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Post by StuffU on Mar 15, 2014 13:01:40 GMT -5
Pepperdine sweeps Hawaii 5-0 Hawaii sweeps Northridge 5-0
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Mar 16, 2014 13:59:42 GMT -5
SandBows take 2 of 3 at Beach Challenge
By Star-Advertiser staff
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 16, 2014 LAST UPDATED: 02:13 a.m. HST, Mar 16, 2014
The bad news came early, then it quickly got buried in the sand.
No. 5 Hawaii came into Saturday's USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge undefeated at 3-0. Less than an hour later, that perfect record was gone, swept away by No. 1 Pepperdine 5-0 on the sands of the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
The SandBows rebounded with a 5-0 sweep of Cal State Northridge and a 4-1 win over Cal State Bakersfield, playing the latter without 2012 sand All-American Brittany Tiegs (back). Tiegs also won't be playing Sunday in the pairs tournament, an event that started late Saturday. All three Hawaii pairs that competed advanced to Sunday's main draw.
"Pepperdine played really well," UH coach Scott Wong said. "They keep it pretty simple, but they do that well. As I told our girls, you want to be playing the best and they are the best right now.
"I think we came out a little anxious against them, weren't very crisp. But when I look at how we battled back against (Cal State) Bakersfield, I liked the way our Nos. 3, 4, 5, came back after dropping the first set. That showed a lot of character."
No. 3 Ginger Long-Ali Longo, No. 4 London Chow-Olivia Urban and No. 5 Hannah Rooks-Tayler Higgins all dropped their first sets to the Roadrunners. While Rooks-Higgins dominated in winning Set 3 15-6, Long-Longo hung on for a 15-13 victory and Chow-Urban lost 15-13.
As Wong noted, instead of 4-1, the SandBows just as easily could have been 3-2.
Wong said he decided to rest Tiegs and her nagging back injury, hoping it will help her be ready for Wednesday's dual matches against Arizona and USC at Queen's Beach.
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Post by StuffU on Mar 16, 2014 16:20:15 GMT -5
In the Pairs Championships - #2 Pepperdine Larsen/Woolever -vs- #2 Hawaii Spieler/Taylor. Each #2 took out the other teams #1 in the semis in straight sets.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Mar 19, 2014 21:26:08 GMT -5
Croson's back, Tiegs' back key story lines in sand playBy Cindy Luis, The Star-AdvertiserPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 19, 2014 LAST UPDATED: 01:20 p.m. HST, Mar 19, 2014 STAR-ADVERTISER ARCHIVE In this photo from last year, Jane Croson hits the ball to the waiting Ashley Kastl as Tina Toghyani gets ready to defend.Another week, another challenge. And more opportunities to measure the progress of the young season and a young team. The No. 5 Hawaii SandBows have little time to enjoy the success of last week's USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge in California when hosting three dual matches and the Rainbow Wahine Spring Challenge starting Wednesday at Queen's Beach Sandbox. Hawaii (5-1), losing only to No. 1 Pepperdine last Saturday, faces Arizona (5-0) at 11 a.m. and No. 2 USC (3-1) at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, and No. 7 Nebraska (0-0) at 1 p.m. on Thursday. Among the intriguing story lines this week are the health of UH sophomore Brittany Tiegs, who sat out last Sunday's pairs event with a sore back, and the return of former Rainbow Wahine Jane Croson, part of Arizona's No. 1 pair with Madi Kingdon. Croson she of the crowd-pleasing high-toss serves known as jornada nas estrelas (journey of the stars) and the 6-foot-1 Kingdon are 4-1. Their loss was to Grand Canyon's No. 1 Kenzie Phelps-Kelli Dallman. Hawaii did not play Grand Canyon in last weekend's duals but Phelps-Dallman did defeat UH's London Chow-Mikayla Tucker 21-13, 21-14 in the Round of 16 of Sunday's pairs tournament. UH's Katie Spieler and Nikki Taylor lost to Pepperdine's Kelley Larsen-Kelly Woolever 21-18, 16-21, 15-10 in the title match, the second straight weekend that Spieler-Taylor finished second after advancing to the final. Hawaii lost to Pepperdine 5-0 in