Hawai'i Pacific's magic number is 1 (win)
By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
With one week left in the Pacific West Conference regular season, Hawai'i's four NCAA Division II volleyball programs are keeping close tabs on some important numbers.
1 — The number of matches defending national champion Hawai'i Pacific needs to win to clinch the conference championship and automatic berth to the six-team NCAA II Pacific Regionals. The Lady Sea Warriors have two matches left: Montana State-Billings Saturday and Western New Mexico Monday.
2 — Games by which Brigham Young-Hawai'i trails HPU. For BYUH to win the conference title, HPU must lose both remaining matches and BYUH must beat Western New Mexico tomorrow and Montana State-Billings Tuesday.
4 — Matches lost by HPU in its last six outings, including a non-conference loss to Division I Hawai'i Tuesday.
0 — Matches lost by the Lady Sea Warriors during last season's championship run.
13 — HPU's ranking in the latest AVCA Division II Top 25 Poll.
44 — Consecutive AVCA polls (dating back to Sept. 22, 1998) in which HPU had been ranked in the top 10 prior to this week.
6 — Consecutive matches Western New Mexico has won heading into its Hawai'i visit this weekend.
4 — Double-doubles (kills and digs) that Western New Mexico freshman and former St. Francis standout Kimberly Tano recorded last week en route to PacWest Player of the Week honors. The Kane'ohe native is averaging 2.93 kills per game.
500 — Career wins for UH-Hilo coach Sharon Peterson following the Vulcans' dramatic five-game win over Chaminade Sunday. Peterson, a five-time national coach of the year, is the first Hawai'i Division II coach to reach the mark. The Vulcans have rebounded from a rocky start to win six of their last eight matches with five matches remaining.
More Volleyball
• Aloha means tailgate: Hawai'i-Hilo's home match against Montana State-Billings (7:15 p.m at UH Hilo Gymnasium) will kick off with a tailgate party hosted by the UH Hilo Student Association and the Vulcan athletic department.
The party starts at 5 p.m. and includes a no-host mock cocktail bar and food. Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students and $3 for children age 12 and under. The cost includes a ticket for the match. Fans with a Vulcan season pass will receive a free drink.
The Vulcans are also having an Aloha Friday promotion for the match. Anyone wearing aloha attire will be admitted to the match for free.
Pacific West Conference Standings
Conference Overall
Hawai'i Pacific 10-3 16-3
BYU-Hawai'i 8-5 12-6
W. New Mexico 6-5 16-13
MSU-Billings 5-6 15-11
Hawai'i-Hilo 3-8 13-13
Chaminade 3-8 6-14
Tomorrow
MSU-Billings at UH-Hilo, 7:15 p.m.
Western New Mexico at BYU-Hawai'i, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
MSU-Billings at Hawai'i Pacific, 7:30 p.m.
Western New Mexico at Chaminade, 7:30 p.m.
PacWest Individual Leaders
Hitting Percentage
(Minimum .250/4.0 attacks per game)
Player G Kills Errs Tot Pct
Wean, Andrea, HPU 74 336 81 701 .364
Salvador, Elena, UHH 98 237 77 527 .304
Harris, Tegan, MSUB 94 247 85 600 .270
Moeai, Ashley, BYUH 72 247 87 618 .259
Hutchinson, Emily, UHH 96 219 73 567 .257
Ribeiro, Karla, BYUH 72 216 72 571 .252
Kills (Minimum 2.50 per game)
Player G No. Per Game
Robert, Roberta, HPU 74 360 4.86\
Wean, Andrea, HPU 74 336 4.54
Hopes, Angie, MSUB 94 407 4.33
Xu, Dan, BYUH 63 245 3.89
Moeai, Ashley, BYUH 72 247 3.43
Pilgreen, Sara, UHH 97 328 3.38
Ribeiro, Karla, BYUH 72 216 3.00
Tano, Kimberly, WNMU 81 237 2.93
Hastert, Julianne, CU 79 229 2.90
Sepulona, Valasi, CU 77 221 2.87
Assists (Minimum 5.00 per game)
Player G No. Per Game
Tuitele, Nia, HPU 74 906 12.24
Denman, Megan, UHH 101 1170 11.58
Burgess, Nohealani, WNMU 89 975 10.96
Lo, Kaala, BYUH 72 749 10.40
Taylor, Mandi, MSUB 94 966 0.28
Waialae, Janeen, CU 78 761 9.76
Service Aces (Minimum 0.30 per game)
Player G No. Per Game
Denman, Megan, UHH 101 45 0.45
Meatoga, Leiau, BYUH 72 32 0.44
Burgess, Nohealani, WNMU 89 39 0.44
Taylor, Mandi, MSUB 94 41 0.44
Fotu, Teisa, HPU 74 31 0.42
Munro, Olivia, MSUB 72 29 0.40
Lo, Kaala, BYUH 72 28 0.39
Sepulona, Valasi, CU 77 26 0.34
Waldron, Carleen, BYUH 63 21 0.33
Tuitele, Nia, HPU 74 24 0.32
Blocks (Minimum 0.75 per game)
Player G Solo Asst Tot P/Game
Wean, Andrea, HPU 74 22 69 91.0 1.23
Harris, Tegan, MSUB 94 29 80 109.0 1.16
Shiroma, Cheriesse, UHH 100 18 95 113.0 1.13
Brady, Audrey, CU 76 15 65 80.0 1.05
Dahlgren, Katrina, MSUB 94 29 68 97.0 1.03
Ribeiro, Karla, BYUH 72 10 61 71.0 0.99
Hopes, Angie, MSUB 94 20 58 78.0 0.83
Salvador, Elena, UHH 98 13 66 79.0 0.81
Scott, Hilary, WNMU 84 5 60 65.0 0.77
Robins, Jessica., CU 76 13 45 58.0 0.76
Digs (Minimum 2.50 per game)
Player G No. Per Game
Robert, Roberta, HPU 74 280 3.78
Munro, Olivia, MSUB 72 262 3.64
Paulson, Mandi, MSUB 92 323 3.51
Hopes, Angie, MSUB 94 327 3.48
Ribeiro, Karla, BYUH 72 242 3.36
Ollison, Tiffanie, UHH 69 217 3.14
Fotu, Teisa, HPU 74 226 3.05
Denton, Erin, WNMU 89 271 3.04
Meatoga, Leiau, BYUH 72 219 3.04
Hastert, Julianne, CU 79 235 2.97
Cross Country
• Regional race: All four Hawai'i schools will be at the NCAA II West Regional championship meet Saturday in Bellingham, Wash.
The meets consists of a 6-kilometer race for women, and a 10-kilometer race for men. The top four teams in each race will qualify for the national championship meet to be held in Slippery Rock, Pa. Nov. 17. The top two individuals from non-qualifying teams will also advance. About 20 teams are expected to compete.
Hawai'i Pacific will have three All-Americans at the meet: 2001 PacWest women's champion Nina Christensen, 2000 PacWest women's champion Lisa Blomme, and 2001 PacWest men's champion Christian Madsen.
