Hawaii 2015

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Post-match Quotes - Penn State

NCAA Tournament - Des Moines Regional
Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Iowa)
December 11, 2015

hawaiiathletics.com/sports/2015/12/12/WVB_1212151815.aspx?id=592

Penn State Post-Match Quotes

Opening statement
Coach Russ Rose:
It was a great match this evening. I appreciate the effort our seniors and players that play this year. We had a game plan but it didn’t materialize very well. They had a lot more confidence. We had some people who weren’t in the mind set to get things done. That’s our fault as coaches. I’m not disappointed in losing, we’ve had a season where we were not having this press conference. We have to keep our heads up. If another team beats you, then you give them the credit they deserve. Hawaii played terrific tonight.

Have you ever had a rally that lasted as long as the one in set two? The one that seem to like it never wanted to end?
Kendal Pierce: I think we’ve been trained to know that if you win a rally like that the outcome is different. If you are able to push through like that usually you can take a game. That was our mentality is we just get one point at a time. You never know what could happen. I think we made some great hustle plays on that and connected as a team.

Coach, did Hawaii do anything you didn’t expect tonight?
Coach Rose: It wasn’t that they did anything we didn’t expect. I expect we would be able to defend things a little bit better. They’re very good, but I would hate to make it like we lost because they were better. We didn’t lose because we were thinking about the wrong things. They were very good. I thought both passed about the same, we kind of roped out a little bit. The blocking was similar, we had a little more digs than they did. But they had twelve more kills than we did. They were a little more terminal, their hitters were a little better. I don’t think we were as ready to play as I thought we were going to be. They played great defense, Haleigh took some great swings tonight and they had control of the ball. For us to have 11 hitting errors is an awful lot of hitting errors. We can’t have that many hitting errors and expect to win.

[Wiz]

Me personally, I really enjoyed the match. You have two of the nicest coaches in women's collegiate volleyball, two of the best going at it. I like that Hawaii is returning almost it's entire starting starting line-up, and we all know Penn State will just reload and come back even stronger next year.

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Wahine in elite company

By Cindy Luis, Star-Advertiser

December 12, 2015


MICHAEL ZAMORA / THE DES MOINES REGISTER VIA AP
Nikki Taylor hit over Penn State’s Aiyana Whitney, left, and Ali Frantti.


DES MOINES, Iowa >> From sweet to elite. The emphasis being on sweet.

Unseeded and undeterred, Hawaii continued to play NCAA volleyball bracket buster, taking down a second seeded team in as many matches to move from sweet 16 on Friday to elite eight on Saturday. Led by junior opposite Nikki Taylor’s 18 kills and a defensive plan that took away most everything Penn State wanted to do — including trying for a national championship three-peat — the Rainbow Wahine swept the Nittany Lions 25-22, 27-25, 25-16 at Wells Fargo Arena.

It was the first time in six matches that Hawaii prevailed over Penn State, which in itself would be cause for celebration. But there was little time for that, as the Rainbow Wahine have a quick turnaround to prepare for their first regional final appearance since 2009 and their second straight Big Ten opponent in No. 2 seed Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers (29-4) looked every bit the Big Ten champion in turning back conference rival Illinois 25-22, 25-23, 25-17 in Friday’s first match.

“I don’t know how we’ll match up with them,” Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said of the Gophers, who did not make the NCAA tournament last season. “I’m very impressed with their athleticism and vertical. I was watching them in warmups thinking, ‘How does anyone stop them?

“Our celebration will be short. Obviously we’ll need to take away their strengths. They have great athletes, but we saw great athletes tonight. Our team played their hearts out. They believed they could win and they did.”

On a night when two of the top three blocking teams in the country — Hawaii at No. 1 and Penn State at No. 3 — combined for just eight stuffs, it was the touches by the Rainbow Wahine front-line players that made the difference. Hawaii slowed down Penn State’s best shots, including those by senior hitters Aiyana Whitney and Megan Courtney, giving the Wahine defense time to set up and convert on transition.

Whitney finished with a team-high 10 kills, hitting .286, and Courtney — the Most Outstanding Player for last year’s championship match — had nine, hitting .261.