Saturday's dual match but went 5-4 against the Waves in the pairs tournament, 1-1 in the semifinals. In hindsight, Hawaii coach Scott Wong said he wished that the team would have had an open playing date teams are limited to 16 competition days so that the Wahine could have played Friday instead of having their first match against the top-ranked Waves Saturday morning. "I'm not one to make excuses," Wong said, "but you always want to go into a competition as equal as possible. Pepperdine had a match under their belts (Friday) at the venue. "They played really well against us. They are a seasoned team. They showed us where the best is at and we learned from it. Our team responded well." That included the pairs semifinal where Spieler-Taylor upset Pepperdine's No. 1 team of Lara Dykstra-Becca Strehlow 21-16, 21-17 . UH No. 2 Karissa Cook and Karlee Riggs were swept by Larsen-Woolever 21-17, 21-12 in the other semi. Riggs, who had paired with Hannah Rooks at No. 5, replaced Tiegs in Sunday's play. Wong shuffled his 4-5 teams with Tayler Higgins teaming with Rooks at No. 5 and Tucker replacing Olivia Urban at No. 4 with Chow. As for which duos Wong will put in Wednesday, it might be a game-day decision that comes about the time the new AVCA Sand poll comes out. Much will depend on how Tiegs a 2012 sand All-American at Florida State feels. Rules allow for different pairs to be used in different matches but there isn't supposed to be any switching to get favorable match-ups from contest to contest, or moving duos or a player up or down more than one slot out of five. The intent is to prevent sandbagging' but, currently, there is no enforcement. An injury, such as what happened with Tiegs, would have allowed for unlimited changes but Wong decided to leave Nos. 2 and 3 intact while giving two players who hadn't competed in the duals playing time in the pairs. "With Brittany out, we decided not to impact the rest of the teams as much as possible," Wong said. "I'm absolutely happy with the team's progress. We want to be tested along the way, see where we need to make the improvements." Collegiate Sand Volleyball At Queen’s Beach Sandbox Dual matches Wednesday 11 a.m.: Arizona (5-0) at No. 5 Hawaii (5-1) Noon: No. 2 USC (3-1) vs. Arizona 1 p.m.: No. 2 USC (3-1) at Hawaii Thursday Noon.: USC vs. Nebraska (0-0) 1 p.m.: Nebraska at Hawaii Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Spring Challenge Pairs tournament Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Mar 23, 2014 13:06:08 GMT -5
SandBows face drama on the beachThe SandBows sweep Arizona before dropping a 3-2 nail-biter to No. 2 Southern CaliforniaBy Cindy Luis, The Star-AdvertiserPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 20, 2014 LAST UPDATED: 02:13 a.m. HST, Mar 20, 2014 GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM Hawaii’s Karissa Cook powered a kill attempt against Arizona’s Madi Kingdon during the Wahine’s victory over Arizona on Wednesday. Cook and Brittany Tiegs defeated Kingdon and former UH player Jane Croson in straight sets.It was as close as it could be between Nos. 2 and 3. A few grains of sand of separation it seemed from the way it ended. Third-ranked Hawaii moving up two spots in Wednesday's AVCA Collegiate Sand Poll came up just short against No. 2 USC, falling to the Women of Troy 3-2 in the last dual match of a triple header at Queen's Beach Sandbox. With the outcome on the line on adjacent courts, the Nos. 1 and 2 pairs both went to a third set to decide it. While UH-1 Brittany Tiegs-Karissa Cook prevailed over USC-1 Kirby Burnham-Sara Hughes, 21-18, 22-24, 15-12, UH-2 Katie Spieler-Nikki Taylor couldn't hold on against USC-2 Alexa Strange-Kelly Cloes, 9-21, 21-19, 15-13. "That was a great collegiate sand volleyball match," USC coach Anna Collier said. "You have to play your best when you play the best. A day like today elevates the sport. "We knew we'd have to bring our A' game. I would never underestimate Hawaii you're going to have to play well or they're going to take you down. We knew they'd be well-prepared, very fit, ready to play on their home court, with a coach (Scott Wong) who was a top-level player and knows the game. It's why we