Wahine take it easy on Boise
Advertiser Staff
Boise State offered little resistance last night, as 12th-ranked University of Hawai'i sat its star and still swept the Broncos, 30-13, 30-13, 30-17. The Western Athletic Conference volleyball match lasted just 79 minutes at Boise State Pavilion.
Kim Willoughby, who leads the nation with nearly seven kills a game, had but six all night. She took just 10 swings, hit .600, and sat out the final game — her first rest of the season. Maja Gustin had a match-high 15 kills, and Tanja Nikolic added eight, and hit .412.
The Wahine (20-4) have won their past 17, and last 53 against WAC teams — 11 this season. The victory gave Dave Shoji his 23rd 20-win season, in his 27th year as UH coach.
Hawai'i clinched the top seed in the WAC Tournament when it won Friday in Nevada.
The Wahine frustrated Boise State (1-20, 1-10 WAC) into negative .009 hitting, with 16 blocks and 49 digs. They also served eight aces, with four errors.
The Wahine return today and face No. 21 UC-Santa Barbara (13-10) tomorrow at Stan Sheriff Center (7 p.m.). The Gauchos, scheduled to beat UH to town, have five starters from last year's team, which lost to Hawai'i in the NCAA regional final.
"We wanted to have a quality opponent mid-year," Shoji said. "Santa Barbara has lost a lot of close matches. We know how good they are. Obviously they've had trouble closing games out, but it will be a fun match for us.
"We need to establish ourselves as well as the WAC. It would validate that the WAC is a good conference if we can beat a good team like Santa Barbara."
The Wahine close their regular-season home schedule with WAC matches Thursday against San Jose State and Friday against Fresno State.
QUICK SETS: Top-ranked Long Beach State remained unbeaten by sweeping 17th-ranked Pacific last night, 30-28, 30-21, 30-24. UC-Santa Barbara lost to both teams in five games in the Big West.
