Hawaii 2015

[Cubicle No More ...]

[Wolfgang]

Who's Tiff?

[madonna]

Dec 13, 2015 15:45:41 GMT -5 Wolfgang said:

Who's Tiff?

Cindy Luis' son, I believe.

[aznsun90]

So much respect for this team. They fought adversity. They overcame and played through injuries. They played so well against their opponents in the NCAA. I think Taylor was the highest ranked recruit out of the Hawaii starters, which says a lot about shoji and companies ability to help athletes reach their potential. TMO showed us what Shoji saw in practice. Magill will be missed, her presence, her vertical, quickness, just her overall athleticism has been amazing to watch. Would have also been awesome to see LBSU or Cal Poly in the post-season. Anyway, looking forward to next season.

[Cubicle No More ...]

Dec 13, 2015 15:47:33 GMT -5 madonna said:

Dec 13, 2015 15:45:41 GMT -5 Wolfgang said:

Who's Tiff?

Cindy Luis' son, I believe.

yes ... he does the espn1420 radio broadcasts on the road for the wahine matches ...

[Cubicle No More ...]

On The Road With Olivia Magill

Blog Entry #4 - Dec. 12, 2015

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




"Even though I am really sad that we didn't win, I am proud of the season we had. We fought hard and nobody can take that away from us.

After the match in the locker room I sat there and reflected on my volleyball career. I can remember making my first club team when I was 12 and feeling a sense of excitement. I had no idea that at 22 I would be a apart of a volleyball program that is so special. As I sat there I also thought about all the hardships I experienced as a player like injuries and the whole transferring situation and people doubting my abilities and I realized how much volleyball has shaped my life...But now my career has come to an end.
It went by in a flash. So bittersweet!

I hope that I may have inspired some of my teammates who know me and my story to be better people and volleyball players. I hope that I have inspired young girls to try the sport of volleyball and see where it takes them.

Thank you to all the Hawai'i fans! Your support is a big part of what drives the team!"

[Cubicle No More ...]

Wahine end season devoid of title, but fulfill goals

By Cindy Luis, Star-Advertiser

December 14, 2015


MICHAEL ZAMORA / THE DES MOINES REGISTER VIA AP
Hawaii’s Savanah Kahakai looked on as Hawaii’s Tai Manu-Olevao, right, got the dig against Minnesota in Des Moines on Saturday.



It began with gelato in Milano.

It ended with milkshakes from Zombie Burger in Des Moines.

In between it was a sweet ride for the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team.

The expectations that Hawaii had for this year were high, higher than the realities of the past five where the season had ended short of a regional final. In four of those NCAA tournaments, the Wahine were one (win) and done, eliminated in the second round.

Goals were set during an offseason that included the two-week team bonding experience in Europe last May: 1. Have a successful, RPI-building preseason. 2. Win the Big West. 3. Advance to at least the third round of the NCAA tournament.

While Hawaii had no control over the computer-generated Ratings Percentage Index that left it at 26 and unseeded come Selection Sunday, the Wahine attained 21⁄2 and more. They went 10-1 in nonconference play, ran the table in the Big West for the fourth time, and surpassed the regional semifinal goal when riding a 24-match win streak into Saturday’s regional final against Big Ten champion Minnesota.

The Sweet 16 sweep of two-time defending champion Penn State turned bittersweet when falling to the Golden Gophers, 25-18, 25-13, 24-26, 25-21 at Wells Fargo Arena. It ended the careers of all-conference seniors Olivia Magill and Tai Manu-Olevao, both of whom played critical roles in the 29-2 season, one that finished with 10 consecutive road matches.

“I’m just grateful for all the support we’ve been shown throughout the season,” Manu-Olevao said. “Just the amount of people who came out to Iowa was amazing. We can’t thank everyone enough.”

Hawaii again finished second to Nebraska in home attendance, the Huskers averaging 8,206 to the Wahine’s 6,905. Hawaii had held the attendance average record from 1995, the first full season in the Stan Sheriff Center, through 2012; Nebraska moving from the 4,000-seat Memorial Coliseum to the new 8,000-plus Bob Devaney Sports Center in 2013.

