A rarity, Santa Barbara has history of winning in Hawaii

The Stan Sheriff Center crowds long have been witness to homegrown volleyball talent playing for the opposition, and often with great success. There is a lot of pride on the line and a desire to play well in front of family and friends.

The same is true for Hawaii players when seeing their hometown team across the net. Sunday, that will be Rainbow Wahine senior libero Sarah Mendoza, who grew up just down the coast from the UC Santa Barbara campus in Goleta.

Mendoza, a defensive specialist last season, is expected to start at libero in a critical match for both the Wahine (13-4, 5-2) and the Gauchos (9-9, 4-3). Hawaii and UC Santa Barbara shared the Big West crown last year — along with Cal State Northridge — with both the Wahine and the Gauchos leaving each other’s home courts with victories.

While Hawaii’s five-setter at the Thunderdome on Nov. 9 may have been gutsier, keeping alive the hope for a share of the conference crown, the five-setter by the Gauchos at the Sheriff Center on Oct. 11 may have been more impressive. UCSB snapped Hawaii’s conference win streak of 77, dating back to 2008, when UH was a member of the Western Athletic Conference; it was the Gauchos’ first win in Honolulu since 1994, when they became the first opponent to beat Hawaii in the then-new Special Events Arena.

"That was hard, them beating us here," Mendoza said. "But stepping into the Thunderdome and winning that five-setter was a huge thing. That was an intense match.

"For me, it’s definitely a thing of pride. We don’t want a repeat of last year at home. They aren’t going to give up easy points. We know we have to pick it up and mentally be prepared."

Mendoza had 14 digs Friday night in the ragged sweep of Cal Poly as Hawaii needed a late 6-0 run to finish off Set 3. That pattern of needing to play catch-up concerns Wahine coach Dave Shoji.

"We’re getting behind in games and having to come back," he said. "We’ve been able to, but we don’t want to be in that situation."

There also is a matter of unforced errors and giving away points, particularly from the service line. Friday, the Wahine had 10 service errors, including six in Set 1.

Hawaii had a two-hour practice Saturday morning to work on various lineup combinations, some to try something different, others out of necessity. The Wahine again will be without junior hitter Tai Manu-Olevao, who will sit out for religious beliefs; she had a match-high 15 kills against the Mustangs to push her team-high kill average to 3.54 kps.

Hawaii’s options on the outside include juniors Keani Passi and Ginger Long and freshman Megan Huff. It may also mean that sophomore hitter Nikki Taylor spends more time on the left than on the right; she retweaked her injured right elbow Friday night on a defensive play but practiced well Saturday.

While Shoji had toyed with using a 6-2 offense, utilizing two setters, it is no secret that second-year UCSB coach Nicole Lantagne Welch will. Splitting time at setter are senior Ali Santi (Punahou) and junior Hanna Nielson, with the pair having the Gauchos hitting around .200.

Leading the balanced UCSB attack are junior opposites Jaylen Villanueva (2.63 kps) and Britton Taylor (2.61 kps) and junior hitter Ali Barbeau (2.41 kps). Coming on as of late is freshman hitter Chanel Hoffman, who had a combined 50 kills in the Gauchos’ past four matches with wins over Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge, and losses to UC Irvine and Long Beach State.

"We had two incredible matches with Hawaii last year, high intensity and good battles," said Lantagne Welch prior to Saturday afternoon’s practice. "Our concern is that they are bigger and more physical. We need to handle the ball really well so we can stay in system and have a lot of options. When we have a balanced attack that’s when we’re playing our best."