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WAHINE VOLLEYBALL

Going back to Cali

Hawaii awarded good seed in tournament

STORY SUMMARY | READ THE FULL STORY

On the road again.

At least this time, it won't be a 13-hour flight across country for the Hawaii volleyball team. Unlike last year, when the Rainbow Wahine had to fly to Louisville, Ky., for the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament, Hawaii learned yesterday that it will have a relatively short hop to Los Angeles for its opener.

The Wahine (28-3), seeded seventh in the 64-team field, face Belmont (25-7) on Friday at USC's Galen Center. In the second match, the Women of Troy (16-11) host West Coast Conference champion San Diego (23-4).

Friday's winners meet Saturday for a berth in next week's regional at Colorado State.

"I think we got a good draw, but it is a tough bracket," Wahine senior Jamie Houston said yesterday. "The best part is it's one flight to L.A."

Also selected from the Western Athletic Conference was New Mexico State (25-8). The Aggies meet St. Mary's (20-7) in the sub-regional hosted by California.

New Mexico State and St. Mary's are two of the eight teams off Hawaii's schedule to earn tournament bids. The others include top-seeded Penn State, No. 5 Washington, No. 6 Minnesota and No. 14 UCLA.

— Cindy Luis



FULL STORY >>

By Cindy Luis

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 01, 2008

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Good seed. Easy travel. Tough draw.

NCAA VOLLEYBALL

First round, Friday, No. 7 seed Hawaii (28-3) vs. Belmont, 3 p.m. Hawaii time

San Diego (23-4) at USC (16-11), 5 p.m.
Hawaii got two of the three things it had hoped for when the NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament pairings were announced yesterday. The Rainbow Wahine (28-3) are seeded seventh in the 64-team field and are headed to Los Angeles for the sub-regional hosted by USC.

Up first for Hawaii on Friday is Belmont (25-7), the Atlantic Sun Conference champion. It will be the first meeting between the Wahine and the Bruins.

"We don't know much about them," Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. "We do know that our second round is potentially very tough."

Should Hawaii advance past Belmont, the Wahine would face the winner of USC (16-11) and San Diego (23-4) on Saturday. The Women of Troy finished tied for fifth in the Pac-10, while the Toreros won the West Coast Conference.

Saturday's winner advances to the regional hosted by Colorado State.

The pairings made a number of the Wahine players very happy. Freshman hitter Stephanie Ferrell's home is about 10 minutes from the USC campus; the families of seniors Tara Hittle and Jessica Keefe live in Colorado.

"I'm really excited," Ferrell said. "I've played in the Galen with my club. It's huge. It's a very nice arena."

"We're just taking it one day at a time, one game at a time," Hittle said, "but it would be awesome to go home to play again."

In 2004, Hittle's freshman year, top-ranked Hawaii went to Colorado State for the sub-regional, beating both Colorado and Purdue before losing in the regional semifinal to Wisconsin.

The highest seed in the CSU regional is No. 2 Stanford. Barring an upset, the Wahine would face the Cardinal in the regional final with a final-four berth on the line.

"At this point, we're just worried about our first round," Shoji said. "We'll be focused. Our players are mature enough to understand what happened to us last year."

The Wahine were knocked out in the second round by Middle Tennessee State. The potential is there for Hawaii to see MTSU in the regional semifinal next week.

Belmont was also happy with its draw, according to the school's news release.

"The girls are thrilled to be going out west and flying somewhere," Bruins coach Deane Webb said. "We certainly look forward to playing a great team in Hawaii, one of the most storied programs and one of the most respected coaches in the game today in Dave Shoji."

Good seed. Easy travel. Tough draw.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii players filled out brackets while waiting to hear where they would play in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

NCAA VOLLEYBALL

First round, Friday, No. 7 seed Hawaii (28-3) vs. Belmont, 3 p.m. Hawaii time

San Diego (23-4) at USC (16-11), 5 p.m.
Hawaii got two of the three things it had hoped for when the NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament pairings were announced yesterday. The Rainbow Wahine (28-3) are seeded seventh in the 64-team field and are headed to Los Angeles for the sub-regional hosted by USC.

Up first for Hawaii on Friday is Belmont (25-7), the Atlantic Sun Conference champion. It will be the first meeting between the Wahine and the Bruins.

"We don't know much about them," Wahine coach Dave Shoji said. "We do know that our second round is potentially very tough."

Should Hawaii advance past Belmont, the Wahine would face the winner of USC (16-11) and San Diego (23-4) on Saturday. The Women of Troy finished tied for fifth in the Pac-10, while the Toreros won the West Coast Conference.

Saturday's winner advances to the regional hosted by Colorado State.

The pairings made a number of the Wahine players very happy. Freshman hitter Stephanie Ferrell's home is about 10 minutes from the USC campus; the families of seniors Tara Hittle and Jessica Keefe live in Colorado.

"I'm really excited," Ferrell said. "I've played in the Galen with my club. It's huge. It's a very nice arena."

"We're just taking it one day at a time, one game at a time," Hittle said, "but it would be awesome to go home to play again."

In 2004, Hittle's freshman year, top-ranked Hawaii went to Colorado State for the sub-regional, beating both Colorado and Purdue before losing in the regional semifinal to Wisconsin.

The highest seed in the CSU regional is No. 2 Stanford. Barring an upset, the Wahine would face the Cardinal in the regional final with a final-four berth on the line.

"At this point, we're just worried about our first round," Shoji said. "We'll be focused. Our players are mature enough to understand what happened to us last year."

The Wahine were knocked out in the second round by Middle Tennessee State. The potential is there for Hawaii to see MTSU in the regional semifinal next week.

Belmont was also happy with its draw, according to the school's news release.

"The girls are thrilled to be going out west and flying somewhere," Bruins coach Deane Webb said. "We certainly look forward to playing a great team in Hawaii, one of the most storied programs and one of the most respected coaches in the game today in Dave Shoji."

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