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WAHINE VOLLEYBALL
Rainbow Wahine survive Cal Poly
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 27, 2008
Once is not enough, not for three of Hawaii's seniors. The trio of Jamie Houston, Nickie Thomas and Tara Hittle decided to make senior night a two-day celebration, turning in performances crucial to No. 6 Hawaii's nail-biting outing at the Stan Sheriff Center last night.
A turnstile crowd of 3,571 watched as the Rainbow Wahine kept their record in five-set matches perfect this season with a 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-13 victory in 2 hours and 26 minutes.
Houston had a match-high 19 kills, Thomas was in on a career-high 11 blocks and Hittle added a team-high 14 digs in Hawaii's 14th straight victory. It was the third consecutive meeting between the two that had gone five.
Hawaii (27-3) and Cal Poly (16-12) finish out the regular season tomorrow at 7 p.m.
Rainbow Wahine freshman Kanani Danielson finished with 16 kills, including the final two that capped the victory.
"I have no idea how we won that match," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "We made all the plays down the stretch in the games we won, and we didn't make the plays down the stretch in the games we lost.
"The only thing I liked about tonight was the scoreboard. It was nice to win a close match against a good team when you're not playing your best. It was good to see our team gut it out."
Kylie Atherstone and Jaclyn Houston had 15 kills each to lead Cal Poly and Dominique Olowolafe added 13. The Mustangs also had 11 aces, five by Atherstone.
"We were able to squeak a few points past them at the end," said Thomas, who added nine kills. "We got more fired up as the match went on.
"They're a good team, the type of team we'll see in the NCAAs. We needed to get a win like this."
"It would have been a junk Thanksgiving if we had lost this one," said sophomore defensive specialist Elizabeth Ka'aihue, coming up with key digs in the final set. "We weren't really clicking out there, but we picked each other up. The crowd was very helpful tonight."
The fans got their money's worth. Set 5 saw two lead changes and five ties, the last at 13-13 when Danielson was blocked. The freshman came back with two consecutive kills, the last off an assist by Ka'aihue, to end it.
Hawaii is 3-0 in five-set matches. Cal Poly dropped to 2-4.
The Wahine found a way to win Set 1 despite trailing until late. Three consecutive errors by Cal Poly -- a service foot fault, an overreach and a hitting error -- gave Hawaii its first lead at 21-20.
It was tied three times before Jamie Houston put down her third kill and Thomas her fourth to end it.
Set 2 was a near replay, with the Mustangs pulling away at 17-13 on three straight aces by Atherstone, Cal Poly's first four-time first-team All-Big West selection. Again, Hawaii rallied, edging ahead at 23-22, only to have the Mustangs even the match on a kill by Olowolafe and two hitting errors by Jamie Houston.
It was Aneli Cubi-Otineru's serving run that proved the difference at the end of Set 3. The junior helped turn an 18-17 deficit into a 22-18 advantage. Hawaii needed two swings at set point, with Jamie Houston ending it with her 13th kill.
Set 4 got away from Hawaii early, as the Wahine dug themselves into a 4-0 hole that included Cal Poly's 10th ace. With Dani Mafua replacing Brandt at setter, the Wahine were able to close to 19-17 and 21-19 but got no closer.
Hawaii def. Cal Poly
25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-13Mustangs (16-12)
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
|
| Olowolafe | 5 | 13 | 3 | 27 | .370 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 17 |
| Waller | 5 | 7 | 7 | 35 | .00 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Atherstone | 5 | 15 | 8 | 45 | .156 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 21.5 |
| Law | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Houston | 5 | 15 | 5 | 27 | .370 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16.5 |
| Fithian | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 7 | 1 | 2 | -1.0 |
| Mort | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -1.0 |
| Smith | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 | -.083 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3.5 |
| Bertoni | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 | -.077 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Rivera | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | -.500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.5 |
| Totals | 5 | 55 | 33 | 166 | .133 | 49 | 2 | 22 | 79 |
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
||
| Kaufman | 5 | 9 | 2 | 17 | .412 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9.5 |
|
| Danielson | 5 | 16 | 7 | 40 | .225 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 17.5 |
|
| Houston | 5 | 19 | 13 | 50 | .120 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 21.5 |
|
| Thomas | 5 | 9 | 2 | 18 | .389 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 14.5 |
|
| Brandt | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1.000 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
|
| Cuni-Otineru | 5 | 7 | 6 | 22 | .045 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 7.5 |
|
| Ferrell | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | .667 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
| Hittle | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Keefe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
| Kaaihue | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
| Mafua | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.0 |
|
| Totals | 5 | 62 | 32 | 153 | .196 | 63 | 1 | 25 | 74.5
|
Aces -- Cal Poly (11): Atherstone 5, Rivera 3, Waller, Smith, Bertoni. Hawaii (4): Houston, Brandt, Cubi-Otineru, Hittle. Assists -- Cal Poly (49): Fithian 47, Atherstone 2. Hawaii (59): Brandt 41, Mafua 11, Thomas 3, Danielson 2, Houston, Ka'aihue.
