Hawaii Beach (2016)

[Cubicle No More ...]

Wahine volleyball players do double duty

By Cindy Luis, Star-Advertiser

March 15, 2016


This is one week where having a split personality is a good thing. It also will be taxing but fun.

Or so says Nikki Taylor, one of several Hawaii volleyball players who will do double duty indoors and on the beach this week. The Rainbow Wahine host Iowa State in a spring exhibition at the Stan Sheriff Center, a match that will be sandwiched by three dual beach matches and a pairs beach tournament between today and Sunday.

“It’s the hardest week of our careers, but it’s only one week and we’ll get through it,” said the junior who has earned All-America honors on both playing surfaces. “I think the hardest thing is that we work on different skills and you constantly have to change your mind-set, needing this specific skill for indoor and, for sand, you’re doing something completely different.

‘Sometimes it’s a little bit of a struggle. But once in the gym, I think I can do a pretty good job at being just an oppo (opposite).”

While the Hawaii beach team has had more than a month of practice — the SandBows (3-3) are ranked No. 5 nationally — Monday was the first official day of a five-week indoor training window. Taylor, sophomore middle Emily Maglio and freshman outside hitter Casey Castillo are the three expected to be doing most of the crossover this week.

Sophomore defensive specialists Clare-Marie Anderson and Gianna Guinasso may see time at both, particularly in Friday’s pairs event at Queen’s Beach with No. 3 USC, Loyola Marymount and defending indoor champion Nebraska. Head beach coach Jeff Hall said that Taylor and Maglio won’t practice indoors today since the SandBows play defending champion USC this afternoon and that the two, and perhaps Castillo, won’t participate in Friday’s pairs event, instead concentrating on the indoor exhibition with Iowa State that night.

“We made Friday a pairs event so we can pull out the indoor girls,” said Hall, also the associate head indoor coach. “The pairs results don’t count on our record and it gives other (sand-only) players more playing experience.

“But they (the indoor players) will come right back on Saturday (for a dual with Loyola Marymount). It’s a tough turnaround, but this is what they signed up for. ”

Maglio continues to impress both Hall and head indoor coach Dave Shoji, as well as the Big West. Maglio and graduate student Katie Spieler won the conference “pair of the week” for the second straight week after going 2-0 with dominating wins in the No. 1 flight Saturday against Hawaii Pacific and TCU.

“For someone as big as she is, Maglio moves so well,” Shoji said of the 6-foot-3 Canadian. “Unfortunately, indoors she doesn’t get to show off those skills. She’s just a better volleyball player now.”

Of the 13 returning indoor players, only sophomore hitter Kalei Greeley (offseason surgery) is expected to miss Friday’s exhibition against the Cyclones. Castillo is the likely replacement.

“Casey will get her chance, get a lot of reps that will help her progress,” Shoji said. “And (rising senior middle Annie) Mitchem is being counted on to play a big role.”

Mitchem missed the last 12 matches of Hawaii’s elite-eight run last season with a fractured finger.

Today’s beach match with USC will be televised on OC Sports. It’s the second time in 11 days that the SandBows will see the Women of Troy; Hawaii lost its second opener to USC 4-1 at the Pepperdine Kickoff Tournament, but one loss was in three sets and another went 22-20, 21-19.

“Nothing much changes other than we’re able to be a little more tactical, have some film on them and we’ve switched a couple of our pairs since then,” Hall said. “The goal is to go in and win.”

USC, the preseason No. 1, dropped a spot to No. 3 in Monday’s poll following a 3-2 loss Friday to new No. 2 Florida State. It was the third five-set match in five contests or the Women of Troy, who also lost in five to current No. 1 Pepperdine and defeated current No. 6 Long Beach State in five.


BEACH VOLLEYBALL

Duals
Today, 4 p.m., at T.C. Ching Complex
>> No. 3 USC (5-2) at No. 5 Hawaii (3-3)
>> TV: OC Sports

Saturday, at Queen’s Beach
>> Loyola Marymount (1-5) at No. 5 Hawaii, 1 p.m.
>> No. 3 USC vs. Nebraska (1-0), TBA
>> No. 3 USC vs. Loyola Marymount, TBA
>> Loyola Marymount vs. Nebraska, TBA

Sunday, 4 p.m., at T.C. Ching Complex
>> Nebraska at No. 5 Hawaii

HAWAII INVITATIONAL PAIRS TOURNAMENT

Friday, 8 a.m., at Queen’s Beach
>> With No. 3 USC, No. 5 Hawaii, Loyola Marymount, Nebraska

INDOOR VOLLEYBALL

Spring Volleyball Exhibition
Friday, 7 p.m., at Stan Sheriff Center
>> Iowa State at Hawaii

[Wahinevball1234]

Does anyone know why Nikki Taylor is not at number one this year. I man you would assume that Coach Hall would put his two all Americans together especially considering the fact that they had played together previously.

