The loss was acceptable. Being swept wasn’t.
When Hawaii lost its first dual match of the season last Wednesday to USC, it was a reality check for the then-No. 1 Rainbow Wahine sand volleyball team. The Women of Troy exploited some of Hawaii’s weaknesses in taking the 5-0 victory and spoiling the opening of the new Ching Complex courts.
It wasn’t without its rewards. The SandBows refocused and readjusted to win their next two duals — 5-0 against Cal and a gritty 3-2 versus Nebraska — that capped a long week with four competitions in five days. Hawaii faces another packed week, beginning Thursday, with new challenges, new venues as well as a new rank: No. 2.
The SandBows were replaced by USC atop the AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball Top 10 Tuesday. It came as no surprise to first-year Hawaii coach Jeff Hall.
“They are absolutely the best team in the country,” said Hall before the team left Tuesday afternoon. “We knew SC would be a challenge with pretty impressive athletes 1 through 6 (pairs).
SANDBOWS VOLLEYBALL
At Stockton, Calif.
» No. 2 Hawaii (6-1) vs. Pacific (7-4). 1 p.m. Thursday
At Santa Cruz, Calif.
» Santa Cruz Collegiate Challenge. Saturday-Sunday, 6 a.m. With Hawaii, Santa Clara, USF, Cal, Cal Poly and Cal State Bakersfield |
“Where the disappointment comes is that we didn’t take any points off them. I think it was a wake-up call. It showed we have to be better and can’t be satisfied. We have to stay hungry.”
Hall is expecting to tweak his lineup, starting Thursday at his alma mater, Pacific (7-4). Hawaii’s top three pairs won’t be touched — “They are playing exceptionally well,” he said — but there could be a change at Nos. 4 through 6. (Results at No. 6 don’t count in the best-of-five dual matches).
“Pacific is really good, I think the best in Northern California, and we’re looking forward to that challenge,” Hall said. “We squeezed this match in late. It was the first call I made my first week on the job.
“And we’re looking forward to the Santa Cruz tournament on the iconic beach that the AVP Tour has used and one that I played on.”
The Santa Cruz Collegiate Challenge includes co-hosts Santa Clara and USF, as well as Cal, Cal Poly and Cal State Bakersfield. It also offers a different format, with team duals being played in the bracket style normally used with pairs tournaments. Schools advance into one bracket with a win or into another with a loss.
The dual tournament is scheduled for Saturday. Sunday’s pairs tournament has three brackets, one for the Nos. 1 and 2 teams, one for Nos. 3 and 4, and the other for No. 5.
It will be a return of sorts for new SandBows assistant coach Evan Silberstein. He was an assistant coach at USF last season.
Hawaii takes next week off, then competes in the USAV Beach College Challenge, April 11-12, at Hermosa Beach, Calif. The SandBows close out their home schedule with their Showcase on April 18 at Queen’s Beach; duals with HPU, San Jose State and Grand Canyon on April 19 at the Ching courts; and the inaugural Aloha Invitational on April 24-25 with Long Beach State, Saint Mary’s and UCLA at Queen’s Beach.
The final AVCA National Championship is May 1-3 at Gulf Shores, Ala. Beginning next season, sand volleyball will be sanctioned as an NCAA championship sport.
Note
No. 1 USC edged No. 3 Pepperdine 3-2 Tuesday in Los Angeles. The Women of Troy improved to 7-0, the visiting Waves dropped to 6-2. It is the first time Pepperdine has lost two matches in a season. The Waves were 52-2 prior to this year with the only losses coming to Long Beach State in 2013 and to USC in 2014. They lost to Hawaii earlier this month.
