Rainbows roll past Irish

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's Kim Willoughby, Lily Kahumoku, Lauren Duggins and Jennifer Carey await a serve by Notre Dame at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH won, 30-26, 30-23, 30-17. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

The break from league play brought together the dominant volleyball teams from the Big East and Western Athletic Conferences. Notre Dame, ranked 25th in the preseason, has dropped into the "receiving votes" category since the first week of a 15-4 season. The Rainbow Wahine have run off victories in their first 16 matches.

They kept running last night, despite a rocky start and the big Irish block. It is the NCAA's best statistically, averaging nearly four stuffs a game. It got 10 last night, and gave up 39 kills to Rainbow All-Americans Kim Willoughby (23) and Lily Kahumoku (16). But they just anchored an offense that grew more versatile by the moment. UH middles Lauren Duggins and Karin Lundqvist were all but untouchable by the end of the 1-hour, 48-minute match, combining for 17 kills and a .572 hitting percentage.

But what drove Notre Dame to distraction was Hawai'i's defense.

"We got a lot of blocks that Hawai'i picked up and teams we've played in the past haven't covered the hitters as well," Notre Dame coach Debbie Brown said. "There were certain points in the match when they seemed to be touching everything. And not just touching it, getting the ball up and taking a swing at it."

Hawai'i needed all that groveling and the huge serving of Willoughby to survive early because Notre Dame's block needed no time to warm up. Its third stuff of the match led to a 12-9 advantage. But by the time it got its fourth, the Rainbows led, 24-23. They never let the Irish wall intimidate them again.

The Rainbow Wahine went on a 7-1 surge to pull ahead 19-16. The Irish caught UH at 20 and 22, but never caught Willoughby. With 5-foot-9 setter Kristen Kinder opposite the All-American in the front row, the Rainbow setters found Willoughby every chance they got. Willoughby took 23 swings in the game, landing 11 kills, while her teammates were 8-for-24.

"When you see 6i4 and you see 6-3 and you're shaking hands in their knees ... it's ridiculous," said Willoughby, listed at 6 feet but barely 5-11. "And for her (6-4 Katie Neff) to be right side, too, it really shattered my hopes and dreams tonight."

While Kahumoku had to worry about the lanky line blocker, Willoughby went over Kinder constantly. The family's only revenge came from twin sister Jessica. Notre Dame's smallest hitter was its most effective, hitting .360 with 10 kills.

That wasn't nearly enough. When Willoughby and Kahumoku did look up at the big roof, they were confident enough to try and knock it down if that was their only option. The defenders behind them rarely let anything hit the ground anyway.

"I wasn't afraid of getting blocked," Willoughby said. "I tell 'Mess' (Melissa Villaroman) I'm going to hit this ball really hard and you're probably going to have to cover it or get hit in the face."

Brown was a believer: "It's another level," she said. "We don't see one outside hitter on a team like either of them and they have two."

The UH offense grew smoother as the passing improved and in the final two games Hawai'i's serve-receive was nearly flawless. Notre Dame couldn't dent it, launching 11 errors with just one ace. It tried a taller setter in the second game but little changed aside from the 'Bows' balance. Kahumoku, kill-less from 9-all in Game 1, drilled six in Game 2 while Willoughby added seven and Lundqvist and Duggins went 6-for-11 without a miss.

Emily Loomis, Notre Dame's most prominent offensive threat, was at the opposite end of the spectrum. She hit .000 with only six kills.

Notre Dame tried more new looks in the final game, but it only got worse. UH blew to a 17-6 advantage, with Duggins doing much of the damage, and began working on tonight's gameplan. The teams play again at 6 p.m.

"I think we just wore them down in the end," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "It tires people out because, we didn't block many balls but we had a good digging night again."