“We didn’t block balls down, didn’t get the numbers we have been getting,” Shoji said of the team’s 3.20 bps average. “We slowed them down enough and kept putting pressure on them.

“We took away (Whitney’s) slide; (Courtney’s) a great player but we were able to neutralize her.”

Hawaii effectively neutralized Penn State fans who had traveled to watch their team. The crowd of 4,653 took on a decidedly pro-Wahine vibe, which included the fans from the Nittany Lions’ Big Ten rivals Minnesota and Illinois.

Hawaii was the only team with its own band and cheerleaders and “having the seventh man meant a lot to us,” Taylor said. “We have such loyal and dedicated fans, they are so knowledgeable.

“The band and cheerleaders brought the energy we’re used to having at home. They brought the Hawaii spirit with them.”

Senior hitter Tai Manu-Olevao was unable to speak after the match, having lost her voice with very vocal on-court leadership. Her actions spoke more loudly as she finished with 14 kills with one error, including a key back-row attack that ended a nerve-wracking Set 1.

Hawaii had set point at 24-20 but had trouble finishing. Penn State closed to 24-22 before Manu-Olevao ended the comeback.

Set 2 was as tight as Set 1 with the same number of ties (12) and lead changes (2). Penn State had two chances at evening the match, at 24-23 and 25-24. Each time Hawaii, which had not dropped a Set 2 all season, held, using a Nittany Lions net violation, one of senior middle Olivia Magill’s nine kills and another bullet from Manu-Olevao to take a 2-0 lead.

Shoji had called timeout when trailing at 24-23 and “Nikki reminded us that we had not lost the second set all season,” Shoji said. “That gave us a little inspiration.”

“We were at a little bit of a disadvantage at that point,” Taylor said. “But we knew we had the ability to convert, were siding out at a high percentage. I let the team know that we just need to hold and build on what we had been doing.”

The Rainbow Wahine not only ran their Set 2 streak to 30 for the year and 36 dating back to last season, but also ran their winning streak to 24 straight by running away in the third.

Hawaii jumped out early at 6-2, with both of Penn State’s points coming on Wahine service errors. Kalei Greeley’s 4-0 service run, including two aces, expanded the lead to 12-8.

Penn State never got closer than six, the last at 21-15, but Hawaii closed it out with a 4-1 run. Taylor’s final kill meant the Big West had a team in the regional final for the first time since Long Beach State in 2001.

(Hawaii advanced to three final fours and two other regional finals between 2002 and 2009 as a member of the Western Athletic Conference).

“I thought Hawaii played terrific tonight,” Penn State coach Russ Rose said. “They had a great match and tonight was a reflection of the up-and-down season that we’ve had.

“We made a lot of mistakes and Hawaii didn’t. They had more terminal hitters than we did. We lost because they were better.”

Penn State had one more dig than Hawaii (41-40), with libero Kendall Price finishing with a match-high 14. But the Wahine countered with five players with five or more digs, led by Manu-Olevao and Taylor each with eight.

Hawaii is the only unseeded team left in the tournament as well as the only non-Power Five team remaining. BYU (West Coast) was swept by Nebraska, Loyola Marymount (West Coast) lost in four to Kansas and Creighton (Big East) lost in four to USC.

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Hawaii Stuns Defending Champ Penn State In NCAA Volleyball Regional Semis

By Mechelle Voepel | Dec 12, 2015
espnW.com


The Des Moines Register via AP
Hawaii wrecked any chance for a Penn State three-peat after dominating the defending champions in straight sets.


Excerpt:

"DES MOINES, Iowa -- Hawaii felt underestimated by not getting one of the 16 seeds in the NCAA volleyball tournament after going undefeated in the Big West. But the Rainbow Wahine have not let being unseeded slow them down, and Friday in Des Moines, they got one of their biggest wins in recent history.
Hawaii
The Des Moines Register via AP

Hawaii wrecked any chance for a Penn State three-peat after dominating the defending champions in straight sets.

Hawaii knocked off No. 7 seed and defending champion Penn State 3-0 in the regional semifinals, 25-22, 27-25, 25-16. It was the Rainbow Wahine's first victory ever against Penn State, and their 24th consecutive victory this season.

