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NMSU wins tiebreaker
UH will be seeded second in the WAC tourney for the first time since 1998
STORY SUMMARY | READ THE FULL STORYFor the first time since 1998, the Western Athletic Conference has regular-season co-champions.
It's been that long since anyone has been able to break Hawaii's stranglehold on the top of the standings. With last night's sweep of San Jose State, New Mexico State climbed into a share of the title at 15-1.
The last night of the regular season also set the pairings for next week's WAC tournament. A tiebreaker based on set-differential against third-place Idaho gave New Mexico State (21-7) the top seed, with Hawaii (23-3) seeded second in the event at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"It doesn't really matter, being seeded first or second," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said.
Still, the Rainbow Wahine haven't been seeded second since 1998 after tying Brigham Young for the regular-season title.
Hawaii opens tournament play in Thursday's 7:30 p.m. quarterfinal against seventh-seeded Boise State (9-18). Fresno State and Louisiana Tech meet in the 9:30 a.m. play-in match followed by Idaho-Nevada at noon, Utah State-San Jose State at 2:30 p.m. and New Mexico State against the play-in winner at 5 p.m.
The Wahine warmed up for the WAC tourney last night with a 25-19, 25-14, 25-10 win over Utah Valley.
— Cindy Luis
FULL STORY >>
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 16, 2008
Ready or not, here come the rest of the Western Athletic Conference volleyball teams.
And No. 6 Hawaii might not be 100 percent ready when it hosts the WAC tournament for the first time this week. The second-seeded Rainbow Wahine (23-3) open with Boise State in a quarterfinal Thursday with a big question mark at setter.
Boise State, Thursday
|
A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,221 (6,221 tickets) saw the Wahine take just 76 minutes to win their 10th straight. There were a few anxious moments, particularly when Hawaii trailed 10-5 in Set 1, and looked bad doing it.
"I was thinking, 'We'd better turn this around,' " Hawaii junior middle Amber Kaufman said. "But we did. We're ready for the WAC."
There is concern, though, about how to stay focused and not overlook an opponent. It will be Boise State (9-18) on Thursday; it was Utah Valley (10-12) last night.
"I don't think our players took them seriously," Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. "I watched them in warmups, knew they had some good players.
"They had one hitter (freshman Kayli Broadbent) that we never did slow down. At 10-5, I thought it might be a long night."
Thanks to Hawaii's serving (11 aces) and a rediscovered block - all nine stuffs coming after Set 1 - the Wahine were able to head off to an autograph session early.
WAC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULEAt Stan Sheriff Center Thursday-Sunday (Seedings in parenthesis): Thursday Play-in 9:30 a.m. Thursday Quarterfinals Friday Semifinals Sunday's Championship
|
Aneli Cubi-Otineru - who is also nursing an injury - had three consecutive aces to give Hawaii its first lead of the match at 14-13 in Set 1. In Set 2, it was Brandt - who led the Big West in aces as a freshman at UC Santa Barbara - coming on strong. Her 6-0 serving run included an ace as the Wahine went ahead at 7-1.
"In practice, they gave the 'second team' the green light to bomb away (from the service line)," Brandt said.
The bombing also came from the front row via freshman hitter Stephanie Ferrell. She finished with nine kills in coming off the bench, "and she bangs," Brandt said. "She's scary."
The young Wolverines, who often had five freshmen on the court, didn't wilt until Set 3. Hawaii led 8-2 - both of Utah Valley's points coming on UH serving errors - and then it was over. Ferrell served for eight in a row to make it 17-2 and it wasn't long before players on both teams were getting postmatch leis.
"It's amazing, you never receive this anywhere else," Utah Valley coach Sam Atoa said. "To have that aloha spirit, the ohana love, was very touching."
Atoa played for Brigham Young-Hawaii in the 1980s, and his team will host the NCAA Division I Independent tournament next week. The Wolverines are hoping to leave their final year as an independent with a second straight title.
"Hawaii is a very good team, the best team we've played so far," Atoa said. "It will be interesting to see how far they go (in the NCAA tournament)."
Alumnae split matches
Players representing all four decades of the program had more laughs than kills in the matinee match in which the Green took Set 1 30-26 and the White won Set 2 30-24.No statistics were taken, but leading service aces was Martina Cincerova-Vernerova, the setter for the 1987 NCAA title team. Cincerova-Vernerova (1985-88), who lives in the Czech Republic, was inside the Sheriff Center for the first time.
"I love the arena," she said, "but Klum Gym was something special. It had magic."
Gifting time
The Wahine received bracelets commemorating the 2007 WAC tournament championship prior to their match with the Wolverines. Also getting bracelets for the 2006 championship were setters Kanoe Kamana'o and Cayley Thurlby.The Charlie Ushijima Memorial Award went to Joyce Morita for her longtime service to the UH athletic program.
