Oct. 23, 2002
HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Notre Dame volleyball team’s trip to Honolulu was again spoiled by the University of Hawai’i as the Irish lost the second of their two matches against the Rainbows Tuesday night. The match was played in front of a crowd of 6,522 at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Irish lost an extended first game (34-32) and then dropped the next two games (30-18, 30-25) to wrap up the match and the trip to Hawai’i.
Notre Dame, which was averaging 3.81 blocks per game to lead the nation, only turned in five blocks in the match against Hawai’i. Sophomore outside hitter Emily Loomis led the Irish with 13 kills on 30 attempts (.267 hitting pct.). Junior Katie Neff added nine kills on 31 attempts (.226 hitting pct.) with only two errors. The Irish blocking effort was again led by freshman Lauren Brewster who had five blocks (two solo).
The Irish effort was enough to push the Rainbows to the limit in the first game, but it was not enough to hold off the Hawai’i attack as Notre Dame lost for the second straight day in three games. The Rainbows again were led by Kim Willoughby with 23 kills on 42 attempts (.405 hitting pct.). Lily Kahumoku added 21 kills on 42 attempts with only three errors (.429). As a team, Hawai’i recorded six blocks and earned a .373 team hitting percentage in the match.
The Irish return to the mainland to face Pittsburgh at home in the Joyce Center on Friday (Oct. 25) at 7:00 p.m.