came." USC and Hawaii both picked up dual victories against unranked Arizona (5-2). The SandBows swept the Wildcats 5-0 without dropping a set; USC won 4-1, with UA-4 Sarah Seiber-Rachel Rhodes preventing a sweep by toppling Eve Ettinger-Bria Russ, 21-13, 12-21, 15-7. The day featured the return of Jane Croson, who played two seasons of indoor and sand for the Rainbow Wahine. Now at Arizona, she and Madi Kingdon UA-1 lost in straight sets against both Hawaii (21-11, 21-13) and USC (21-15, 21-16). Most of the drama came late in the UH-USC match. The Women of Troy took a 2-0 lead with straight-set wins at Nos. 4 and 5. The crowd of several hundred enjoyed a very tight match on Court 1, with Tiegs-Cook holding off three set points in Set 2 to take a 21-20 lead that featured a 4-0 run that included a key net violation on Burnham and three consecutive aces by Tiegs. Burnham-Hughes held off two match points, the last at 22-21, scoring three points to force a third set. Play was so even on both Courts 1 and 2 that when both matches went to Set 3 the pairs traded sides at the same time (teams switch when the score is at increments of 5). Both matches were tied 5-5 at the switch, with Tiegs-Cook going ahead 9-6 and Spieler-Taylor up 8-7. Tiegs-Cook held the lead, with Tiegs' serving helping take a 14-11 lead. One sideout later, Hughes served long, pulling UH to within 2-1 in the team score. UH-3 Ali Longo-Ginger Long won their match moments later, with Long coming up with a couple of blocks and the match-ending kill to defeat Sam Hirschmann-Natasja Siljkovic 22-20, 25-23 to tie it at 2-2. Spieler-Taylor, who won last Sunday's pairs event at the USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge in California, fell minutes later to Strange-Cloes. Two weeks ago, it was a 2-1 win by Tiegs-Cook that gave the SandBows a 3-2 win over then-No. 3 Long Beach State. Tiegs said that victory helped the mind-set when it went to three Wednesday. "Today did remind me of the Long Beach match," she said. "I think what we learned was not to give up. Sometimes teams will get in a rut, be unfocused for a point or two, and you can lose it just like that. "Today we did well shaking off (losing) a point. We put it behind us and moved on. I think playing the top teams like Long Beach, (No. 1) Pepperdine, SC so early and doing well against them means we're playing well, but it also shows what we need to work on." COLLEGIATE SAND VOLLEYBALLAt Queen’s Beach Sandbox Dual matches Wednesday No. 3 Hawaii def. Arizona 5-0 No. 2 USC def. Arizona 4-1 USC def. Hawaii 3-2 Thursday 11 a.m.: USC (5-1) vs. No. 8 Nebraska (0-0) 1 p.m.: Nebraska at Hawaii (6-2) Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Spring Challenge Pairs tournamentFriday-Saturday, 9 a.m. More photos by GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Mar 23, 2014 13:11:22 GMT -5
USC duo is tops on the beachBy Cindy Luis, The Star-AdvertiserPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 23, 2014 BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM Hawaii’s Brittany Tiegs blocked USC’s Alexa Strange during a semifinal match of the Rainbow Wahine Spring Challenge.Consider it a March Madness bracket challenge, sand volleyball style. And, just as the late Jim Valvano said, "Survive and advance." The top-seeded pair of Kirby Burnham-Sarah Hughes did more than survive in the gold championship bracket on Saturday. The USC No. 1 duo advanced all the way to the Queen's Beach center court to receive the monkeypod bowls inscribed "Jack in the Box Rainbow Spring Challenge champions." Burnham and Hughes had extended stays during the award ceremony following their 21-18, 21-16 victory over Hawaii's Brittany Tiegs-Karissa Cook, seeded second. Burnham, a 6-foot-2 senior, was named the tournament's best blocker, and Hughes, a 5-10 freshman, the best defender. That winning combination showed throughout the two-day event, that began with pool play Friday and concluded with seeded bracket play Saturday. Burnham-Hughes, who fell to Tiegs-Cook 2-1 in Wednesday's dual match, easily won three matches Friday in straight sets, and dropped just one set Saturday, that coming in the semifinal to USC teammates Eve Ettinger-Bria