Hawaii def. Utah Valley
25-19, 25-14, 25-10
| Wolverines (10-12) |
|||||||||
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
|
| Lindley | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Broadbent | 3 | 11 | 1 | 22 | .455 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Kuresa | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | -.125 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tusieseina | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -.750 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Clement | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | .200 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5.5 |
| Anderson | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | -.375 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Garfield | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | -.429 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Wilson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robison | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.000 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| O'Reilly | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fifita | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Stevens | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Morin | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fa'alogo | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Totals | 3 | 22 | 19 | 65 | .046 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 32
|
| Rainbow Wahine (23-3) | |||||||||
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
|
| Kaufman | 3 | 7 | 1 | 9 | .667 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Danielson | 3 | 7 | 0 | 12 | .583 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Houston | 3 | 10 | 4 | 19 | .316 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 |
| Thomas | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | .286 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.5 |
| Mafua | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cubi-Otineru | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Ferrell | 2 | 9 | 3 | 13 | .462 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10.5 |
| Hittle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Keefe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ka'aihue | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandt | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Simmons | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .5 |
| Fowler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .5 |
| Lee | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 3 | 38 | 11 | 68 | .397 | 22 | 2 | 14 | 58 |
Key - s: sets played; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills + blocks + aces)
Aces - Utah Valley (5): Fifita 2, Broadbent, Garfield, Fa'alogo. Hawaii (11): Brandt 5, Cubi-Otineru 3, Houston, Hittle, Keefe. Assists - Utah Valley (22): Lindley 9, Fa'alogo 7, Stevens 3, Kuresa, Garfield, Wilson. Hawaii (35): Brandt 29, Thomas 2, Danielson, Mafua, Hittle, Simmons.
T -1:16. Officials - Denice Hansen, Dan Hironaka. A - 4,221.
WAC Standings
| W | L | Pct. | GB | All |
|
| 2-Hawaii | 15 | 1 | .938 | -- | 23-3 |
| 1-New Mexico State | 15 | 1 | .938 | -- | 21-7 |
| 3-Idaho | 11 | 5 | .688 | 4 | 18-9 |
| 4-Utah State | 9 | 7 | .563 | 6 | 11-16 |
| 5-San Jose State | 7 | 9 | .437 | 8 | 12-16 |
| 6-Nevada | 7 | 9 | .437 | 8 | 12-14 |
| 7-Boise State | 5 | 11 | .312 | 10 | 9-18 |
| 8-Fresno State | 3 | 13 | .231 | 12 | 6-19 |
| 9-Louisiana Tech | 0 | 16 | .000 | 15 | 4-23 |
Yesterday
Hawaii def. Utah Valley 25-19, 25-14, 25-10
New Mexico State def. San Jose State, 25-20, 25-15, 25-18
Utah State def. Louisiana Tech, 25-20, 25-22, 19-25, 25-17
Idaho def. Fresno State, 25-14, 25-19, 25-22
Ready or not, here come the rest of the Western Athletic Conference volleyball teams.
And No. 6 Hawaii might not be 100 percent ready when it hosts the WAC tournament for the first time this week. The second-seeded Rainbow Wahine (23-3) open with Boise State in a quarterfinal Thursday with a big question mark at setter.
Boise State, Thursday |
A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,221 (6,221 tickets) saw the Wahine take just 76 minutes to win their 10th straight. There were a few anxious moments, particularly when Hawaii trailed 10-5 in Set 1, and looked bad doing it.
"I was thinking, 'We'd better turn this around,' " Hawaii junior middle Amber Kaufman said. "But we did. We're ready for the WAC."
There is concern, though, about how to stay focused and not overlook an opponent. It will be Boise State (9-18) on Thursday; it was Utah Valley (10-12) last night.
"I don't think our players took them seriously," Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. "I watched them in warmups, knew they had some good players.
"They had one hitter (freshman Kayli Broadbent) that we never did slow down. At 10-5, I thought it might be a long night."
Thanks to Hawaii's serving (11 aces) and a rediscovered block - all nine stuffs coming after Set 1 - the Wahine were able to head off to an autograph session early.
WAC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULEAt Stan Sheriff Center Thursday-Sunday (Seedings in parenthesis):Thursday Play-in 9:30 a.m. Thursday Quarterfinals Friday Semifinals Sunday's Championship |
Aneli Cubi-Otineru - who is also nursing an injury - had three consecutive aces to give Hawaii its first lead of the match at 14-13 in Set 1. In Set 2, it was Brandt - who led the Big West in aces as a freshman at UC Santa Barbara - coming on strong. Her 6-0 serving run included an ace as the Wahine went ahead at 7-1.
"In practice, they gave the 'second team' the green light to bomb away (from the service line)," Brandt said.
The bombing also came from the front row via freshman hitter Stephanie Ferrell. She finished with nine kills in coming off the bench, "and she bangs," Brandt said. "She's scary."
The young Wolverines, who often had five freshmen on the court, didn't wilt until Set 3. Hawaii led 8-2 - both of Utah Valley's points coming on UH serving errors - and then it was over. Ferrell served for eight in a row to make it 17-2 and it wasn't long before players on both teams were getting postmatch leis.
"It's amazing, you never receive this anywhere else," Utah Valley coach Sam Atoa said. "To have that aloha spirit, the ohana love, was very touching."
