Sept. 15, 2000
HONOLULU, Hawaii - n a battle of former Big West Conference foes, 14th-ranked UC Santa Barbara gave the University of Hawai'i a scare, Friday night, at the Stan Sheriff Center. But the second-ranked Wahine pulled out the hard-fought victory, 5-15, 15-11, 15-6, 15-5, behind an emotional lift of freshman Kim Willoughby.
The teams met for the first time since 1995, Hawai'i's last season in the Big West. The Wahine swept the season series, taking both matches at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Willoughby, who suffered an ankle injury in last weekend's Aston's Imua Wahine Volleyball Challenge, recharged Hawaii (7-0) off the bench. She finished the night with nine kills and 11 digs in a little more than two games played.
After a brief Hawai'i lead (5-2) in the first game, the Gauchos stormed back with a 13-0 run to surprise the 7,016 in attendance. As a team, the Gauchos (6-3) hit .358 while middle blockers Danielle Bauer and Simone Kuhn had seven kills a piece, no errors, and hefty hitting percentages of .500 and .583.
In the second game, the Wahine jumped out to a 10-6 lead. The Gauchos quickly erased that deficit, to tie it a 10 and eventually regain the lead at 11-10. In came Willoughby. With the score tied at 11, the Wahine won a huge rally, with Willoughby playing remarkable defense, to retake the lead, 12-11. A pair of UCSB hitting errors gave Hawai'i game point, and Jessica Sudduth sealed the victory with one of her career-high 21 kills.
In the crucial third game, the Wahine scored the first point and never surrendered the lead. The Gauchos tied it at 6 but that would be as close as they would
get. A 9-0 run finished off the Gauchos and gave the Wahine a two games to one advantage. In the fourth game, Hawai'i took a 9-0 lead and never looked back.
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"This win was good for us," head coach Dave Shoji said. "We wanted a tough match and we got it. I think we're in great physical condition and maybe that was a factor in Games Three and Four."
Sudduth led the Wahine in kills while hitting .340 and adding 11 digs. Lily Kahumoku hammered 18 kills and a team-high three aces. Veronica Lima put together a double-double of 14 kills and 11 digs.
For the Gauchos, sophomore Courtney Guerra paced the team with 20 kills, 14 digs, and a three service aces. Kuhn added 15 kills and seven blocks.
