Monday, November 23, 1998

‘Loss’ Vegas
haunts Hawaii

UH looks to change its
luck in WAC women's
volleyball tournament

By Cindy Luis
Star-Bulletin

LAS VEGAS -- All that glitters is not gold. Not when it comes to Hawaii athletic teams that bring shiny records here during tournament play.

The Rainbows and Wahine have gambled their postseason fortunes away a number of times. Last basketball season, the Hawaii men lost an NCAA Tournament bid here in March with a loss at the WAC Tournament. And the ranked Hawaii women lost a chance to host an NCAA Tournament game when the Wahine, too, were eliminated early in the WAC Tournament.

The Wahine volleyball team has fared no better. Twice UH has come in as the unbeaten Pacific Division champion. Twice Hawaii has gone home with a lower regional seeding after losing to Brigham Young in the WAC Tournament final.

This week, the seventh-ranked Wahine volleyball team has something to lose and even more to gain. Hawaii is rated ahead of No. 6 BYU in the regional ranking. Any loss this week would drop the Wahine behind the Cougars in the region and have an adverse affect on Hawaii's NCAA seeding.

"I'd love to see BYU again," Wahine coach Dave Shoji said yesterday. "I think it's inevitable that we'll see them (in Saturday's final), and we may see them again (in the NCAA Tournament).

"We're feeling pretty good about ourselves going into this week. As I told the team Saturday night, going 26-2 is quite an accomplishment. We've wrapped up this phase of a great year. Now it's single-elimination in two tournaments (the WAC and NCAA)."

The Wahine took a break yesterday and today and will go to work on preparing for Wednesday's quarterfinal match. Hawaii has a bye tomorrow and will meet the winner of tomorrow's match between Rice and New Mexico.

A look at the WAC Tournament match-ups:

Utah (19-8 overall, 9-5 WAC) vs. TCU (7-22, 4-10): The Utes finished third in the Pacific and have won their last five and eight of their last 10. Their only losses have come to the two ranked teams that finished ahead of them in the division -- Hawaii and BYU.

The Horned Frogs were the best of the worst in the Mountain, getting into the tournament by winning three of their last four. One of those victories came against UNLV in five.

Key players: Utah features sophomore sensation Kalani Tonga, who is fourth in kills and fifth in digs in the WAC. Setter Graciela Torres is third in assists.

TCU is led by its youngsters. Freshman Marci King is among the WAC kill leaders and freshman setter Lindsay Hayes has improved as the season has progressed.

Prediction: TCU is last in blocks as a team in the WAC. Although Utah is overly dependent on Tonga, the Utes should win this one easily.

Next up: The winner faces surprising UNLV (22-7, 11-3), which made the tournament for the first time. Under former Wahine All-American Deitre Collins, the Lady Rebels have won 11 consecutive home matches, including Saturday's straight-set victory over Wyoming that knocked the Cowgirls from second place to fourth.

Behind Angie Sylvas and Justine Kamelamela, and with the bye, UNLV has a good chance to knock off Utah in the quarterfinals. It will likely meet BYU in the semifinals. The Lady Rebels' luck should run out by then.

Wyoming (15-13, 10-4) vs. Fresno State (18-9, 7-7): The Cowgirls have lost four of their last six, including Saturday's 15-13, 15-0, 15-6 setback to UNLV. The Bulldogs, who opened the season with 12 consecutive wins, have lost seven of their last 10.

Key players: Senior Jami Laya leads Wyoming in kills and digs and sophomore blocker Melody Friehauf is second in blocking in the WAC. Fresno State has the dynamic Shannus Bennet, who leads the conference in kills and digs, and blocker Kara McKeown, who had seven solo blocks against the Wahine Saturday.

Prediction: Bulldog coach Lindy Vivas was missing two starters in Saturday's 15-8, 5-15, 15-9, 15-5 loss to Hawaii. With Adrienne Sankey and Malia Malu back for tomorrow's match, Fresno State should eliminate struggling Wyoming.

Next up: The winner will meet BYU (26-2, 13-1), which earned the top seed in the tournament by a blind draw. The Cougars have won their last five after losing to the Wahine earlier this month, which snapped a 16-match win streak.

BYU is so balanced that its kill leader, Korie Rogers, is only 18th in the WAC. Freshman Nina Puikkonen, who edged Hawaii's Nikki Hubbert for first-team honors, leads the WAC in blocks.

Expect to see BYU in its third consecutive final, although the semifinal match may not be as easy as some expect.

San Jose State (19-10, 7-7) vs. SMU (14-6, 5-9): The Spartans were having their best season until WAC play began. They've lost four of six and earned the fourth seed in the Pacific by beating Fresno State twice.

The Mustangs also are struggling, losing five of their last six.

Key players: Darcy Walker and Joslynn Gallop are San Jose State's 1-2 kill punch. SMU will counter with Erin Pryor and Melissa Godwin.

Prediction: This could take a very long five sets. The Spartans have a smaller block but better defense. A real tossup.

Next up: The winner gets Colorado State (23-6, 12-2). The Lady Rams' only loss in their last seven matches was to UNLV in four.

Sophomore setter Katherine Pettie has come of age during the season, connecting with veterans Catie Vagneur and Esther Langley. Expect the Lady Rams to get to the semifinals against the Wahine.

Rice (22-9, 10-4) vs. New Mexico (9-17, 3-11): The Owls are one of the hottest teams in the tournament and perhaps the most dangerous of those playing a first-round match. Rice has won eight of its last 10 and edged Wyoming for the Mountain's third spot on a tiebreaker.

The Lobos got into the tournament only because UTEP and San Diego State were worse. They've lost 11 of their last 14, including two quick losses to BYU and Utah last weekend.

Key players: Rice has a trio of players ranked among the Top 20 in the WAC in kills: Karolina Zelinka, Kelly Smith and Tiffany Carrethers. Senor LIbra Taylor is fourth in blocks.

New Mexico has three players among the WAC dig leaders. The Lobos have great defense, but not much else.

Prediction: Rice.

Next up: The winner gets Hawaii (26-2, 13-1). The Wahine are on a 14-match win streak, last losing at BYU last month.

Heather Bown continues to be a force, but senior hitter Leah Karratti has emerged as a quiet leader in the absence of sophomore Jessica Sudduth.

Sudduth is listed as probable for the tournament (heel bruise), which could pose a problem for Hawaii in later matches. Heidi Ilustre, who had 18 kills against Fresno State on Saturday, and Veronica Lima have come on strong during the last month.

The Wahine have to be careful not to look too far ahead. They have a tougher draw than BYU.

Hawaii should advance to its third final against the Cougars. If the Wahine can make fewer mistakes and adjust to BYU's block, the third time could be the charm for the tournament title.

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http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu

Sea Warriors to play North Alabama Star-Bulletin staff Hawaii Pacific pulled out a five-set victory over Brigham Young-Hawaii Saturday night to win the NCAA Division II Pacific Regional women's volleyball tournament. The Sea Warriors advance to the national tournament Dec. 4-6 in Kissimmee, Fla., where they will play North Alabama, winner of the South Central Region. HPU defeated BYUH, 6-15, 15-1, 10-15, 15-11, 15-11 Saturday in Bakersfield, Calif. It was HPU's first victory over BYUH in six tries this season. Debbie Sant'Anna and Hai Yan Wang led HPU with 27 and 26 kills, respectively, in the title match. They were named to the all-tournament team as was Juliana Lima of the Seasiders. HPU and BYUH are in their first seasons in Division II.