UC Davis familiar with UH, and yet everything is new, too

Just three months into the job, it would not be a stretch to say that UC Davis coach Dan Conners is more familiar with Hawaii volleyball tradition than with that of his Aggies’ program.

Conners, a former setter for UCLA, made a number of trips to Honolulu as both a player and an assistant for Bruins women’s coaches Andy Banachowski and Mike Sealy and "Hawaii coming to town is an awesome thing for us," said Conners, who was hired in mid-June. "They’re always a strong team and have such a great following. We know there will be Hawaii fans in here and we hope to pack the place with Davis fans.

"It’s always fun to play schools with that kind of tradition."

Hawaii’s last trip to The Pavilion (5,931 seats) was hardly fun for the Rainbow Wahine. It was, in a word, devastating as UH fell in five in what the Aggies consider the biggest win in their program’s history.

It came two nights after Hawaii lost in five at Cal State Northridge, marking the first time the Rainbow Wahine had dropped back-to-back conference matches since 1993 when they lost two at UC Santa Barbara.

Friday not only is the Big West opener for both teams, it is the first road trip of the year for Hawaii. Of the 14 players who traveled this week, only five played in front of the 1,309 at The Pavilion last Oct. 26.

"We haven’t really talked about last year but (the new players) know we lost," said junior Tai Manu-Olevao, who had 14 kills, 11 digs and an ace against UCD. "I know for me there has been a monkey on my shoulder because of that loss. It was devastating.

"That we have a lot of new girls is to our advantage. They know nothing about it."

The new group includes reserve freshman setter Kendra Koelsch.

"We’re ready to just go and play," Koelsch said. "I’m really excited about what this team can do.

"We are working hard but we know we have a lot more work to do. We see the potential that we can totally be an amazing team."

Hawaii rode its first three-match win streak into The Pavilion for a practice Thursday. The three straight wins coincides with the return of sophomore Nikki Taylor to the starting lineup; she missed preseason practice, all of the first seven matches and subbed in against UCLA.

Asked if he finally had the lineup he had envisioned, Shoji said it was close. He had expected freshman Savannah Kahakai to be part of the mix but the defensive specialist sprained her right knee in an exhibition against Toyota Auto Body last week and is out for at least another week.

His biggest surprises have been the play of junior middle Olivia Magill, a transfer from Arizona, and freshman hitter Kalei Greeley, who returns to her hometown Saturday in the match at UC Riverside.

"Magill came to us with some experience but we had no idea how good she’d be for us," Shoji said of the team leader in kills, hitting percentage, blocks and points. "Greeley was an unknown but has been so steady out there."

As for the Aggies, Conners had a gym full of unknowns when practice began last month. Davis returns four players who had key roles in the upset of Hawaii, three others who saw the court and another — all-conference middle Victoria Lee — who will miss Friday’s match with a foot injury suffered in spring.

"We’ve come in with a new staff so even the seniors are freshmen again. They have to relearn all the basics and learn what we want," he said. "I think we’re moving in the right direction. We’ve had a pretty good start but the big part is we believe we can win."