DES MOINES, Iowa >> Seventy-eight seasons, 2,367 victories in 2,751 matches with 11 national championships. That’s the combined volleyball history that will be showcased in today’s second match of an NCAA regional at Wells Fargo Arena when No. 7 Hawaii faces No. 8 Penn State.
Surprisingly, the sport’s two winningest coaches — the Rainbow Wahine’s Dave Shoji and the Nittany Lions’ Russ Rose — are facing each other for just the sixth time. As far as the two are concerned, they are playing Game No. 1.
“The players don’t know the history,” said Rose, who is 5-0 against Shoji. “It’s not about me and Dave playing. It’s about this year’s teams playing.
“Hawaii has great balance. That they beat the SEC champion 3-0 at their venue is a clear indication they are playing great volleyball. They have our attention and respect based on everything they’ve done.
“No one has a better record than they do. When there’s only a ‘1’ in their record (Hawaii is 28-1), that’s hard to do in the rally-scoring era, whatever conference you’re in.”
Undefeated Big West champion Hawaii is crashing the Big Ten’s party with the longest active winning streak in the country (23). Dayton had won 25 straight but was eliminated by Penn State in Saturday’s second round.
“Hawaii’s changed a little over the years — we all have based on the need for size,” Rose added. “They’ve always had a terrific program and that fighting Wahine spirit. When I was doing my graduate work in 1977-78 I was really trying to model my thoughts on the game because they played great defense. Their style of play reflects a certain style of game, but now they have great size and are physical.
“He’s a great coach. We’ve been friends a long time. The nice thing is we’ll try to beat each other and whoever loses will wish each other well in the next game. And mean it.”
“Russ is a really good guy and we’re honored to play Penn State,” Shoji said. “He’s having a great career and, at only 63, he will set a (win) record that no one will break.
“We are 0-5 against them and hope that we can chisel into that. They’ve been so good lately that it’s been hard for anyone to beat them. We’re certainly going to give our best shot.”
This regional features three of the four teams from the 2009 NCAA final four, the last time Hawaii made it that far. In the semifinals, the Rainbow Wahine lost to the Nittany Lions in four and Minnesota was swept by Texas in Tampa, Fla.
On Thursday, all four teams had their first practice at the Wells Fargo Arena, which doubles as the home ice for the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League. It will be the first time this season that Hawaii will play on a Sport Court surface; the Wahine’s other matches have either been on Taraflex or wood.
NO. 2 MINNESOTA: A season after not even making the NCAA tournament, the Golden Gophers won the Big Ten (8-2) for just the second time, earning their 20th postseason. It is the 13th regional appearance for Minnesota, its last coming in 2013, and its highest national seed (No. 2).
The Gophers opened at home last week with a sweep of Jackson State, hitting a program-best .562 against the Gamecocks with just four hitting errors, and a 7.5-0 edge in blocks. Minnesota followed with its fourth straight victory, sweeping Marquette in the second round.
Four players were named to the AVCA All-North Region team: senior hitter Daly Santana, the Big Ten Player of the Year; freshman setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson; and twin junior middles Hannah and Paige Tapp. Seliger-Swenson also was named the region’s Freshman of the Year.
The 6-foot-1 Santana has 19 double-doubles this year, with 10 or more kills in all but two matches. Against Louisville in September, she had 39 kills and 93 attacks, the most by any Division I player this season. She is top 10 in three program career lists: seventh in kills (1,580), eight in aces (181) and 10th in digs (1,243).
Gopher coach Hugh McCutcheon, the former U.S. women’s Olympic coach, is 103-31 in four seasons. He also was named Big Ten and regional coach of the year.
Against the regional field, Minnesota is 33-30-1 all-time against Illinois, including 1-1 this season; 8-43 against Penn State also splitting its Big Ten meetings this year; and 0-7 against Hawaii.
NO. 7 HAWAII (28-1): The unseeded Rainbow Wahine have won their last 23 — the longest active streak in Division I — including last Friday’s five-set win over TCU to open the NCAA tournament and a sweep of host and 10th-seeded Texas A&M last Saturday in the second round, just the second home loss for the SEC champions. It is Hawaii’s longest streak since winning 26 straight in 2011, with the Wahine’s only loss coming to current No. 12 UCLA (25-7) in four sets on Sept 6 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
This is the 26th regional appearance for Hawaii, which has participated in 34 of 35 NCAA tournaments, the lone miss coming in the injury-marred 15-12 season of 1992.