Magill, who transferred to Hawaii after two seasons at Arizona, said the support of the fans drove the team. She expressed her thanks in her final blog entry, the OMG Report chronicling the team’s NCAA journey for the HawaiiAthletics.com website.

Magill and junior Nikki Taylor are expected to receive All-America recognition on Wednesday. Magill came into the NCAA tournament ranked No. 7 nationally in blocks — anchoring the Wahine block that ranked No. 1 most of the year — and was 17th in hitting percentage.

Taylor, the Big West Player of the Year, was named to the all-region team on Saturday along with Manu-Olevao. Taylor was ranked nationally in three categories, No. 5 in points, 19th in kill average and 21st in ace average; she heads into her senior season nine kills away from reaching 1,000.

Taylor headlines the 2016 senior class that includes setter Tayler Higgins, defensive specialist Katiana Ponce and middle Annie Mitchem, the latter who fractured her right pinkie against UC Irvine on Oct. 17 and missed the rest of the season.

It was just one of many injuries that sidelined several Wahine but not the winning. Taylor missed a start due to concussion protocol, sophomore hitter Kalei Greeley was out two starts with a knee problem and Higgins five starts with an ankle injury.

Returning as juniors will be Greeley, setter Kendra Koelsch, middle Emily Maglio, libero Savanah Kahakai, and defensive specialists Clare-Marie Anderson and Gianna Guinasso. Maglio was first team all-conference and Greeley and Kahakai honorable mention.

Back as sophomores will be hitters McKenna Granato and Casey Castillo. Redshirt freshman middle Natasha Burns will be joined by incoming freshmen Norene Iosia and hitter Kirsten Sibley.

It will be a rare situation for Hawaii coach Dave Shoji as he will have three setters on scholarship for the first time.

“We’ll let them battle it out,” he said. “There’s also the option to redshirt someone.”

With five starters returning and eight others who saw substantial court time, Shoji was optimistic about 2016. He’s already looked at who would replace his departed seniors; Mitchem is the obvious choice to replace Magill and for Manu-Olevao, it could be Granato who showed a lot when pressed into playing for an injured Greeley on Saturday.

“We have a good nucleus coming back,” said Shoji, named conference coach of the year for the 14th time in his 41-year career. ‘We’ll be good and we’ll try to get back to the regional again. It’s really hard to get where we got this year, every team is good at that point.”

He expects that next year’s schedule would be challenging. With no contracts signed, Shoji declined to name the teams other than to say one Pac-12 team would be in each of the three preseason tournaments and that there will be teams from the other Power Five conferences.

The 69-year-old has signed a contract extension through 2017 but has said he always has the option to retire before then.

“I’ll take some time over the next few weeks and re-evaluate,” he said. “It was a great season. It was a disappointing loss considering we were in position to go five and couldn’t make the plays at the end (up 20-18 in Set 4).

“We really did everything we talked about, the goals of getting to the regional and getting to the final of the regional. We were able to beat Penn State (for the first time) but with Minnesota we just got too far down and couldn’t come back.”

[Cubicle No More ...]

Taylor, Magill Earn AVCA All-America Honors

12/16/2015 8:24:00 AM




Excerpt:

"LEXINGTON, Ky. - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced the 35th annual AVCA Division I All-America Teams for women's volleyball on Wednesday and two University of Hawai'i women's volleyball players were recognized on the elite list. Nikki Taylor was named to the AVCA All-America Second Team, while her teammate Olivia Magill earned Third Team honors.

Reigning Big West Player of the Year, Taylor, led the league in three statistical categories with career-highs in points (5.48 p/set), kills (4.46 p/set) and service aces (0.42 p/set). The junior from Honolulu, Hawai'i and Kaiser High School was ranked amongst the nation's elite all year and currently is ranked No. 5 in the NCAA in points per set; 16th in kills per set, 20th in points (575.5); 38th in service aces (44); and 45th in total kills (468). The 6-4 opposite tied the UH record earning conference Player of the Week five times this season—including three-straight to begin the year. Angelica Ljungquist (1996-WAC) and Kanani Danielson (2009-WAC) are the only other two Rainbow Wahine to ever accomplish that feat. Taylor also received AVCA/Sports Imports and ESPNW National Player of the Week awards the week of September 14 following an impressive performance at the Outrigger Resort Volleyball Challenge that included a career-best 27-kill performance against nationally-ranked Florida.

