Nebraska recently has had UH's number
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
LINCOLN, Neb. — Here are a few numbers the Rainbow Wahine should not ponder in preparation for tonight's Central Regional final against Nebraska: 54 and 18, 37 and 1.
Associated Press
The first combination is the Cornhuskers' record in NCAA Volleyball Championship matches. The second is their record in tournament matches at their beloved, antiquated Coliseum.
Kim Willoughby, right, tips the ball over the net past a block attempt by North Carolina's Eve Rackham, center, and Holly Strauss (14) during their Central Regional match. Willoughby finished with 22 kills.
Nebraska is .500 away from a 76-year-old fieldhouse that has worse views than the original Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. The Coliseum is small, uncomfortable and Nebraska wouldn't trade it for a better football team this year. Maybe.
Miami came into the Coliseum on a volleyball high having upset 14th-seeded Wisconsin to reach the regional in its program's second year. The Hurricanes got blown away last night by a Husker block that stuffed Miami's two best players into negative hitting percentages.
"Each week this year seems to have been a new experience for us," Miami coach Nicole Lantagne Welch said.
Hawai'i hopes to make the best of what is usually a bad experience in Lincoln. They are in the Elite Eight, a step farther than last year and one step away from the final four. All that stands in their way is Nebraska, with its hulking NCAA-best block and the curse of the Coliseum.
"There's no question we'll have to play our best match of the year," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "Better than we played against Stanford. Every phase of our game has to be on. They have tremendous athletes, they're well-coached, they have no weakness. We'll have to play flawless."
The Cornhuskers still have three All-Americans (seniors Greichaly Cepero, Amber Holmquist and Laura Pilakowski) from the 2000 team that beat UH in the final four, then swept it to open last season. Lauren Duggins, Hawai'i's best blocker, gives away four inches to Holmquist in the middle. Cepero, the setter, was the 2000 NCAA Player of the Year.
"They have had their way against us," Shoji admitted. "They have three great players back, but so do we. I'm hoping our players improved more than theirs."
Duggins knows this Hawai'i team is better than last year's. "We're a better team all-around," Duggins says. "We're more of a team. We have Lily (Kahumoku) back, which is huge plus, and Maja is back in the middle. This is a totally different team that plays well together and has good chemistry."
The question tonight is, will it be better enough in a place where few teams find success?
• Beyond the call: The Rainbow Wahine called their own meeting Thursday to talk about "putting the pieces of the puzzle together," and cell phones.
All the players turned their phones in to captain Margaret Vakasausau to shut out distractions before the North Carolina match. They gave them back to her last night before going to bed. Vakasausau will return them just before pre-game practice today. She gets them back after the pre-game meal.
"Now the only person you can talk to is another teammate," Kim Willoughby explained. "You have to stay focused that way."
Each person also received an index card at the meeting and was asked to write her "piece of the puzzle." Willoughby explained it this way: "What part of the puzzle are you holding to make this thing come together and make us better?"
QUICK SETS: Hawai'i is 49-17 in NCAA Tournament matches. North Carolina is 5-9. ... The winner of tonight's Central Regional plays Stanford in an NCAA Championship semifinal Thursday. ... Since UC-Santa Barbara lost Thursday, Hawai'i is the last team left from the Big West, Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences. Those teams make up the West in the eight regional rankings that help form the 64-team tournament bracket.