Russ, 19-21, 21-12, 15-11. "It was fun to come out there, be on the beach, play a lot of good teams and teams we haven't played this season," said Burnham, who had two indoor seasons for the Women of Troy before going strictly sand since spring 2012. "It's different playing outdoors, with wind. When we play on Figueroa (where USC's Merle Norman Stadium is located on campus) there's not the winds and other stuff at the beach. "Hawaii's No. 1 team (Tiegs-Cook) is really good. Unlike some of the other teams, they don't have a big blocker, they are split block (trade blocking rotations). They beat us in three Wednesday and it was nice to come out with a win over them today." Tiegs-Cook (16-2) were seeking to go 2-for-2 in tournament finals hosted by Hawaii at Queen's. They won the Rainbow Wahine Invitational two weeks ago and didn't drop a set in this tournament until the final. Cook won her second individual award in two Queen's events, adding "Best Offense" Saturday to her "Best Blocker" from March 8. She and Tiegs also prevented an all-USC final when they eliminated Kelly Claes-Alexa Strange 21-16, 21-17 in the semifinals. Hawaii had four of its seven teams advance to the gold bracket, which consisted of the top 16 teams from pool play. The silver bracket, which finished the third-place teams from pool play, saw the remaining three Hawaii teams advance to the semifinals. In the all-UH silver final, Karlee Riggs-Hannah Rooks held off SandBows teammates Mikayla Tucker-Sidney Shinn, 21-11, 22-20. Overall Hawaii was 16-6 on Saturday. "We knew we didn't play well the day before," said Rooks, who continually baffled opposing blockers as a left-handed hitter. "We knew we'd have to fight hard if we wanted to win today's bracket. And we did. "So far the season's been great. There's been a couple of tough losses but our super young team has a lot of potential." No. 3 Hawaii (7-2), which played six of the past eight days, heads back out on the road Tuesday night. The SandBows face UCLA and San Francisco in dual matches on Thursday in Larkspur, Calif., followed by the Stanford Tournament Saturday and Sunday with UCLA, Santa Clara and the host Cardinal. "We've gotten in a lot of volleyball in the past eight days and not a lot of days off," UH coach Scott Wong said. "But we want to play high-level competition whenever and wherever in the world. "Today was about seeing who was going to respond after some long days of volleyball. We were able to get all seven teams a lot of matches. We're still looking at teams and we want to be taking our best five teams on the road." Wong also gave No. 2 USC credit. "I think overall they were sharper than us," said Wong, of losing to the Women of Troy 3-2 in Wednesday's dual. "At this point, I'm more concerned in the development of our pairs and our team overall. I thought the teams we were working on some things with got better." Hawaii's top two teams are set Tiegs-Rooks and Katie Spieler-Nikki Taylor. It was the first tournament in three weeks that Spieler-Taylor did not reach the pairs final; they lost to Ettinger-Russ in the Round of 16, 12-21, 21-10, 18-16. More photos by BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Mar 28, 2014 18:37:44 GMT -5
No. 3 UH sand volleyball team sweeps away No. 6 UCLA, USF
By Star-Advertiser staff
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 28, 2014 LAST UPDATED: 03:50 a.m. HST, Mar 28, 2014
The No. 3-ranked University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine sand volleyball team swept No. 6 UCLA and San Francisco by 5-0 scores at Piper Park in Larskpur, Calif., on Thursday.
Against UCLA, Hawaii (9-2) won in straight sets on three of five courts. UH's top pair of Brittany Tiegs and Karissa Cook defeated the Bruins' Jessyka Ngauamo and Kamila Tan 21-15, 21-9 to complete the shutout.
In the second match, the Wahine won in straight sets in all five courts. The pair of Sarah Mendoza and Olivia Urban made their debut as a tandem at the No. 5 spot and won easily over Emily Reed and Inbar Vinarsky, 21-8, 21-15.
UH will play Stanford, UCLA and Santa Clara in dual matches on the Stanford campus on Saturday. The teams will then compete in a pairs tournament on Sunday.