Magill, who received her third AVCA All-Region honor last week, led the Big West on offense and defense with a .412 hitting percentage and 1.44 blocks per set average. The senior middle hitter from Shoreline, Wash., is ranked 15th in the NCAA in blocks per set and No. 16 in the nation in hitting percentage. She also led the conference in total blocks (153), solo blocks (18) and block assists (135)--which were all career-highs. The two-time All-Big West first teamer collected Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 12, after tying her season high with 11 blocks, including a career-high three solo that helped lift UH over Long Beach State while holding the 49ers to .097 hitting for the contest.

...

Magill and Taylor represent just the 28th and 29th individual Hawai'i players to earn AVCA All-America honors. The Rainbow Wahine have had 56 AVCA All-America awards since 1981. Magill and Taylor were the only players from the Big West to earn All-America honors."

Full UH release: hawaiiathletics.com/news/2015/12/16/WVB_1216153043.aspx?path=wvball

[Cubicle No More ...]

Rainbow Wahine finish at No. 7 in latest volleyball poll

By Star-Advertiser staff

December 21, 2015
Updated December 21, 2015 1:00pm

www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sports-breaking/rainbow-wahine-finish-at-no-7-in-latest-volleyball-poll/


Members of the Hawaii volleyball team rushed the court at Reed Arena after defeating Texas A&M in three sets to advance to the next round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Dec. 5 in College Station Texas. (Star-Advertiser file)


Hawaii finished No. 7 in today’s American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I Top 25, the final poll of the collegiate women’s volleyball season.

It was the highest ranking for the Rainbow Wahine (29-2) since 2011 when Hawaii ended at No. 5 after losing to USC in the regional semifinal of the NCAA tournament at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Wahine, falling in the regional final to Minnesota on Dec. 12, opened at No. 18 in the preseason poll.

Nebraska finished at No. 1 after winning its fourth national title on Saturday. The Huskers (32-4), No. 5 in the preseason poll, swept Texas in the final at Omaha, Neb.

The Longhorns (30-3) were preseason No. 3. Both national semifinalists Minnesota and Kansas were unranked in the preseason poll; the Gophers (30-5) finished at No. 3 with the Jayhawks (30-3) at No. 4.

Preventing Nebraska from being a unanimous No. 1 was USC, which received one of the 64 first-place votes. The Women of Troy (33-3) finished at No. 5; preseason No. 1 Washington (31-3) at No. 6; followed by Hawaii at No. 7, Florida (25-7) at No. 8. Penn State (28-6) at No. 9 and Wisconsin (25-7) at No. 10.

UCLA (25-8), the only team to defeat Hawaii in the regular season, finished at No. 12. The Rainbow Wahine were the only Big West representative in the poll; conference runner-up Long Beach State received 14 points, putting the 49ers in a tie with Wichita State at 33rd with 14 points.

In the final Ratings Percentage Index, Hawaii placed 15th. The Rainbow Wahine, who finished tied for fifth nationally, were at 26th heading into the NCAA tournament.

[Cubicle No More ...]

Hawaii finishes No. 7 in final poll, 15 in RPI

by CINDY LUIS on DECEMBER 21, 2015

Blog post: hawaiiwarriorworld.com/volleyshots/hawaii-finished-no-7-in-final-poll/


Excerpt:

www.avca.org/divisions/division-one-women/poll-12-21-2015/

Best finish since 2011 when Wahine were No. 5.

1. Nebraska (63 votes). 2. texas. 3. Minnesota. 4. Kansas. 5. USC (1 vote)
6. Washington. 7. Hawaii. 8. Florida. 9. Penn State. 10. Wisconsin.

As for the RPI:

web1.ncaa.org/app_data/weeklyrpi/2015WVBrpi1.html

[Cubicle No More ...]

NCAA Post-season Round Up

Volleyball statsman Dennis Michael Stuart reflects on the 2015 season and tournament

Dennis Michael Stuart • 12/21/15


Ed Chan
Minnesota and Texas face off in the national semifinals.