[wang pu]

Mar 15, 2016 22:02:10 GMT -5 Wahinevball1234 said:

Does anyone know why Nikki Taylor is not at number one this year. I man you would assume that Coach Hall would put his two all Americans together especially considering the fact that they had played together previously.

It's about making 5 really good pairs and not 1 great pair and 4 ordinary pairs. Splitting them makes two pairs better.

[Cubicle No More ...]

watching the usc/hawaii match on tv.

spieler/maglio look good. first time seeing maglio on the beach, and she is impressive early on. they're hanging with the mighty hughes/claes tandem right now in the first set.

[Wolfgang]

...and then Hawaii gets blown away.

[downtheline]

How did it finish in the #1's pair?

[skeleton]

Mar 16, 2016 2:52:50 GMT -5 downtheline said:

How did it finish in the #1's pair?

USC 21-16, 21-9

But the big question is: Who was that guy with Kalei Greeley? Boyfriend?

[skeleton]

It was good to see Heather Boyan up and about supporting her teammates. In her interview with Ryan Tsuji, she talked about her accident and was thankful for all the support she has received from the Hawaii fans.

[Viki]

The team I really like is Ginger Long / Tucker.

[Cubicle No More ...]

USC kicks sand in Hawaii’s face

By Cindy Luis, Star-Advertiser

March 16, 2016


KRYSTLE MARCELLUS / [e-mail]
Hawaii’s Hi‘ilawe Huddleston dove for a dig against USC’s Terese Cannon in an NCAA women’s sand volleyball match in Manoa on Tuesday.


The gap between No. 3 and No. 5 turned into a gaping chasm Tuesday night as defending national champion USC dominated Hawaii in a collegiate beach volleyball match at the T.C. Ching Complex courts.

The Women of Troy (6-2) turned a tight 1-1 into a 4-1 runaway victory, winning the last three flights of a televised match against the Rainbow Wahine (3-4). Hawaii’s lone win came at No. 4 when Hannah Rooks and Ka’iwi Schucht (UH) swept Jenna Belton-Katrina Kemochan 21-15, 21-19.

“They played exceptional,” Hawaii coach Jeff Hall said of USC. “Our lower end played well. It’s not that our upper pairs didn’t play well. but they played exceptional, didn’t give us any points.

“I like the pairings we have and we’ll continue to work at getting better.”

“We gave them a great fight at the bottom of the lineup,” added UH assistant coach Evan Silberstein. “We were very close to being up 2-1 and inflicting some pressure. They are very experienced at the top of their lineup. It would take a flawless effort to beat them at No. 1.”

The Women of Troy capped the win with an impressive victory at No. 1. All-Americans Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes ran their record to 8-0 by sweeping Katie Spieler-Emily Maglio 21-16, 21-9.

It was 11-8 when Hughes went back to serve in Set 2; when she was done, it was 20-8 and “sometimes that happens,” Spieler said. “We’ll take what we learned and keep working.”

Unlike last season’s match against USC, when the outcome was decided before the telecast began at the No. 2 flight — the Women of Troy were up 3-0 at that point — the SandBows were only behind 2-1 when Nikki Taylor and Lara Schreiber took on veterans Sophie Bukovec and Alexa Strange.

Taylor-Schreiber, playing in just their third match together, struggled to find a rhythm against the All-America pair that went 33-10 last season. Taylor blocked Bukovec to pull UH to 19-16 in Set 1, but it wasn’t enough, as Strange added a kill and Bukovec had her serve trickle over the tape for a set-ending ace.

Set 2 was tight until the second changeover, with SC holding an 8-6 lead. By the third changeover, the lead was 13-8, with Bukovic’s block of Taylor highlighting an 8-2 closing run.

The match emotionally hinged at No. 3, where Ginger Long and Mikayla Tucker took a hard-fought 21-19 Set 1 against Nicolette Martin-Allie Wheeler. The SandBows appeared headed for a sweep when they took a 14-11 lead in Set 2 but couldn’t hold on against the tough serving of Martin, who had two aces during a 5-1 run that gave the Women of Troy the momentum and Set 2 at 21-17.

It carried over to Set 3. At 9-9, Martin put down four kills as SC closed it out 15-11.

