Wahine still have big goals to chase

At this stage of the volleyball season, losing is not an option for those who want to play in December.

Hawaii is ranked 12th and crept up to 10th in the NCAA RPI (power rating) following its bye week. The Rainbow Wahine want to win their final four Big West Conference matches and host an NCAA subregional next month, and possibly claim their 19th consecutive regular-season conference championship.

With three Big West losses, that streak is in jeopardy. Unranked UC Santa Barbara has only two losses, to Hawaii and Long Beach State. If the Gauchos win out — they have the conference’s bottom three teams and the 49ers left — they clinch the Big West championship and automatic NCAA bid that goes with it. Their RPI rose to No. 53 this week.

Cal State Northridge also has two conference losses — both to UCSB — going into Saturday’s match here. The Matadors’ five-set win over Hawaii a month ago was their first over a ranked team in five years and they climbed as high as 21st in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 last week. Before this season, CSUN hadn’t been ranked since 1992.

Then Northridge fell in five to UCSB on Saturday, dropping out of the poll, down a spot to 38th in the RPI, and giving the Gauchos control of the tiebreaker.

The Big West sent eight teams, including Hawaii, to the NCAA tournament in 1988 — best in the nation. But it hadn’t won a postseason match in three years until Hawaii returned last season after a 16-year absence. It hasn’t sent more than two teams to the postseason since 2007.

When the 64 NCAA tournament teams are announced Dec. 1, the Big West could have three.

"Hawaii is in for sure and Santa Barbara and us are bubble teams," CSUN coach Jeff Stork says. "It depends on what scenarios happen, but every coach and team should be focusing on the next one, so we are thinking about Hawaii, not the playoffs yet. It’s counter-productive to start speculating what if. We are playing a good Hawaii team in a great environment."

Saturday will be senior night, but first the Wahine take on UC Davis on Friday. The Aggies gave Hawaii its third conference loss two nights after UH fell at Northridge. After losing the first two sets, the then-eighth-ranked Wahine rallied to tie the match, then got outhit by 300 points in the fifth.

"There were a lot of factors that went into that loss," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "I don’t see that happening again. We were just another UH team that had a problem on the road that weekend, it seemed like. We became pretty ordinary that night. The other thing is, they played really well. Almost every team has played well against us, so you’ve got to give them a lot of the credit for playing hard and winning."

The Wahine have been chasing ever since and, while Davis has lost its last four, the Matadors are enjoying their finest volleyball moment — in large part because of their UH win.

"It was something special," recalled Mahina Haina, an ‘Iolani graduate, who is sixth on the Northridge career kill list. "Being from Hawaii and growing up watching Hawaii volleyball, I respect them so deeply. To get a win like that hits home and it felt good."

Payback would feel at least as good for the Wahine, outhit by more than 100 points in their five-set loss at Northridge. The Matadors start all juniors and seniors and four had double-digit kill totals the first time around. Their focal point is lefty Sydney Gedrin, one of the most offensive-minded setters Hawaii will see.

Wahine middle Jade Vorster, who had a career-high 10 blocks against Northridge, said Gedrin creates about a one-second delay for blockers, who have to wait until the set leaves her hands before they commit because she is so likely to attack in the front row.

"We always have to be ready for her. We can never leave her alone," Vorster said. "We have to watch the pass if it’s tight on the net, be aware of the possibilities. That limits us a little because we have to focus on the setter a little more. We have to be on our game."

At this point, there is no margin for error.