Hawai'i duo boosts Puget Sound volleyball
By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer
A mid-season switch in defensive strategy helped to propel the University of Puget Sound women's volleyball team to a No. 13 national ranking and the semifinals of the NCAA Division III regional tournament.
Two defensive specialists from Hawai'i figured prominently in that success.
IAEA
Junior Anela Iaea (Kamehameha '00 of Nanakuli) and sophomore Kari Hayashi (Iolani '00 of Pawa 'a) "both are part of our 'starting' rotation of nine players (six net players, two defensive specialists, libero) — they each play back-row for different players," coach Mark Massey explained.
"A mid-season switch in our defensive strategies placed them into a defense that allowed their skills and athletic ability to rise in importance — we increased our per-game digging average by 5 digs, and their efforts were a major part of that increase.
"Against our final conference opponent, Willamette, each of them made spectacular body-launching digs that helped turn the tide on a day when our normally powerful offense sputtered," Massey added.
"They have also set the standard for our court energy, because they are consistently our two loudest players, even in warm-ups in practice," he said.
In the regional semifinal, a five-game loss to NCAA-III's top-ranked team, Cal State-Hayward (32-1), Iaea led both teams with 22 digs.
HAYASHI
Between them, 5-foot-7 Iaea and 5-3 Hayashi averaged 5.06 digs per game — Iaea's 2.86 was second on the team and Hayashi got 2.20.
Puget Sound finished 22-8.
Iaea played on Kamehameha's state championship team in 1999.
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• William Woods (Mo.)
Sophomore Heather Roberts (Kaua'i '01 of Koloa) was named first-team setter on the coaches' American Midwest Conference all-star team.
Roberts was third in the conference in assists per game (11.0) and also was third in service aces (0.55 per game). She led the conference in serving percentage (.983), committing nine service errors in 556 attempts.
William Woods (20-10) made its first appearance in the NAIA regional tournament in five years last night, playing Graceland at Lamoni, Iowa.
• Occidental (Los Angeles)
Coaches chose junior setter Keri Tomomitsu (Iolani '00 of Nu'uanu) first-team All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Coach Chris Hahn cited "her willingness to perform all the little things that make a team successful."
Tomomitsu averaged 8.75 assists and 2.28 digs per game. Oxy finished second in the SCIAC at 11-3.
Senior Kyleen Lee (St. Andrew's '99 of east Honolulu) was a utility player for Occidental. "Kyleen's contributions came in her versatility," Hahn said. "At the beginning of the season, she was the starting right side; at mid-season she was a backup outside, and by the end of the season she was the back-up setter. For most of her career at Oxy, she has gone from position to position, helping wherever we needed her."
• Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.)
Sophomore Kacy Nekoba (Iolani '01 of 'Aiea) was named second-team All-SCIAC libero by coaches.
Nekoba averaged 4.87 digs per game, with match highs of 40 and 34, for the Athenas, who were 21-7 overall.
• Western New Mexico
The Mustangs finished the season as one of the hottest teams in the PacWest Conference, and sophomore Kim Tano (St. Francis '01 of Kane'ohe) finished as one of the hottest players.
Western New Mexico won five of its last seven matches, including two victories over Hawai'i-Hilo and 1-1 splits with nationally ranked PacWest champion Brigham Young-Hawai'i and Hawai 'i Pacific.
Tano had 24 kills and 41 digs in last week's sweep of Hilo, ending her season with team leading game averages of 3.70 kills, .258 attack percentage and .903 serving percentage. She also had 3.34 digs per game.
The Mustangs were 19-13 overall.
• St. John's (N.Y.)
Junior setter Robyn Kurasaki (Maryknoll '00 of Mililani) was named to the Verizon All-District Academic second team. Kurasaki, a psychology major, has a cumulative 3.79 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.
Kurasaki, team co-captain, is second at St. John's in career assists (3,703) and is on pace to break the career record during her senior season in 2003.
• Redlands (Calif.)
Sophomore Bethany DeGuzman (Hilo '01) was selected on the Verizon Academic All-District second team. She is an accounting major with a 3.91 grade-point average.
On the court, the 5-foot-6 DeGuzman led Redlands in attack percentage at .256 and was second in blocks with 0.87 per game.
DeGuzman's honor "exemplifies the spirit of Division III athletics and Bethany's dedication to both sports and studies," coach Becky Schmidt said.
Another sophomore, 5-3 Courtney Cho (Kamehameha '01 of 'Aiea) split the season between libero and setter for Redlands and averaged 2.94 digs per game.
