UH women face volleyball top-blocking unit

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Anticipating a volleyball showdown between the beasts of the Big East and Western Athletic conferences leaves a little to be desired.

A showdown between the country's most prolific blocking team and premier hitting team is much more intriguing to contemplate. According to NCAA statistics, that's exactly what Stan Sheriff Center fans will see tonight and tomorrow.

With All-America hitters Lily Kahumoku and Kim Willoughby, and senior setters Margaret Vakasausau and Jennifer Carey, the unbeaten Rainbow Wahine (15-0) are No. 1 nationally in kills and hitting percentage.

The Fighting Irish (15-3) average an NCAA-best 3.81 blocks a game. Their four 6-foot-plus starters, including freshman middles, average better than a block apiece. The shortest of those four is all-Big East high jumper Emily Loomis, Notre Dame's premier offensive threat.

Something has to give the next two nights. If the Irish block dictates the tempo, Hawai'i's unbeaten season and high ranking will take a beating. If the Rainbow Wahine can work around the big roof, Notre Dame will have a tough time making its way back into the Top 25 before the end of the season.

The Irish aren't there now for two basic reasons: serving and passing.

"The main focus is their outside hitters, and obviously we have a good block so we think we match up well," says Kristen Kinder, the 2001 Big East Setter of the Year. "Our real concentration is on our serving and passing because that's what killed us in the past. We need to focus on our side of the net."

Notre Dame, in the midst of its fall break, has been here since Friday. Hawai'i didn't get home until Saturday night, after running its WAC winning streak to 63. The Irish are on a 27-match Big East surge. They have won seven championships since joining the conference in 1995 and have been to the last 10 NCAA Tournaments.

But they haven't seen the Sweet 16 in five years. This team, dominated by underclassmen and highly sought recruits from all over the country, is designed to take it back.

"The depth and talent is incredible," says Kinder. "We have incredible freshman athletes who have made an impact right away, and anyone off the bench is able to make an impact. That's what it takes. I'm just waiting for a breakthrough."

That youth of the Irish has so far prevented that from happening. After sweeping their first three matches — and falling out of the rankings — they lost to Loyola Marymount and Colorado. After upsetting then-No. 10 Pepperdine in five games, they fell to unranked Purdue.

"Actually, we're where I thought we would be," says coach Debbie Brown, who played here in the 1970's for USC. "We're very young. Our seniors are a defensive specialist and a libero. So our tendency is to be up and down. We're very variable, and very vulnerable at times.

"This is a match that we know we have to play consistently. We can't afford to have a down game and think we can pull it out. It's going to be good for us to know we have to play at a high level consistently to make it a good match. I have a feeling they (the Rainbows) have been tested and played at a higher level and not struggled with anybody."

Notre Dame has not upset a top-five team in nine years and hasn't defeated a ranked team on the road in eight. That was the beginning of its best years; it reached the Sweet 16 in 1994, '95 and '97.

It is anxious to return and Hawai'i offers a way back, and relief from an often boring Big East season. That means more than all the sun and fun the Irish have dreamed about since this fall trip appeared on their schedule.

"If we could win," Kinder says, "it would put us in a really good place to finish the Big East and look toward the tournament at the end of the year. It would give us the confidence we need to establish ourselves in the tournament. Everybody so badly wants to break out and get back into the Top 10. Winning this week would make that a reality and we could prove ourselves. We really need it."