Note

Hawaii graduate student Heather Boyan, continuing to recuperate from a serious accident on Feb. 27, came to support her teammates Tuesday. Boyan was released from The Queen’s Medical Center on Thursday, after suffering a punctured lung, 10 broken ribs and a broken scapula in a fall while hiking the Ka’au Crater trail in Palolo Valley.

“It could have been much worse,” Boyan said. “It was very scary, but I think I had an angel on my side. There’s a long recuperation ahead.”

Boyan said she’ll discuss the situation with the UH coaches, but since she will be done with her master’s degree in kinesiology this spring, it is unlikely she’d return for another season even if granted a medical hardship. Boyan played four seasons of indoor volleyball at Western Kentucky, graduated in December 2014, and played last spring as a first-year graduate student.

[Cubicle No More ...]

No. 5 Beach Volleyball Bested By No. 3 Southern Cal, 4-1

3/15/2016 10:55:00 PM




Excerpt:

"HONOLULU – The No. 5 University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine beach volleyball team faced off with No. 3 and defending National Champion Southern Cal on Tuesday at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex sand courts. Despite battling hard for the first several rounds, the Rainbow Wahine were downed by USC for the second time, 4-1.

Earning the lone victory for the 'SandBows' was the duo of junior Hannah Rooks and Ka'iwi Schucht, who won in straight sets, 21-15, 21-19, in the No. 4 position. The pair is 2-0 versus USC after winning when the teams met in Malibu earlier this season."

Full UH release: hawaiiathletics.com/news/2016/3/16/womens-beach-volleyball-no-5-beach-volleyball-bested-by-no-2-southern-cal-4-1.aspx?path=wsvb





Match Highlights (courtesy of OC Sports)

[Cubicle No More ...]

Sand 'Bows downed by USC for second time this season

Posted: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 7:00 am
Katie Almeida, Staff Writer


Shane Grace / Ka Leo O Hawai‘i
The Sand ‘Bows will play their first match of the season at Ching Complex on Tuesday against USC.


Excerpt:

"The No. 5 University of Hawai‘i sand volleyball team lost 4-1 against No. 3 USC in their opening game at Clarence T.C Ching Complex Tuesday night.

Junior Hannah Rooks and Kai‘iwi Schucht were the only duo to beat the Trojans. They improved to 2-0 on the season against USC after their win earlier this season in Malibu.

“We compliment each other really well. She keeps me focused, I keep her focused,” Schucht said. “When we’re excited we keep each other leveled and dialed in, ready to play.”

..."


Full story: www.kaleo.org/sports/sand-bows-downed-by-usc-for-second-time-this-season/article_dec6d5da-eb68-11e5-89f0-c7fccf24f9de.html

[Cubicle No More ...]

Shorthanded SandBows Finish Second In Pairs To Open Hawai'i Invite

3/18/2016 11:00:00 PM


Lara Schreiber


Excerpt:

"HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine beach volleyball team opened up competition on Friday at the Hawai'i Invitational at Queen's Beach, finishing second despite playing shorthanded in a unique pairs team format against defending National Champion and current No. 3 Southern Cal, 2015 indoor National Champion Nebraska, as well as Loyola Marymount.

With each pairs competition contributing toward the team scoring divided into three brackets, a first-ever format for the Hawai'i Invitational, the Rainbow Wahine racked up 185 points for second place, while USC topped the field, sweeping the Gold, Silver and Bronze brackets with 405 points. NU was third with 100 points and LMU rounded out the field at 75 points."


Full UH release: hawaiiathletics.com/news/2016/3/19/womens-beach-volleyball-shorthanded-sandbows-finish-second-in-pairs-to-open-hawai-i-invite.aspx?path=wsvb

[Cubicle No More ...]

No. 5 Beach Volleyball Sweeps LMU, Drops Close Match Vs. No. 3 USC

3/20/2016 8:00:00 AM


Ka'iwi Schucht


Excerpt:

"HONOLULU – Closing out the Hawai'i Invitational on Saturday at Queen's Beach, the No. 5 University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine beach volleyball team split the day after sweeping Loyola Marymount to move into the championship, where they fell to No. 3 Southern Cal in a tightly-contested match.

The 'SandBows' made quick work of LMU in a five-match sweep in the tournament semifinal. UH won all ten sets in convincing fashion over the Lions, holding them under 10 points in four sets to punctuate the well-played dual victory.

In the No. 3 spot, Hannah Rooks and Ka'iwi Schucht delivered the most dominating victory, sweeping in scores of 21-8, 21-9.

