Wahine volleyball team draws USC in NCAA tourney
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
The Rainbow Wahine volleyball team reacted to its draw in the NCAA Tournament. Hawaii plays USC on Friday at Minnesota.
Hawaii will open the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament against USC in Friday’s first round in Minneapolis.
The subregional is hosted by second-seeded Minnesota, which ended Hawaii’s season last year in the elite eight. The Gophers (25-4) open with North Dakota (26-9). The Women of Troy are 18-13.
The Rainbow Wahine (22-5) have won their last 10 matches. This is the 24th consecutive NCAA appearance for Hawaii and 35th in program history.
Nebraska, the defending national champion, earned the top seed. Wisconsin is third and Texas is seeded fourth.
34 responses to “Wahine volleyball team draws USC in NCAA tourney”
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Minneapolis, the NCAA making it hard again.
How? UH didn’t qualify to host so what’s your beef?
are you kidding?
they got Texas A@M and SMU playing at Austin and they aren’t even
ranked.
I guess you don’t see my point.
at least put them somewhere near the west coast.
Why? Then how come USC isn’t playing in their neighborhood? Why do you think NCAA should give UH any special favors?
boy it must suck to be you.
Cold country, only Burns might be use to that kind of weather. At least Berg get to go back to her old school. To bad they did not get to go to MO. or Kansas.
Isn’t t it like saying Hawaii is too hot for teams coming over here? Where’s the logic? I thought they play in a climate controlled environment and stay in climate controlled hotels.
What a loser. Did your mother beat you as a child?
Better leave now to get acclimated. Go Wahine!
Ohhh…the poor gals, how on earth are they going to handle the frightening cold and bitter winds when their feets are frozen and got icicles growing out of their noses? All the while their opponent, USC, is so used to all that bitter cold, coming from that frightening place, LA. How could NCAA be so unfair to UH to send them to a Siberian environment? Is there no justice in this world anymore?
First get past USC, then Minnesota, assuming they beat North Dakota. What a great opportunity for the Wahine to gain national recognition at the highest level of competition.
A very young Hawaii team relatively speaking but I hope they do well. Go Rainbow Wahine!
Good Luck, Na Wahine. We’ll be cheering for you.
I’ve got a feelin’ that the Wahine is going to the Final Four.
Judging by the picture, they look happy to be headed to Minneapolis. I’ve been there. It’s a pretty nice city. If they are playing in Williams Arena, that’s a cool old barn of a place with a playing floor that sits slightly above the benches. A classic. I got to play basketball there once, back in the day. The fans are close and it is loud.
Yes, it is a nice place. You wouldn’t know it by all the blabbering by the “stuck on the rock” natives.
Got that same feelin’, Walkoff. Our front row can play with anybody in the country. Our back row, anchored by Kahakai, Emma, and Greeley, too, is solid. Backups front and back are solid. Nikki’s and Higgins’ leadership is an advantage. They’ve been to the playoffs and know what it takes. Coach Shoji and his staff’s expertise and experience are advantages, too. If we can stay healthy, if we can get into our rhythm, and if we can sustain it . . .
oxtail01 is the voice of reason here. UH made it to the tournament because it is the Big West Champion. It’s an automatic berth. If we had lost to Long Beach again, the girls would be out on winter break. Our record would be 21-6 with no where to go unless the NCAA found it in their heart to give us an at-large bid. Long Beach is out: http://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/external/gametool/brackets/volleyball-women_d1_2016.pdf. We need to WIN the Big West every year. Look at how many teams the PAC-12 is sending? Even Arizona at 18-14 is IN. It comes down to level of competition. Even the Mountain West has three participants. There is LIU Brooklyn that is IN with a 16-14 record. Bottom line is that the Big West is not a respectable volleyball conference in the eyes of the NCAA so, unless we can somehow move to the PAC-12 or even Mountain West, we will always be on the outside looking in if we do not WIN the conference. If we get past round 1, then our real test comes in round 2, assuming #2 Minnesota wins its first round match, which it should. But we cannot look past USC either.
Yes, I wasn’t saying oxtail is a saint, but s/he is realistic. And yes, if Hawaii can beat USC and pull of a win against Minnesota, they have an excellent chance to move on the final four. But, first things first. Let’s beat USC!
You are right. I guess since UH wins so many National Championships, they should get more respect.
Sarcasm…go figure.
“Considerable” respect is due …
https://www.avca.org/polls/di-women/index.html
Click on final poll year-by-year
Top 25 final poll- 33 of 34 years (1982-2015)
Top 10 final poll- 25 times
Top 5 final poll- 16 times
Final ranking since 2000:
3, 13, 3, 3, 8, 9, 9, 18, 7, 3, 13, 5, 11, 18, 23, 7
LFR2, kennie referred to championships, not rankings. If my memory serves me right, the last time the Master won a championship was 1987.
So ONLY NC winners are worthy of respect? That eliminates 2/3 of the PAC 12, most of the Big 10, most of the Big 12….
A phycho analyst at his finest.
It’s already taken. There’s Stephen Tsai-chos.
There’s always room for more – can fill a large auditorium just with the ones posting here.
Hey, are you keeping up with the times? Ranking did mean something, UH made the tournament. Only reason why UH ranked so high is because the Master still has cultivated an “inner circle” of coaching fraternity that still gives him a pass because of his past successes (see, I can say good thing about the Master). For all your psycho babble that passes for intellect, it’s not surprising you miss such an obvious point.
Ranked so high because of an inner circle of coaching fraternity? This is not logic, it is pure speculation. Who is your source, Donald Trump?
Got a clean bill of health with all cylinders chugging along at full power. Well educated and being smart is sometimes diametrically opposite as you well prove and as you reference Trump. If you’re so well educated, then it shouldn’t take much thought to conclude UH should beat USC easily who is 18-13 and finished seventh in their conference.
Of course, you have NO rebuttal to any of the points I raise except to raise that tired “UH is mistreated bs” which the Master and Cindy feed all you gullible sheep. Baaaa…..baaaaa….As for “….UH is a very different team now…”, you don’t think that applies to EVERY top teams in the country? What makes you think UH improved over the course of the season and nobody else did? Again, does logic ever apply to some of you?
Some regionals are easier than others but the bottom line is win. Winning will take care of every injustice the NCAA has showered on the UH women’s volleyball program. This team is probably the most balanced and potent team we have seen top to bottom. All we need to do is pass well and play some defense. Not necessarily block but just enough to defensive touches to take some of the velocity off the spikes and allow us to play the ball (gotta have that no ball touches the floor mentality). Go Wahines!!!!