From the moment Hawaii blasted defending NCAA champion Texas on opening night, it has been a volleyball season on the brink — of glory and disappointment — for everybody, it seems.
An abnormally high number of teams suddenly felt they had a shot at glory and got after it. Missouri went unbeaten, then unfulfilled with a loss in the NCAA’s second round. American is in this week’s Sweet 16, along with four other unseeded teams, including Brigham Young.
The Cougars clawed away at the 11th-seeded Rainbow Wahine in Saturday’s second-round match until there was nothing left of the offense but Emily Hartong. Even the senior All-American — and a desperate, devoted Stan Sheriff Center crowd — could not prevent BYU’s sweep.
Anyone looking to blame someone for this loss can start with the Cougars.
"Probably 60 or 70 percent of it was them," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "I didn’t think they could play at that level all night, but obviously they did. When we were ahead 15-13 in the first set I thought ‘now we can get some separation.’ At that time I felt we could take over the match. We had probably 95 percent of our sideouts up to then and we were only two ahead. I thought ‘now maybe they may show some signs of being average,’ but they never did. We were the ones that broke down.
"We couldn’t help Hartong. She had a fabulous game and no one else could take the pressure off her. We couldn’t set her every ball."
Beyond Hartong’s 17 kills, Ali Longo’s 15 digs and Mita Uiato’s 33 assists — she leaves the program No. 5 on the career list — the Wahine hit .056. Those three starting seniors, and the four a high-five behind them on the bench, were devastated at the end, running off in tears.
Their younger teammates were in shock, along with some 8,000 fans and an athletic director (Ben Jay) who leapt off the injured reserve list to lead heartfelt cheers from the aisle. It was only the second time in a decade that the sport’s greatest collegiate fan base was given the opportunity to watch its team in the postseason, and the season ended in silence at 25-5.
"We thought we could be right there at the end," Shoji said. "Early in the season everybody showed some vulnerability — Texas, Penn State, Washington. They all had some issues and still do, but that’s just the way athletics are. Some survive and some don’t, but we were very, very disappointed to go out where we went out."
Before the season’s longest night ended, Shoji, who turned 67 last week, began to hear rumors about his retirement.
"There was not even a hint of that," he protested. "I wasn’t thinking of that at all Saturday. We have evaluations with returning players now and we’ll see where we are. I’ll know after that. I’ll have some discussions with Ben Jay about my role at UH and go from there.
"I think I would be comfortable leaving soon, but I want to make sure everything is good with (freshmen) Nikki Taylor and Tayler Higgins. They came because I was here. I’m going to check in with them. We really want them to be successful and do well here. They are the future of the program. I’ll sit down and talk about their future. Those two and the rest of the current players …their well-being is my No. 1 thought."
There is little doubt what Higgins and Taylor will tell the winningest coach in women’s volleyball history, so Shoji admits "it will be a broad discussion." He is moving on as if nothing will change. UCLA and Arizona State are among the teams coming here next year and he is trying to schedule a mainland tournament after this year’s trip to Wichita State was so good for his team’s power ranking.
He is bringing in four freshman recruits. Transfer Keani Passi, a 5-foot-9 hitter from Waianae, will be eligible. Passi, a Pearl City alum, was the 2012 AVCA Junior College Player of the Year.
Shoji admits the 6-3 Taylor might be the only one capable of coming up with five kills a set next year, as Hartong has done the past two seasons. He also knows how much he is losing in Longo — on the court and off — but feels good about the defensive specialists he has returning and middles Jade Vorster and Kalei Adolpho.
The coach places Uiato among the best setters he has ever had, but also has a great feeling about Higgins.
"The players love Tayler Higgins," he says. "She’s got a spirit that will lift you up. When the leadership shifts from the Hartong/Longo era to next year’s team, it will most likely be coming from the setter. That’s a good thing."
By then, a bit of the sting from Saturday might be gone. Seniors Courtney Lelepali, Kristiana Tuaniga, Ashley Kastl, Kaela Goodman, Uiato, Longo and Hartong will be gone. It will not be the same.
"The best part of this year was just having fun going to practice, having kids who want to be in the gym and practice and play hard and have a passion for the game," Shoji says. "At no point did I feel someone was not fully engaged. That rarely happens. People have their moments, but overall it’s been really positive."
Notes
Hawaii leads Nebraska by less than 6,000 in total attendance going into regionals, which the Cornhuskers host. The Wahine drew 144,235 fans in 19 matches this year, an average of 7,591. The only other year they have averaged more is 1996 (8,378).
Nebraska has drawn 138,684 fans in 17 matches at its new venue, an average of 8,158. It should break UH’s 19-year reign as NCAA attendance leader Friday.
Missouri is third, with 62,717 fans. Hawaii and Nebraska are the only teams averaging more than 4,000.
» The Wahine drew 16,733 to their subregional last week — 741 more than the Cornhuskers. The worst crowds last week were at USC. The Trojans, who host a regional this week, had 575 Thursday and 657 Friday.
» Maui’s Cia Goods, who played for the Rainbow Wahine from 1993 to ’97, has been diagnosed with lung cancer. To help her and keep in touch, visit gofundme.com/5l8t68.
