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Hawaii Moves on to Regional Play with 3-1 win Over 49ers
Beach Ends Its Season at 26-6, Wahine Improve to 28-5
December 2, 2006
LONG BEACH, CA— Senior Sarah Mason recorded 24 kills and 16 digs,
and sophomore Jamie Houston added 19 kills as Hawai’i (28-5) earned
a 30-28, 30-25, 24-30, 30-17 win against Long Beach State (26-6) in NCAA
Tournament second round action before 1,803 fans at the Walter Pyramid
on Saturday evening.
Hawai’i advances to next weekend’s regional in Honolulu to
play USC, which defeated Mississippi and Brigham Young in the first two
rounds.
Senior setter Kanoe Kamana’o posted 58 assists to lead the UH offense
that hit .225 (65-26-173) for the match. Kamana’o also tied for
the team-high with seven blocks, helping UH outblock LBSU 15.0-10.5.
Senior Robin Miramontes led the 49ers with 13 kills while hitting .355
(13-2-21), and juniors Alexis Crimes and Mischa Hasalikova added 12 kills
apiece. Hasalikova led the 49ers with a .440 hitting percentage. Junior
libero Talaya Whitfield set a Long Beach State record for an NCAA Tournament
match with 29 digs. Sophomore Nicole Vargas handed out 49 assists for
LBSU, which hit .178 (57-27-169) for the contest.
Hawai’i edged the 49ers by a score of 30-28 in game one thanks in
large part to the hitting of Mason. The outside hitter clubbed nine of
the team’s 15 kills, including a cross-court smash that clinched
the opening frame. Despite only hitting .080 (15-11-50), the Rainbow Wahine
held the 49ers to a -.021 (10-11-47) mark. Crimes and Crum had four kills
apiece to lead the 49ers.
Game one was close throughout, with LBSU owning a 17-16 lead after a UH
attack error. Hawai’i regained the lead at 18-17, and increased
its edge to 27-23 on a kill from freshman Amber Kaufman. LBSU took five
of the next seven points to close within one at 29-28, but Mason ended
the set on the next point.
Long Beach State struggled to find any offensive rhythm in game two and
hit just .216 (16-8-37). The Rainbow Wahine hit only .206 (14-7-34) themselves,
but managed to come up with the points in key situations. Holding a slim
23-22 lead, UH reeled off three straight points on kills by Houston, Mason
and Kaufman to go up four, 26-22. Two 49er attack errors pushed UH’s
lead to 29-23, and the Rainbow Wahine finished the game off on another
kill from Mason.
Mason had five more kills in game two while Crimes led Long Beach with
five of her own.
The 49ers used a late surge in game three to win 30-24. Leading 19-18,
the 49ers scored nine of the next 10 points to create a 28-19 cushion
as Miramontes was key to the 49er cause. She had six of her nine kills
in the game during the decisive surge. LBSU clinched the game off of a
Mason attack error.
LBSU had its best game offensively as it swung at a .288 (19-4-52) clip.
Defensively, Whitfield made several key digs and tallied 13 of them in
the game. UH had its best offensive game of the match at .240 (16-4-50),
but the 49ers limited Mason to just three kills.
Game four belonged to Hawai’I from start to finish. The Rainbow
Wahine went up 14-6 on a kill by junior Kari Gregory. LBSU tried to claw
back with a mini-run as a Crimes putaway brought the 49ers to within 15-10.
The UH lead fluctuated between six and eight points until a decisive 10-3
run ended any hopes of a 49er comeback. Mason had seven of her kills in
game four as the Rainbow Wahine hit a sizzling .410 (20-4-39).
NCAA Second Round Quotes
Hawaii vs. Long Beach State
LONG BEACH STATE
Head Coach Brian Gimmillaro:
“Hawaii was certainly stronger than us and out played us in most
areas. Their game plan was good and was well coached and executed. The
first game. I thought both teams played poorly and anyone could take that
game. Game two was the same but unfortunately we couldn’t steal
that one.”
(regarding their left side)
“The leftside hitters were out part of the season because of injury.
All year long I thought we were playing pretty well, but had to use different
people every night. We used four of them tonight so it was hard for them
to develop any rhythm.”
(regarding the team-end of season)
“I really liked this team because they were healthy enough to practice
all year and were determined to get better. I will be dfond of them forever.
I don’t want to let them go just yet. As a long time coach, I am
making plans (for next year) as I sit here.”
Mariko Crum:
(regarding her career at LBSU)
“ I am convinced that I was lucky enough to have played for the
best volleyball program in the country. I believed that when I signed
and I still believe it now.”
(regarding the crowd)
“I didn’t notice the crowd. They weren’t in to it much.
It’s not their fault, it’s our job to bring them into it.”
Alex Crimes:
“Hawaii played really well. They took us out of our game. In game
four four, the score didn’t show it, but we played hard but didn’t
come out on top.
HAWAII
Head Coach David Shoji:
“It felt like old times playing with Brian and Long Beach State.
I didn’t have the heart to tell our team that we never beet LBSU
here (The Walter Pyramid) or hardly at all in the NCAA Tournament. I feel
fortunate to move on at this point.”
(regarding game four)
“It is pretty much business down there/ We lost our composure in
game three. We just needed to regroup in game four and it was important
for us to get off well and get an early lead.”
(Regarding LBSU’s left side)
“It was not there strong point. We needed to serve tough to make
them set to the left. If they were going to set Crimes and Crum all night,
it would have been real tough.”
Jamie Houston:
“We had focused anger the whole time. We never got mad.”
Sarah Mason:
(regarding her scoring the final point in all three games)
“It’s an amazing feeling. I wanted it real bad. Give it to
the senior to end it. Why not.”
Kanoe Kamanao:
“They (LBSU) are a competitive team and so are we. When calls went
to LBSU’s advantage it got us pumped up and we used that to our
advantage.”
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