The Rainbow Wahine are led by AVCA Pacific North All-Region players Nikki Taylor, a junior opposite, and senior middle Olivia Magill.
Taylor, the reigning Big West Player of the Year, leads the team in kills (427), kill average (4.36 kps) and ace average (0.43), and is second in digs (203) and blocks (112). The Kaiser High product is No. 5 nationally in points (kills, blocks, aces) at 5.41 pps.
Magill ranks No. 12 nationally in blocks (1.49 bps) and 14th in hitting percentage (.414). She has helped Hawaii to become the No. 1 blocking team in the country (3.20 bps).
This is Hawaii’s 22nd consecutive NCAA appearance but the first time the Wahine have reached a regional semifinal since 2011, when they fell to USC in five at the Stan Sheriff Center. Hawaii is 77-30 in tournament matches, with national titles in 1982, ’83 and ’87, two second-place finishes (1988, ’96) and four third-place finishes (2000, ’03, ’04, ’09).
The Wahine have swept 17 of their opponents and are 3-0 in five-set matches, 8-1 when it goes four. Against the regional field, Hawaii is 0-5 against Penn State, 7-0 against Minnesota and 8-1 against Illinois.
Coach Dave Shoji is in his 41st season (1,178-197-1), second in all-time career wins in the sport.
NO. 8 PENN STATE (28-5): The Nittany Lions advanced to their 13th consecutive regional after hosting the first two rounds at home for the 29th straight season. Penn State swept both Howard and Dayton in Rec Hall, extending the two-time defending national champion’s NCAA tournament winning streak to 14, dating back to 2012’s national semifinal loss to Oregon.
Penn State and Stanford are the only programs to appear in all 35 NCAA tournaments. The Nittany Lions had four players named AVCA All-Northwest Region in senior hitters Aiyana Whitney and Megan Courtney, sophomore hitter Ali Franti and sophomore middle Haleigh Washington. Redshirt freshman setter Bryanna Weiskircher, an all-region honorable mention, has Penn State hitting .297, best in the Big Ten and fifth nationally.
The Nittany Lions are third nationally in blocks (3.11 bps), led by Washington’s 1.40 bps, putting her 20th in the country. She is hitting .443, third in the country.
Penn State is 92-27 in the NCAA tournament with 10 appearances in the national championship match and seven titles. The Nittany Lions won their first in 1999 at the Stan Sheriff Center and have claimed six of the past seven, only missing out in 2011, the last season they did not win the Big Ten title.
Coach Russ Rose is in his 37th season, (1,189-185), passing Shoji for most career wins in 2014.
Against the field, Penn State is 5-0 against Hawaii, 43-8 against Minnesota and 42-10 against Illinois.
NO. 21 ILLINOIS (21-12): The Illini defeated Southern Illinois in straight sets and upset No. 15 seed and host Louisville in four last week.
Illinois is making its 23rd NCAA appearance and is 38-22 all-time.
The Illini are led by all-region senior hitter Jocelyn Binks, the program’s all-time leader in kills (1,926) and attempts (5,534). She also is the 12th Illini to reach 1,000 digs (1,127).
Freshman middle Ali Bastianelli led the Big Ten in blocks (150), 21st nationally.
Against the field, Illinois is 30-33-1 against Minnesota, including a five-set loss to the Gophers in their only meeting this year; 1-8 against Hawaii and 10-42 against Penn State.
Coach Kevin Hambly is in his seventh year (161-71).
NCAA Women’s Volleyball
Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Regional semifinal, today
>> No. 4 Minnesota (28-4) vs. No. 21 Illinois (21-12), 1 p.m.
>> No. 7 Hawaii (28-1) vs. No. 8 Penn State (28-5), 30 minutes after end of first match
Regional final, Saturday
>> Friday winners, 3:30 p.m.
>> Winner advances to final four, Dec. 17 & 19, Omaha, Neb.
>> Watch: ESPN3
>> Radio: KKEA,1420-AM, espn1420am.com (Hawaii matches only)