Excerpt:

"Here are my picks for the five most intriguing and controversial results of this years tournament:

...

3. Hawaii's sweep of defending champion Penn State raised a few eyebrows and made the case that Hawaii should have received a national seed. The unseeded Rainbow Wahine swept No. 15 Texas A&M in College Station and swept No. 7 Penn State.

...

This year produced an exciting and unpredictable season with a number of schools making their way into the national scene and improving on preseason rankings, including most notably Kansas, USC, Minnesota, Hawaii, Creighton, Louisville, Loyola Marymount, and Michigan."

Full story: volleyballmag.com/articles/43763-ncaa-post-season-round-up

[Cubicle No More ...]

Rainbow Wahine Volleyball To Host Annual Banquet On January 17

12/29/2015 10:12:00 AM



Excerpt:

"HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team will celebrate its 2015 season by hosting its annual banquet on Sunday, January 17, 2016 at the Ala Moana Hotel's Hibiscus Ballroom. Registration will be at 5:30 p.m. with the dinner buffet beginning at 6:00 p.m. followed by the program.

...

Tickets are $55 per person for Rainbow Wahine Booster Club members or $60 per person. A Booster Club sponsored table is $550; for the general public the table will be $600 and for a corporate sponsor table the cost is $650. Fans can also make a $60 donation to sponsor a player. Late registration is January 11-15, 2016 at $65 per person.

Deadline for RSVP and full payment is Friday, January 8, 2016. For more information, please contact Maggie Gaukler at 808-282-2821 or Stanley Ching at 808-521-1456.

Please send completed order forms and payment (checks payable to: UH Foundation with note "WVB Banquet" on memo line) to:

Wahine Volleyball Booster Club Banquet
c/o. AKA
P.O. Box 11719
Honolulu, HI 96828

Or, if you would like to pay with a credit card, contact Cody Hironaga at AKA (808-956-5828) to provide credit card information over the phone."

Full UH Release: hawaiiathletics.com/news/2015/12/29/WVB_1229152229.aspx?path=wvball

[skeleton]

From hawaiiathletics.com - Congrats!

UH Fall Sports Garner 19 Big West All-Academic Honors

1/14/2016 1:44:00 PM
IRVINE, Calif. – The 2015-16 Academic all-Big West teams for women's cross country, women's soccer and women's volleyball have been announced by officials from the conference office, recognizing the fall sports. In total, 19 University of Hawai'i student-athletes were honored for the second-consecutive season.

A total of 190 student-athletes from nine conference teams were named to the list. To be eligible for the all-academic team, student-athletes must have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average, completed one full year at the member institution prior to the season for which the award is being received (at least a sophomore academically) and competed in at least 50 percent of their team's contests.

The following is a list of fall sports honorees from UH teams:

Women's Cross Country (2):
Caitlyn Foss, Jr.
Jade Vaughan, Sr.

Women's Soccer (10):
Lidia Battaglia, Sr.
Dani Crawford, So.
Tiana Fujimoto, Sr.
Sonest Furtado, So.
Storm Kenui, Jr.
Paige Okazaki, So.
Justine Olotoa, Jr.
Madison Reed, Jr.
T.J. Reyno, Jr.
Lauren Takai, Jr.


Women's Volleyball (7):
Clare-Marie Anderson, So.
Gianna Guinasso, So.
Savanah Kahakai, So.
Kendra Koelsch, So.
Olivia Magill, Sr.
Emily Maglio, So.
Nikki Taylor, Jr.

[sasa]

Jan 15, 2016 13:22:03 GMT -5 skeleton said:

From hawaiiathletics.com - Congrats!

UH Fall Sports Garner 19 Big West All-Academic Honors
Women's Volleyball (7):
Clare-Marie Anderson, So.
Gianna Guinasso, So.
Savanah Kahakai, So.
Kendra Koelsch, So.
Olivia Magill, Sr.
Emily Maglio, So.
Nikki Taylor, Jr.

...and where are the names of the other two Punahou girls?

Way to go Farrington and Kaiser!!

[trojansc]

Who are the PAC teams coming to Hawaii this fall?