Nikki getting set for Aloha ball

Fate can be written in the sand. Lyrics from a 1996 Michael Schenker Group song say so.

Nikki Taylor took the words to heart when deciding a few weeks into this semester that she would return for one more beach volleyball season. Her senior year on the Rainbow Wahine indoor team was painfully cut short when she was injured three points into the NCAA second-round match at No. 1 Minnesota, leaving many to wonder — including Taylor — what could have been.

“I realized that I had an opportunity to control the way I wanted to finish my career,” the two-time beach All-American said. “The way indoor ended was out of my control. This way I could rewrite my own ending.”

The final chapter of her dual storybook career — Taylor also earned second-team indoor All-American honors twice — continues to be written this week as No. 6 Hawaii hosts No. 2 Pepperdine and Cal Poly in double-round robin duals on Friday and Saturday at the Ching Complex courts. Saturday’s televised match against the Waves includes senior night festivities with Taylor, Tayler Higgins and Annie Mitchem being honored for a second time in five months as well as beach-only seniors Mikayla Tucker and Sydney Shinn.

Taylor said she expects Saturday “to be more mellow and personal” than what she experienced at the Stan Sheriff Center last Nov. 19.

But the list of beach accomplishments will match those of her indoor career, including becoming the program’s all-time winner in duals (64 and counting).

“Getting the dual record was not something I thought about, not something I was playing for,” said Taylor, who broke the mark of 61 set by her former partner Katie Spieler on March 26. “It’s really great and it’s humbling I didn’t get there by myself.”

SandBows head coach Jeff Hall has seen the journey on the sand as well as indoors as the indoor associate head coach.

“Nikki is one of the best volleyball players to ever come through Hawaii,” Hall said. “We were excited when she changed her mind to play this spring. I had held out hope, kind of had a spot available for her. It’s been nothing but positives.

“Senior night is a sad-happy moment for us as coaches. You spend years with these kids then it’s time to say aloha to them and celebrate their lives.”

This will be the third senior night that junior Ka’iwi Schucht has witnessed. She was 7-4 with Taylor last season and 17-5 with Taylor this year playing at Flight 2.

“I’m going to miss all of our seniors, they’ve all meant a lot to the program,” Schucht said. “But I’ve loved having Nikki as a partner. We’re good friends on and off the court.

“I can get a little excited and she reels me in, keeps me calm and focused and not stressed out.”

There is some stress, however, on the SandBows.

After falling to Long Beach State 3-2 last week, Hawaii traded places with the 49ers in the AVCA Top 15 and moved to No. 6.

Gaining at least a split with No. 2 Pepperdine would help Hawaii’s image with the NCAA selection committee when it comes to the postseason tournament. The SandBows are 1-13 against the Waves, including a 3-2 loss last Wednesday at Zuma Beach, Calif.

“It’s critical that we take care of business against the teams that we know we can, such as Cal Poly,” SandBows assistant Evan Silberstein said. “And we have a great opportunity to step up against a team we believe we can beat and Pepperdine is in that category. We have two opportunities on our home courts to take care of business against one of the top teams in the country.”

“We’re excited. We’re expecting one of our biggest home crowds ever on senior night. Add TV and it’s a great opportunity to show off our home facility to the community.”

Taylor said she hadn’t let the reality of her Wahine career ending set in just yet.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a little surreal,” she said. “I’m excited for it. It’s another stepping stone.”

Taylor will graduate in May with a degree in communicology, UH’s nationally ranked program focused on research and education in human communication processes and function. It fits perfectly with what Taylor eventually wants to do: coach.

However before she goes off on that career, she will continue her playing career. Taylor will be at the Olympic Training Center this summer, training with the U.S. national team for a possible spot on one of the summer traveling teams.

She also plans to play professionally overseas, following in the footsteps of her older brother Josh, a former All-American at Pepperdine playing in Qatar.

“Hopefully, I’ll be playing volleyball for a long time,” she said. “My legacy? Think it’s that I was someone who worked hard, didn’t come into school being a beach player but was able to have an impact.”

NOTE

Hawaii has one more home event remaining in the newly announced First Foundation Bank Easter Classic against Saint Mary’s next Friday at the Ching Complex and next Saturday at Queen’s Beach. The duals replace a tournament that had been scheduled for Kauai next week before sponsorship fell through.