Hawai‘i 3, San Jose State 0
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The No. 3 University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (25-1, 14-0 WAC) clinched at least a share of their 14th consecutive Western Athletic Conference title with a sweep over the San Jose State Spartans (8-20, 3-11) 25-17, 25-17 and 25-21 at Spartan Gym Saturday.
The win extended UH’s nation-long streaks of 53 sets won and 39 conference matches won. Hawai‘i is now one set shy of the school record of 54, set in 2002.
Brittany Hewitt came up big at the net, hitting .417 with five kills, eight blocks and two aces. Kanani Danielson had 13 kills and eight digs while Michelle Waber hit .400 with seven kills in just two sets played. Emily Hartong also added six kills, four digs and a .600 hitting percentage in two sets with Elizabeth Ka‘aihue posting 13 digs and two aces.
Hawai‘i came out firing in the first set, jumping ahead 8-1 on an ace by Dani Mafua. SJSU pulled it back to 14-10 before UH got it rolling again, scoring three in a row to make it 17-10. The Hawai‘i lead got to 22-14 before the Rainbow Wahine put it away 25-17.
UH started the second set with Hartong on the outside and Alexis Forsythe in the middle. Hartong served Hawai‘i to a quick 3-0 lead, which got extended to 8-3 later on. The Spartans got it back to 8-6 and 10-8 before the Rainbow Wahine got it going. UH would score 14 of the next 19 points to get to a 24-13 set point. SJSU came back with four points before a service error ended it 25-17.
In the third set, Alex Griffiths served the Rainbow Wahine on an early five-point run to make it 10-5. A 5-0 by the Spartans, on the serve of Alex Akana, got it back to 12-11. But that was as close as San Jose State would get. Hawai‘i hit .400 as a team in the third set as a solo block by Hewitt finished the set 25-21.
Boise State 3, New Mexico State 0
BOISE, Idaho - The Boise State volleyball team pulled out a spectacular upset on Saturday (Nov. 13) night, sweeping New Mexico State, 3-0 (25-20,26-24, 25-23) in Bronco Gym. The Broncos earned their 20th win of the season (now 20-11, 7-8 WAC) tying the second-most season wins in Boise State volleyball history. The win snapped NMSU's (18-11, 12-3 WAC) 13-match win streak over the Broncos and was Boise State's first win over the Aggies since 2004 when they won 3-1.
The Broncos' win Saturday night ties for the most season wins since the 1997 Bronco team earned a 20-12 record under coaches Darlene Bailey and Mike Waller. That same season was the last time the Broncos swept New Mexico State (Oct. 30, 1997), winning both matches against the Aggies, 3-0, that year.
In order to earn the win, Boise State had to exceed New Mexico State in nearly category, a feat they carried out well. Boise State tallied 39 kills, a .148 hitting percentage, 37 assists, 25 individual blocks and 13.0 team blocks. They held NMSU to 30 kills, a .032 hitting percentage, 19 individual blocks and 10.0 team blocks. The Aggies only outperformed in aces (3-to-1) and digs (39-to33) over Boise State.
Boise State was an emotionally powerful team on Saturday night with each player bringing intensity to the court. Looking indestructible, the Broncos were able to hold off the Aggies through 35 ties and 19 lead changes throughout the three sets to earn the monumental win.
Senior Alisha Young and sophomore Cailin Fellows led the Broncos offensively racking up 11 and nine kills, respectively. Both recorded solid hitting percentages as well, with Young hitting .348 and Fellows at .208. Senior Sadie Maughan led the team's defense at the net, racking up eight blocks (one solo), while Young added five blocks. Junior Breann Nesselhuf also added five blocks, while putting up 34 assists on the night as well. Helping the entire senior class step-up for the win, Lauren Hamm led the team with seven digs and made some crucial plays in the match. Sophomore Fiona Jones added eight kills and the team's only service ace.
New Mexico State was led by Kayleigh Giddens who racked up 11 kills to tie Young for the match-high. Giddens had the best hitting percentage on the team, a very uncharacteristic .182, showing that Boise State was solid in their defense. The Aggies Whitney Woods led the team with seven blocks, while Kelsey Brennan added five (one solo). Giddens, Woods and Brennan each picked up one of the three aces scored by the Aggies, while Jennah DeVries added 27 assists to the night. Kelsi Phillips led the match in digs, tallying 15 in their loss.
Although the Aggies lost Saturday night they still hold a 16-9 series lead over Boise State.
Boise State improved their chances of advancing to the 2010 Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Las Vegas (Nov. 22-24), but still need a win in their final match to solidify the trip. The Broncos play host to San Jose State on Mon., Nov. 15 for their final regular season match of the season. Three seniors, Lauren Hamm, Alisha Young and Sadie Maughan will be honored prior to the match. Fans are encouraged to come out and support the team in their final match in Bronco Gym at 7 p.m.
Idaho 3, Louisiana Tech 2
MOSCOW, Idaho - It wasn't easy, but in the end the Idaho volleyball team pulled out its third five-set win in its last four matches, as the Vandals topped Louisiana Tech 25-22; 21-25; 27-25; 21-25 and 15-10 Saturday afternoon.
The Vandals were led by Allison Walker's third straight double-double, as she finished with a team-high 22 kills and 10 digs.
The win puts Idaho at 13-12 on the season, and 8-6 in the Western Athletic Conference. Louisiana Tech drops to 12-19 overall and 1-13 in the WAC.
Although they got the win, the Vandals played inconsistent, giving LA Tech an opportunity to take the match to five games. Idaho hit just .025 in the fourth game, and allowed LA Tech to hit .378 in game two. The Vandals hit .212 for the match, while LA Tech hit .230.
"We were a little bit sloppy," Walker said. "They came out and they played hard, but we just need to come out and play our game."
Kelsey Taylor finished with a career-high 17 kills for Idaho, and Julia Church notched her second career double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs. Cassie Hamilton led Idaho with 24 digs, and Jenny Feicht finished with 56 assists.
"I don't feel like we got complacent because we told them what to expect," Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said. "We told them they are a good team. We have to create some energy. I feel like we were flat again. We have to play at a high level. We're really up and down right now, and we need a much higher level of focus."
Idaho can finish as high as third place in the WAC and earn the No. 3 seed in the WAC tournament. The Vandals will play at home for the last time this season when they hosts Fresno State on Nov. 15. The Vandals will wrap up the regular season at Hawai'i on Nov. 18 before heading to the WAC tournament, Nov. 22-24.