Wahine show they could beat Tulsa in their sleep
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
SAN JOSE — In the latest and most literal example of the University of Hawai'i's ability to beat some volleyball opponents in its sleep, the groggy Wahine blew by Tulsa's Golden Hurricane, 30-18, 30-14, 30-17, yesterday.
Associated Press
The Western Athletic Conference Tournament afternoon quarterfinal was played before 143 people and four ti leaves at San Jose State's Event Center. The 11th-ranked Wahine are seeded first in the WAC's first tournament since 1998.
Despite little rest time due to a flight delay, Wahine Kim Willoughby, right, had 23 kills against Tulsa.
It was the fifth time this season Hawai'i (24-4) held a team to less than 50 points — the fourth time in the last seven matches. Yesterday's blowout came on some five hours sleep and empty stomachs. The Wahine's flight was delayed Thursday and they didn't arrive in San Jose until nearly 2 a.m. yesterday. With an early wake-up call, few bothered with breakfast.
"We just kind of rolled out of bed," setter Margaret Vakasausau said. "Good thing we didn't have any vans because we walked to the gym, which woke us up a little."
With the exception of an early jolt, eighth-seeded Tulsa (9-15) put Hawai'i back to sleep.
Tulsa coach Matt Sonnichsen never bothered to call a timeout and went directly from the bench to the airport after Nohea Tano stuffed the final point. The match lasted just 1 hour and 17 minutes, including three media timeouts and the 10-minute break between Games 2 and 3.
It was the quickest victory in a roll that has reached 21 matches going into today's semifinal against fifth-seeded Fresno State (14-9). The Wahine haven't lost a game since Oct. 27, a streak of 27 games. Most meaningful, Hawai'i has won its last 56 against WAC opponents.
"They are really good," said Kristin Bailey, one of four freshmen Tulsa started yesterday. "It's fun to play against them because we know we have nothing to lose. We're not expected to win."
By the 20th serve yesterday, that was obvious. The Wahine scored the first four points before jet lag kicked in. They were aced three times and stuffed twice as the Golden Hurricane blew to a 10-8 advantage.
"That surprised us back into reality, to make sure we checked ourself," Vakasausau said. "We were comfortable from there and played pretty good volleyball."
Tulsa put a serve into the net. Lauren Duggins and Vakasausau roofed Amber Martin, who finished as the 'Cane's most efficient hitter at .150. Then Maja Gustin aced Tulsa three straight times to make it 13-10.
After that, the Golden Hurricane was barely a breeze. Kim Willoughby soared over and shredded the block for 23 kills, knocking Bailey over inside the 10-foot line on the match's third point.
Gustin's serving helped Hawai'i to a pair of five-point runs in the first game, but her hitting was horrible. She rallied for 13 kills in the final two games, when she hit .706.
Perhaps most impressive was the Wahine's sometimes-forgotten middle. Duggins and Tano made it look easy early. Duggins turned dangerous late, launching a ball off Kara Hidinger's face and blasting one blocker-less kill straight down.
"Lauren got up every time on the '3' (set)," Vakasausau said. "She loves the '3' and I haven't been feeding it to her as much as I should. When we're digging and passing I've got to go to Lauren. She puts it away really hard. She had one great kill inside the 10-foot line. She does have power in those skinny arms."
Even a finicky coach found most of this match to his liking. Since Hawai'i's rocky start to the season, Dave Shoji has been in awe of his young team's penchant for playing well no matter what team is on the other side, or where it is playing.
"We've got certain players on our team that won't allow everybody else to drop down a level," Shoji said. "Kim and Margaret ... it's hard to not play hard with them around you. They usually go at top speed all the time and bring everybody with them, so we usually don't have a problem."
