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COURTESY ERIC MILLER
The UH Rainbow Wahine defeated USC in the NCAA tournament opener in Minneapolis, M.N., on Dec. 2. Nikki Taylor, right, went for a kill.
Hawaii senior opposite Nikki Taylor repeated as a second-team All-American and junior middle Emily Maglio was among the honorable mentions on the AVCA’s Division I women’s volleyball All-America teams announced today.
It is the 56th and 57th NCAA All-American certificates for the Rainbow Wahine program, giving them a total of 29 players honored. Hawaii also had 14 AIAW All-American certificates (nine players) and 15 certificates (10 athletes) from the USVBA prior to the NCAA sponsorship of the sport in 1981.
Both Taylor and Maglio also are beach volleyball All-Americans. Taylor, the two-time Big West player of the year, was No. 2 nationallly in aces per set, No. 5 in points per set and No. 14 in kills per set nationally heading into the NCAA tournament. She finished No. 12 in kills (1,377) and No. 8 in aces (117) on the UH program’s career lists.
Nationally, Maglio was No. 14 in hitting percentage and No. 30 in blocks per set. She led the Big West in hitting percentage at .400.
Also named with Hawaii ties were Adora Anae (Utah/Kahuku), second team; Kalei Mau (Arizona/St. Francis/Kaiser), third team; Penina Snuka (Arizona/Kahuku), third team; and Carly Kan (Missouri/Punahou), honorable mention.
Also named from the Big West were Long Beach State senior hitter Nele Barber and UC Santa Barbara freshman hitter Lindsey Ruddins, both to the honorable mention list
There were 14 players named to each of the first, second and third teams, and 68 honorable mentions. For the second consecutive year, only one player from a non-power five conference was named to the first team, again a player from BYU which plays in the West Coast Conference.
congrats to all!
I thought sports was a waste of time at UH and the focus should be on academics in the world according to Allie. Don’t you always say too that UH plays in the minor leagues and should get out of the entertainment business? You should be in the DC comic books, just like Two-Face.
football hon…not volleyball..as I have said many times
No, you have said blanket statements about all UH sports. How can one sport be so bad for a school, but another one not? Two-Face
Shoji has integrated his team with the academics at the UH. It is an inexpensive sport and the players are real students connected to fans and to the university. I was all-County Volleyball in North Dakota (HS) and know the game well.
Way to go, ladies. Congrats…
Sorry, but Nikki should be first team AA, not second.
Agree. As Coach Shoji said last year when the same happened, there aren’t 14 players in the country better than Nikki. In my book, there aren’t any players better than Nikki in college volleyball. She will have many more opportunities in her bright future to make her case. By the same token, there aren’t 42 players better than Mags in the country. Iosia and Kahakai definitely should have been AAs, too. These three, along with other Wahine, will make their case for AA next season. Go Bows!
agree
Based on what? As many knowledgeable fans have noted, her gaudy stats were amassed mostly against inferior competition (not her fault but that’s a fact), she missed key games against better opposition, and the team didn’t beat anyone of note. We’re all fans of her and appreciate her skills but, please, let’s not live in fantasy land.