Rainbow Wahine never know what to expect

What else could go wrong?

The road has not treated Hawaii kindly this volleyball season, at least when it comes to pre-match treatment at the opposing venues. There was an instance of nets not being set up for a scheduled serve-and-pass (UC Irvine); under-inflated volleyballs and lack of towels for post-practice showers (UC Santa Barbara); and a men’s basketball practice running into the time allotted for the Rainbow Wahine’s practice time (Cal Poly) with the Mustangs continuing to remain in the gym, running along the sidelines even after Hawaii took the court.

“Sometimes I wonder if it’s intentional,” Wahine senior hitter McKenna Granato, a road-trip veteran, said. “It’s frustrating but once we get into our serve-and-pass, it is fine.”

The “irritations” as Hawaii coach Robyn Ah Mow-Santos calls them also have been galvanizing, helping the Wahine focus on what is important: winning.

“You can’t let it get to you,” said Ah Mow-Santos, who competed at international venues for over a decade professionally and with the U.S. national team. “Our coaches tell the girls, ‘It’s OK, work with it.’

“The more irritated the coaches get, the more irritated the girls will be and the less focused they will be on what they should be doing.”

Focus on this, the third road trip of the season, is crucial for Hawaii and any postseason hopes. The Wahine (11-6, 7-1) cannot afford to look past Friday’s match at UC Riverside (6-12, 1-6) and Saturday’s match at Cal State Fullerton (6-14, 0-7) and ahead to next Friday’s showdown with No. 12 Cal Poly (17-1, 7-0) at the Stan Sheriff Center.

“They might be the two lowest teams (in the conference) but they might be the ones to give you the most trouble,” Ah Mow-Santos said. “Is my team going to get up to play them? That can be an issue.

“It still is about us, what we are doing on our side. We’re not losing most points from what the other team is doing but from what we are doing, or not doing. It’s our side giving up points.”

Case in point — or points — are the unforced errors that translate to points for the opponent. Hawaii had 31 errors against Long Beach State last Friday (19 hitting, 12 serving) and 31 last Saturday against Cal State Northridge (21 hitting, 10 service) … but still won each match in four sets.

“The biggest thing for us is consistency,” Granato said. “We need to focus on sweeping teams, not letting it go to four or five.

“Getting off to a quicker start, which comes with that consistency. We need a good start and keep it going. It’s about playing more relaxed and be consistent mentally.”

There is one consistency issue that Hawaii hopes will be resolved soon, that of the Challenge Review System (instant replay) where coaches can challenge official calls they believe are incorrect. Only Hawaii, UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge have the CRS in place with it installed at other venues for a Big-West produced ESPN3 webcast.

“At this time, the conference is analyzing Challenge Review System hardware from cost, implementation and operational standpoints,” Big West assistant commissioner Steve Chen responded in an email. “Institutions are currently free to implement CRS on their own.”

“I like it,” Ah Mow-Santos said of the CRS. “It’s about getting the call right. You’d like it everywhere to make it fair.”

In the Long Beach State match Friday, the 49ers were 1-1 when challenging calls, the Wahine 1-0 in getting initial ruling reversed. Hawaii’s came at a critical time in Set 4. Had there been no challenge system in place, Long Beach State would have closed to 22-21; instead the reversal made it 23-20 and quickly it was 24-20 on an ace by Granato.

NOTE: Cal State Fullerton (6-15, 0-8) remained winless in conference play after being swept by host Long Beach State 25-6, 25-21, 25-14 on Tuesday.