Hawaii left today for its final volleyball conference road trip of the season and — potentially — the last of 2018. The baggage was heavy, and not just because the Rainbow Wahine had to pack for a week-long stay in California.
On board also were the postseason hopes, slim as those might be, of playing in December. The Wahine have only missed the postseason once since the program began in 1974, that coming in the injury-plagued 15-12 season of 1992.
Halloween being today, there was consideration of wearing costumes on the flight to Los Angeles. The best costume choice would be the uniform worn during Friday’s upset of then-No. 11 Cal Poly and not the attire used Saturday in the shocking sweep by UC Santa Barbara.
Saturday was painful for senior hitter Casey Castillo, who wasn’t cleared to play against the Gauchos, ending her streak of consecutive starts at 48 dating back to sophomore year. She tweaked her left knee early in Set 1 of Friday’s match against the Mustangs.
“It was heartbreaking to witness, hard to watch our team struggle,” Castillo said. “There was confusion and dumbfounded-ness, something that was hard to put a finger on.
“But it won’t be hard at all to come back for this trip. If anything, it’s a real test of character.”
Hawaii (14-7, 10-2) has lost just 11 conference matches since rejoining the Big West in 2012, eight of those on the road. The Wahine have lost twice in both of the gyms they will visit this week: the Matadome on Friday at Cal State Northridge (6-18, 2-10) and the Walter Pyramid on Saturday at Long Beach State (13-12, 5-7).
“It’s my last time playing in both places,” Castillo said. “Both are very different. Northridge there’s this different type of energy and we’ve struggled there. Long Beach is interesting with the high ceiling, but it’s an easier adjustment. Both are good challenges for us.”
While the disappointment has hung heavy during this week’s practices in Gym I, the goal has not changed.
“We’ve got to go and take care of business,” Wahine coach Robyn Ah Mow-Santos said. “We keep the same goal. Just keep winning.
“The whole year the concern has always been about us, our side of the net. Saturday (against UCSB) … there were way too many people at one single time having bad games. There were two totally different teams that played, one that was totally different Saturday from the night before. There was a lack of effort and intensity. There’s nothing else I can say.”
It was the fourth time this season that Hawaii was swept, but this one had severe repercussions. The Wahine were briefly atop the conference standings after handing the Mustangs their only Big West loss; now Hawaii is chasing Cal Poly and a fading postseason dream.
A night after three Wahine had double-digit kills against the Mustangs, Hawaii had none against the Gauchos, hitting a season-low .118. It all went downhill after the Wahine failed to take Set 1 after having six attempts at it, the first coming at 24-20.
Whether Hawaii extends its season into December depends on several things, the most critical being the Wahine winning their remaining four Big West matches. Hawaii also will need some help from the rest of the league, something the Wahine didn’t get Tuesday night when UC Irvine was swept at Cal Poly, 25-19, 25-23, 25-13.
The Mustangs finish the season with matches at UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis and UC Irvine, then home matches against the two bottom teams in the Big West: UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton. Should Hawaii finish second and not receive an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, the Wahine would be extended a bid by the National Invitational Volleyball Championship as the conference runners-up.
“Absolutely I believe we have a chance (for the NCAA),” Castillo said. “So many things can happen.”
Note
Hawaii remains on the road for a nonconference match at Pepperdine next Tuesday, its first trip to Malibu since opening the 1978 season in Firestone Fieldhouse at the Women’s Collegiate Classic. The Waves are coached by former Wahine associate head coach Scott Wong.
BIG WEST VOLLEYBALL
>> Friday, 4 p.m. Hawaii (14-7, 10-2) at Cal State Northridge (7-17, 3-9)
>> Series: Hawaii leads, 23-2
>> Saturday, 4 p.m. Hawaii at Long Beach State (13-12, 5-7)
>> Series: Hawaii leads, 34-18-1
>> TV: None
>> Radio: 1500-AM
>> Online: ESPN3
