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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, September 1, 2008

UH VOLLEYBALL
UCLA topples inspired UH in four sets

Photo gallery: Hawaii vs UCLA Volleyball

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Hawai'i's Nickie Thomas sets the ball over the net with teammate Dani Mafua backing up the play. UCLA's Nellie Spicer is across the net. UCLA won the match, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 30-28.

REBECCA BREYER | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Olympic decathlon champion Bryan Clay, a Castle High alum, attended yesterday's UCLA-Hawai'i volleyball match with daughter Katherine, 16 months, wife Sarah and son Jacob, 3.

REBECCA BREYER | The Honolulu Advertiser

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ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Most outstanding: Nicole Fawcett, Penn State

Nellie Spicer, UCLA

Christa Harmotto, Penn State

Megan Hodge, Penn State

Aneli Cubi-Otineru, Hawai'i

Ellen Herman, Ohio

Amanda Gil, UCLA

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
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It sounds the same as last volleyball season, with a 1-2 start and yet another loss to UCLA, but it sure didn't look like the same Hawai'i team.

The 12th-ranked Rainbow Wahine teetered on the edge of an extremely meaningful upset for nearly 2 1/2 hours and a series of breathtaking rallies before falling to sixth-ranked UCLA last night in the final match of the 21st annual Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic.

The Bruins ultimately outblocked and outlasted the Rainbows, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 30-28, before a crowd of 4,948 at Stan Sheriff Center. Hawai'i (1-2) fought off three match points, and the Bruins (2-1) four set points, before it finally ended on UCLA's 18th stuff of the night.

"We are much more competitive this year," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "Last year, we got thumped pretty good by UCLA and Oregon State. Now I feel very good about our team and the fact we were competitive all weekend. I don't feel anything like I did last year, right now."

Top-ranked Penn State, the defending national champion, clinched its second Classic championship in the opening match. The Nittany Lions (3-0) swept Ohio, 25-15, 25-19, 25-9, with All-American Nicole Fawcett — the Classic's Most Outstanding Player — getting a match-high 15 kills. It was only the fourth time a team other than Hawai'i or UCLA had won the tournament, but those two played the most compelling match of the weekend by far.

The teams came at each other through 38 ties. The most unlikely came at 24-all in the final minutes, after UH freshman Kanani Herring buried three kills to erase match points.

"We had chances to win all three games we lost, we just didn't get the play we needed," Shoji said. "It was disappointing we couldn't close.

"We didn't play a very good match and we still could have or should have won. In a way that's encouraging because I think we can fix a lot of things that were going on out there. One thing you can't really practice is just hanging in there and being down by four and coming back and fighting. That was really encouraging."

Jamie Houston's 18th kill, off a ball Dani Mafua set from her knees, gave the Rainbow Wahine set point. Nellie Spicer, UCLA's All-America senior setter, erased it with her eighth kill. UH earned another set point but, with most players prone after making saves, could not convert.

With the crowd roaring, it got another chance at 27-26. But, after spectacular saves by Tara Hittle, Houston and Stephanie Ferrell, and a thundering block Ali Daley somehow scraped off the floor, UCLA tied it again. Dicey McGraw's hitting error gave UH one last chance, but she erased it with her 15th kill.

Finally, Juliane Piggott, who came off the UCLA bench in Set 2, fired a serve the Rainbows couldn't handle, and Spicer and Amanda Gil stuffed Houston.

"You asked me why do I come over here," said UCLA coach Andy Banachowski, whose fourth straight win over UH pulled his team within two (34-32) in the series. "Well, from 24-all in the fourth game, that's exactly why we come over here. To have that kind of experience in front of a raucous crowd supporting Hawai'i that heavily ... that was the loudest I've heard the arena in quite a while. They were just deafening a few times."

The Bruins, who started four seniors and three freshmen, were ultimately too experienced. Spicer might have been the difference, transforming poor passes into kills all night and stabilizing a UCLA offense through every run the Rainbows made. She also won the second set when her serves handcuffed UH the final two points.

The 'Bows scored the final two points of the first set, with all-tournament selection Aneli Cubi-Otineru getting the first, and Houston and Nickie Thomas clinching it with a roof. One of freshman Katie Camp's nine blocks ended the third set.

When it was over, Hawai'i had six more kills than the Bruins, but 12 more hitting errors. The 'Bows had 18 more digs (72-54), but eight fewer blocks.

They were that close, and that far — a little too sloppy between surges and too fatigued to finish the Bruins off.

"All we have to do is stay positive and keep working on not letting ourselves fall that far back," said Herring after the first of what could be many double-doubles (14 kills, 18 digs). "We had to put out extra energy just to tie the match up and we're using more energy than they are to get the game done.

"We didn't quit. ... We stayed composed, didn't let ourselves get frustrated. Especially the last set. We could have got blown but we just stuck it out."

QUICK SETS: Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bryan Clay and volleyball silver medalist Robyn Ah Mow-Santos were in attendance last night with their families. Also at the match was Roosevelt graduate Clarissa Chun, who finished fifth in wrestling at Beijing.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.