UH in ‘must win’ mode

In a word, “unthinkable.”

In another word, “reality.”

The two collide in the Stan Sheriff Center on Friday. The decades-old volleyball rivalry between No. 15 Hawaii and Long Beach State has more often than not had major implications when it comes to the NCAA tournament. Usually, the showdown determined who would advance in the postseason and whose tournament run would be ended.

It began in 1989 when the 49ers upset the Rainbow Wahine in five sets in the regional final played at Pacific’s Spanos Arena. Long Beach State advanced to the final four at Blaisdell Arena — the first time Hawaii hosted the event — and won its first NCAA championship.

Friday’s contest is even more significant. All signs point to it determining the Big West title and, with it, the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

With the Ratings Percentage Index basically dictating the 64-team field, it is very likely that the Big West will be a one-bid league. It also is likely the only way that Long Beach State — with an RPI of 55 this week — would be selected; Hawaii (40 RPI) might have an outside chance at an at-large but …

That’s where both the reality and the unthinkable come in. The Rainbow Wahine have missed out on the postseason only once since the program’s inception in 1974, that in 1992 when injury-plagued Hawaii finished 15-12 and the tournament only had 32 teams.

“This is probably the biggest game of the season because it makes or breaks us for the season,” junior hitter Kalei Greeley said Wednesday. “It’s unthinkable not making it (the NCAA tournament). It’s why we have to focus.

“We know about the history, we know there’s a huge rivalry. We feel it whenever we go to their gym or when they come here.

“It’s always different than any other game in conference.”

Although Hawaii leads the series 30-18-1, Long Beach State has the edge when it’s mattered most. The 49ers lead 5-2 in the postseason, ending the Wahine’s season in 1989, ’90, ’91, ’93 and ’94. (Hawaii’s wins came in 2000 and ’06).

The Beach (16-8, 10-1) comes in with a half-game lead over Hawaii (16-5, 9-1) in the standings. The 49ers handed the Wahine their lone conference loss at The Pyramid on Oct. 8 in five sets.

The Wahine admit they played their worst game of the year, but find encouragement in that it went five and that there was a chance to win when leading 11-9 in Set 5. (The 49ers won Set 5 15-13).

“I think everything that could go wrong went wrong for us,” said junior middle Emily Maglio, who had two kills and hit .000. “It wasn’t a good game overall for us but we felt if we played any percentage better, we could have beaten them.

“This is the deciding game of the conference and we know it’s really important.”

The 49ers also have a conference loss, falling last Friday at home in five to UC Irvine. The Anteaters won Set 5 15-12, the final point coming via a red card (automatic point) issued to 49ers coach Brian Gimmillaro.

Both teams had injuries coming into the week but both Hawaii players who have been out — senior All-American opposite Nikki Taylor (elbow, knee) and freshman hitter Kirsten Sibley (ankle) — were cleared to practice Wednesday. Sophomore middle Peyton Grahovac did not play in the 49ers’ sweep of Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday and had several of its beach volleyball team play recently, including junior Kobi Pekich,who played for Hawaii volunteer coach Tom Pestolesi at Irvine Valley for two seasons.

NOTE: Friday is a designated “White Out” night with fans encouraged to wear white shirts. Saturday is “Think Pink” in honor of breast cancer awareness. The Wahine will wear pink uniforms and there will be pink shirts on sale at the arena.