Hawaii’s link to the man on the moon

This state loves to lay claim to whatever artifact of history has an island link, no matter how tenuous. That goes double where Hawaii ties to the late great American hero, Neil Armstrong, are concerned.

It’s widely reported, for example, that the first man on the moon and the rest of the Apollo 11 crew practiced their lunar walking skills on the lava fields of Hawaii before touching down on Earth’s nearest neighbor.

Folks in Iceland say their neighborhood volcano provided a similar setting for such walks, but our desolate expanse of black lava is nicer than theirs, or it’s warmer, at least. Besides, near which islands did the astronauts decide to splash down? You guessed it. Hawaii rocketed to the top of the cosmic vacation spots that historic day.

Finally at UH, a reason to cheer up

University of Hawaii fans who have become accustomed to the Wahine volleyball crawling up the national ratings may look forward to another of those seasons.

Although losing two of last year’s top players, the team — ranked No. 8 in the preseason poll — has toppled No. 6 Stanford in four sets, winning its fifth straight Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational. The Wahine on Monday moved up two spots, to No. 6, on the AVCA Coaches Top 25 poll. Just in time for UH supporters to feel good about something.