Shiroma a big man on NAIA volleyball scene

When Lindenwood (Mo.) senior Devin Shiroma (Damien '05) heads to the NAIA National Invitational Tournament next week, he'll take some pretty big accolades with him.

Shiroma was named the Mid-America Men's Volleyball Intercollegiate Conference West player of the year after finishing with a league high 528 kills (4.5 per game). He played in 34 of the team's 36 matches and finished third in the NAIA in kills and ninth in service aces per game. He also was 13th in the nation in digs per game (2.1), totaling 258 for the season.

The second-ranked Lions (33-3) defeated No. 9 Graceland 30-20, 26-30, 30-21, 30-26 Saturday to win the MAMVIC West Conference tournament. Shiroma led the team with 19 kills and nearly had a double-double with nine digs.

The NAIA tournament gets under way Thursday in Parkville, Mo. The second-seeded Lions open with fifth-seeded Park (Mo.) University and fourth-seeded Hope International (Calif.) in pool play. The championship is Sunday, April 18 at 1 p.m.

» Stanford freshman Erik Shoji (Punahou '08) was No. 2 on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 on Tuesday. Shoji dove on the ground for a dig and the ball popped into the air. With no other alternative, Shoji kicked the ball high into the air and it wound up being a perfect set to freshman Brad Lawson ('Iolani '08), who put down the kill. Shoji currently leads the nation in digs (377) and is three away from setting Stanford's single-season record.

» BYU freshman middle blocker Futi Tavana (Kauai '05) had nine kills and four block assists as the Cougars upset then-No. 1 UC Irvine 30-24, 20-30, 30-18, 30-28 last Thursday. The Anteaters earned a split the next night as Tavana was held to five kills in 15 attempts as UC Irvine won in four games.

» Southern California sophomore Riley McKibbin (Punahou '07) had 61 assists and seven digs and Tri Bourne (Academy of the Pacific '07) had eight kills and 10 digs, but the Trojans lost to Cal State Northridge in four sets last Friday. Junior Kaleo Baxter (Kauai '05) saw action in one set for the Matadors.

» Pacific (Calif.) setter Kevin Downing (Kauai '05) had 48 assists in a five-set loss to Long Beach State last Saturday. Scott Kane (Kamehameha '06) and Nicolaas Schenk (Hawaii Prep '07) also saw action for the Tigers, who remained winless in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.

Baseball

» Willamette senior Kelsey Nakata (Mililani '05) scattered four hits over five shutout innings to win his first game of the season as the Bearcats defeated Whitman (Wash.) 14-2. Junior Scott Martin (Punahou '06) pitched a scoreless ninth inning and freshman Tim Schilf ('Iolani '08) scored a run for Willamette.

» Claremont-Mudd-Scripps junior Steve Dannaway (Punahou '06) went 4-for-7 with a double and two runs scored, but the Stags were swept in a doubleheader by Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday. Junior Travis Nishioka ('Iolani '06) homered and scored three runs and senior Andrew Blomberg (Moanalua '05) doubled and scored twice in the twinbill.

» Brigham Young senior first baseman Kasey Ko (Punahou '05) went 5-for-11 with a double and five RBIs as the Cougars swept Western Carolina over the weekend.

Women's Golf

» Santa Clara sophomore Miki Ueoka (Kauai '07) was named the West Coast Conference's player of the month for the second straight month on Monday. Ueoka earned her third individual title with a win at the Sacramento State Invitational on March 24. She also won the Fresno State Lexus Golf Classic and came in second at the UC Riverside Lady Braveheart.

Women's Tennis

» Azusa Pacific (Calif.) junior Jessalyn Lau (Hawaii Baptist '06) teamed with Emily Ignas to win the deciding point in the No. 3 doubles position to lead the fifth-ranked Cougars to a 5-4 win over No. 12 Vanguard (Calif.). Lau also won her No. 5 singles match and is 5-1 in singles and 9-0 in doubles this year.

Women's Water Polo

» Hours after earning a No. 1 ranking in Division III, Occidental (Calif.) defeated Whittier (Calif.) 11-2 behind two goals from sophomore Karie Nickle (Kamehameha '07) on Wednesday. Nickle scored the eventual game-winning goal and finished with three steals in an 8-6 victory over Redlands (Calif.) last Saturday.