The Nittany Lions had won the past two NCAA titles and were going for their eighth overall. But in a season in which they had to replace All-American setter Micha Hancock, Penn State finished fourth in the Big Ten and wasn't able to slow down Hawaii's attack.

The Rainbow Wahine were led by Nikki Taylor's 18 kills, and they're trying to advance to the final four for the 10th time overall and first since 2009. Hawaii has won three NCAA titles, but none since 1987.

Saturday Hawaii will take on the No. 2 seed, Big Ten champion Minnesota. The Gophers swept fellow league team Illinois 25-22, 25-23, 25-17 in the first semifinal on Friday in Des Moines. Daly Santana had 17 kills to lead Minnesota, which like Hawaii, also last made the final four in 2009."

Full story: espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/14347870/hawaii-stuns-defending-champ-penn-state-ncaa-volleyball-regional-semis

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Penn State women’s volleyball's season comes to a close with loss to Hawaii in NCAA regional semifinals

Jill Beckman | The Daily Collegian


Washington (15) and Frantti (5) block women's volleyball vs dayton
John Baranoski


Excerpt:

"Haleigh Washington (15) and Ali Frantti (5) go up to block a spike from Alaina Turner (10) during a match against Dayton at Rec Hall on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015. Penn State defeated Dayton 3-2.

After a close match, which included 25 tied scores, Penn State fell short to Hawaii in three sets (22-25, 25-27, 16-25), ending its playoff run in the NCAA regional semifinals.

Early on, the Nittany Lions (28-6) struggled to keep up with the Rainbow Wahine (29-1).

After catching up to tie the first set 8-8, back-to-back kills from Megan Courtney and Aiyana Whitney, along with a Hawaii attack error, put the Lions ahead 11-8, one of the only leads the team saw in the match."

Full story: www.collegian.psu.edu/sports/women_volleyball/article_a2817c9c-a0d1-11e5-9db3-ff4fc4f70053.html

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Penn State Comes Up Short in NCAA Regional Semifinals

Penn State women's volleyball ends its 2015 season with a 3-0 loss to Hawaii



Dec. 11, 2015

Excerpt:

"DES MOINES, Iowa -- The 2015 Penn State women's volleyball season came to a close in the NCAA regional semifinals as the Nittany Lions (28-6) came up short in a 3-0 (22-25, 25-27, 16-25) loss to Hawaii (29-1) Friday evening at Wells Fargo Arena.

"I'm not disappointed in losing, we've had a season where we were not having this press conference," head coach Russ Rose said. "We have to keep our heads up. If another team beats you, then you give them the credit they deserve. Hawaii played terrific tonight."

Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney led the offensive effort with 10 kills, while senior Megan Courtney and sophomore Haleigh Washington finished tied for second with nine kills each.

Senior Kendall Pierce posted a career-high 14 digs and two aces, while Courtney finished second on the team with nine."

Full PSU release: www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-volley/recaps/121115aaa.html

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NCAA Regional Post-Match Press Conference - Hawai‘i

University of Hawaii Athletics Department - Manoa
Published on Dec 12, 2015

NCAA Des Moines Regional Post-Match Press Conference with Hawai‘i women's volleyball head coach Dave Shoji, Nikki Taylor and Tai Manu-Olevao. (Dec. 11, 2015)





Highlights: NCAA Regional - Hawai‘i vs. Penn State (12/11/15)

University of Hawaii Athletics Department - Manoa
Published on Dec 12, 2015

Video highlights of NCAA Des Moines Regional match between No. 7 Hawai‘i vs. No. 8 Penn State at Wells Fargo Arena on Dec. 11, 2015.




UH Athletics Instagram

Watch match point as #HawaiiWVB knocks off two-time defending NCAA champions Penn State to advance to the regional final against Minnesota. Tomorrow's match will be aired on ESPNU and can be heard on ESPN 1420 am live! #GoBows!!!

http://instagram.com/p/_Le7iBBLxd

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On The Road With Olivia Magill

Blog Entry #3 - Dec. 11, 2015


My sister Hallie and my mom came in from Shoreline, Wash. to watch tonight's match!


"Wow!! Can I just say that I will never forget today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So many people doubted us and did not expect a win like that over penn state. It feels so good to silence everyone who thought we couldn't do it.

