Posted on: Tuesday, September 3, 2002

Wahine beat Bruins in 4

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's Lily Kahumoku, right, puts down a kill in front of UCLA's Angela Eckmier during the championship match of the Hawaiian Airlines Volleyball Classic. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

In the space of mere minutes last night, the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine went from vulnerable to vicious to win the 15th annual Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic.

UCLA was the first team talented enough to tick the Rainbows off this season, nearly stealing Game 1 and pulling the theft off in Game 3. With 7,387 at Stan Sheriff Center wondering if Hawai'i had what it takes, the 'Bows finally dropped the hammer in a fourth-game blowout.

The Wahine (3-0) won their seventh Classic title, 30-28, 30-25, 28-30, 30-13, over the Bruins (2-1), who moved up to seventh in yesterday's AVCA/USA Today Top 25. UH remained fourth. That was in jeopardy when they let an ugly Game 3 get away, missing seven serves and allowing UCLA to score five of the last six points.

"We just lose concentration, I don't know why," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "We come out of a timeout there and Lily (Kahumoku) is coughing. We should have stopped play but we get aced, they tie the game and we get a little tentative.

"It never felt like we were in synch. We were just a little off all night. The energy wasn't like Friday night for some reason."

All was nearly forgotten when Hawai'i scored 14 straight points with freshman Susie Boogaard serving in Game 4. Kahumoku had five kills and a stuff in the rare rally scoring blitz. The Bruins also self-destructed, bunching six hitting errors and letting two balls drop. They hit negative-.125 in the final game.

"Going into Game 4 we pretty much looked at each other and said we're a lot better than what we showed," said Hawai'i's Kim Willoughby, the tournament MVP. "We didn't play our 'A' game but we could play our 'B' game and win."

The end was hardly indicative of a UCLA team that ended Hawai'i's 2001 season in the regionals, lost a trio of four-year starters, yet was surprisingly imposing on opening weekend. UCLA coach Andy Banachowski put up a huge block to bother Hawai'i's hitters and played different lineups in every game. Ultimately, he just didn't have enough offense.

"We played some pretty radical streaks," Banachowski said. "We were very good and then we stunk it up periodically. I have to look at the bright side with a young team. We did get our block working. But we still went through spells when we just couldn't put the ball away, couldn't make the play."

That was painfully obvious to him at the end of Game 1, when he would have given anything to have Hawai'i All-Americans Willoughby and/or Kahumoku.

Willoughby "banged her head" before the match, and what followed was one of her most erratic matches with a dozen hitting errors. She still dropped 19 kills. Kahumoku, at her creative best, launched 26 kills with just three errors. After an opening game that featured the Hawai'i middles — Lauren Duggins also earned all-tournament honors — the Rainbow outside hitters dominated the match and terrorized Bruin defenders, hitting two in the face and several others in less painful body parts.

The Rainbow Wahine don't play another team in this week's Top 25 until their final home match, Nov. 10 against top-ranked and defending national champion Stanford.