UH, Stanford gain final
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff
If it was designed to make Stanford confident, the Rainbow Wahine's 30-25, 30-25, 30-24 volleyball victory over Utah State last night in the Sprint Hawai'i Invitational was the perfect performance. If it was supposed to solidify their No. 2 national ranking, it left a lot to be desired.
A crowd of 5,082 at Stan Sheriff Center watched yet another ragged Rainbow win, but the 'Bows weren't alone. Fourth-ranked Stanford (6-1) looked at least as erratic in a 30-14, 30-32, 30-14, 30-23 victory over Weber State in the opener.
The Cardinal rested second-team All-American Ogonna Nnamani because of a slight abdominal muscle pull. Nnamani hadn't missed a game and was averaging more than five kills coming in. Stanford coach John Dunning expects her to play tonight when Hawai'i meets the Cardinal for the Invitational championship.
The last time the teams met was in December, for the right to advance to the NCAA Championship game. Stanford won its seven in a row over UH, which hasn't defeated the Cardinal since 1991.
It looked as if both teams were thinking about each other last night, while they shuffled players searching for the perfect lineup and never found a rhythm. The Rainbow Wahine were so spaced out they got out-dug for the first time since the first match of the 2001 season.
Much of that can be attributed to Utah State's scrappiness, anchored by libero Taubi Neves. But Hawai'i also took some blame for the end of its remarkable 79-match streak.
"We let some balls drop we normally get up," UH coach Dave Shoji admitted. "That was a little disappointing. We've been really proud of our defense and our digging numbers. It just didn't happen tonight."
Added UH libero Melissa Villaroman: "They were a really scrappy, defensive team. I guess we were just shocked."
Utah State (5-3) stayed with Hawai'i into the 20's of the first two games. The Aggies complemented their defense with an attack early on. Zuzana Cernianska, Erin Cartwright-Davis and Beth Hodge dropped 16 kills and hit .387 in Game 1. The trio would hit just .066 the rest of the night, 19 more kills nullified by 15 errors.
"I never felt like they were going to dominate us," Shoji said. "We really couldn't stop them on a consistent basis for awhile and they couldn't stop us. I thought they played maybe as well as they could for a long period of time and then they just couldn't keep it up."
Finally forming a block in front of USU's big hitters, and strong play by a bunch of reserves in Game 3, were UH's highlights last night.
The Rainbows outlasted the Aggies at the end of the first two games, with All-Americans Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku instrumental in winning five of the last six points in Game 1 and six of the last nine in Game 2.
"Hawai'i is good and they have the ability to keep the pressure on," Utah State coach Burt Fuller said. "We didn't respond as well as I'd hoped. We had good flashes."
After Game 2, Willoughby, who sprained her ankle earlier in the week, took her 14 kills — exactly her average — to the bench.
"We were a little flat in the beginning but by the third game it was just fun," Villaroman said. "It was funny because between each point the bench would decide on a new dance, a different cheer. Everyone was loud and there's 12 of us back there ... with Nohea (Tano) cheerleading."
Reserves Alicia Arnott and Susie Boogaard were in on much of the action on the court, along with Kahumoku (15 kills, 10 digs) and Karin Lundqvist (five blocks), who started in the middle for Maja Gustin. Shoji used 13 players.
QUICK SETS: Today's 5 p.m. consolation match will be a battle of Utah with Weber State taking on Utah State. The Aggies swept the Wildcats two weeks ago. ... The Rainbow Wahine play Weber State Thanksgiving night at UNLV's Thanksgiving Tournament.
Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.
