Posted on: Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Unbeaten UH No. 2 in poll
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
The undefeated University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team yesterday moved up one spot to No. 2 in the USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll, and middle blocker Victoria Prince was named Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week.
Rounding out the top 10 were Hawai'i (20-0), Nebraska (19-1), USC (14-3), Minnesota (21-3), Penn State (19-2), Ohio State (21-1), Florida (20-2), Colorado State (19-2) and Texas (19-2).
"I think it's flattering, but it's not anything we take real seriously because there are tough teams up and down the top 25," Hawai'i coach Dave Shoji said. "We know that. You just have to perform when the playoffs come around."
Minnesota dropped three spots to No. 5 after losing a five-game match at Wisconsin on Saturday. Hawai'i and Washington are the only two undefeated teams in the top 25. Washington rallied from two games down to beat Oregon State on Thursday, 20-30, 37-39, 30-15, 30-27, 15-10.
"Obviously we're surprised that we're undefeated," Shoji said. "I think Washington being undefeated is also a surprise. They play in a very tough conference and they've played very well."
Prince, a junior transfer from Washington State, sparked the Rainbow Wahine to a pair of WAC road wins at San Jose State on Wednesday and Boise State on Friday.
The Kennewick, Wash., native had 15 kills, seven blocks, seven digs and two aces, while hitting .464 in the three-game win over San Jose State. Against Boise State, she added 20 kills, eight blocks, two aces and a .412 hitting percentage.
The wins helped Hawai'i retain its one point lead over Rice in the point totals for seeding in the WAC Tournament. Hawai'i is 10-0 in the WAC.
"Victoria has just hit at an unbelievable percentage the whole year," Shoji said. "She's been very steady. She's been someone who we can always count on every week."
Shoji missed the past two road matches to be with his ill father, Kobe. Shoji said he plans to attend Friday's home match against Fresno State at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.
Washington (19-0) remained at No. 1 and received 63 of a possible 65 first-place votes. Hawai'i received the other two votes.