a huge performance from freshman Kanani Danielson. The outside hitter had 21 kills — one off her season high — and Hawaii turned back the Boilermakers 18-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-20 in the first regional semifinal at Moby Arena.
The seventh-seeded Wahine (31-3) put their 18-match winning streak up against second-seeded Stanford with a berth in next week's final four at stake. The Cardinal (29-3) won its 14th straight, sweeping Florida 25-14, 25-21, 25-21 in the second semifinal to advance to today's final (4 p.m. Hawaii time).
Hawaii will have to deal with reigning national player of the year Foluke Akinradewo. The 6-foot-3 senior middle was untouchable last night, putting down 13 kills with no errors in 19 attempts (.684) and was in on five of the team's seven blocks.
“;I'm not sure if we have anyone who can match up with Foluke,”; Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. “;But if we can serve tough, get them to keep the ball away from her ...
“;Florida had chances to win games 2 and 3. We know it can be done but we'll have to serve our best match of the year, get out of the gate fast. I'm not worried about a slow start tomorrow.”;
Shoji had plenty to worry about last night with his team out of sync for most of the match. The momentum started to swing midway in Set 2 behind Tara Hittle's 5-0 serving run that gave Hawaii an 18-17 lead.
The Wahine got a break on a couple of controversial calls going ahead 24-20. Hawaii needed three swings to end it, with Jamie Houston putting down her eighth kill to tie the match at 1-1.
The controversial calls continued in Set 3 — “;I don't want to talk about it,”; Purdue coach Dave Shondell said afterwards — and most favored Hawaii. The Wahine trailed 17-11, only to outscore the Boilermakers 14-6 down the stretch.
One of Hawaii's emotional lifts came when defensive specialist Jayme Lee shot a ball over that Purdue could not return that pulled the Wahine to 19-17.
“;We loved it,”; said UH middle Amber Kaufman, who finished with 11 kills, seven in the final two sets. “;I grabbed her and said, 'You are so brave!'
“;We kept telling each other to have fun out there and we did.”;
Purdue saw its 22-20 lead disappear when not getting two critical touch calls, the last that put Hawaii up 23-22. The Boilermakers tied it at 23 only to have senior Stephanie Lynch's tip shot hit the top of the net and fall back in front of her, giving the Wahine set point at 24-23.
A great dig by Hittle — one of her match-high 12 — set up Houston's 11th kill. It also set the table for an impressive display by Danielson in Set 4, where she put down eight kills with one error in 12 swings.
“;Kanani continues to amaze me with her play,”; Shoji said. “;I though in the past few matches we'd see a sign of inexperience but she continues to play like a veteran. I can't see any freshman in the country who's any better.”;
Shondell last saw Danielson at last July's Junior Olympics. He was impressed then, more so now.
“;She's just lightning quick,”; he said. “;She hits the ball crafty, well beyond her years. She's more powerful than last summer and plays with great confidence.”;
The Wahine will need to play with confidence to have a chance against Stanford's All-American lineup of Akinradewo, Cynthia Barboza and Alix Klineman.
“;We don't know enough about them right now but we'll get to know them a little bit more,”; Stanford coach John Dunning said of scouting Hawaii. “;Dave's teams are always really skilled.”;
The same can be said for the Cardinal, with seven players who have been in the NCAA championship matches that past two years. Sophomore setter Cassidy Lichtman had Stanford hitting .337 in its 14th consecutive win.
Florida ended the year 27-4.
Purdue, getting 14 kills from Kristen Arthurs and 13 from Lynch, are done at 26-9.
Hawaii def. Purdue
18-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-20
BOILERMAKERS (26-8)
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts | |
| Pierce | 4 | 2 | 6 | 18 | -.222 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Hart | 4 | 3 | 1 | 7 | .286 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Ullrich | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arthurs | 4 | 14 | 2 | 24 | .500 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 16.5 |
| Lynch | 4 | 13 | 4 | 25 | .360 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 16.5 |
| Merlau | 4 | 8 | 3 | 30 | .167 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| Ehlers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Miller | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 11 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Gurnell | 4 | 7 | 6 | 24 | .042 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Fisher | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 4 | 47 | 22 | 129 | .194 | 44 | 5 | 16 | 60 |
RAINBOW WAHINE (30-3)
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts | |
| Kaufman | 4 | 11 | 5 | 19 | .316 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 13 |
| Danielson | 4 | 21 | 5 | 40 | .400 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 22.5 |
| Houston | 4 | 15 | 9 | 39 | .154 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 15.5 |
| Thomas | 4 | 4 | 2 | 13 | .154 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Mafua | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | .667 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Cubi-Otineru | 4 | 8 | 6 | 23 | .087 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Ferrell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hittle | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Keefe | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kaaihue | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandt | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Lee | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 4 | 62 | 28 | 143 | .238 | 45 | 3 | 12 | 64 |
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 — Purdue (3): Pierce 2, Ullrich. Hawaii (3): Houston, Hittle, Lee. Assists — Purdue (40): Hart 34, Ehlers 3, Miller 2, Gurnell. Hawaii (57): Mafua 51, Kaufman 2, Danielson, Cubi-Otineru, Hittle, Keefe.
T —n/a. Officials — Marty Prochko, Ken Taylor. A —2,573.