NO. 3 HAWAII 5, NO. 6 UCLA 0
1. Karissa Cook/Brittany Tiegs (UH) def. Jessyka Ngauamo/Kamila Tan (UCLA) 21-15, 21-9
2. Katie Spieler/Nikki Taylor (UH) def. Zoe Nightingale/Madie Smith (UCLA) 21-13, 21-13
3. Ali Longo/Ginger Long (UH) def. Taylor Formico/Karsia Lowe (UCLA) 21-11, 23-25, 15-10
4. Karlee Riggs/Hannah Rooks (UH) def. Skyler Dykstra/Jennie Frager (UCLA) 21-16, 21-15
5. London Chow/Tayler Higgins (UH) def. Karly Drolson/Rachel Inouye (UCLA) 21-19, 16-21, 15-10
NO. 3 HAWAII 5, SAN FRANCISCO 0
1. Karissa Cook/Brittany Tiegs (UH) def. Sara Staengl/Valentina Zaloznik (USF) 21-13, 21-14
2. Katie Spieler/Nikki Taylor (UH) def. Malina Terrell/Jurja Vlasic (USF) 21-12, 21-9
3. Ali Longo/Ginger Long (UH) def. Katarina Pilepic/Courtney Sabahi (USF) 21-14, 21-8
4. Karlee Riggs/Hannah Rooks (UH) def. Rebecca Kopilovitch/Anja Segota (USF) 21-18, 21-14
5. Sarah Mendoza/Olivia Urban (UH) def. Emily Reed/Inbar Vinarsky (USF) 21-8, 21-15
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Apr 6, 2014 13:34:44 GMT -5
SandBows keep win streak aliveBy Star-Advertiser staff POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 06, 2014 LAST UPDATED: 03:48 a.m. HST, Apr 06, 2014 DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM Hawaii’s Sarah Mendoza hit the ball over the net against HPU on Saturday.No. 3 Hawaii saw one streak extended and another end when it won three dual matches in the Jack In the Box Sand Volleyball Showcase at the Queen's Beach Sandbox on Saturday morning. The Rainbow Wahine (13-2) won their seventh consecutive match, beating Hawaii Pacific 4-1. The same contest saw Hawaii drop a point for the first time in seven matches via a medical forfeit at No. 4. The SandBows then swept Chaminade and a combined HPU-Chaminade team 5-0 in exhibition matches. The team of Karlee Riggs and Mikayla Tucker were leading 8-5 in the first set against HPU's Pomai Recca and Hannah Schuett when UH conceded the match. Tucker returned to play in the final two matches, teaming with Katie Spieler for a 21-7, 21-9 win over Chaminade's Darcie Horiuchi and Ku'ulei Lynch, then with Ali Longo in a 21-8, 21-10 win over HPU's Marie Fujii and Christina Furrer 21-8, 21-10. The SandBows dropped just one set in three matches, that coming at No. 5 when Sarah Mendoza and Sydney Shinn rallied past Chaminade's Athena Maskarich-Cassie Rushowl, 19-21, 21-18, 15-4. Hawaii next travels to Hermosa Beach, Calif., for the USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge on Saturday and Sunday.
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Post by sandfan on Apr 8, 2014 23:45:37 GMT -5
Anyone know what happened to Riggs (medical forfeit) in the first match of the day at the #4 spot? She's an anchor on the team! Wont be the same if she's out for the season.
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Post by 808 on Apr 9, 2014 11:51:28 GMT -5
Anyone know what happened to Riggs (medical forfeit) in the first match of the day at the #4 spot? She's an anchor on the team! Wont be the same if she's out for the season. It looked to me like a sand toe/turf toe/sprained toe type thing. Didn't look too serious, IMO. She had it iced and didn't seem to be too uncomfortable in the trainer's tent.
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Post by wang pu on Apr 9, 2014 12:47:51 GMT -5
Anyone know what happened to Riggs (medical forfeit) in the first match of the day at the #4 spot? She's an anchor on the team! Wont be the same if she's out for the season. It looked to me like a sand toe/turf toe/sprained toe type thing. Didn't look too serious, IMO. She had it iced and didn't seem to be too uncomfortable in the trainer's tent. Just out of curiosity, is Riggs related to the Riggs family in Hawaii?
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Post by sandfan on Apr 9, 2014 20:50:21 GMT -5
Anyone know what happened to Riggs (medical forfeit) in the first match of the day at the #4 spot? She's an anchor on the team! Wont be the same if she's out for the season. It looked to me like a sand toe/turf toe/sprained toe type thing. Didn't look too serious, IMO. She had it iced and didn't seem to be too uncomfortable in the trainer's tent.
