Winning is only thing Wahine can control

After a week that brought joy to most of its volleyball world, 12th-ranked Hawaii plays its final two Big West matches this weekend.

It might have nothing to win at UC Riverside tonight and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, or it might have nothing to lose. The Rainbow Wahine’s conference fate depends on first-place UC Santa Barbara. Their postseason fate — the NCAA tournament brackets will be announced Sunday at 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU — often feels out of their control as well.

Coach Dave Shoji is not focusing on either. He wants his team intent only on improving.

He has recently tweaked the lineup, keeping freshman Nikki Taylor in all six rotations to open up more offensive options. That gives Hawaii (22-4, 11-3 BWC) another look heading into the postseason.

He has also come to terms with essentially having his team’s success in the hands of its two youngest starters — Taylor and sophomore Tai Manu-Olevao. He knows what he will get from his other starters and deep bench. Taylor and Manu-Olevao can be erratic, but since dropping three of four last month, UH has shown signs of returning to the form that led to an RPI as high as No. 3 earlier this season.

"Watching the ends of these games now, we’re not making silly errors anymore," Shoji says. "We get a block here and there, which is critical, and we’re making a dig and converting it. A lot of it is making the plays when it counts."

He wants the Wahine so intent on fine-tuning and winning two this week that he is not allowing them to celebrate the holiday.

"At Thanksgiving it’s nice to be with family," Shoji admits, "but we need to focus so we’re keeping with our Thursday-Friday routine."

That meant a nap after arriving at the hotel Thursday morning, then lunch, practice and turkey dinner at a "low-budget" restaurant.

Still, the Wahine know what they are most thankful for at this time of year.

Sarah Mendoza, a defensive specialist who had a career-high 12 digs last week, is thankful "for the tiniest things" her teammates worked on to bounce back.

Backup setter Tayler Higgins is happy her teammates don’t treat her like a freshman.

"They treat me like I’m their baby sister," she says. "They joke all the time with me, but I’ve never felt like I can’t be myself."

Redshirt Keani Passi and Ginger Long, who will both be juniors next year, are most thankful their team has stuck through the good and bad times together.

"The chemistry of our team is really what sets us apart from some other teams," Passi says. "We all get along together, hang out together. …There was never really a point in time where we fell apart."

That was obvious Saturday at Senior Night, when the Wahine and 8,000 others at the Stan Sheriff Center gave a heartfelt goodbye to Courtney Lelepali, Ali Longo, Kristiana Tuaniga, Kaela Goodman, Mita Uiato, Ashley Kastl and Emily Hartong.

"It’s a really exciting moment just to see them having fun out there," Longo said. "You’re also sort of sad because you’re not going to play with them much longer."

Higgins got philosophical.

"Sitting there, I was thinking ‘this year flew by. This is crazy, it’s Senior Night,’ " she recalled. "It hit me that our time as a team was disappearing. It made me realize every little moment … we’re not going to get it back."