Wahine face upset-minded San Jose, Fresno
| • | WAC tournament reborn |
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
It's been eight years since any current Western Athletic Conference volleyball team defeated the University of Hawai'i. It happened at San Jose State, when both teams were in the Big West.
If the Spartans and Fresno State — the Wahine's final WAC regular-season opponents — are looking to the past for comfort, they won't find it. Fortunately for those bored by conference blowouts, both teams are looking to the future.
San Jose State coach Craig Choate believes an upset of the 12th-ranked Wahine tomorrow would "probably push the door to the NCAA Tournament wide open" for his 19-5 team. Fresno State coach Lindy Vivas figures an upset Friday would "certainly make the NCAA Committee look real hard at next week's (WAC) Tournament."
The Wahine, in the midst of a 53-match roll against WAC opponents, know only that any loss this late will sideswipe their NCAA seeding. That is their sole focus now. They wrapped up their seventh consecutive regular-season conference title last week, and the WAC Tournament's top seed.
Hawai'i (20-4, 11-0 WAC) had its closest match of the season last month in San Jose, and one of its most lopsided two days later in Fresno.
The Wahine beat San Jose State 15-13 in the fifth game, with Kim Willoughby getting a stuff and four kills in the final six serves. She set a WAC record that night with 43 kills.
"We learned we can't stop Willoughby. If I'm playing, we can't stop Willoughby," says Choate, who played for Brigham Young. "Obviously she's the best hitter we've seen all year. We're small on the right side. Assuming Kim has a decent day, which is pretty spectacular for anyone else, there's not much we can do.
"We were up 12-10 in the fifth and all they did was give her the ball. We knew it was going to happen, but she was in the front row and she had to mess up. She didn't."
The final few minutes left the Spartans stunned, but hardly devastated. They were Hawai'i's equal for nearly 2 hours and 25 minutes.
"Against a perennial power, you wonder if you will ever beat them," Choate said. "But this time the players knew they were on the doorstep. Now it's in their mind that it can be done. The players felt pretty good."
That match was hardly a mirror-image marathon. These teams are very distinctive, with personalities flip-flopped from a year ago.
Then, San Jose relied heavily on Joslynn Gallop while Hawai'i had exceptional balance. Now, the Wahine lean hard on their left side (Willoughby and Maja Gustin). The Spartans have four hitters averaging at least 2.7 kills a game, led by all-conference hitter Brianna Blair (4.69). Kimberly Noble is next at 3.86 after a career-high 31 kills. That came against the Bulldogs (13-8, 7-5 WAC), who lost to the Spartans in five games at Fresno, and fell 46-44 in the fourth Saturday at San Jose.
In between, Fresno State played its worst match of the season against Hawai'i. The Bulldogs are 0-26 against UH.
"We just didn't show our best stuff last time," Vivas says, "so that's really what we're looking for this week — to compete as hard as we have the last several matches.
"This time around, the team knows it can compete hard. I keep seeing it. They keep knocking on the door, they're right there. Maybe we just need a little more experience, but we're there. It's just hard because it hasn't been reinforced with a win."
Fresno State has five hitters averaging at least two kills a game, with Shauna McQuaid setting the pace at 3.87. She is the only senior on the roster. Whitney Arena, the Bulldogs' setter, is a freshman.
• Quick sets: The Wahine's annual alumnae match will be played at 5 p.m. Friday. Players on the Green team include Terry Malterre, Nahaku Brown, Aven Lee and UH assistant athletic director Marilyn Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano. Lee Ann (Pestana) Satele, Joyce Ka'apuni, Mahina Eleneki and Sista Palakiko-Beazley will play for the White. ... Friday will also be Senior Night. Tanja Nikolic will be honored after the UH-Fresno match.
