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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Dec 6, 2015 0:05:32 GMT -5
Rainbow Wahine sweep Aggies to reach Sweet 16By Cindy Luis, Star-AdvertiserPosted December 05, 2015 Updated December 05, 2015 5:09pm www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sports-breaking/rainbow-wahine-sweep-texas-am-to-reach-sweet-16/ SAM CRAFT / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER Hawaii’s Olivia Magill celebrated a point with teammates during today’s second-round match at the NCAA Volleyball Tournament in College Station, Texas. COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS >> Junior opposite Nikki Taylor put down 14 kills and sophomore hitter Kalei Greeley and senior middle Olivia Magill added 10 kills apiece to lead No. 7 Hawaii into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA volleyball tournament via a 25-22, 25-19, 25-20 sweep of No. 15 Texas A&M on Saturday in College Station, Texas. Sophomore libero Savanah Kahakai had 19 digs for the Rainbow Wahine (28-1), who won their 23rd straight. Hawaii advances to the Des Moines, Iowa, regional and will face the winner of today’s Penn State-Dayton match on Friday. It was just the second home loss in Reed Arena in 14 matches for the Aggies (24-7) this season. It is the first time since 2011 that the Wahine have advanced to the third round.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Dec 6, 2015 0:14:17 GMT -5
No. 7 Rainbow Wahine Sweep Aggies, Book Ticket To NCAA Regional12/5/2015 4:41:00 PM UH will play Penn State to open next week's NCAA RegionalCOLLEGE STATION, Texas – Nikki Taylor delivered 14 kills, Savanah Kahakai added a match-high 19 digs and the No. 7 University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team dominated Texas A&M in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, sweeping the host Aggies on Saturday to earn a trip to the Sweet 16. Set scores were 25-22, 25-19, 25-20. The 'Bows (28-1), winners of 23 straight matches, will play Penn State on Friday, Dec. 11 in the NCAA regional semifinal held in Des Moines, Iowa. Illinois and second-seeded Minnesota booked their tickets as well to complete the four-team regional field. The 'Bows played with the lead for most of the match including a dominating start to set three, racing out to an early lead and cruising to the win. Taylor led a well-balanced Rainbow Wahine effort with her match-high 14 kills to go along with eight digs. Kalei Greeley was on point the entire match, recording no errors and putting down 10 kills at an impressive .625 clip. Shelby Sullivan and Jazzmin Babers both had 10 kills to lead the 10th-seeded Aggies who close their season at 24-7. Set one saw both teams play even until four straight points by the Aggies lifted them to a 12-8 lead. Passing issues for Hawai'i were the story early as TAMU created some separation early. The 'Bows did not let the set get away from them though, using a 6-1 run to grab an 18-16 lead and force an Aggie timeout. Hawai'i maintained its advantage down the stretch with an Emily Maglio (9 kills) kill, her sixth of the set, sealing the win. Olivia Magill (10 kills, 5 blocks) helped the 'Bows get off to a great start in set two, recording a block and a kill to lift her team to a 5-1 lead. Texas A&M would find its way into the set and evened the score at 8-8. The 'Bows would reclaim the lead though as a pair of kills each from Greeley and Taylor put UH up 15-12. Sullivan's kill kept the Aggies in striking distance at 19-17 but down the stretch it were Magill's back-to-back kills and a 6-2 run that put UH one set away from victory. There was no let up by the 'Bows coming out of the locker room for set three. Greeley's ace capped a 6-1 run and, in the blink of an eye, the Rainbow Wahine were up 9-4. The lead swelled to 13-5 as the 'Bows never looked back, rushing the floor after Magill's kill into the backcourt clinched the win. Full UH release: hawaiiathletics.com/news/2015/12/5/WVB_1205154534.aspx?path=wvballStats: hawaiiathletics.com/custompages/Stats/Wvb/2015/ncaa3.htm
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Dec 6, 2015 0:16:51 GMT -5
Post-match Quotes - Hawai‘iNCAA Second Round Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015 – College Station, Texas #7 Hawaii def. #15Texas A&M, 3-0 Hawaii post-match quotes hawaiiathletics.com/sports/2015/12/5/WVB_1205153341.aspx?id=588Head Coach Dave Shoji: Opening statement… “We’ve gotten here in the past but haven’t been able to advance to a regional for some time, so for me it was a very important match. They have played so well this year that no matter what happened tonight we were going to be happy. Winning this match was huge for our program. We played great defense, our offense was good. We had talked about trying to peak at the right time and certainly tonight was a very good indicator of that.” On the effects of travelling on the team’s first two matches… “I felt we were okay last night. We’d been here two-and-a-half days, so I didn’t think that was a factor. Obviously another day in this time zone didn’t hurt. Obviously we were very focused tonight and played up to our ability.” On Texas A&M Middle Blocker Jazzmin Babers… “I don’t think we shut down Babers. She had a really nice night, especially in game three. She’s a great player. I should’ve recruited her. Her dad and I are close friends as well as her mom who played for the Wahine, so I think they have mixed emotions about tonight’s game.” On the team’s ability to make plays… “We scrambled unbelievably tonight. We made plays that we might not normally make, especially converting the play for points. You don’t really practice that so you rely on your players to have instincts, and tonight it was beautiful to watch.” On the team’s versatility… “TCU’s coach called us ‘one-dimensional’ before we played them and I think that really bothered us. Certainly we rely on Nikki Taylor a lot, but we have other weapons. Tonight was a really good indication of our depth and strength throughout the lineup. We’d like to be more balanced.” On the set selection… “Obviously our setter did a nice job. She spread the sets, made