Volleyball drops two in Hawaii
By Erin Chambers
After clinching the title at the Santa Clara University Invitational last Friday, the women's volleyball team headed across the sea to Hawaii to take on the 12th ranked Wahine.
Sponsored by the local chapter of the Santa Clara Alumni Association in Hawaii, the highly anticipated two game series between the Broncos and the Wahine was the first meeting of the teams since 1996 where Santa Clara fell in three games. Hawaii advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament last year and is the preseason favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference. Going into the series with a 4-4 record, the Wahine was lead by Kim Willoughby's 5.81 kills per game average. The Broncos came into the series ranked No. 20 with a 7-1 record on the season and high hopes to knock off a traditional national powerhouse.
Despite the promising drive shown by the Bronco women, Santa Clara fell in four games to Hawaii on the first night of the series. After dropping the first game to Hawaii, Santa Clara managed to tie it up in the second game at 22 and then again at 27. A block by Becky Potter and Becky Biniek followed by outside hitter Jessie Mechem's 10th kill of the game were enough to give the Broncos' the game point and a boost of confidence.
Hawaii took the third game with a score of 30-19, and even with two early service aces by Potter for a 3-1 lead, the Wahine claimed the fourth game as well due to unforced errors by the Broncos. Bechem had 16 kills on the night, with her teammates, Potter, Jami Bari and freshman Toni Muratore also reaching double figures. Wahine powerhouse Kim Willoughby led Hawaii with her career high 35 kills on the night.
Saturday night's game, played before more than 6,000 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus in Honolulu proved to be almost a repeat of Friday night's match up.
The Broncos lost in three games to the Wahine, who started out strong with leads of 15-10 and 22-13 before taking the first game at a score of 30-20. The Broncos had a chance in the third game as they cut the lead to two at 11-9, but Hawaii proceeded to swiftly overpower the Broncos to win the final game 30-16.
Kim Willoughby dominated once again with 16 kills and eight digs on the night, while Nahoa Tano recorded the best match of her career hitting a .444 average with nine kills and five blocks. Bari recorded respectable 14 digs on the night, while her teammate Merrin Thompson posted 12.
After their stint in Hawaii, the series was the Broncos' first competition since the recent national events and their last of non-conference play, Santa Clara falls to 7-3 on the season while Hawaii improves to 6-4. Hawaii starts their WAC play this coming weekend against Louisiana Tech and then moves on to Rice and Tulsa in October. The Bronco women open West Coast conference play on Friday against San Diego at the Malley center.