Wahine packing 50-match WAC streak
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
Tomorrow is "Break the Record Night" in Reno, but all Nevada really wants is to break through against 12th-ranked University of Hawai'i. What Western Athletic Conference volleyball team doesn't?
The Wahine haven't lost to a WAC team in three years and 50 matches. Hawai'i (18-4) has won its last 15 and is 9-0 in the conference. Nevada is 13-5 and 7-3 going into tonight's match against second-place San Jose State.
Nevada coach Devin Scruggs, who played for Pacific against the Wahine in the late '80's, calls her team's Virginia Street Gym "our version of Klum" — Hawai'i's antiquated, incredibly uncomfortable home. A year ago, a record crowd of 1,052 watched the Wahine win in four on Virginia Street. The Wolf Pack is pushing for a new attendance record tomorrow, and a reversal of Saturday's four-game loss in Honolulu.
Its hopes could rest with all-conference middle blocker Michelle More, who started fast here, then fell into an abyss.
"I feel if we play that same match and Michelle is on, it's a whole different match," Scruggs said. "If we can get Michelle to play the way she did earlier in the year, and dominate like she can, and we can get Kellie LaBossiere to play like she did Saturday, we can be successful."
The Pack hasn't lost at home this season and its gym is a footnote in Hawai'i history. A 1992 Wahine loss there probably kept them out of the NCAA Tournament, which had never happened before or since.
These Wahine are not worried.
"Why should I be concerned?" sophomore Maja Gustin said. "Maybe there's 'positive concern.' Now we know them better and they know us better. I think we have more talent and we are a taller team so that's our advantage. It's an advantage also that we won the first game, so in our mind we always know we can do this. I think we have a lot of advantage, but we have to use it.
"It's good to know they're unbeaten at home. It's exciting, a challenge, and challenge is always welcome."
Coach Dave Shoji is not so sure. He remembers the loss in Reno nearly a decade ago, and knows how loud a crowd can be in a tiny venue. He puts Virginia Street Gym's worth at five points a game.
And, he's liked Nevada's team since the summer. "You've got to like under-sized kids who just compete hard like LaBossiere and (Suzanne) Stonebarger," Shoji says. "They just play hard, dig a lot of balls and go up and swing hard."
Nevada's four starting seniors know this might be their last opportunity for a while to make a national impact. They have tomorrow and the WAC Tournament to prove themselves beyond a reasonable doubt to the NCAA Tournament jury.
QUICK SETS: The Wahine play at Boise State Saturday night. The match will not be broadcast due to UH football coverage. ... UH returns Sunday, and plays No. 21 UC-Santa Barbara Monday. The Gauchos lost to 17th-ranked Pacific Tuesday in five games. ... Eighth-ranked UCLA was swept at 13th-ranked Pepperdine Tuesday. The Bruins are 2-2 since All-American Kristee Porter was declared ineligible Oct. 19. A UCLA release said Porter "inadvertently accepted what would be considered by the NCAA as 'extra benefits.' " Porter cannot compete until the NCAA renders a decision on her eligibility. ... Porter is third nationally in kills, at 5.81 per game, behind Hawai'i's Kim Willoughby (6.82) and Heather Wollyung (5.92), a junior at Quinnipiac (Conn.). ... In the NCAA team statistics, Hawai'i is fourth in assists (15.89), eighth in kills (17.08) and 10th in hitting percentage (.306). ... The latest NCAA regional polls came out yesterday. Hawai'i is third in the West, behind unbeaten Long Beach State and Colorado State. The NCAA Tournament brackets are based on the final regional polls.