excellent decisions, and location was good. She blocked a ball which she normally doesn’t do and she had a few digs as well.” Junior opposite hitter Nikki Taylor:On the mindset of the team before tonight’s game… “I think last night we were just a little nervous because it was our first game coming out. Luckily we could finish through last night with our jitters, because I think the story would be a lot different had we been playing the way we did last night in this game. We knew we really needed to focus and play flawless, and I think we executed that pretty well.” On making a statement in these first two rounds… “I think it was definitely a statement for us. I know personally I wanted to come in here and show the nation what we have the ability to do. Whenever we come into these kinds of things we’re kind of labeled the underdog and I don’t think that’s correct, which we showed tonight. I was proud of the way we were able to fly so far away from home and were still be able to produce and show the nation what this team can do.” Sophomore outside hitter Kalei GreeleyOn her ability to play her best in these last two games… “I’m just trying to do everything I can to help the team. Everybody came really focused. I’m really proud of how we handled these past two games and how we improved from last night.”
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Dec 6, 2015 0:19:03 GMT -5
Post-Match Quotes - Texas A&M Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015 College Station, Texas #7 Hawaii def. #15 Texas A&M, 3-0 Texas A&M post-match quotes hawaiiathletics.com/sports/2015/12/5/WVB_1205155547.aspx?id=589Head Coach Laurie CorbelliOpening statement... “Well obviously we’re disappointed it wasn’t quite our night. Hawaii had a relatively--in our eyes anyway--flawless night, and we’re incredibly proud of the season we’ve had and even though this stinks, we will always be proud of the things that we did accomplish this season.” On Hawaii being able to go to anyone tonight... “Yeah, I think that’s possible. They produced 18 kills in set one and we only produced 12 or 11, and I think that possibly had us wondering if we were going to be able to get our offense going. It wasn’t really a team attack that we’re used to. It was I don’t know at times it was individual, at times where we really needed it to be a team attack, with our attack.” On playing one day after playing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi affecting performance... “No, not really. They play a very similar style to us, they just executed flawlessly like I said. I mean their middles really got going early and hit some really difficult shots to defend. I thought some of the early shots they had we should have taken easier. They were doing some off-speed work out of the middle to start the match and kind of had us all sucked in and trying to take those, and then they went to attacking deeper and it was a great game plan and they just touch really high. Those kids do a really nice job especially (Olivia) McGill. I thought she just had a really, really nice match and a very consistent match and made it very difficult for our defense to know where be to defend her.” On what changed for Hawaii from the first-round match against TCU... “I thought last night that personally they know they struggled. TCU was running circles around them and they had to grind out the entire two-and-a-half hours to win that match. Just from all my years in sports and in volleyball you know it’s possible they got that out of their system and they came and they got focused and knew what they had to achieve. We run a totally different system than TCU, we have totally different players and we do what they do kind of. I mean it’s not unfamiliar in any way what we do, maybe the pass back attack behind the setter is something that obviously Hawaii doesn’t run that, and other than that, every night’s different. These are college women that give their best every day, and today our best just wasn’t as good as it typically is.” On what the team accomplished this season... “You know this was a special year and I think it would be easier to really, share that sentiment after another 24 hours to tell you the truth, but we’re really proud of our work, of the grinding. We just put in so much this season. From the players to the staff to the SID and the trainers and the strength coach, I mean everybody that’s involved in the program it was on the top of their list to get their stuff done, get it done and do it the best they can, so it was really a special year, one of the most special years in my career and mostly it’s because of the kids. My friend (Debbie Brown) that’s been with us for three weeks as a volunteer said she couldn’t believe the level of commitment that my players have to Texas A&M volleyball. She’s been in college coaching over 30 years and she just said the level of commitment and the pride they have to represent this university is so evident, and that’s about all I can ask is be committed, be honorable, do the work you say you’re going to do and we just go from there. That’s the foundation that we try to encourage for our program, and they did exactly what we asked so really proud and we’re all really exhausted.” Senior middle blocker Shelby SullivanOn the loss... “I agree with what Laurie said and they played a great game and we tried to get it going and couldn’t come out as strong as we have been in the past and we tried really hard but it wasn’t in our favor tonight.” On if Hawaii digging A&M’s shots frustrated the team... “No, definitely not. It just made me more excited to get to try different shots and mix it up and try new things to show that okay I’m going to come at you even harder, and that’s the mindset that everyone on our team has.” On what the team achieved this season... “I’m so thankful for this team and for the last year of my volleyball career, getting to play with them and all the support we have for each other on and off the court and from the whole coaching staff and support staff and just everything Texas A&M volleyball has given me and Angela (Lowak, senior outside hitter). We are so grateful and thankful to everyone.
