When Charlie Wade was an assistant coach under Dave Shoji in the mid-1990s he popularized a phrase that summed up the University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine’s era of dominance in volleyball.
It was “Uno, dos, adios!” for the rapid three-set dismissals of opponents that were fairly common occurrences.
Never did you imagine the phase could be turned around to fit something like what happened this past week when the Rainbow Wahine were the three-set victims of the same unranked opponent on consecutive appearances. And, at home, yet.
In being put away in back-to-back three-set losses to Kansas State, the Rainbow Wahine suffered a fate not seen since 1992.
Losing in three to the Wildcats behind closed doors in the first outing was one thing. Getting routed again the second time despite the backing and pleas of 2,439 of the faithful on hand was quite another.
Maybe it was a blessing that 10th-ranked UCLA, the only nationally ranked team in the Hurricane Lane-disrupted Rainbow Wahine Classic, wasn’t able to make it to Honolulu.
But the lost weekend was a concern on several levels. For one, in ’92 the tormentor was UC Santa Barbara, a nationally ranked team. And the ’92 UH team, which went 15-12 (11-7 in the Big West Conference), was the only Shoji squad that did not make it to the NCAA Tournament.
This time it was only the opening week of a weather-challenged start, leaving the Rainbow Wahine plenty of time to regain their equilibrium, if they can.
But being sweep victims of Kansas State in matches where UH was unable to close out games should raise a lot of red flags since the Wildcats were not nationally ranked. They were, in fact, projected just fifth in the Big 12 Conference.
It used to be that, on the rare occasions, an opponent came into the Stan Sheriff Center and pulled off a victory it meant an immediate boost up or into the rankings. But Kansas State wasn’t even among the “Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots” crowd in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll this week, which tells you something about current perceptions.
It also affirms the widespread belief of the AVCA coaches from the preseason that UH wasn’t Top 25 worthy for the first time since the poll was launched in 1982.
Picking up the pieces, the questions now are: Where do the Rainbow Wahine go from here and how soon can they get there?
Last year, the first season of the post-Shoji era, they stumbled to an 0-3 start. But under rookie head coach Robyn Ah Mow-Santos they regained their footing and managed a 20-8 (14-2 Big West) finish. And while they surrendered the Big West Conference crown to Cal Poly, they did make the NCAA Tournament.
This year the schedule affords the Rainbow Wahine opportunities to get on track the next couple of weeks, beginning with Coastal Carolina on Thursday and Friday. That is followed by Idaho, Portland and San Diego State, none of them nationally ranked.
Eighteenth-ranked Oregon (Sept. 13 and 14) will be the last major test before UH enters Big West Conference play.
In the meantime we leave you with the words of Kansas State freshman opposite Gloria Mutiri, who said on the school’s website about beating UH twice, “It was really fun.”
“Uno, dos, adios” isn’t supposed to be “fun” for the visitors.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
