To quote retired NBA great Reggie Miller, “The best ability is availability.”
It is what No. 11 Hawaii has relied upon this season as the Rainbow Wahine have gone to their bench, whether it was out of necessity due to injury or by the need for a spark.
Outside hitter McKenna Ross and libero Rika Okino, playing their last seasons in a Hawaii uniform, never know when they will be called upon to enter a match, but they both know one thing: be ready when that call comes.
Ross, who was not medically cleared the first two weeks of the season, has replaced junior hitter Jolie Rasmussen, who went down with a severe right ankle sprain in the Sept. 12 match against West Virginia. Okino is at libero in a sometimes no-libero lineup where she might be in the back court all six rotations or just a few of them or not at all.
It’s worked for both of them, as well as for the Wahine, who returned home from a 12-day road trip 3-1, a trek that included last week’s two important Big West wins. Hawaii may be facing the two bottom teams in the standings in UC Irvine (3-12, 0-3) on Friday and Cal State Fullerton (8-6, 0-3) on Saturday but “we can’t take any team lightly,” said Ross, coming off a career-high 14 kills in last Saturday’s victory at CSUN.
“We know all teams come out ready to play us. We need to take care of our side of the net,” she said.
Hawaii knows that some of its struggles have been self-inflicted, including unforced hitting errors and missed blocking assignments. That’s been a point of emphasis in this week’s practices.
“We give up 12-15 points on our errors,” said Hawaii coach Robyn Ah Mow, her team committing a season-high 32 hitting errors at CSUN. “Other teams are going to get their kills but we can’t be giving teams half a game because of us. We have to work on what we’re doing on our side.
“Like we tell the girls, every team is going to come after you. Everybody wants to play their best against Hawaii. Don’t take any team lightly.”
First off the Wahine will see an Anteater team that went 0-3 when opening conference play last week, losing in five at UC Davis then being swept at home by Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. UCI has dropped four in a row and nine of its last 11.
Hawaii, 9-0 at home this season, is happy to be back in the Stan Sheriff Center for the first time since Sept. 14’s sweep of longtime rival UCLA.
“We’re looking to continue where we left off, in front of our fans,” Okino said. “We learned a lot being on the road together. It helped us bond off the court so we can bring it to the court.
“Securing these three wins on the road definitely helps us with our confidence. I think it’s huge for our team. It’s nice that everyone can pitch in, has some sort of role whether it’s coming off the bench or starting. We’re all in this together.”
Rasmussen’s status remains “doubtful” this week. The junior transfer from Oregon did not make the road trip, remaining in Honolulu to rehab.
Note
Saturday’s annual alumnae match is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Some two dozen former players are expected to attend, including a number from the 1979 AIAW national championship team that won Hawaii’s first of four titles.
Ah Mow said that she and associate head coach Angelica Ljungqvist may participate briefly in the match.
BIG WEST WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
At Stan Sheriff Center
>> Friday, 7 p.m. UC Irvine (3-12, 0-3) at No. 11 Hawaii (12-1, 2-0)
>> Saturday, 7 p.m. Cal State Fullerton (8-6, 0-3) at No. 11 Hawaii Alumnae match, 4:30 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1420-AM/92.7-FM
>> Series: Hawaii leads UC Irvine, 40-0; leads CSU Fullerton, 40-0