Atoa played for Brigham Young-Hawaii in the 1980s, and his team will host the NCAA Division I Independent tournament next week. The Wolverines are hoping to leave their final year as an independent with a second straight title.
"Hawaii is a very good team, the best team we've played so far," Atoa said. "It will be interesting to see how far they go (in the NCAA tournament)."
Alumnae split matches
Players representing all four decades of the program had more laughs than kills in the matinee match in which the Green took Set 1 30-26 and the White won Set 2 30-24.No statistics were taken, but leading service aces was Martina Cincerova-Vernerova, the setter for the 1987 NCAA title team. Cincerova-Vernerova (1985-88), who lives in the Czech Republic, was inside the Sheriff Center for the first time.
"I love the arena," she said, "but Klum Gym was something special. It had magic."
Gifting time
The Wahine received bracelets commemorating the 2007 WAC tournament championship prior to their match with the Wolverines. Also getting bracelets for the 2006 championship were setters Kanoe Kamana'o and Cayley Thurlby.The Charlie Ushijima Memorial Award went to Joyce Morita for her longtime service to the UH athletic program.
Hawaii def. Utah Valley
25-19, 25-14, 25-10| Wolverines (10-12) |
|||||||||
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
|
| Lindley | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Broadbent | 3 | 11 | 1 | 22 | .455 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Kuresa | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | -.125 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tusieseina | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -.750 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Clement | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | .200 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5.5 |
| Anderson | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | -.375 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Garfield | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | -.429 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Wilson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robison | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.000 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| O'Reilly | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fifita | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Stevens | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Morin | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fa'alogo | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Totals | 3 | 22 | 19 | 65 | .046 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 32
|
| Rainbow Wahine (23-3) | |||||||||
| s | k | e | att | pct | d | bs | ba | pts |
|
| Kaufman | 3 | 7 | 1 | 9 | .667 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Danielson | 3 | 7 | 0 | 12 | .583 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Houston | 3 | 10 | 4 | 19 | .316 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 |
| Thomas | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | .286 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.5 |
| Mafua | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cubi-Otineru | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Ferrell | 2 | 9 | 3 | 13 | .462 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10.5 |
| Hittle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Keefe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ka'aihue | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandt | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Simmons | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .5 |
| Fowler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .5 |
| Lee | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 3 | 38 | 11 | 68 | .397 | 22 | 2 | 14 | 58 |
Key - s: sets played; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills + blocks + aces)
Aces - Utah Valley (5): Fifita 2, Broadbent, Garfield, Fa'alogo. Hawaii (11): Brandt 5, Cubi-Otineru 3, Houston, Hittle, Keefe. Assists - Utah Valley (22): Lindley 9, Fa'alogo 7, Stevens 3, Kuresa, Garfield, Wilson. Hawaii (35): Brandt 29, Thomas 2, Danielson, Mafua, Hittle, Simmons.
T -1:16. Officials - Denice Hansen, Dan Hironaka. A - 4,221.
WAC Standings
| W | L | Pct. | GB | All |
|
| 2-Hawaii | 15 | 1 | .938 | -- | 23-3 |
| 1-New Mexico State | 15 | 1 | .938 | -- | 21-7 |
| 3-Idaho | 11 | 5 | .688 | 4 | 18-9 |
| 4-Utah State | 9 | 7 | .563 | 6 | 11-16 |
| 5-San Jose State | 7 | 9 | .437 | 8 | 12-16 |
| 6-Nevada | 7 | 9 | .437 | 8 | 12-14 |
| 7-Boise State | 5 | 11 | .312 | 10 | 9-18 |
| 8-Fresno State | 3 | 13 | .231 | 12 | 6-19 |
| 9-Louisiana Tech | 0 | 16 | .000 | 15 | 4-23 |
Yesterday
Hawaii def. Utah Valley 25-19, 25-14, 25-10
New Mexico State def. San Jose State, 25-20, 25-15, 25-18
Utah State def. Louisiana Tech, 25-20, 25-22, 19-25, 25-17
Idaho def. Fresno State, 25-14, 25-19, 25-22
Today’s Edition
- Court rules state failed on Hawaiian trust lands
- Hawaii hospitals see big losses
- Third furlough lawsuit claims rights violation
- Proposals raid funds for more school
- Groups to rally to end furloughs
- Hawaii GOP sees good omen in mainland victories
- Suspect's shooting appears justified, major says
- Woman killed in accident had forewarning dream
- Family questions police's role in man's death
- Man faces life in assault on baby
- Kokua Line: Law doesn't require disabled to leave car
- Newswatch
- Police / Fire
- Gay rights rebuke may bring change in tactics
- Disney will give Mickey Mouse a makeover
- Get some therapy at Kahala Mall boutique
- Screen Time: Clooney 'in talks' to star in film to shoot in isles
- Da Kine
- Pet Ohana
- Got nutrients?
- Green, Davis grew up together in Portland, Ore.
- Adventure continues for Rainbow Wahine's Fowler
- UH vs. BYUH is an exhibition game with some significance
- Plenty at stake when Kamehameha and Punahou hook up
- Isle touch has rebuilt UOP volleyball
- Hawaii Beat
- Scoreboard
- Television & Radio
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