T --2:26. Officials -- Dickson Chun, Denice Hanson. A -- 3,571.
Once is not enough, not for three of Hawaii's seniors. The trio of Jamie Houston, Nickie Thomas and Tara Hittle decided to make senior night a two-day celebration, turning in performances crucial to No. 6 Hawaii's nail-biting outing at the Stan Sheriff Center last night.
A turnstile crowd of 3,571 watched as the Rainbow Wahine kept their record in five-set matches perfect this season with a 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-13 victory in 2 hours and 26 minutes.
Houston had a match-high 19 kills, Thomas was in on a career-high 11 blocks and Hittle added a team-high 14 digs in Hawaii's 14th straight victory. It was the third consecutive meeting between the two that had gone five.
Hawaii (27-3) and Cal Poly (16-12) finish out the regular season tomorrow at 7 p.m.
Rainbow Wahine freshman Kanani Danielson finished with 16 kills, including the final two that capped the victory.
"I have no idea how we won that match," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "We made all the plays down the stretch in the games we won, and we didn't make the plays down the stretch in the games we lost.
"The only thing I liked about tonight was the scoreboard. It was nice to win a close match against a good team when you're not playing your best. It was good to see our team gut it out."
Kylie Atherstone and Jaclyn Houston had 15 kills each to lead Cal Poly and Dominique Olowolafe added 13. The Mustangs also had 11 aces, five by Atherstone.
"We were able to squeak a few points past them at the end," said Thomas, who added nine kills. "We got more fired up as the match went on.
"They're a good team, the type of team we'll see in the NCAAs. We needed to get a win like this."
"It would have been a junk Thanksgiving if we had lost this one," said sophomore defensive specialist Elizabeth Ka'aihue, coming up with key digs in the final set. "We weren't really clicking out there, but we picked each other up. The crowd was very helpful tonight."
The fans got their money's worth. Set 5 saw two lead changes and five ties, the last at 13-13 when Danielson was blocked. The freshman came back with two consecutive kills, the last off an assist by Ka'aihue, to end it.
Hawaii is 3-0 in five-set matches. Cal Poly dropped to 2-4.
The Wahine found a way to win Set 1 despite trailing until late. Three consecutive errors by Cal Poly -- a service foot fault, an overreach and a hitting error -- gave Hawaii its first lead at 21-20.
It was tied three times before Jamie Houston put down her third kill and Thomas her fourth to end it.
Set 2 was a near replay, with the Mustangs pulling away at 17-13 on three straight aces by Atherstone, Cal Poly's first four-time first-team All-Big West selection. Again, Hawaii rallied, edging ahead at 23-22, only to have the Mustangs even the match on a kill by Olowolafe and two hitting errors by Jamie Houston.
It was Aneli Cubi-Otineru's serving run that proved the difference at the end of Set 3. The junior helped turn an 18-17 deficit into a 22-18 advantage. Hawaii needed two swings at set point, with Jamie Houston ending it with her 13th kill.
Set 4 got away from Hawaii early, as the Wahine dug themselves into a 4-0 hole that included Cal Poly's 10th ace. With Dani Mafua replacing Brandt at setter, the Wahine were able to close to 19-17 and 21-19 but got no closer.
Hawaii def. Cal Poly
25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-13Mustangs (16-12)
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
|
| Olowolafe | 5 | 13 | 3 | 27 | .370 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 17 |
| Waller | 5 | 7 | 7 | 35 | .00 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Atherstone | 5 | 15 | 8 | 45 | .156 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 21.5 |
| Law | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Houston | 5 | 15 | 5 | 27 | .370 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16.5 |
| Fithian | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 7 | 1 | 2 | -1.0 |
| Mort | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -1.0 |
| Smith | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 | -.083 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3.5 |
| Bertoni | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 | -.077 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Rivera | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | -.500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.5 |
| Totals | 5 | 55 | 33 | 166 | .133 | 49 | 2 | 22 | 79 |
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
||
| Kaufman | 5 | 9 | 2 | 17 | .412 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9.5 |
|
| Danielson | 5 | 16 | 7 | 40 | .225 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 17.5 |
|
| Houston | 5 | 19 | 13 | 50 | .120 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 21.5 |
|
| Thomas | 5 | 9 | 2 | 18 | .389 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 14.5 |
|
| Brandt | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1.000 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
|
| Cuni-Otineru | 5 | 7 | 6 | 22 | .045 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 7.5 |
|
| Ferrell | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | .667 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
| Hittle | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Keefe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
| Kaaihue | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
| Mafua | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.0 |
|
| Totals | 5 | 62 | 32 | 153 | .196 | 63 | 1 | 25 | 74.5
|
Aces -- Cal Poly (11): Atherstone 5, Rivera 3, Waller, Smith, Bertoni. Hawaii (4): Houston, Brandt, Cubi-Otineru, Hittle. Assists -- Cal Poly (49): Fithian 47, Atherstone 2. Hawaii (59): Brandt 41, Mafua 11, Thomas 3, Danielson 2, Houston, Ka'aihue.
T --2:26. Officials -- Dickson Chun, Denice Hanson. A -- 3,571.
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