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Post by sandfan on Apr 9, 2014 20:53:58 GMT -5
Thanks for the info 808 -- good to hear it didn't seem too serious. I've seen her play, she knows the game well and has great fundamental skills. She is a force in the 4 and 5 spot which will be heavily relied upon in the next two tournaments and Nationals.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Apr 11, 2014 17:57:42 GMT -5
Either size fits fineThe 5-foot-5 Katie Spieler and the 6-3 Nikki Taylor are a perfect pairing on the sandBy Cindy Luis, The Star-AdvertiserPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 11, 2014 CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM The 5-foot-5 Katie Sieler is almost a foot shorter than Nikki Taylor, but they complement each other on and off the court.They are unconventional as conventional can be. The pairing of sophomore Katie Spieler and freshman Nikki Taylor for sand volleyball is one of the traditional pairings in the sport, that of a taller player with a smaller player. But there's nothing traditional when it comes to a nearly 12-inch differential. Spieler may be a few grains of sand taller than 5 feet 5. Taylor is a definite 6-31⁄2. But it works. Really well. The surprise is just how well, considering it's Taylor's first time playing on the beach for more than just fun. Yet, the two have been solid as Hawaii's No. 2 team, going 24-6 and reaching the final of three of the four pairs tournaments in which the No. 3 Rainbow Wahine have competed this season. Of the six losses, two each have come against pairs from teams ranked ahead of Hawaii: No. 1 USC and No. 2 Pepperdine. Two others — perhaps more frustratingly — have been to the SandBows' No. 1 team of Brittany Tiegs and Karissa Cook (25-2). "Britt and Karissa are an amazing team, so it's a really good challenge for us," said Taylor, an all-region selection at outside hitter last fall for the Hawaii indoor team. "And it is really good that we are getting to the finals against the top team. "But it does get old (losing to Tiegs-Cook)." "We're always working hard to beat the other top teams, and Karissa and Brittany are phenomenal," added Spieler, a sand-only player and niece of former Rainbow Wahine indoor standout Lisa Strand-Ma'a. "It is frustrating that we can't finish it in the final, but we hope to keep getting better and peak at the nationals. And hopefully we'll beat them there." The SandBows' top duos have another shot at an all-Hawaii final this Sunday at the USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge in Hermosa Beach, Calif. Saturday's team dual competition precedes Sunday's pairs event, with the results from Saturday creating the seeds for Sunday. Hawaii (13-2) is seeded third and is in the same pool as No. 2 Pepperdine, sixth-seeded Cal State Bakersfield and seventh-seeded Arizona. The other pool has top-ranked and top-seeded USC and No. 5 UCLA. Among the goals for Hawaii this season is to reach the AVCA National Championship as a team. The top two schools from the West advance, with a third as an at-large, along with three teams from the East; 10 pairs from outside the six schools that qualify also advance to the pairs portion of the national tournament. Should Hawaii not make it as a team, SandBows coach Scott Wong feels that both Tiegs-Cook and Spieler-Taylor will qualify. (Only the designated Nos. 1 and 2 pairs are eligible for consideration). But that's not the way that Spieler and Taylor want to get to Gulf Shores, Ala., site of the national tournament May 2-4. "We've all worked so hard as a team," Spieler said. "The (sand-only) girls worked hard in the fall, conditioning three times a week, running sprints, both sand and on the track, lifting, with mini tournaments against each other. "Then we had another ‘double days' when the indoor joined us. You gotta be committed to the sport." It's the reason Spieler ended up committing to Hawaii, albeit late in the decision process. Named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Santa Barbara Athletics Roundtable, the 2012 Dos Pueblos High honor student was deciding between playing indoor, likely at an Ivy League school, or sand on the West Coast. The latter option was limited, as few colleges had committed to having a collegiate sand team in 2012; the family connection and the familiarity with the beach lifestyle made it an easy choice for Spieler. "My aunt was really excited when I was coming for my (recruiting) visit. I stayed with them," Spieler said of Strand-Ma‘a, who is married to former UH volleyball standout Pono Ma'a. "She told me about the coaches, the culture of Hawaii and that UH is a great place to play sports, especially volleyball. I really wanted to play beach — it's my passion — and I couldn't be happier." Taylor, a Kaiser High product, was indoor all the way. Her choices included top programs in Hawaii, Nebraska (where she has family), Pepperdine (where her older brother Josh plays volleyball) and UCLA. "My heart