I got a lot of really thoughtful text messages after the game from my old club teammates and my club coach Shannon Pratt saying how proud they are of me and how the team has been doing.

Some of my family I haven't seen in a long time from Wisconsin came down today and it was nice to see them.

I will sleep with a smile on my face tonight!

I also want to say thank you to all the people from Hawai'i who truly believed in us. ON TO THE ELITE EIGHT!!


-Olivia"

Full UH release: hawaiiathletics.com/news/2015/12/8/WVB_1208151042.aspx?path=wvball

[Wolfgang]

Magill's sister looks like Savannah Kahakai.

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Golden Gophers wipe out Wahine

By Cindy Luis, Star-Advertiser

December 13, 2015


ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii’s Olivia Magill spiked the ball past Minnesota’s Molly Lohman in Saturday’s NCAA regional final.


ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii’s Savanah Kahakai (15) can’t get to the ball in time Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, during the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship in Des Moines, Iowa.


ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii head coach Dave Shoji questions a call Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, during the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship in Des Moines, Iowa.


DES MOINES, Iowa >> The rhythm and pride finally kicked in. Just a little too late.

Hawaii found itself in unfamiliar territory Saturday night, going down 0-2 against second-seeded Minnesota in the NCAA volleyball tournament regional final. Not only had the Rainbow Wahine dropped Set 2 for the first time this season, they scored the fewest points in a single set all season … and looked bad doing it.

There were no magic words said during the break in the Wells Fargo Arena locker room, just a reminder that Hawaii had come this far playing together as a team. If the Wahine were going to go down, they would go down swinging together.

Hawaii appeared to have Minnesota on the ropes at the end of Set 4 and were poised to push it to five only to have the Golden Gophers deliver a knockout punch with a devastating 7-1 finish. Regional MVP Daly Santana had three of her match-high 26 kills in the final 10 minutes as Minnesota hung on for a 25-18, 25-13, 24-26, 25-21 victory.

It sent the Gophers (30-4) into the final four for the fourth time in program history, and first since 2009. Minnesota, which didn’t make the NCAA tournament last year, will meet third-seeded Texas in Thursday’s first national semifinal in Omaha, Neb. The host Longhorns held off 11th-seeded Florida in five on Saturday.

The other semifinal pits Nebraska against Kansas. The fourth-seeded Huskers eliminated top seed Southern California in five on Saturday in Lexington, Ky.

It sent the Wahine (29-2) into the cold rain and back home one week earlier than they had hoped, their 24-match win streak ending four time zones away from Honolulu.

“We knew we had the capability to play better,” said Hawaii junior opposite Nikki Taylor, named to the all-regional team along with senior Tai Manu-Olevao. “We had to cut back on our errors.

“More importantly, we needed to start playing together. It felt like we were playing individual parts instead of six players working together.”

Things did come together after the break with Hawaii cutting down on errors and able to break away late in a Set 3 that saw 18 ties, the last at 24 when the Gophers held off a Wahine set point. Taylor prevented a sweep when putting down two kills to send it to a fourth.

The Wahine led for most of Set 4, jumping out early at 5-1 and late at 19-16 and 22-20. All-region selection Sarah Wilhite put down her 12th kill to jump-start a 5-0 run that put the Gophers ahead for good and had Santana moving into the front row.

At 23-21, the senior hitter from Puerto Rico nailed a cross-court shot for match point and Manu-Olevao hit long to end it after 2 hours and 3 minutes.

Minnesota outblocked the nation’s top blocking team 12-4 — 11 of the Gophers’ blocks coming in the first two sets — and won the dig battle 61-56. It was a season-low in blocks for Hawaii, which came into the week averaging 3.20 per set.

“They were fast,” said Wahine sophomore libero Savanah Kahakai, finishing with 21 digs. “I don’t think we expected that fast of a tempo. And No. 1 (Santana) was amazing.

“I honestly thought that if we could get it to five, we definitely had it. Just with all the energy coming in after that second set. I don’t think anybody expected us to come back like we did. It would have been a game-changer.”

Instead, it ended the careers of middle Olivia Magill and Manu-Olevao. Magill finished with seven kills, hitting 263, well below her .417 average. She and Taylor were in on three of the team’s four blocks.