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Post by soljah808 on Dec 6, 2015 0:39:15 GMT -5
Kalei Greeley hitting at .625 ......... Ms. Consistent ...... always "steady betty" on that court.
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Post by c4ndlelight on Dec 6, 2015 0:42:05 GMT -5
Kalei Greeley hitting at .625 ......... Ms. Consistent ...... always "steady betty" on that court. I thought for a long time that Greeley is a very nice player. Might not be the "star" anywhere but would start almost everywhere.
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Post by fetchin on Dec 6, 2015 0:49:50 GMT -5
They will need something, anytning from their other outside Olevoa in the next match though, PSU's block is big and imposing.
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Post by LanaiBoy on Dec 6, 2015 0:54:11 GMT -5
Kalei Greeley will never impress anyone with her power. However, she seldom overdoes anything; playing within herself and abilities. This contrasts with Tai Manu-Olevao who, early in the season, tried to do too much, blasting away at all times. Greeley's game is all about placement, an appropriate pace, and taking what is given. However, at 6'2" tall, she often hits above the block, as she did many times against the Aggies.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Dec 6, 2015 1:07:13 GMT -5
Kalei Greeley hitting at .625 ......... Ms. Consistent ...... always "steady betty" on that court. I thought for a long time that Greeley is a very nice player. Might not be the "star" anywhere but would start almost everywhere. she wasn't just a steady role player this past weekend ... she stepped up and was a go-to player
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Post by soljah808 on Dec 6, 2015 1:18:14 GMT -5
I thought for a long time that Greeley is a very nice player. Might not be the "star" anywhere but would start almost everywhere. she wasn't just a steady role player this past weekend ... she stepped up and was a go-to player Oh I certainly agree with that. But I think overall this season.....you could never go wrong with Greeley. Even if she wasn't leading in kills, she just keeps plugging away in all facets of her game. Might not have tremendous power but what a smart and gifted player.
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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Dec 6, 2015 1:22:51 GMT -5
Hawaii has lots of good players but Greeley is as close to a sure thing as you can get. Like others have mentioned, she isn't flashy but she is extremely effective.
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Post by Wolfgang on Dec 6, 2015 1:25:04 GMT -5
I think it's funny to read Corbelli's comments about how the Hawaii middles were tipping early in the match and then switched it up to hitting deeper later on, which affected tamu's defense. Newsflash: that's called bad setter-middle timing, not strategy. I think Olivia and Emily want to pound it every frikkin time but hey, you have to work with whatever sets you get.
But don't tell Corbelli. Just let her believe it was part of the Hawaii strategy, not fluke year-long Higgins-magill-Maglio timing issues.
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Post by fetchin on Dec 6, 2015 1:29:39 GMT -5
I think it's funny to read Corbelli's comments about how the Hawaii middles were tipping early in the match and then switched it up to hitting deeper later on, which affected tamu's defense. Newsflash: that's called bad setter-middle timing, not strategy. I think Olivia and Emily want to pound it every frikkin time but hey, you have to work with whatever sets you get. But don't tell Corbelli. Just let her believe it was part of the Hawaii strategy, not fluke year-long Higgins-magill-Maglio timing issues. I can't wait for Hawaii to get Iosia, two time state champion, she's a winner, people who think Shoji will redshirt her are crazy. Too bad my girl Magill won't get a chance to be set by her.
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Post by Wolfgang on Dec 6, 2015 1:31:09 GMT -5
I'm very curious to know who will play the OH position alongside Greeley and Taylor next year. Will it be the taller Castillo or the shorter granato or newcomer sibley?
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Post by surfboy on Dec 6, 2015 1:31:14 GMT -5
Yes Greeley had a heck of a match today from the outside , which I hope continues. Only takeaway was her passing game..maybe a few too many shank passes by her and Olevau in the first two rounds. But KaHAWKEYE what a game she played easily the MVP in this subregional for sure if there was a award.
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