The third-ranked Hawaii beach volleyball team’s official travel roster is 12 but the Rainbow Wahine will take a 13th along in their hearts when leaving today for their season opener in California. Second-year graduate student Heather Boyan remains hospitalized after Saturday’s fall from a hiking trail which will have her missing the season, including this weekend’s Pepperdine Kickoff Tournament at legendary Zuma Beach.
Women’s Collegiate Beach Volleyball
Pepperdine Kickoff Tournament, Zuma Beach, Calif.
>> When: Saturday-Sunday
>> Who: No. 1 USC, No. 2 Pepperdine, No. 3 Hawaii, No. 4 Long Beach State and No. 7 UCLA.
Boyan was to be paired with All-American Katie Spieler — also playing a second year as a graduate student — at No. 1 but the accident forced head coach Jeff Hall to juggle his lineup. Spieler will be at No. 2 with sophomore Lara Schreiber, Spieler’s third partner in as many seasons.
“I think the biggest thing that has helped my mind-set is remembering the great preseason I had with such a positive partner,” Spieler said of Boyan. “That has helped me go forward and take this adversity as an opportunity.
“Playing (at flight) 1 or 2 doesn’t matter. I’m a very competitive person. The good thing is it’s a team sport and, whatever spot I’m at, I’m playing for UH. I just want to win.”
Spieler finished with a team-best 30-10 record playing with Olivia Urban at No. 2 last season. She had an All-American season at No. 2 two years ago with Nikki Taylor, finishing 35-13.
Taylor, at No. 1 last season with Brittany Tiegs, will remain in the top flight this year with junior Mikayla Tucker. The other pairings, still tentative according to Hall, have junior Hannah Rooks with sophomore Ka’iwi Schucht at No. 3; redshirt freshman Emily Maglio and freshman Ari Homayun at No. 4; graduate student Ginger Long and junior Hannah Zalopany at No. 5; and senior Tai Manu-Olevao with redshirt freshman Hi’ilawe Huddleston.
It also is Taylor’s third season with a different partner but “great players can adapt to anything,” she said. “So much about beach volleyball is maintaining and sustaining partnerships. It’s about compatibility.
“Zuma is an awesome setting and I’m really stoked to be playing there for the first time. Personally, I have high expectations for this season, have a good chance at being at the top.”
It’s a trial by fire with Hawaii opening Saturday with defending national champion and top-ranked USC followed by No. 7 UCLA. On Sunday, it is host and second-ranked Pepperdine and Big West rival Long Beach State.
This is the first year the sport is sponsored by the NCAA and the first year that the Big West will have a postseason tournament.
“The field is incredible,” Hall said. “I don’t mind opening like this, we’ll know where we’re at right away and will be able to then train to fix any issues and test pairings.
“Our goals this season are, one, to win the Big West; two, get into the NCAA field and, three, make the NCAA finals. That’s as far as we’ve thought ahead. Anything else will be gravy.”
Pepperdine coach Nina Matthies said she was excited about being able to put together such an elite field. Her Waves won two AVCA titles, finishing second once and third last season.
“After last year, I came home and thought about everyone’s scheduling and how we all sort of dance around each other,” Matthies said. “So I wanted to host a big event on opening weekend and invited what I think are the top 5 programs in the country … in hindsight probably biting off more than I wanted.
“But I think it is going to be a great way to open this inaugural NCAA season, play everyone right out of the shoot, see where we all are, give us a measure, a gauge of what is to come during this season, and basically to just compete with the best.
“Seeing as our sport is so different from any other — in that we have some teams with completely separate beach rosters, some with all indoor, some with combos — you just never know exactly who is playing until the season begins. It will be fun to see the teams and where and how everyone is playing.”
Hawaii opens its home schedule March 12 with duals against Hawaii Pacific and TCU at Queens’ Beach. The SandBows host USC at the T.C. Ching Complex campus courts on March 15.
NOTE
Donations are being accepted for Boyan to defray medical costs at gofundme.com/heatherboyan.