“I thought we were getting the hang of it,” Magill said of the adjustments made after Set 2. “But they were digging everything.

“Overall, it was a really good season. We had a really good run.”

It was Hawaii’s first regional final since 2009. The Wahine are 9-10 in 19 appearances. It was also the first time in eight meetings that the Wahine lost to the Gophers.

“Before the tournament started, Russ (Penn State coach Rose) told me that Minnesota was the best team in the tournament,” Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. “They were more physical than us and we had no answer to stop their offense. They hit 40 percent and were attacking us from all angles.

“I’m still very proud of our team. We had a chance to go five but didn’t make the plays down the stretch.”

One thing that changed after Set 2 was the permanent insertion of freshman hitter McKenna Granato, who replaced sophomore Kalei Greeley on the left. Greeley had rolled her ankle in Wednesday’s practice and “I almost didn’t play her Friday,” Shoji said of the semifinal against Penn State. “She had a great match but tonight didn’t have the mobility. I thought McKenna came in and did a great job.”

Granato had six kills with one error in 11 swings.

Taylor was the only Wahine with double-figure kills, her 23 giving her 991 for her career.

Joining Santana on the all-tournament team were teammates Wilhite and Hannah Tapp, the latter finishing with 15 kills with no errors on 25 swings to hit .600. Also on the team were Penn State’s Megan Courtney and Michelle Strizak of Illinois.

“It was quite a battle as you would expect at this stage of the tournament,” Minnesota coach Hugh McCutcheon said. “We were in control in the first couple of sets, Hawaii absolutely battled back and played great.

“Again I hate to say how proud I am of the team, but it was different tonight because we had to battle back and there was no way that it was easy, it was a very, very difficult match. Nikki Taylor started hitting the ball with a lot more range, was a lot more effective. It took us a lot to have an answer for that. They brought in Granato and she played particularly well in serve-receive, hitting the ball with good range.

“There were a lot of adjustments that we had to make. As you would expect they were fighting for their lives.”

Added Santana: “It was never easy tonight. (In Set 4) I think we focused on just having good energy and not getting too emotional. The match isn’t over until the last point. We kept battling for each and every point.”

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Women’s Volleyball Season Ends In Regional Final

12/12/2015 4:07:00 PM



Excerpt:

"DES MOINES, Iowa - The No. 7 University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team saw its season come to an end in a four-set loss to second-seeded Minnesota in the Des Moines Regional final, Saturday, at Wells Fargo Arena. The Rainbow Wahine fell one win short of reaching their 10th NCAA Championship following a 25-18, 25-13, 24-26, 25-21 loss.

In defeat, UH (29-2) saw its 24-match win streak snapped and also suffered its first loss to the Golden Gophers in eight all-time meetings. The Golden Gophers (30-4) advances to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2009.

UH outside hitter Nikki Taylor finished with a team-high 23 kills to pace the Rainbow Wahine, who hit .210 as a team compared to .403 for Minnesota. Tai Manu-Olevao and Emily Maglio each had nine kills. Savanah Kahakai posted a match-high 21 digs. Taylor and Manu-Olevao were each selected to the all-regional team.

Daly Santana led the Gophers with a match-high 26 kills and hit .438 with 12 digs and three blocks. Middle blocker Hannah Tapp added 15 kills, hitting .600 and five blocks. The Gophers out-blocked the nation's top blocking team in the Rainbow Wahine, 12-to-4, and committed only seven hitting errors in 139 kill attempts."

Full UH release: hawaiiathletics.com/news/2015/12/12/WVB_1212150953.aspx?path=wvball

Stats: hawaiiathletics.com/custompages/Stats/Wvb/2015/haw-minn.htm


NCAA Regional Final Post-Match Press Conference




NCAA Regional Final Highlights: Hawai‘i vs. Minnesota




Photo Gallery: hawaiiathletics.com/galleries/?gallery=585

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Post-Match Quotes - Hawai‘i

NCAA Des Moines Regional Final Post-Match Quotes
Wells Fargo Arena - Des Moines, Iowa
Hawaii vs Minnesota (Dec. 12, 2015)

Full UH release: hawaiiathletics.com/sports/2015/12/12/WVB_1212151733.aspx?id=594

Hawaii opening statement
Coach Dave Shoji: We ran into a team that was just a little more physical than us. We just had no answer to stop their offense. They hit 40 % for the game. They were just attacking us from all angles and we couldn’t slow them down enough. I am very proud of my team for hanging in there and making it to game three and having a chance to go to game five. Game four could’ve gone our way but we just didn’t make the plays down the stretch. We had a chance to go to the final four but it didn’t happen. We are disappointed but we have accomplished a lot this year.

