Volleyball is one of the most popular sports played around the globe. But, when it comes to college volleyball, it is a very small world.
It is particularly true when it comes to the connections to the University of Hawaii and both of its women’s and men’s programs. This week’s NCAA tournament subregional at the University of Oregon is no exception.
>> No. 25 Baylor (19-8), the Rainbow Wahine’s first-round opponent on Thursday, is coached by Ryan McGuyre, the husband of former Wahine Jennifer Roberts McGuyre.
>> Host and No. 14 Oregon (20-10), the tournament’s No. 15 seed, has redshirt sophomore hitter Brooke Van Sickle, daughter of former Rainbow Warrior Gary and former Hawaii Pacific player Lisa Bragado Van Sickle. Also on the roster is sophomore libero Kyra Hanawahine (Kamehameha) — a high school teammate of Wahine seniors Tita Akiu and Faith Ma’afala — who hasn’t been medically cleared to participate for most of this season.
>> Then there’s New Mexico State (24-7). There’s no one with Hawaii ties on the roster, but longtime fans will remember the often-heated rivalry with the Aggies during their mutual tenure in the Western Athletic Conference (2005-11). The Wahine went 107-3 in conference play during that time — two of those losses were to NMSU.
The all-in-the-ohana competition begins Thursday at the Matthew Knight Arena with Hawaii and Baylor meeting in the opener. The teams saw each other in last season’s Outrigger Resorts Challenge, the Wahine prevailing in five at the Stan Sheriff Center to run their record to 6-0 against the Bears.
While Baylor is a more experienced version of its 2017 self, Hawaii has a completely revamped lineup, with three one-and-done senior transfers in the lineup and a modified 6-2 offense with two setters. What hasn’t changed with the Wahine is “Hawaii’s ball control and strong floor defense,” McGuyre said in a telephone call this week from Waco.
“You always have concerns about Hawaii, traditionally a powerhouse that keeps the ball off the floor. We know that.
“We know their (Texas) Tech transfer (senior libero Akiu). They are different (from last season). I think we’re similar but also different in terms of more experience and upgrades at certain positions.”
It won’t quite be a house divided at the MKA, as Jennifer Roberts McGuyre will be staying home with the couple’s three children and new litter of puppies.
The former Wahine middle was a teammate of Hawaii head coach Robyn Ah Mow-Santos, assistant Angelica Ljungqvist and director of volleyball operations Aven Lee.
“I was so excited to find out that my current love in Baylor is playing my past love in my alma mater,” she texted. “Although we just faced each other at the Stan Sheriff Center, it is always such a sweet reunion. With three of my Wahine teammates as coaches, the meeting between the two teams never grows old.
“How I love both programs, although I will be cheering for the team that pays the bills.”
A look at the subregional:
Hawaii (18-8)
The Wahine are making their 26th consecutive NCAA appearance and 36th overall, missing only in 1992. They are the Big West’s only at-large team in the field for a second straight season.
The Wahine had four first-team all-conference picks, led by senior hitter McKenna Granato, the 20th player to reach 1,000 kills in program history. Also honored were Akiu, who had double-digit digs in all but one match this season; redshirt junior middle Natasha Burns, who is foregoing her final year of eligibility to graduate in spring; and junior hitter-setter Norene Iosia, second on the team in kills (201), assists (463), digs (286) and blocks (54) and who ranks fourth nationally in triple-doubles (kills-assists-digs).
Unless Hawaii wins both matches this weekend, the Wahine won’t reach the 20-win mark for the first time since going 19-11 in 1993. They were 16-2 in their inaugural season of 1975, 14-5 in 1976 and 15-12 in 1992.
Signature win: Handing then-No. 11 Cal Poly its only conference loss 3-2 on Oct. 26 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Worst loss: Being swept by UC Santa Barbara the night after the Cal Poly victory. A close second was falling to Portland 3-2 on Sept. 7, which had the Wahine on the NCAA tournament bubble almost from the start.
Baylor (19-8)
The Big 12 runners-up are in the NCAA tournament for the seventh time, third in a row.
Leading the Bears is sophomore hitter Yosianna Pressley, the ’17 conference freshman of the year, who led the Big 12 in kills (4.83 kps) and points (5.28 pps) for a second straight season. She and junior middle Shelly Fanning were unanimous All-Big 12 picks on Monday.
Fanning, who hit a conference-leading .401, “carried us all season when we had injuries,” McGuyre said. “That’s hard to do from a middle position, and she’s been impressively unstoppable when other teams knew we were setting her.”
Pressley, Fanning and sophomore setter Hannah Lockin were honorable mention AVCA All-Americans last season.
Signature win: A 3-0 victory over Kansas on Oct. 27, the first time the Bears swept the Jayhawks at home since 2009. It may have knocked Kansas out of an at-large berth, leaving Baylor and Texas as the only Big 12 teams in the NCAA tournament.
Worst loss: The Bears were No. 15 in the AVCA poll when they were stunned by Texas-Rio Grande Valley in five on Sept. 8 in their own Classic.
Oregon (20-10)
The Ducks are making their eighth consecutive NCAA appearance and 24th overall. They tied for second with USC in the Pac-12, which had a tourney-high eight teams selected.
On Monday, libero Brooke Nuneviller was named conference freshman of the week for the fourth time. She leads the conference in digs per set (5.01) and has recorded double-digit digs in 24 consecutive matches.
Oregon has a multi-pronged attack that features three players averaging over three points per set (kills, blocks, aces) in senior hitter Lindsey Vander Weide (3.97), junior middle Ronika Stone (3.87) and junior opposite Willow Johnson (3.18).
Signature win: 3-1 over Minnesota at the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge on Sept. 7 at Stanford.
Worst loss: Swept by Arizona State on Sept. 30 in Eugene, two nights after falling to Arizona in five.
New Mexico State (24-7)
The Aggies, the only conference champions in the subregional, are in the NCAA tournament for the seventh time after winning the WAC tournament on Saturday as the second seed with a 3-1 victory over Utah Valley.
NMSU had three players on the all-tournament team including MVP Megan Hart, a redshirt junior middle from Canada averaging 3.38 kps. Joining her were senior hitter Tatyana Battle and redshirt freshman hitter Savannah Davison.
Battle picked up her third first-team All-WAC honors last week and Hart her first. Davison made the all-freshman team.
“It’s probably the worst passing team I’ve ever had,” said Mike Jordan, in his 21st season at the Las Cruces school, “but I’m just really proud of this team after we had to replace five seniors and get through this season with a young team and a lot of injuries.”
Signature win: On Sept. 8, the Aggies won their own tournament with a 3-2 victory over Arizona, handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season.
Worst loss: Two weeks after pulling out a 3-2 victory over UT Rio Grande Valley in Edinburgh, NMSU dropped a 3-2 match to the Vaqueros, costing the Aggies the top seed in the WAC tournament.
