Post by kahusancali on Apr 26, 2019 9:38:43 GMT -5
If the Hawaii band were to travel where would they sit in the arena? Cheerleaders and dancers probably can go since they don’t occupy seats. But r there enough room in the arena where the cheerleaders do their thing.
Post by kahusancali on Apr 26, 2019 22:26:35 GMT -5
The Warriors make the return trip to Long Beach State on Monday and will take in Tuesday’s match between USC and Lewis that will decide their opponent in Thursday’s semifinal.
Warriors recharge ahead of NCAA volleyball tournament
By Cindy Luis Today Updated 12:16 a.m.
If last season hadn’t happened the way it did, would this season have happened the way it has?
No one can say for sure, but the Hawaii players do know this: Not making the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament last year, learning that they hadn’t received the at-large bid during the flight back to Honolulu, was motivation, incentive and any and all other terms that drive purpose. The Rainbow Warriors decided that they were not going to leave their postseason fate in the hands of anyone but themselves.
To that end, it meant winning on the road, where three consecutive losses away from home in 2018 may have tipped the at-large decision in UC Irvine’s favor. To that end, it meant winning … period.
The Warriors did both.
Their only road losses came at Long Beach State two weeks ago, both in five sets at the Pyramid, where the 49ers have now won 41 straight. And Hawaii (27-2) won 25 matches in a row, setting an NCAA record of 74 consecutive sets won in the process.
Now wearing the crown and target as Big West champion, Hawaii has been using this bye week to refresh, renew and refocus. The Warriors make the return trip to Long Beach State on Monday and will take in Tuesday’s match between USC and Lewis that will decide their opponent in Thursday’s semifinal.
“Our guys have worked hard to elevate their game, and you would like to think that would have happened no matter what,” Hawaii senior setter Joe Worsley said. “But for sure there was extra motivation after how it all ended last year.”
“There’s no doubt that the guys worked hard over the summer and it made a difference,” added senior middle Dalton Solbrig. “We felt those road losses last year were the reason we didn’t get in. It made us focus. It made us better.”
With no matches this week, the Warriors concentrated on school — the semester ends Thursday — and themselves. It’s an opportunity to rest up and stay healthy; Hawaii took Monday and Thursday off, and also won’t practice Sunday.
“This week is about staying fresh,” UH coach Charlie Wade said. “Last week with the tournament preparation we didn’t get the opportunity to work on individual things, ball-handling stuff. There’s a little flu bug going through, so at this point it’s about that and getting healthy, staying sharp and getting rested.”
The anticipation is that top-seeded Hawaii and second-seeded Long Beach State (26-2) will meet for the fourth time this season in the May 4 title match. But nothing is guaranteed and no one is looking ahead.
“We still gotta stay focused,” Wade said. “Lewis and SC are really good, and you don’t want to take anything for granted.
“Getting the No. 1 seed doesn’t matter a ton. It does give you a little confidence, and this is the first time we go straight to the semis.”
Long Beach State also won’t learn its semifinal opponent until after Tuesday’s other first-round match between Pepperdine and Princeton. The Tigers (18-2) defeated host Barton 25-23, 25-21 18-25, 25-20 to advance to Tuesday’s first-round match against Pepperdine.
This week’s practices have been held in an empty Stan Sheriff Center. Still, the arena was filled with memories of Saturday’s electrifying victory over the 49ers played in front of a second soldout crowd in three weeks.
The Warriors spoke about friends still not having voices after cheering throughout the 2 hours and 50 minutes. The memories of the sustained loudness echoed in their heads.
Wade continues to receive congratulatory texts and emails from around the world. One email came from former Nebraska women’s coach Terry Pettit, retired since 1999.
“He said it was the most intense environment for a college match that he had ever seen anywhere ever, and he stayed up watching from Nebraska,” Wade said. “I believe him. The crowd was completely invested from the beginning.
“In this day and age (of online streaming) people all over the world were able to watch this match that had the two best teams in America playing in front of 10,000 people. It garnered attention globally. It wasn’t just a big deal for people in Hawaii. It was one people watched and were entertained all over the world.”
Post by After Dawn on Apr 27, 2019 15:36:15 GMT -5
theres no question that brazilian middle will start. rosenfeld is a good blocker but not an offense threat. Next year is going to be amazing, with Gasman,Cowell,Rado all seniors and being many fans favorite players.