Was there anything you said to the team or any changes you made that helped come out to the third?
Coach Shoji: We made one tactical change; we flopped the lineup just to get a different matchup. I’m not sure that won game three for us. We just tried to appeal to our team to compete. We’ve had a good season. We were just watching them play so we just appealed to the team to and they responded. They didn’t want to go out that way. We play like we could for almost two games. It wasn’t a tactical change, just our players competing a little harder.

What were your thoughts comes out after game two?
Nikki Taylor: We knew that we had the capability to play better than the first and the second. We as a team knew we needed to cut back our errors, start converting plays, and getting our drive. We needed to start playing together. The first and second we were playing a little separate. More as individual parts instead of six people cohesively working on the court.

Tayler Higgins: our team just had to get their minds right. We were just watching them play. In the third game we were playing like ourselves. It was awesome to see. McKenna came in and did a great job as a freshman. You don’t see many freshmen coming in to game like this and play as well as she did. I’m proud of her and the way we fought back.

Impressions of Minnesota?
Coach Shoji: They have great athletes, they are well coached, they run a varied attack, they block well. They have a lot of weapons and I wish them well.

You switch McKenna in for Greely. Was Greeley’s ankle bothering her?
Coach Shoji: She had rolled her ankle in practice on Wednesday and she’s going to have surgery on her shoulder when we get back. She was just playing on adrenaline on Friday night. I think it caught up to her tonight. I almost didn’t play her last night but she had a great match. Tonight was a different story. And it’s really unfortunate for her because she’s had a great season. McKenna came in and did a really nice job for us.

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Post-match Quotes - Minnesota

NCAA Des Moines Regional Final Post-Match Quotes
Wells Fargo Arena - Des Moines, Iowa

Full UH release: hawaiiathletics.com/sports/2015/12/12/WVB_1212155135.aspx?id=595

Minnesota Quotes

Opening Statement
Coach McCutcheon
“Well it was quite a battle as you would expect at this stage of the tournament, we were in control in the first couple of sets, Hawaii absolutely battled back and played great, for us of course to have a team go in that hard and complete that well against us and still be able to figure it out even though we were down for the majority of that 4th set was a really nice achievement for us. Again I hate to say how proud I am of the team, different tonight because we had to battle back and there was no way that it was easy, it was a very, very difficult match. We are excited for the next step, first thing is first we will get home and get into the gym and get to practice and get a little better on Monday.”

What kind of adjustments did Hawaii make in the 3rd set to get you guys out of your rhythm?
Coach McCutcheon
“They changed the match ups, flipped their rotation, Nikki Taylor started hitting the ball with a lot more range, was a lot more effective, it took us a lot to have an answer for that. They brought in Granato and she particularly well in serve receive, hitting the ball with good range, there were a lot of adjustments that we had to make, matchups were different, the personnel was different, the distribution was different, they got the quick going early, as you would expect they were fighting for their lives, they changed it up.”

What did all the players say to each other after that 3rd set and how did you get back on top of your game?
Daly Santana
“We were ready for them to come out competing, and props to them they did a great job battling, for us it was more like 3rd set is done and now we have to come out with the 4th set and compete as hard as we can and push back.”

Sarah Wilhite
“Our thought process was to go out there and player gopher volleyball and adjust to whatever they come out with.”

Were the first 2 sets almost too easy?
Coach McCutcheon. Santana, Tapp, Wilhite
“No.”

Santana
“It’s never easy.”

That 4th set was epic. How did it feel during the 4th set?
Santana
“I think we focused on just having good energy, not getting to emotional. The match isn’t over until the last point. We kept battling for each and every point.”

Paige Tapp
“We just felt in control of ourselves.”

