UH sweeps Louisville
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
Louisville left Hawai'i last night wondering what hit it.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
The second-ranked Rainbow Wahine hit a phenomenal .486 to sweep No. 22 Louisville, 30-17, 30-24, 30-18, and remain unbeaten in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic. The Rainbows play UCLA today at 4 p.m. for the Classic title.
Louisville's Sonja Percan (10) tries to get the ball past the block of Hawai'i's Susie Boogaard during their Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic match at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Aside from the second game last night, which was tied 15 times, Hawai'i (3-1) was in a remarkable rhythm. When the Rainbows weren't hammering the large Louisville block before 4,569 at Stan Sheriff Center, they were roofing the big-but-slow Cardinal hitters.
Hawai'i had 15 blocks — two fewer than in its first three matches combined. All this against a team that averages 6 feet 1, with five returning starters. Louisville (1-2) is picked to win Conference USA again this season.
"I think we look better than last week," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "That was a pretty good serving team and we passed well. We played good defense against legitimate hitters. I'm encouraged."
Hawai'i was ruthlessly efficient in the first game. The 'Bows did not have a hitting error until their 25th attempt. That would be the only negative on offense as they finished the game with a .515 percentage, burying 18-of-33 swings.
• Where: Stan Sheriff Center • Today's final: 4 p.m., UCLA vs. Hawai'i • TV/Radio: K5 (Channel 5) /KKEA 1420 AM • Tickets: $16 lower level, $13 upper level, $9 senior citizens (65-older), $6 students 4-18 and $3 UH system students.
Kim Willoughby (20 kills), Lily Kahumoku (18), Maja Gustin (6) and Lauren Duggins (6) were a combined 17-for-29 without an error in the first game as each got at least four kills.
Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic
"We were on fire I guess," Gustin said. "If you look at our offense it was from everywhere early. As soon as the offense is from everywhere they started to change the block. That's the key for this year —Êto have offense from every single area. That's how we help each other — keep blockers away from the ball."
While Hawai'i was hammering at will, the Cardinals were coming up against a wall. UH blocked seven balls in the first game, as many as it had against Minnesota in Friday's match.
"It's not that hard to block them if you go really slow and wait," said Gustin of Cardinal hitters Lena Ustymenko and Sonja Percan, who each had 14 kills and six errors.
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The Rainbows' hitting percentage went up in Game 2 (.525). With the Cardinal blockers forced to follow Duggins and Gustin in the middle, Willoughby and Kahumoku went wild. Both ended up hitting better than .500 on the night.
Lily Kahumoku went up 28 times and never erred.
Kahumoku went up 28 times and never erred. She hit every shot in her vast offensive playbook, hooking balls down the line, bashing from the back row and letting Louisville see every speed from slow motion to warp.
"I think Lily decided she wanted to play and raised her level," Shoji said. "She hadn't shown what she could do in the first three matches."
Louisville hit .030 in Game 1, but found a way around the block for much of Game 2, going kill-for-kill with Hawai'i to 21-all. UH dominated the final 12 points, and the final game. The Rainbows ultimately set a Classic record for hitting percentage and frustrated Louisville coach Leonid Yelin.
"What separates a very good team from an average team is not size and not even skill," Yelin said. "It's how they can raise their level and stay up. You've got to stay up with them no matter what they do."
Contact Ann Miller at 525-8043 or amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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