Posted on: Saturday, December 4, 2004

UH's Boogaard was on Rocky Mountain high

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Rainbow Wahine volleyball found beauty in the frozen Rocky Mountains, no one more so than Susie Boogaard.

The NCAA gave third-seeded Hawai'i snow when it hankered for palm trees, so it made snow angels in between subregional matches. Colorado and Purdue took one look at Boogaard's .206 hitting percentage and decided to cheat its block toward the middle. She proceeded to pound both teams into submission.

After Boogaard bashed the Buffs with 16 kills and .387 hitting Thursday, the Boilermakers took out host Colorado State in five games. Six Purdue players finished with double-digit kill totals, including setter Renata Dargan.

With the two Colorado teams out for the count, Hawai'i went into last night's second-round match knowing everyone on the other side of the net was a threat.

It met the challenge. Purdue middles Kim McConaha (14 kills) and Elizabeth Jacques (11) got their kills, but the 'Bows stifled the rest of the Boilermaker offense into .077 hitting. Hawai'i also handled Dargan, who had a dozen kills against CSU, stuffing her early and shadowing her so she never got into the offense.

The Rainbow offense began with Boogaard both nights, and she got plenty of help. Alicia Arnott rallied from a slow start for 14 kills last night and middles Kari Gregory (9) and Victoria Prince (7) combined for 16 kills and hit nearly .500.

But Boogaard was the one Purdue simply could not stop. It didn't touch her until deep into last night's match, finally blocking her once. She finished with 13 kills and that one error, hitting .375 for the night and .381 for the subregional.

"This is it, do or die," Boogaard said. "Every single person on our team wants it so bad and I'm going to be there as much as I can for my teammates."

She was spectacular, beating the Colorado block with power Thursday and using the bigger Boilermakers last night to hit high off their block into designated pukas. In between, she anchored Hawai'i's serve-receive.

"Last night she got isolated and was hitting the ball hard down in the middle of the court," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "Tonight she was hitting the high flat shot, very effective in places where we thought there might be a little seam. Early on that was the case. She had two blockers on her and I thought she made some really nice shots, with pace. They weren't looping shots. They couldn't run them down."

They couldn't do anything, something the Boilermakers were first to admit.

"From a front-row standpoint I kind of underestimated her myself," said McConaha, Purdue's first all-Big Ten first-team selection since 1996. "She knew where the holes were and took advantage of it."

NOTES

Two and out: The two other WAC teams lost last night in their first-round matches. Rice fell in four against Michigan and Nevada was swept by Wichita State.

Back again: This was Purdue's first NCAA Tournament since 1990. It reached its only regional in 1982 and is 7-8 overall.

Giant killers: Hawai'i is 30-4 against Big Ten schools.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.