Shoji hopes team responds to loss as Fresno St. did

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Third-ranked Hawai'i goes back to the Western Athletic Conference this week with a new look: Beatable.

Hawai'i (23-1, 11-0 WAC) goes into tomorrow's match at Fresno State (21-4, 9-2) having won its last 69 against conference opponents. It can clinch its eighth consecutive WAC regular-season title with a win tomorrow or Saturday at San Jose State (12-13, 6-5). A Fresno State loss tonight against Nevada would also give the Rainbows' the No. 1 seed at next week's WAC Tournament.

Since falling to Cal State-Northridge in five games two weeks ago, Fresno State has played some of its best volleyball of the season. Coach Lindy Vivas, a Punahou graduate who has gone 297-204 in her 11-plus seasons at Fresno, thinks that loss was crucial in her team's development.

It is a theory the Rainbows can now contemplate.

"It was a good wakeup call," Vivas said. "Maybe as critical for us as it will be for Hawai'i, for what we have to do to make the NCAA Tournament. It woke the team up. We played really well last week.

"I don't want to lose to learn, but maybe it reinforces the concept that you can't be lackadaisical. Sometimes you've got to get spanked so you can try and avoid getting spanked the next time."

Fresno is in the midst of one of its finest seasons. It has received votes in the Coaches Poll the last eight weeks and moved up to No. 5 in the West Region. Sophomore hitter Kristen Fenton is the reigning WAC Player of the Week — Fresno's first in three years.

Vivas has balance and blocking, with Carrie Hartt and Java Johnson 1-2 in the conference. This time, she should also have senior captain Christy Burnett, who sprained her ankle the day of the first Hawai'i match. Burnett has 13 double-doubles this season, is a nationally ranked server and the Bulldogs' primary passer.

With Fenton, she gives the Bulldogs the best pair of left-side hitters in the conference, with the notable exception of Hawai'i's Lily Kahumoku and Kim Willoughby.

Without Burnett, Fresno put up the best fight against Hawai'i of any WAC team. With Burnett, and with the Rainbows coming off a devastating loss, UH coach Dave Shoji is especially cautious about his team's emotions this week.

"When you lose, you tend to see your true colors," Shoji says. "Do we want to come back and get better or just mope around and stay the same? Feel sorry for themselves? Blame somebody? Those are natural reactions.

"If we play like we've been playing, this match won't be a problem. If we don't come in ready to play hard and respect the opponent, we'll struggle."

Fresno State is 0-29 against Hawai'i. The strangest part of the series is that the Bulldogs have tended to play better here, in front of Hawai'i's huge crowds, than they have at home.

Vivas says that is an aberration for her team, which is 10-1 at home this season and usually plays dramatically better in front of its rabid fans.

"We do play well at home, we just haven't done it against Hawai'i the last few years," she says. "Who knows? Sometimes it's just a funny thing with kids."

QUICK SETS: Both matches this week will be broadcast live on 1420 AM, beginning at 4:45 p.m. ... Karin Lundqvist will not make this trip. The Rainbows' starting middle blocker suffered a knee injury Nov. 1 and hasn't played since, but coach Dave Shoji said he might have Lundqvist practice on the right side for the WAC Tournament. ... Hawai'i remains No. 1 nationally in assists, hitting percentage and kills this week. It is 15th in digs. ... Individually, Kim Willoughby is second in kills, seventh in aces and 27th in hitting. Lauren Duggins is 12th in hitting and Lily Kahumoku 14th in kills. ... Willoughby is No. 2 on the UH career kill list. She passed Suzanne Eagye and Angelica Ljungquist last week. With 1,593 kills, she is 280 shy of Teee Williams, with one-plus seasons to go. ... UH launched All-America Web sites for Willoughby and Kahumoku last week. The links are on the uhathletics.hawaii.edu home page.