The inaugural sand volleyball season was over quickly for Hawaii on Sunday morning, with both Rainbow Wahine pairs eliminated in their first match at the AVCA Collegiate Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala.
The seventh-seeded team of Jane Croson and Ashley Lee couldn’t hold on against 10th-seeded Sara Shaw-Geena Urango of USC in a 16-21, 21-19, 15-11 decision. The No. 8 team of Elizabeth Stoltzman-Emily Hartong lost to Long Beach State’s Haleigh Hampton-Chelsea Cabrajac 22-20, 21-15.
But the season was far from over for Hawaii coach Scott Wong, who quickly went into recruiting mode Sunday afternoon by scouting players at the companion USA Volleyball High Performance event. All three of the Wahine who received sand scholarships — Lee, Stoltzman and Larissa Nordyke — have used up their eligibility.
“I don’t like to make excuses, but we were at a disadvantage, relying on so many of our indoor players,” said Wong, who also is the associate coach for UH’s indoor team. “We didn’t compete as much as some of the other teams. We had maybe seven or eight dates, where teams like Pepperdine (which won the team title Saturday) had 14 dates. USC had 16. It showed.
“We had our indoor team going back and forth from indoor to beach. That’s the reality that we dealt with. What I’m hoping to do is bring in 10 players in the fall who are beach-dedicated and can train year-round, with indoor augmenting the team. We know it’s better to have them playing year-round.”
The scholarship limit was three this year, with the NCAA allowing a fourth to be added in 2013. Wong said he was still working out the scholarship numbers and what financial commitment the UH athletic department will make.
“I know we are buckling down financially throughout the department,” he said, “but if I need to go out and raise money, that’s what we’ll need to do. If we are going to commit to this sport, we need to create two separate teams with three or four players who play both.
“My commitment is to the indoor team, but I’d like to see us create a (sand) team in the fall, maybe play some matches, maybe get some money for an assistant.”
Wong’s volunteer assistant was Danny Alvarez, a longtime sand and indoor coach.
“All in all, we’re disappointed with the outcome, but Danny and I are happy with the progress,” Wong said. “Hartong has come a long way and even Jane is better than when she was two weeks ago.
“We didn’t take advantage of some situations Friday (pool play), and (Sunday) it could have gone either way. We played well, but the teams we played played really, really well.”
Pepperdine also won the pairs title, as Caitlin Racich and Summer Ross rallied past Long Beach State’s Caitlin Ledoux-Tara Roenicke 14-21, 21-15, 16-14.
