UH tips Spartans to earn final berth
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
RENO, Nev. — After all the shanked passes, whiffed blocks and streaks of volleyball futility, second-ranked Hawai'i looked at the final scoreboard last night and found itself in today's WAC Tournament championship via a sweep of San Jose State. It sure didn't feel as easy as the final 30-24, 30-25, 30-24 score sounded.
Associated Press
"We did not look like a final four team tonight," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "We had some uneven performances and to go all the way you just can't have those. Obviously San Jose caused problems for us. We need to respond better."
Hawai'i's Lily Kahumoku puts away one of her 12 kills against San Jose State in the WAC Tournament semifinals.
SJSU coach Craig Choate, in the midst of his worst season in six years, found solace in his team's slow defeat.
"That was almost as good as we are capable of playing," said Choate, whose team is 14-15 after making NCAA appearances three of the past four seasons. "I'm supposed to be upset after a loss, but I'm not. I'm being realistic. In the skill department, it was a dead heat, but they are bigger, stronger and faster."
UH will face Nevada in today's 11 a.m. (Hawai'i time) title match. The game will be broadcast on 1420-AM.
The Wolf Pack beat Fresno State, 18-30, 30-28, 30-24, 40-38, in the second semifinal last night.
Top-seeded Hawai'i (27-1) beat San Jose with 25 Kim Willoughby kills and a defense that out-dug the relentless Spartans, who ended nearly every rally sprawled across the court.
San Jose's grip-and-rip serving prevented the Rainbow offense from finding any rhythm, with the exception of Maja Gustin (10-for-16) who had her best offensive showing since coming back from injury.
"We had our poorest passing night of the year by far," Shoji said. "They were going after Kim and serving tough. They were very accurate."
"I got all of them," Willoughby said of the Spartans' serving strategy. "I couldn't pass the ball and I got frustrated. So they served me even more."
With the Spartans touching lots of balls but blocking only four, and hitting just .141 — 40 points below an already bad average — this semifinal turned into a free-for-all. Aside from Game 1, when UH ripped off two huge chunks of unanswered points, the Rainbows won by playing better in the 20's. San Jose was in their face the rest of the night.
"San Jose played with a lot of heart tonight," said Lily Kahu-moku, who contributed her 12th double-double of the season. "They came out and bombed their serves. They had nothing to lose."
Aside from San Jose's relentlessness, the Rainbows could find no other reason for their raggedness. They are 3,000 miles from home and 4,000 feet above sea level, but Virginia Street Gym has become a Hawai'i haven filled with shaka signs and hundreds of Rainbow rooters.
Choate admitted last night was a "matter of pride" for his players, who had performed so poorly previously. It was also the Spartans' sole shot at making the NCAA Tournament. They had nothing to lose and it showed.
"Defensively, they put themselves on the line and made some amazing plays," Kahumoku said. "I would be scared to do what they did. They had 51 digs. Most teams don't get 30 against us. That's a point of pride for us. They got after it on defense. It was nice to see that challenge."
The Spartans had to go on the defensive because their offense, for all the confusing looks it threw at the UH blockers, has struggled to put the ball down all season.
Stephanie Pascucci and Kimberly Noble led the team in kills — 11 each — but also in errors, combining for 14. But after every mistake, SJSU just dug in deeper.
"We just tried to work hard on every play," Noble said. "Nothing drops."
Ultimately, that was how Hawai'i won the final two games, with back-row "Smurfs" Hedder Ilustre (13 digs) and Melissa Villaroman (11) complementing Kahumoku's sometimes spectacular defense.
After SJSU scored four straight to tie Game 2 at 24 — the final two coming on two of Willoughby's seven hitting errors — the Rainbow defense didn't allow another ball to hit the floor.
The third game was tied 14 times before a 3-0 surge gave Hawai'i a 19-16 cushion it coasted in on.
