Nevada no walkover for UH women
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
Considering how far Nevada has come this volleyball season, it is not a stretch to imagine the Wolf Pack upsetting second-ranked Hawai'i tonight in The Biggest Little City in the World.
Nevada lost five seniors from last year's NCAA Tournament team, was picked to finish fifth in the WAC and has started six first-year players at some point this season. Yet it is 18-3 and, and 7-1 in the WAC — a win away from wresting first place from the Rainbow Wahine (19-0, 7-0).
Wolf Pack coach Devin Scruggs first realized she had something special when she sat next to one of last year's seniors during a preseason scrimmage.
"She looked me and said, 'Devin, you guys are better than we were,' " Scruggs recalled. "She was really bummed that we were already better. We're definitely bigger, a little more athletic, and yet we still have ball control with the new players. And the people that were good last year are even better this year."
Michelle More has been All-American-like. She's hitting .399 — seventh-best in the country — and her 5.61 kills a game is sixth-best. She is sandwiched between UH All-Americas Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku in WAC kill statistics.
Despite More's gaudy numbers, she actually has to do less this season. Transfers Laura Wooley (Connecticut) and Kellie Burton (Arizona) provide a legitimate threat on the left and right.
Wooley, back after missing nine matches with a separated shoulder, averages 3 1/2 kills and digs, and is one of the Pack's primary passers. Burton played on a final-four team last season before coming home to Reno, where she was a Fab 50 volleyball recruit and Nevada's Player of the Year in basketball.
But Scruggs believes the biggest difference in this year's team is its smallest — relative to her position — starter. Salaia Salavea, barely 6 feet, starts in the middle and rarely acts her size. The red-shirt freshman from American Samoa has athleticism and heredity on her side; she touches 10-2 1/2 and her uncle, Joe Salavea, plays tackle for the Tennessee Titans.
"Once we got in the gym I knew we could be this good," Scruggs says. "Once I saw everyone playing and watched how they jelled ... it was instant. We had very good chemistry from the beginning. There are no overbearing players."
But she is also realistic. The Rainbows have won their past 65 matches against WAC teams and 42 straight games. They have all-WAC middle Maja Gustin back, in a limited role. The Wolf Pack worked on its triple block for the first time in anticipation of what Willoughby and Kahumoku bring into the gym.
And last year, the Rainbow Wahine stuffed More into .123 hitting and barely three kills a game.
"Hawai'i has a great offensive team but they have a great block too," Scruggs says. "We don't see that kind of block until we play them."
The Pack, Scruggs admits, has not seen anything like the 'Bows this season. But it has nothing to lose.
"To be honest," she says, "our most important match this weekend is Sunday in San Jose. In reality, we can't afford to lose that. Hawai'i provides a great opportunity for us to play a top team. If we win, it's the greatest win in the history of the program. If we lose, we focus on San Jose the next day."
UH plays at Boise State tomorrow. Its final regular-season homestand is next weekend, against Nevada (Friday), Boise State (Saturday) and Stanford (Sunday).
QUICK SETS: Today's match begins at 5 p.m. HST. It will be broadcast live on 1420 AM beginning at 4:45 p.m. ... Tomorrow's broadcast from Boise will begin at 3:45 p.m. and end at 4:30 so the station can run its Warrior Warmup football pre-game show. It will have volleyball reports until the match ends. ... Hawai'i is No. 1 in the NCAA's West Regional Rankings, followed by UC-Santa Barbara, Long Beach State, Colorado State, Nevada, Fresno State, Pacific, San Diego State, Utah and Rice. The region includes the WAC, Big West and Mountain West. ... Nationally, Hawai'i remains first in assists and kills per game and in hitting percentage. It is eighth in digs and 29th in blocks. ... Nevada is 10th in assists and 13th in kills. ... Individually, Kim Willoughby is third in kills and eighth in aces. Lily Kahumoku is 12th in kills and Lauren Duggins 18th in hitting percentage. All three are UH juniors. ... Willoughby is being featured on ESPN.com. The "Killer Instinct" article is in the college sports link and talks about her exploits last week, when she was earned National Player of the Week honors. ...
Starting right-side hitter Nohea Tano, who sprained her ankle Oct. 20, did not make the trip. Defensive specialist Ashley Watanabe took her place on the travel roster. ... Top-ranked USC was cleared to play freshman Bibiana Candelas last week. Candelas missed the season's first two weeks while representing Mexico in the World Championships, but had been in school and practicing with the team since Sept. 9. USC did not allow her to play while it waited for an NCAA review of her eligibility. Candelas had eight kills against Washington and Washington State. ... Louisiana Tech won two WAC matches last week. It had lost its first 18 since joining the conference last season. ... UTEP leads the Eastern Division. It is the first time it has been in first this late since 1984. ... The West is 19-7 against Eastern teams. ... UH is averaging 7,100 fans for its first 17 home matches and leads the country in attendance for the eighth straight year. Nebraska is second, at 4,598.
