Mitchem earns first conference honor; Wahine rise in polls

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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Rainbow Wahine hitter Annie Mitchem rose for an attack against Cal State Northridge on Saturday.

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Hawaii heads out on its final regular-season road trip on Wednesday, packing a new ranking in both the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Ratings Percentage Index and AVCA Coaches Top 25. The Rainbow Wahine also will bring along the reigning Big West Player of the Week.

On Monday, senior hitter Annie Mitchem earned her first career conference honor after helping Hawaii take over sole possession of first place in the Big West. She hit .489 and averaged 4.17 kills per set as the Wahine (18-5, 11-1) swept both Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge last week.

Mitchem, who has successfully transitioned from middle to left-side hitter, had a combined 25 kills, seven digs, four blocks and three service aces in the two victories. Against the 49ers, she tied her career high with 13 kills, hitting .619 with no errors on 21 swings.

Also on Monday, Hawaii moved up a spot in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 to No. 14 and two places to 38 in the RPI. The RPI is used by the NCAA selection committee to help seed teams in the postseason based on a team’s record and its strength of schedule.

Wisconsin (20-3), which handed Hawaii its season-opening loss, moved back to the top of the RPI. The Badgers had been at 2 last week behind Nebraska, which remained atop the coaches poll.

The defending national champion Huskers (18-1) again were a unanimous No. 1, receiving all 64 first-place votes. The top seven in the Top 25 remained unchanged, with Minnesota (19-4) at No. 2, followed by Wisconsin (20-3), Kansas (22-2), Texas (18-3), Florida (23-2) and San Diego (21-3).

Hawaii has the best RPI in the Big West. The RPI of the other Big West teams are 56 (Cal Poly), 66 (Long Beach State), 70 (UC Santa Barbara), 144 (Cal State Northridge), 155 (UC Davis), 173 (UC Irvine), 274 (UC Riverside) and 287 (Cal State Fullerton).

Hawaii’s other nonconference opponents ahead of it in the RPI are Washington (13), UCLA (14), Kansas State (21) and Arizona (24). Besides Wisconsin, Hawaii also lost to the Huskies (20-4), the Bruins (19-5), and K-State (17-8), while defeating Arizona (16-10).

Behind Hawaii are Missouri State (49, 21-7), Pacific (60, 14-12), Northern Illinois (73, 21-5), Pepperdine (114, 10-16) and Utah Valley (135, 13-13).

The Wahine on this road trip face UC Irvine (10-16, 5-7) on Thursday and UC Davis (12-13, 5-7) on Saturday. Hawaii returns home to close out the conference season hosting third-place Cal Poly (15-8, 8-4) on Nov. 17 and fourth-place UC Santa Barbara (16-9, 7-5) on Nov. 19.