2008 Woodie Awards
The volleyball streak ends
Magdiel Vilchez
Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: Sports
It is said that all good things must come to end, and for University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine volleyball, the end of a Western Athletic Conference home winning streak came Sunday night.
The Utah State Aggies gave the Rainbow Wahine the biggest surprise of the season, delivering the 'Bows their first conference loss of the season. The 30-28, 31-29, 30-27 loss in front of a crowd of 6,708 at the Stan Sheriff Center was Hawai‘i's first home loss in the WAC and ended the 108-match home winning streak that dates back to when Hawai‘i was part of the Big West Conference.
"We got what we deserved," said UH head coach Dave Shoji. "It just proves we're not as good as we think we are. Technically, we had trouble putting the ball down. We made unforced errors again and at critical times. That's just showing we're not very mature. We wasted a lot of opportunities."
The Rainbow Wahine looked like the regular season WAC champions during the first half of Game 1. The 'Bows grabbed a 20-12 lead before the Aggies fired back with 12 of the next 14 points for the 24-22 advantage. UH battled back to tie the game up twice, but Aggies outside hitter Amanda Nielson threw down a kill and gave Utah State the 30-28 victory.
Hawai‘i didn't give up in Game 2, fighting their way to a game point chance at 29-28. However, Nielson threw down two of her 17 kills to help the Aggies to the 31-29 Game 2 win.
Utah State kept the ball rolling in Game 3, grabbing an early 14-8 lead before the Rainbow Wahine responded with a 6-1 scoring run. However, Hawai‘i's All-American outside hitter Jamie Houston had an off night (10 kills, nine errors), and without her, the Rainbow Wahine couldn't hold off the underdog Aggies.
"We are not a good team if (Houston) is off," Shoji said. "We have to have her playing at a high level. She got frustrated and really could never work herself out of it. She let her frustrations dictate her play."
Houston was called for an illegal back-row attack during the Aggies' final four-point run that finalized the Utah State sweep.
"It shows what we need to work on," Hawai‘i hitter Aneli Cubi-Otineru said. "They (the Aggies) played awesome, playing great defense. Things just kind of broke down. We need to be more mentally tough."
Nielson's 17 kills led all players, followed by Cubi-Otineru with 16. The loss drops the No. 11 'Bows to 21-5 overall and 15-1 in the WAC. However, the team's seeding in the WAC tournament at Las Cruces, N.M., will not be affected by the loss.
Hawai‘i remains the top seed in the tournament, awaiting the winner of the match between eighth-seeded Boise State and ninth-seeded Louisiana Tech.
"This was a reality check for us," Cubi-Otineru said, "especially going into the tournament."
The Rainbow Wahine will begin their title defense on Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
The Utah State Aggies gave the Rainbow Wahine the biggest surprise of the season, delivering the 'Bows their first conference loss of the season. The 30-28, 31-29, 30-27 loss in front of a crowd of 6,708 at the Stan Sheriff Center was Hawai‘i's first home loss in the WAC and ended the 108-match home winning streak that dates back to when Hawai‘i was part of the Big West Conference.
"We got what we deserved," said UH head coach Dave Shoji. "It just proves we're not as good as we think we are. Technically, we had trouble putting the ball down. We made unforced errors again and at critical times. That's just showing we're not very mature. We wasted a lot of opportunities."
The Rainbow Wahine looked like the regular season WAC champions during the first half of Game 1. The 'Bows grabbed a 20-12 lead before the Aggies fired back with 12 of the next 14 points for the 24-22 advantage. UH battled back to tie the game up twice, but Aggies outside hitter Amanda Nielson threw down a kill and gave Utah State the 30-28 victory.
Hawai‘i didn't give up in Game 2, fighting their way to a game point chance at 29-28. However, Nielson threw down two of her 17 kills to help the Aggies to the 31-29 Game 2 win.
Utah State kept the ball rolling in Game 3, grabbing an early 14-8 lead before the Rainbow Wahine responded with a 6-1 scoring run. However, Hawai‘i's All-American outside hitter Jamie Houston had an off night (10 kills, nine errors), and without her, the Rainbow Wahine couldn't hold off the underdog Aggies.
"We are not a good team if (Houston) is off," Shoji said. "We have to have her playing at a high level. She got frustrated and really could never work herself out of it. She let her frustrations dictate her play."
Houston was called for an illegal back-row attack during the Aggies' final four-point run that finalized the Utah State sweep.
"It shows what we need to work on," Hawai‘i hitter Aneli Cubi-Otineru said. "They (the Aggies) played awesome, playing great defense. Things just kind of broke down. We need to be more mentally tough."
Nielson's 17 kills led all players, followed by Cubi-Otineru with 16. The loss drops the No. 11 'Bows to 21-5 overall and 15-1 in the WAC. However, the team's seeding in the WAC tournament at Las Cruces, N.M., will not be affected by the loss.
Hawai‘i remains the top seed in the tournament, awaiting the winner of the match between eighth-seeded Boise State and ninth-seeded Louisiana Tech.
"This was a reality check for us," Cubi-Otineru said, "especially going into the tournament."
The Rainbow Wahine will begin their title defense on Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
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