Offtopic: when do season tickets go on sale? With the success we had this season and depending how well we do in the tournament, more fans might show up insteading of attending baseball matches that have sucked the past 2 decades lol.
theres no question that brazilian middle will start. rosenfeld is a good blocker but not an offense threat. Next year is going to be amazing, with Gasman,Cowell,Rado all seniors and being many fans favorite players.
Offtopic: when do season tickets go on sale? With the success we had this season and depending how well we do in the tournament, more fans might show up insteading of attending baseball matches that have sucked the past 2 decades lol.
I kinda feel bad for those who redshirted. However, if you're good, then you'll start.
Post by kahusancali on Apr 28, 2019 10:19:41 GMT -5
But his wisdom was questioned when it came down to his choice of college, both of which had a large “H” as its athletic logo.
Hawaii and Harvard.
Solbrig, from Lindenhurst, Ill., was living in the middle of his choices: One path 1,028 miles to the east, the other 4,224 miles to the west.
Advice was all around him, including from an assistant coach who was recruiting him.
“I found out about his academics and I told him you should think about your future after volleyball,” said Jeff Hall, then the Hawaii men’s assistant coach. “I told him he should go to Harvard.”
But, as happens often with a middle child, Solbrig wanted to prove something. He wanted to challenge himself as well as the notion that volleyball players raised outside the hotbeds of Hawaii and California were somehow children of a lesser volleyball god.
Solbrig chose Hawaii because of its marine biology program, the goal to become a marine animal veterinarian. He chose Hawaii because of its passion for the sport he loved, the goal now being a pro contract.
“This was about as far as I could go and still be in the U.S.,” the 6-foot-6 senior middle blocker said as top-ranked Hawaii prepared for this week’s NCAA tournament at Long Beach State. “There’s always been a chip on my shoulder, the ‘just some kid from the Midwest’ chip that made me push harder and made me better over the years.
“There’s a little pressure off our backs now that we’re in the (NCAA) tournament, but there’s still a lot of pressure. We’ve won three of the four tournaments on our schedule. We need to win one more.”
Solbrig has played a big, often quiet, role in the Warriors’ success this season. His game has been as steady as it has been efficient; he’s hitting .572 for the year and has never had more than two hitting errors in any of the 29 matches.
Solbrig credits assistant coach Milan Zarkovic with his improvement. They worked to take advantage of Solbrig’s athleticism, quickness and smarts, which includes the step-out play normally seen only in the women’s game.
On April 20 in the Big West tournament championship, he was near perfect against Long Beach State, with nine kills on 10 swings, hitting .900. The biggest two came at the end of 2 hours and 50 minutes against the 49ers in Set 5, his quickness beating the block for his eighth kill that had the sold-out Stan Sheriff Center crowd rising for aloha ball at 14-8, his last quickly ending it on an overpass of senior setter Joe Worsley’s serve.
“It had a lot of meaning for me, a lot of emotions for sure,” Solbrig said. “It was the last time that this group competes together on this court.
“We don’t know if we’ll see Long Beach again. We both have a match to play before. We’ve got to win ours (against USC or Lewis) and they’ve got to win theirs (against Pepperdine or Princeton). It’s one game at a time.”
It took a while for Solbrig to find a place in the Warriors lineup. Recruited as an opposite/maybe setter, playing time was nowhere in sight when he walked into the first open gym and there was a 6-8 freshman opposite named Stijn van Tilburg.
When fellow freshman Patrick Gasman, a 6-10 middle, broke his leg, coach Charlie Wade asked Solbrig if he could play middle.
He asked if it meant he’d be on the travel roster, and when Wade said yes, Solbrig said he could play the position he had not played since freshman year in high school.
Still, it took until last season before Solbrig broke into the starting lineup permanently. He is scheduled to make his 57th consecutive start in Thursday’s NCAA semifinal.
“When I was recruiting him, I saw a really good athlete,” said Hall, now the Hawaii beach volleyball coach. “I thought he could contribute, but I didn’t realize he’d become as good as he is.
“That’s all on him, all his hard work.”
Solbrig chronicled his journey in an article on the UH athletics website, writing that his life has been “a steady climb of goals, never looking back to accept any of them as the final destination.” He wanted to play in college, make the travel roster, be on the court, be a starter … and, perhaps by the end of this week, be an NCAA champion.
“No regrets,” he said of his choice of schools.
It has turned out to be one of the smartest decisions he could make.
Last Edit: Apr 28, 2019 10:24:37 GMT -5 by kahusancali