Rainbow Wahine begin their 2018 campaign with a mile run before practice

It’s not where one starts but where one finishes.

It’s the same whether it is a national ranking or breaking the 7-minute mark when running a mile.

It’s what the Hawaii volleyball team experienced on its first official day of practice. Wednesday morning’s sunrise saw two Rainbow Wahine pass their mile test on the campus track, joining 11 of their teammates who had already reached the goal set last spring of completing the distance within 7 minutes. (Three others have yet to pass).

The bright sunlight turned somewhat harsh when Hawaii returned to the Stan Sheriff Center court. About the time the Wahine finished the first of their double-day practices word came that, for the first time since the American Volleyball Coaches Association began its national rankings in 1982, Hawaii was not in the Top 25.

It wasn’t a huge surprise, not given how voting trends go; 23 of the 25 teams in Wednesday’s poll also were in last season’s final one. The Wahine, preseason No. 20 in 2017, were unranked all 15 weeks of the regular season after opening the year 0-3.

Hawaii also finished second to Cal Poly in the Big West, the same spot the Wahine were in when the conference’s preseason poll came out on Tuesday.

“Polls don’t matter, it’s not about what others think of us or where they put us now,” senior setter-defensive specialist Faith Ma’afala said. “It’s about where we are as a team now and where we go as a team from now on.

“Yes, we have question marks but we’ll answer them. The biggest answer is to be a team.”

The gelling has begun. The task is to incorporate two freshmen (outside hitters Trinity Castaneda and Kamalei Krug) and three one-and-done senior transfers (opposite Angel Gaskin, middle Sarah Liva and libero Tita Akiu) into a roster with 10 returnees and a redshirt freshman.

“It’s comforting to know that, even though I am a senior with one season left, we have others doing the same thing,” said Gaskin, a transfer from Maryland. “I don’t feel like the new girl. Everyone has been very welcoming and it feels like a big family.

“It’s a fresh start for volleyball and academics, a clean slate, which is very exciting.”

For Akiu, it’s a return to familiarity. The Texas Tech transfer is reunited with Ma’afala, her Kamehameha Schools teammate of two seasons.

“There is definitely a difference in training,” said Akiu, an All-Big 12 second team pick for the Red Raiders. “It’s more intense here, which is what I love, it’s the type of player I am.

“We are pushing hard from Day 1, pushing mentally and physically. Two of the girls made their mile (times) today. That was a great start.”

Senior all-conference hitter McKenna Granato was one of the two who did, taking an impressive 50 seconds off her last outing when breaking 7 minutes on Wednesday.

“I get goosebumps talking about it,” said Ah Mow-Santos, who confirmed a 6:59 time. “All the team was out there on the track, running and helping those five players in that mile. It was a good way to start as a team. The only way we’re going to win games is as a team.

“It was more mental than physical. They’ve been thinking about this for almost a month. For them to overcome it is big. I told them, now you can do anything. Anything on the court you can overcome. It should be a breeze.”

Wednesday’s first practice was better than the first practice of 2017, Ah Mow-Santos said. The players returned in better shape than last August and the second-year coach was able to get through drills more quickly.

Just as quickly was the dismissal of the polls.

“Maybe one day I’ll be up on that but I really don’t care,” she said. “This is about us doing us. Maybe it will light a fire under some (players), gives them something to work toward to show what we can do.

“We’ll see if they voted right or voted wrong.”

NOTES: Hawaii had been out of the poll for only 11 weeks prior to 2017 with the number now increased to 26. The Wahine had been holding at No. 3 in all-time weeks being ranked until this past season, dropping to No. 4 with 500 weeks. They trail Stanford and Nebraska, which have been ranked all 526 weeks, and UCLA (505) … In Wednesday’s preseason Top 25, Stanford was at No. 1 with 43 first-place votes and defending national champion Nebraska at No. 2 with 20 votes … Only five non mid-major schools were ranked: No. 8 BYU, No. 13 Creighton, No. 14 San Diego, No. 24 Cal Poly and No. 25 Colorado State. Hawaii received 27 points, putting the Wahine unofficially at No. 34 … Besides Cal Poly on Hawaii’s schedule this season are No. 11 UCLA and No. 18 Oregon.