No. 4 HPU wins volleyball opener
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
In steamy St. Andrew's Priory gym, the Hawai'i Pacific women's volleyball team had to sweat out an opening night victory last night.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
The Sea Warriors, last year's NCAA Division II national champions, struggled to defeat St. Martin's (Wash.), 29-31, 30-27, 31-29, 30-23. It was HPU's 29th consecutive victory — a streak started last season when the Sea Warriors went 28-0 to become the first undefeated team in NCAA-II history.
Hawai'i Pacific's Andrea Wean powers a spike through the St. Martin's block last night. The fourth-ranked Sea Warriors won their season opener in four games at St. Andrew's Priory gym.
"We expected to struggle," said HPU head coach Tita Ahuna. "Even before this match started, the coaches got together and said if the game is ugly and we win, that's OK. This is not the same kind of team as last year. We're going to have to come out and play our best every night if we want to keep winning this year."
The Sea Warriors have just two starters — All-America setter Nia Tuitele and outside hitter Roberta Robert — back from last year's team. If last night was an indication, Tuitele and Robert will have to play major roles this season.
Tuitele, a 5-foot-9 senior out of McKinley High, responded with 53 assists and nine kills with zero errors. Robert slammed 23 of those assists for kills, and finished with a .365 hitting percentage.
"If that's what is needed, I'll do it," said Robert, a 6-foot senior. "What ever is needed to help the team win, I'll do."
Andrea Wean added 17 kills, Summer Castillo 14 and Teisa Fotu 10 as the Sea Warriors hit .290 as a team. Still, it was almost not enough against a scrappy St. Martin's squad coached by Kamehameha graduate Clyde Reis.
"My gosh, we went blow for blow with the national championship team," Reis said. "We came to win, not just compete, but this was most definitely a good stepping stone for us."
The Saints frustrated HPU with a tenacious defense that finished with 72 digs (to HPU's 64) and eight blocks (to HPU's seven).
"We're still adapting to a lot of new things," Robert said. "But (St. Martin's) made it even harder. They played good defense and made us be patient."
After taking the first game, the Saints held a 16-14 lead midway through the second game. However, five crucial serving errors by the Saints allowed HPU to seize momentum for the rest of the match.
Last year, under the old side-out scoring system, HPU beat St. Martin's, 15-1, 15-3, 15-3.
"We don't have the firepower we had last year," Ahuna said, referring to the loss of four All-America starters. "But we still have some firepower. We just have to know how to use it and be consistent with it."
It showed in the third and fourth games. In the third, HPU jumped to an 8-1 lead and then held off a late St. Martin's rally. In the fourth game, the Sea Warriors took an 11-6 advantage and never allowed the Saints to get closer than that.
Robert had eight kills in the third game, and six in the fourth. Tuitele recorded 32 assists in the final two games.
"I have as much confidence in this year's team as last year's," Robert said. "It's just going to take some time."
Indeed, Castillo and Wean were reserves on last year's team but are now starters. Fotu, a sophomore, is also starting in her first year at HPU.
"We made a lot of bozo, rookie mistakes," Ahuna said. "But those are errors we can fix. In a way, it was good to be tested like this because we have an idea of where we're at and what we have to do to improve."
Alicia Denny led St. Martin's with 16 kills, while Missy Evans added 13 and hit for a .355 percentage. Katie Zukowski had 52 assists and led the Saints to a .215 team percentage.
HPU, which is ranked No. 4 in the NCAA-II preseason poll, will next play in the Hawaiian Style Classic this weekend at Hilo. Unranked St. Martin's, which fell to 1-4, will play at Brigham Young-Hawai'i tonight.
• • •
St. Martin's (Wash.) 31 27 29 23
Hawai'i Pacific 29 30 31 30
Kills Leaders: St.M—Alicia Denny 16; Missy Evans 13; Tauni Lisenbey 10. HPU—Roberta Robert 23; Andrea Wean 17; Summer Castillo 14; Teisa Fotu 10. Digs Leaders: St. M—Tauni Lisenbey 23; Alicia Denny 11; Danielle Bollen 11. HPU—Andrea Wean 17; Teisa Fotu 13; Summer Castillo 11. Leading Blockers: St. M—A. Denny, Emily Wofford 1. HPU—T. Fotu 2.
