They came to see a bit of volleyball history Sunday, but instead witnessed another upset by a different giant killer and a happy homecoming for a local girl.
As it was a topsy-turvy weekend for the University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine, so it also was for San Diego senior libero C’era Oliveira.
UH rode the roller coaster of toppling No. 1 Texas on Friday in the four-set season opener, sweeping UTEP on Saturday and then falling in five to the unheralded and much smaller Toreros on Sunday. UH coach Dave Shoji will have to wait for another day to tie the record for career coaching victories.
For both UH and Oliveira, a former Hawaii Baptist star, a line from the dearly departed Mike in "Breaking Bad" comes to mind.
"Just because you shot Jesse James don’t make you Jesse James," he warned Walter White in the first part of this season.
After getting outblocked and outhustled by San Diego, it’s clear UH has much to continue to work on before claiming anything close to kingpin status.
For Oliveira and her teammates, beating the home team on its own court was obviously satisfying … but still not good enough for first place in the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational. Since three of the four teams finished 2-1, the Wahine got the championship hardware because it took them the fewest sets to attain that mark.
The Toreros wouldn’t have had to worry about that if on Saturday they’d closed out Texas instead of faltering at match point. Oliveira said coming so close but empty against the Longhorns was a downer.
"It definitely took a toll on us. But we came out saying, ‘Hey we can’t do anything about that past game,’ " she said. "If we beat UH, we automatically beat Texas. We tried to keep it positive. We have so many opportunities we can’t worry about that. We can always better ourselves."
Oliveira had extra motivation against Texas because she was playing against her best friend and former HBA teammate, Sarah Palmer. On Sunday, she was up against the home team that didn’t recruit her.
"We saw her a lot in high school, but she was not a defensive specialist at the time," Shoji said. "Obviously she’s very good."
Oliveira was match-high with 32 digs and made the all-tournament team.
"I needed revenge and I needed to redeem myself before I graduated," she said. "I’m OK with 1-and-1."
UH setter Mita Uiato said the San Diego block and defense was well placed.
"We kind of got frustrated, so props to them. It looked like they were all over our scouting report. They got to a lot of balls that usually get to the floor."
Hitter Emily Hartong noticed the same. Those 30 kills might have been 35 against a lot of other teams — and maybe the difference in the match.
"She was digging a lot of balls that I had the feeling would fall," Hartong said. "When that happens you just try to keep moving it around."
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783 or on Twitter as @dave_reardon.
