Hawai'i, Southern Cal sweep to Classic final

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i senior Kim Willoughby goes for a kill against Kansas State's Lisa Martin, left, and Gabby Guerre. Willoughby finished with 28 kills to become the Rainbow Wahine's career kills leader with 1,874. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser Match facts WHAT: State Farm Classic WHERE: Stan Sheriff Center WHEN: Tonight — Consolation match, No. 3 Florida vs. No. 15 Kansas State, 5 p.m., followed by championship, No. 1 Southern California vs. No. 2 Hawai'i, at approximately 7. TV/RADIO: 1420 AM will broadcast UH match. Tonight's championship will be shown Sept. 2 at 8:30 a.m. on ESPN2. TICKETS: If seats remain, individual match tickets sold game day at $16 (lower level), $13 (upper), $9 senior citizens and $6 students 4-older. PARKING: $3

Second-ranked Hawai'i swept 15th-ranked Kansas State, 30-26, 30-23, 30-23, in the season-opening State Farm Classic last night. Before 6,475 at Stan Sheriff Center, Hawai'i used 13 players and wasted the Wildcats, setting up tonight's match between the top-ranked teams in the country.

In the first match, top-ranked Southern California swept third-ranked Florida, 31-29, 30-17, 30-25, in the sequel to their final-four semifinal last December. The Trojans also won that, and went on to capture their first national title since 1981.

They play Hawai'i tonight for the Classic championship, which starts after the 5 p.m. consolation match. It will not be shown on TV until Sept. 2, on ESPN2.

Despite the victory, the Rainbow Wahine never found a rhythm, but it was not freshman setter Kanoe Kamana'o's fault. Her game was graceful and sophisticated, if a bit simplistic. But who could argue with her set selection when Willoughby, a two-time All-American in her final season, carved the Wildcats up for 28 kills.

"Kanoe knew that the ball was probably going to go down if it went outside," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "She went to the safe set tonight. She's going to have to take some chances tomorrow.

"She does not play like a freshman and we knew that. She's had a lot of experience internationally and she's played under pressure. We've got a good one."

Willoughby's 1,874 kills is one more than Olympian Teee Williams, who set the UH record in 1989 at the end of a three-year career. After Willoughby insisted the record could be "thrown out the window" for all she cared, Shoji reminded her she needed "three seasons and one match" to break Williams' record.

"But she played more games," Willoughby shot back, clearly much more familiar with the record than she earlier let on. Willoughby — nothing if not thorough — set the record in 328 games, while Williams needed 350.

Willoughby was also the difference in a match that found Hawai'i just as left-side dominant as it was last year, and had vowed to change. She had almost half the UH kills. Lily Kahumoku, the Rainbow Wahine's other two-time All-American, added 14 and Lauren Duggins, a third-team All-American, seven. No one else had more than three, or saw more than eight sets.

That worked against K-State, which never threatened Hawai'i, leaving the season-opener suspense-less. The Rainbows out-hit the Wildcats 2-to-1 (.352-.172) and nearly out-dug them by the same margin (59-38). And still, Shoji gave his team but a "B-minus" grade.

He knows that offense will not work against Southern Cal, which might have the biggest block in the game, and lost almost nothing from last year's title team.

After salvaging last night's first game, the Trojans hammered the Gators.

"We just said, 'What do we do to win?'" USC All-America April Ross said. "We know we can do something."

It was the first time Florida had been swept since the Trojans did it 51 weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Hawai'i got more ragged as the night went on and the bench emptied. The only surprise in the starting lineup was Karin Lundqvist beating out Maja Gustin, but Shoji used four middle blockers and many different looks. Kamana'o gave everybody at least two sets and never looked even a little nervous.

"For me," the freshman out of Iolani grinned, "I had a lot of fun."

So did Willoughby. "Kanoe does everything we ask her to do," the senior said. "We can't ask her to do anything more. She's very smart about everything. She does not play like a true freshman. That's something we really appreciate about her. She's basically (former setter) Margaret (Vakasausau) in a different body."

In that case, Willoughby might be Williams in another body. She was the difference last night just as she has been the difference so often the past three years.

"She just keeps getting better," K-State coach Suzie Fritz said. "A few years ago when we were over here she had a lot of hitting errors and she helped us a lot. She didn't help us tonight."

QUICK SETS: This is Hawai'i's third appearance in this season-opening tournament. It won the Classic at Normal, Ill., in 1996 and went on to reach the NCAA Championship, where it lost to Stanford. Two years ago, the Rainbow Wahine were fourth in Stockton, Calif. ... Southern Cal's list of famous fathers is growing. Juniors Emily Adams and Alicia Robinson, whose dads Alvin and Truck played in the NBA, are joined by freshmen Anne Montgomery and Alex Dunphy this season. Montgomery's father, Dick, is Stanford's men's basketball coach. Dunphy's father, Merv, is the Pepperdine men's volleyball coach and former Olympic coach.