Sept. 13, 2003
Honolulu, Hawaii - Junior outside hitter Ogonna Nnamani had 28 kills and 15 digs as the No. 4 Stanford women's volleyball team fell to No. 2 Hawaii, 3-2, in Honolulu, Hawaii tonight before a crowd of 8,740 in the Stan Sheriff Center. Game scores were 22-30, 31-29, 27-30, 30-25, 14-16. The Cardinal fall to 6-2 on the year while the Wahine improve to 9-1 in non-conference play.
Kristin Richards and Ogonna Nnamani were tabbed to the all-tournament team for the Cardinal.
The two teams remained close early in game one with Hawaii leading 6-5 before a four-point run by the Wahine forced a Stanford timeout at 10-5. UH built a 14-7 lead before the Cardinal responded with a four-point run to close the gap to three, trailing 11-14. Consecutive blocks by Stanford pulled the team to within two at 19-21 but two quick Wahine points forced a second SU timeout at 23-19. Hawaii ran off three more points to extend their lead to 26-19. The Wahine reached game point on a service ace by Kim Willoughby at 29-21 and won the game 30-22 on a kill by Tano Nohea. Stanford outblocked Hawaii, 6-2, in game won but only hit .156 (13-6-45).
Once again the Wahine staked an early 6-2 lead in game two but the Cardinal rallied off four consecutive points to tie the game at six-all on a block by Jennifer Harvey and Sara Dukes. The two teams traded points until Stanford strung together three to go up 14-12. Hawaii came right back to tie the game at 14-all but a Kim Willoughby service error gave Stanford the 15-14 edge heading into the media timeout. Back-to-back Cardinal kills and a Wahine ball-handling error forced a Hawaii timeout at 18-14. The squads traded points until UH got back-to-back kills from Willoughby to pull within three at 19-22 and forced a Stanford timeout. The Wahine closed to within one at 24-25 on a service ace and again at 25-26 but the Cardinal recorded two quick kills from Sara Dukes and Kristin Richards to go up 28-25 and force the final UH timeout. The Wahine stormed out to score the next three points and tie the game at 28-all. Stanford reached game point on a kill by Jennifer Harvey but UH tied it up again at 29-all. A kill by Duke gave the Cardinal a second game point and a Hawaii hitting error closed out the game 31-29.
Game three remained tight as the two teams traded points and the lead. After two consecutive blocks, the Wahine took a 15-13 advantage into the media timeout. Hawaii extended the lead to 19-15 to force a Cardinal timeout. Stanford pulled to within one at 19-20 but fell behind 20-24 and called their final timeout. Trailing 21-26, the Cardinal rallied together to score three straight points at 24-26 and force a Hawaii timeout. But the Wahine would reach game point on a kill by Kim Willoughby at 29-26. Stanford would hold off one game point before falling 27-30.
After the Wahine opened game four with two quick points, the Cardinal rallied off six consecutive points to take a 6-2 lead and force a Hawaii timeout. Stanford continued to roll opening up a 14-5 lead after back-to-back blocks. The Wahine used their last timeout after a Kristin Richards kill put the Cardinal up 16-7. With Stanford leading 20-8, Hawaii rattled off three straight points to force a Cardinal timeout at 20-11. The Wahine came out firing scoring nine of the next 11 points to close the gap to 17-22. Stanford took a 26-20 lead on an Ogonna Nnamani kill but took their final timeout leading 27-23 after a hitting error. The Cardinal pushed ahead and reached game point on another Nnamani kill at 29-24 and forced a game five on a kill by Kristin Richards, winning 30-25.
After Stanford jumped out to a 4-1 lead on a kill by Ogonna Nnamani, the Wahine cut the lead to one on a block and tied the game at six-all on a Cardinal error. At the turn, Hawaii had the 8-7 edge after a kill by Laura Duggins. The teams traded points until a kill and block solo by Nnamani put Stanford up 11-10 and the Wahine took a timeout. But the two squads were back at 12-all after a kill by Nohea Tano and the Cardinal took a timeout. Stanford took their final timeout after another Tano kill and a 13-12 Hawaii edge. A Wahine hitting error and a timely service ace by Nnamani put the Cardinal at game and match point, leading 14-13 as Hawaii took their final timeout. But another kill by Tano evened up the match and back-to-back kills by Lily Kahumoku gave Hawaii the 16-14 victory.
Kristin Richards recorded a career- and match-high 22 digs and added 15 kills to the Cardinal effort. Middle blocker Jennifer Harvey had 11 kills and a match high nine blocks on the evening. Libero Leahi Hall notched a career-high 16 digs on the night.