Wahine sweep Houston for fifth straight victory

Advertiser Staff

Rolling through another road match, 13th-ranked University of Hawai'i hammered Houston, 30-22, 30-18, 30-10, last night at Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston.

The Wahine (8-4) have won their last five volleyball matches, the last two on the road. They play a Western Athletic Conference match at Rice tonight and close their trip Saturday at Tulsa.

The Cougars (5-8), who have been to the last 10 NCAA Tournaments, hit negative .018. Jennifer Wittenburg, who came in averaging a Conference USA-best 5.67 kills a game, was limited to four kills in the match and hit negative .067. Wittenburg, a sixth-year senior, was third in the nation in kills last year.

"We played very steady and they just kind of went away," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "Their best player didn't look good —she's been hurt — and it was non-conference for them. I don't know how much energy they had to play us."

Once Hawai'i pulled away from a 16-15 first-game advantage, Houston appeared to be running on empty. It was the Wahine's most one-sided match since rally scoring started this year, with the 10-point third game an opponent low.

Despite a slow start, UH sophomore Kim Willoughby put together her ninth double-double (24 kills, 13 digs) of the season. The first-year Wahine middles combined for 17 kills and were in on 11 of 12 blocks. Lauren Duggins got the bulk of the kills (12); Melody Eckmier had five stuffs in her only game and Nohea Tano hit 4-for-5 with four blocks.