Wahine begin title hunt
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
PULLMAN, Wash. — It is cold and isolated and white all over. And, if you are the University of Hawai'i, this frozen tundra near the Idaho border is the NCAA's strange way of "minimizing air travel and mitigating risk and inconvenience."
• Where: Bohler Gym, Pullman, Wash. • When: 6 tonight, Hawai'i time • Radio: Live, KCCN, 1420 AM, 5:45 p.m. • TV: None
The Wahine flew to their first-round NCAA Volleyball Championship match Wednesday with the season's first sincere snowstorm. They dodged it in Salt Lake City, outlasted it in Spokane and bused 80 miles through the slush to Pullman yesterday morning.
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Hawai'i (27-5) at Washington State (17-11)
They are in this town of 25,000, the home of the National Lentil Festival, to play Washington State — enrollment 20,000 —Êtonight (6 p.m. HST) at cozy Bohler Gym. Oregon State and Eastern Washington open at 4 p.m., with the winners playing at 2 p.m. tomorrow for the right to advance to next week's regional.
Outside it is not so cozy. More than five inches of snow dumped down Wednesday as local police dealt with 12 disabled vehicles,16 auto accidents and three incidents of people throwing snowballs at passing cars. The wind chill yesterday turned 30-something temperatures into sub-zero blasts, but the sun finally appeared at 1 p.m.
The really cold weather is expected tomorrow.
The Wahine (27-5), seeded ninth nationally, hope they are still here. They face a team tonight that looks like their twin, with some compelling exceptions: The Cougars (17-11) thrive on their balance, with six hitters averaging more than two kills a game, and start all upperclassmen — all of whom started on last year's NCAA team.
Junior LaToya Harris is WSU's 5-foot-7 version of Kim Willoughby. An all-Pac-10 pick the last two years, Harris averages half as many kills (3.58) as Willoughby, on half as many attempts (802).
Seen it, done it
Hawai'i middle blocker Nohea Tano, who played for Washington State last season, believes setter Kali Surplus instigates everything for the Cougars. Surplus, a Pac-10 honorable mention selection, also dates the WSU quarterback — St. Louis graduate Jason Gesser. He will be the one in shorts and slippers at tonight's match, according to WSU coach Cindy Fredrick.
"Kali is really good, really smart," Tano says. "They are a pretty quick team, kind of like us. They're not that big, but they're quick and play good defense. And, they're experienced."
All the Cougars' losses came to tournament teams, most within the conference, where they finished sixth. After the Pac-10, they feel they are semi-ready for Willoughby.
"The good thing for us is we're used to seeing Willoughbys," Fredrick said. "We've seen Kristee Porter, we've seen Ashley Bowles, we've seen Ogonna (Nnamani) and Logan Tom. She's not something we haven't seen. It doesn't mean we know what to do with her."
WSU will have help. Bohler is a 3,000-seat, volleyball-only arena where the fans are close enough to breathe cold air on the players. The Cougars average crowd is more than 1,000, including "The Stimson Men" — about a dozen "Bow-zo"-like fans.
Every week, Fredrick e-mails Stimson Hall to give the "Men" an update on the opponent. Obviously, Willoughby will be tonight's target. Yesterday the Wahine were trying to figure a way to put a bull's-eye on her back.
"They love to back the Cougars," Fredrick said of her Men. "But they will not do so in a crude or obscene way. They will try to get in their heads."
More than Willoughby
In contrast, WSU is home — a shocking development according to Fredrick — and playing in a pressure-free environment.
Fredrick has only one real worry: "If Willoughby is on fire, that the rest of the team would catch on fire as well. You can deal with one player on fire, but if all of a sudden you have five hitters really on, you're in trouble.
"It's great to be home. But Hawai'i has played so many times in so many climates like this that Dave (Shoji) evidently deals with it real well with his players. It's not that huge an issue for them. For us, to be in Bohler is icing on the cake. ... It's up close and personal."
QUICK SETS: In the latest national statistics, Hawai'i moved up to No. 1 in assists per game (16.32), No. 2 in kills per game (17.62) and No. 6 in hitting percentage (.313). ... Individually, Kim Willoughby leads the country in kills (7.08) for the seventh straight week. ... This is Washington State's eighth NCAA appearance in 11 years. It reached the regionals in 1996 and '97. ... Eastern Washington (20-5) upset Sacramento State to win the Big Sky's automatic berth. The Eagles' campus is 70 miles from Pullman. ... Oregon State (17-11) is making its first NCAA appearance since 1983. The Beavers upset UCLA — playing without Kristee Porter — two weeks ago. ... Hawai'i is 41-16 in the NCAA Tournament.
