Wahine volleyball ends season at No. 7

Three NCAA volleyball tournament victories did not affect Hawaii’s final national ranking as the Rainbow Wahine finished in the same spot as they were in the last regular-season poll: at No. 7.

It was the highest final ranking in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 for the Rainbow Wahine (29-2) since 2011 when Hawaii was No. 5 after losing to USC in the regional semifinal of the NCAA tournament at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Wahine, falling in the regional final to Minnesota on Dec. 12, opened at No. 18 in the preseason poll.

Nebraska finished at No. 1 after winning its fourth national title on Saturday. The Huskers (32-4), No. 5 in the preseason poll, swept Texas in the final at Omaha, Neb.

The Longhorns (30-3) were preseason No. 3. Both national semifinalists Minnesota and Kansas were unranked in the preseason poll; the Gophers (30-5) finished at No. 3 with the Jayhawks (30-3) at No. 4.

Preventing Nebraska from being a unanimous No. 1 was USC, which received one of the 64 first-place votes. The Women of Troy (33-3), upset in five by Kansas in the regional final, finished at No. 5. Preseason No. 1 Washington (31-3) was at No. 6, followed by Hawaii, Florida (25-7), Penn State (28-6) and Wisconsin (25-7).

UCLA (25-8), the only team to defeat Hawaii in the regular season, finished at No. 12. The Rainbow Wahine were the only Big West representative in the poll; conference runner-up Long Beach State received 14 points, putting the 49ers in a tie with Wichita State in 33rd with 14 points.

In the final Ratings Percentage Index, Hawaii was 15th. The Rainbow Wahine entered the NCAA tournament at 26th in the computer-generated RPI that measures strength of schedule.

Hawaii was rated lower than three of the teams it defeated this season: Florida (fifth), Texas A&M (ninth) and Penn State (10th). The Wahine also were lower than the two teams they lost to in Minnesota (third) and UCLA (12th).

Hawaii reached the regional final for the first time since 2009, also the last time the Rainbow Wahine advanced to the final four. The loss to Minnesota means Hawaii finishes tied for fifth nationally along with the other regional final losers USC, Washington and Florida.