Rainbow Wahine rally, beat San Diego in five
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
When volleyball reality hit last night in the form of a seasoned opponent, Hawai'i hit back with a vengeance far beyond its years.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
With two diverse and equally impressive performances at the 17th annual Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic, the revamped Rainbow Wahine served notice that their No. 13 ranking might be for real. They knocked out San Diego last night, 30-28, 24-30, 25-30, 30-28, 15-11, after sweeping Eastern Washington in their season opener Thursday.
University of Hawai'i freshman Tara Hittle looks to pass against UC San Diego.
Last night, the 'Bows wore down a San Diego team that is all but intact from last year's NCAA Tournament. Hawai'i, much less experienced, made fewer mistakes and came through on the crucial points. It came down to outlasting the Toreros, according to UH coach Dave Shoji.
"We grow immensely as a team," he said. "When you win that kind of match against that kind of team you've just got to feel good about your game. It's going to give us a big boost in confidence and help us in the long run."
A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,615 witnessed a weird occurrence. The 'Bows, dramatically younger than a San Diego team that started three sophomores, actually looked better last night than they had against Eastern Washington.
Thursday, the over-matched Eagles were working in three new starters and never got going in their offense. The Rainbows rarely took the Toreros out of theirs until the end. San Diego also dug almost everything Hawai'i hit from outside and passed to near-perfection.
And still, the Rainbow Wahine gave themselves a chance to win with a startling example of grace under pressure from a group that has but one starter left from last year's final-four team. They out-gunned San Diego in the final moments of the first game, fought back from a flawed start in the second and poor end to the third and staved off the Toreros' late rally in the fourth.
In the decisive game, the Rainbows scored four points in a row on a net violation, stuff and two San Diego hitting errors to pull ahead 8-5 with setter Kanoa Kamana'o — the lone returning starter — serving. From there, Hawai'i had enough hitting, defense and, ultimately, heart to hold the Toreros off one final time.
"We just wanted it," said freshman Kari Gregory, who replaced an injured Melody Eckmier in the first game and tied Eckmier's rally-scoring record for blocks with 10. "There was a sense of urgency. It was then or never. We wanted to prove to our coaches, to our fans, to Hawai'i that we're for real. We're not rebuilding or reloading. We're here."
San Diego will vouch for that.
The 'Bows put down but five kills in the fifth game, but suffocated the tired Toreros into more errors (9) than kills (7). The match ended with Kamana'o and Gregory finally stuffing their nemesis, three-time all-West Coast Conference hitter Devon Forster, on the fourth match point.
On the night, Forster burned the 'Bows for 26 kills. San Diego libero Lindsey Sherburne, co-Defensive Player of the Year in the WCC last season, had 27 digs.
Hawai'i answered with an efficient middle attack — transfer Victoria Prince had 18 kills and Gregory 10 — and a bunch of hitters who struggled to put the ball down but rarely hit it out.
That was the difference. The Toreros had 25 more kills but 43 hitting errors, to Hawai'i's 20.
"They were a returning team and it seemed like they were in control for most of the match," said Alicia Arnott, who managed 14 kills on 54 swings. "Somehow we hung in there and fed off each other and stuck together to win."
Earlier, 17th-ranked Arizona defeated Eastern Washington, 31-29, 30-21, 25-30, 30-22. The Wildcats trailed 29-25 in the first game.
San Diego plays Arizona today at 2 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center. There is no admission charge. The Classic concludes tomorrow with Eastern Washington playing San Diego at 4 p.m. and Hawai'i taking on the Wildcats at approximately 6 p.m.
NOTES
• Hawai'i freshman Juliana Sanders suffered a sprained ankle in the second game Thursday. She is not expected to play this weekend, but could be back in practice next week. Sanders started in the season-opener.
• Last night Eckmier, the 'Bows' senior captain, went out with "slight right ankle sprain" in Game 1 and did not play again until the fourth game.
Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.