Wilihte
“They had some good swings but I think that we moved on to the next point very fast, we didn’t tense up because they had gotten a great kill.”

Comparing to last year about finishing matches?
Santana
“We put in the work, I don’t think there is any other way around it, and there is no magic, just real work.”

How much better are you at the line during game 4 you raised at a perfect time, how much to you enjoy those spots?
Santana
“I think honestly it was a great team effort, couldn’t have done that without their help. One day it can be and other day it can be someone else.”

How happy were you with your blocking tonight combining that with the 400 hitting?
Coach McCutcheon
“I thought the offense was really steady, Sam did a nice job. The blocks were coming from the first 2 sets. Hawaii made adjustments as the game went along. Hitting 400 against a great team like Hawaii is a great achievement.”

What is this moment like for you going to the Championship?
Santana
“We are really happy, obviously. It’s awesome, I think overall just to get that reward because we have earned it and we have worked so hard for such a long time it feels great to finally see it. Good stuff.”

Hannah did you see this coming when the year started?
Hannah
“You know I didn’t have any expectations, I knew that we put in so much hard work and to see us come so far to where we are now, looking back we did put in the hard work and every day that we were putting in the work and know we get the benefits.”

Coach McCutcheon
“This is hard work that is going on, without any promise of reward. We are paving the road for future generations, when you work good things happen. These athletes all they had was trust in the process without knowing what the result was going to be.”

Being from Minnesota?
Hannah
“There is a great support system at Minnesota. I think that having the whole community being involved in this and we have made the state of Minnesota really good volleyball fans and they are awesome, it is such a privilege to play in front of them every single night.“

Wilhite
“A lot of us have played together so that has helped with team chemistry.“

How much did you enjoy the crowd support at this tournament?
Tapp
“The crowd was amazing, it was great. It felt like we were almost at home.”

Half the war now is big 10 teams? How much does it help to have those regular season matches?
Coach McCutcheon
“Its helps, every time is such a battle, it’s a grind in the best possible way. It’s not a grind that wears you down, it’s a grind that polishes you. Without having to battle without worrying on how to deal with those moments, it’s tough to just get into this tournament and this room. We’ve learned to deal with all sorts of adversity this season.”

How have you improved as a team this season?
Tapp
“Each week we have focused on little incremental changes and Hugh always says Small changes with great conviction can have a huge impact and I think that we have made those little changes with great conviction and it has helped us a lot and we have improved a lot and we are going to get back into practice and we are going to keep getting better, it doesn’t stop here we can still improve.”

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Rainbow Wahine fall to Minnesota in NCAA Regional Finals

Posted: Saturday, December 12, 2015 2:35 pm | Updated: 4:43 pm, Sat Dec 12, 2015.

Zach Johnson, Associate Sports Editor

Excerpt:

"The University of Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team (29-2) lost in four sets to the No. 2 seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers (30-4) Saturday night 18-25, 13-25, 26-24, 21-25, knocking them out of the NCAA Division I Tournament.

The Wahine struggled to open the 1st set, and trailed early by a score of 8-3. But Nikki Taylor brought the ‘Bows back within one thanks to her 43rd and 44th ace of the season. The Golden Gophers responded however, with a five-point run and controlled the rest of the set never leading by less than four. The Wahine had no answer for Big Ten Player of the Year Daly Santana who paced the Golden Gophers with eight first set kills. Nikki Taylor led the ‘Bows attack with 5 fist set kills of her own.

Similar to the first set, the Wahine faltered off the start dropping the first four points, and trailed early 11-3. The deficit proved to be too much for the ‘Bows, they never scored more than two-consecutive points the rest of the set and fell by a score of 25-13.

The Wahine came out of the break with a different look than the previous two sets, and led 15 separate moments in the third set. Both teams traded points throughout, there were 18 tie scores and neither team led by more than two, but the Wahine strung together two straight points after the last tie at 24 to take their first set of the match. Taylor carried the ‘Bows in the third set with 11 kills."

Full story: www.kaleo.org/sports/rainbow-wahine-fall-to-minnesota-in-ncaa-regional-finals/article_70cf859e-a131-11e5-84ef-27881b0dbd09.html