was always UH," Taylor said. "A piece of it belonged to Nebraska, and when they came to play (March 20-22), I did think, ‘That could have been me on that side.' But this was the right choice. I've said this from the beginning that it was the right fit." While Spieler grew up playing on the beach, Taylor said her sand experience was more goofing around with her brother and father on the Outrigger Canoe Club sand court. When Wong, the associate indoor coach, asked last fall who would be interested in playing sand in the spring, Taylor walked to his side of the court. "I was always interested in it and it's great cross-training," Taylor said. "It's helped my overall game. And it's really two different sports. "As a right-side player (indoor) I didn't have to pass. On the beach, you cannot hide. I have to pass half the court, touch the ball every play, set. There's a real physicality to it." Taylor said she's improved her vertical by more than 6 inches and now touches 10-2. She hopes her improved passing will allow her to play on the left side this fall. "That's the goal," Taylor said. Both Spieler and Taylor said they are surprised and not surprised at their success. "I'm not surprised at our success as a team, but I am a little surprised at mine because I had never really played before. Let me tell you, my mind-set from the beginning was ‘work on setting, setting, setting.'" It has led to opponents having to readjust their strategy. The conventional thinking is "Big players can't pass, short players can't hit," but with Taylor able to pass well and Spieler taking big swings, the opposition isn't sure whom to serve. "I was always a libero, did a little setting, so what I needed to improve on was my hitting," Spieler said. "I love that I get to hit. I think we surprise people because Nikki is known as an indoor player and I'm a little smaller. "She's very tall for a tall player and I'm small for a small player. But it works." "It's ridiculous how much fun it is to be together," Taylor said. "We were together a lot during double days and I liked the way she played and the way she complemented me." USAV BEACH COLLEGIATE CHALLENGE1300 The Strand, Hermosa Beach, Calif. SaturdayPool A: No. 2 Pepperdine (10-1), No. 3 Hawaii (13-2), No. 6 Cal State Bakersfield (5-6), No. 7 Arizona (6-5) Pool B: No. 1 USC (14-1), No. 4 Loyola Marymount (5-7), No. 5 UCLA (6-6), No. 8 Santa Clara (5-4) SundayPairs tournament Hawaii seeded third behind USC and Pepperdine On the web: teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Events/Beach/2014-Beach-Collegiate-Challenge
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Apr 17, 2014 16:08:12 GMT -5
SandBows' match Friday has national implications
By Cindy Luis, The Star-Advertiser
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 17, 2014
Hawaii has delivered all season for sand volleyball coach Scott Wong. The Rainbow Wahine are No. 3 nationally and take a 15-3 record into this week's tournament in Huntington Beach, Calif., to end the regular season.
But it doesn't beat Tuesday night's delivery for Wong. His wife, Tamar, gave birth to son Dylan, the couple's second child; they also have a daughter.
That the baby was born three weeks ahead of schedule just added to the hectic week for Wong. After flying back from California on Monday following a successful showing at the USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge, questions arose about the Big West Challenge, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Huntington Beach.
This week's event had been set up last October with dual matches between Hawaii, Long Beach State, Cal Poly and Irvine College on Friday and a pairs bracket tournament Saturday. Invitations also had been extended to several schools without formal sand volleyball programs to participate and see what the emerging sport was all about.
No other schools were interested and, as Wong found out, the interest from Cal Poly and Long Beach State had also waned. The Mustangs committed to play at USC's Pac-12 Invitational duals event in Santa Monica on Saturday, and the 49ers, who remain at No. 5 in Wednesday's poll, pulled out of Saturday's play as well.
Wong said he called Long Beach State officials and told them that Hawaii would not fly back if it was a one-day tournament on Friday.
"We got it resolved," Wong said.
The dual matches Friday stand as scheduled, with the one between the SandBows (15-3) and the defending national champion 49ers (7-4) having potential national playoff implications. Top-ranked USC (17-1) and No. 2 Pepperdine (13-1) have all but sewn up the two automatic berths from the West region in the AVCA Collegiate Sand Championships, May 2-4, at Gulf Shores, Ala.
Potentially at stake Friday is the West's at-large spot.
"I feel good about our team. I think we're playing well," Wong said. "We're still third nationally, have had a lot of great matches, but we'll need to prove ourselves again this week."
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