Moving on to the Hawai'i Invitational Championship Match, UH faced off for the third time this year and second time this week versus the defending National Champion Trojans. Across the board a hard-fought dual, the SandBows gave the Trojans all they could handle, with the match ending in a in a thrilling 2-3 defeat."


Full UH release: hawaiiathletics.com/news/2016/3/20/womens-beach-volleyball-no-5-beach-volleyball-sweeps-lmu-drops-close-match-vs-no-3-usc.aspx?path=wsvb

[Cubicle No More ...]

SandBows score victory over Huskers

By Cindy Luis, Star-Advertiser

March 21, 2016


JAMM AQUINO / [e-mail]
UH’s Ari Homayun bumped the ball for teammate Hannah Zalopany against Nebraska on Sunday. The pair won the match.



Spring came in with wind and a win.

No. 5 Hawaii ended a long playing week at home with a 4-1 victory over No. 15 Nebraska on a brisk Sunday night at the Ching Complex courts. The Rainbow Wahine (4-5) clinched the televised match at No. 2 when Emily Maglio and Katie Spieler swept Amber Rolfzen and Justine Wong-Orantes, 21-15, 21-17.

Maglio, one of two Wahine who also played in Friday’s indoor exhibition win over Iowa State, finished with 22 kills and two blocks. Spieler added 13 kills and 15 digs for the pair in their third straight win; the duo also won both contests Saturday against Loyola Marymount and defending national champion USC.

“We’ll take a win any time and especially when it’s against a great opponent,” Hawaii coach Jeff Hall said after the team’s third match in two days and fourth in six. “Nebraska is a big name and this was a big win.”

The SandBows capped their homestead with a dramatic win at No. 1 when Lara Schreiber and Nikki Taylor — the other crossover from Friday’s indoor match — rallied past Kelly Hunter/Kadie Rolfzen, 9-21, 21-18, 15-13. Taylor broke the eighth tie of the set with a one-handed block of Rolfzen, then closed it out with an ace.

The Huskers dropped to 2-3.

Hawaii leaves tonight to compete in the Stetson Spring Break Tournament in Deland, Fla. The Wahine will play Tulane Thursday, No. 9 Stetson and Florida Atlantic Friday, and No. 2 Florida State and No. 10 Florida International Saturday.

“It has been a long week but a good one,” Spieler said. “Defense was key for us and Emily Maglio continues to a momentum-changer.

“We’re looking forward to going out and playing on the road, and riding out more wins.”

Hawaii picked up a big one at No. 3 when Hannah Rooks and Ka’iwi Schucht turned back Annika Albrecht-Oliva Boender, 21-15, 17-21, 15-12. The Wahine were poised for the sweep when leading 17-15 in Set 2 only to have the Huskers go on a 6-0 closing run behind the serves of Albrecht that included two aces.

At 8-7 in Set 3, the 6-foot Rooks tapped down a kill and won a joust with the 6-foot Albrecht to gain separation at 10-7. Nebraska wouldn’t go away, pulling to within one three times, the last at 12-11.

Hawaii used a Nebraska hitting error and a kill by Schucht to earn match point at 14-11. One sideout later, Rooks ended it.


RESULTS

Sunday

1. Lara Schreiber-Nikki Taylor (UH) def. Kelly Hunter/Kadie Rolfzen (NU), 9-21, 21-18, 15-13

2. Emily Maglio-Katie Spieler (UH) def. Amber Rolfzen/Justine Wong-Orantes (NU), 21-15, 21-17

3. Hannah Rooks-Ka’iwi Schucht (UH) def. Annika Albrecht-Olivia Boender (NU), 21-15, 17-21, 15-12

4. Briana Holman-Kenzie Maloney (NU) def. Ginger Long-Mikayla Tucker (UH), 21-12, 23-21

5. Ari Homayun-Hannah Zalopany (UH) Mikaela Foecke-Sydney Townsend (NU), 21-10, 21-10

Saturday

No. 3 USC 3, No. 5 Hawaii 2

1. Kelly Claes/Sara Hughes (USC) def. Lara Schreiber-Nikki Taylor (UH), 21-11, 21-19

2. Emily Maglio-Katie Spieler (UH) def. Sophie Bukovec/Alexa Strange (USC); 21-16, 20-22, 15-9

3. Nicolette Martin/Allie Wheeler (USC) def. Hannah Rooks-Ka’iwi Schucht (UH); 21-17, 21-15

4. Jenna Belton/Abril Bustamante (USC) def. Ginger Long-Mikayla Tucker (UH), 21-16, 21-17

5. Ari Homayun-Hannah Zalopany (UH) def. Jo Kremer/Zoe Nightingale (USC); 22-20, 19-21, 15-11