Hawai'i hosts Idaho in women's volleyball opener

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Clearly, the who, what, why, when and how of the 64-team NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship announcement meant little to second-ranked Hawai'i yesterday. All the Rainbow Wahine cared about was where and, for the first time in three years, they heard the magic word.

Lily Kahumoku yesterday became the second Rainbow Wahine to be named an Academic All-American.

UH coach Dave Shoji said he was happy not to have Stanford, UCLA or Arizona in his region. Advertiser library photos

Hawai'i (32-1) was seeded second and will play Idaho (19-10) in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday at approximately 7 p.m. at Stan Sheriff Center. Brigham Young (23-8) takes on New Mexico State (30-4) at 5 p.m. in the other match in Manoa.

The winners play Friday at 7 p.m. for the right to advance to the Northwest Regional. That will also be played here, the following Friday and Saturday (Dec. 12-13).

The Rainbow Wahine have traveled more than 30,000 miles this season. They returned Saturday after spending 10 days in Nevada. Their luggage arrived later, leaving some locked out of their houses. The last thing they wanted was to get on another plane.

The team's only reaction to the bracket announcement yesterday at Eastside Grill was a heartfelt cheer the moment the 'Bows realized they could play the next two weeks with the sport's most recognized home-court advantage.

"I'm just so excited to be home," said Nohea Tano, one of seven UH seniors. "It's the first year they haven't messed us over.

"We can get some rest, mentally and physically. I couldn't imagine picking up and leaving again, especially with school."

Two years ago, Hawai'i had to travel to Washington State to play the Cougars in the first round, despite being the only seeded team at the sub-regional. The NCAA justified the action by saying it was cutting travel because of Sept. 11.

Last year, the 'Bows were seeded third, yet sent to the Midwest Regional at Nebraska, where they beat the sixth-seeded Huskers in the final before a soldout crowd.

"I'm so happy," Kahumoku said. "Two years ago they sent us to Pullman and last year they sent us to Nebraska and we still came out on top. I think they realized that this team is legit. We really are the No. 2 seed."

Kahumoku was twice blessed yesterday. She became the second Rainbow Wahine to be named an Academic All-American.

Kahumoku, who has a 3.74 grade point average in political science, is on the second of three teams. Angelica Ljungquist was named to the first team in 1996, her senior year at UH.

While the thought of having to fly to a sub-regional was bothering Kahumoku for weeks, UH coach Dave Shoji had all but resigned himself to the fate.

He was happy to stay home yesterday, but happier still not to have Stanford, UCLA or Arizona in his region.

"They were the three teams we went five (games) with," Shoji said. "Obviously, any of those could have gone either way. Those teams are all familiar with Hawai'i having played here. Our home court advantage probably would have disappeared with any of them."

Hawai'i has won its past 31 since getting swept by top-ranked Southern Cal opening weekend. The Trojans (29-0) were seeded No. 1 and moved out of the West to the Midwest Region. They could play ninth-seeded Nebraska in a regional final at Lincoln.

Florida (31-1), which opened the season with a loss to USC, is the third seed. The South Regional will be in Gainesville, Fla. Pepperdine (25-2) is the fourth seed and stayed in the West, where the regional will be at Long Beach State.

Hawai'i was the only WAC team to get into the 64-team tournament ... kind of. New Mexico State will join the conference in 2005 and Idaho could come in if Louisiana Tech leaves. BYU, the only team to beat the 'Bows in the WAC, broke away from the conference three years ago.

This season Idaho tied for fifth in the Big West, which sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament. It has won its last six, starting with an upset of 22nd-ranked UC-Santa Barbara, the conference champion. Vandal middle blockers Anna-Marie Hammond — the team's only senior — and Sarah Meek earned spots on the Big West first team.

NMSU, on a 24-match winning streak, is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Sun Belt Conference. BYU took third in the Mountain West, which sent three teams to the tournament.

QUICK SETS: Ticket packages for both first- and second-round matches are $22 for lower level and $16 for upper. ... They go on sale tomorrow at 8 a.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center Box Office and etickethawaii.com, and at 9 a.m. by phone (944-BOWS) and at Aloha Stadium Box Office. Tickets will also be available at the UH Campus Center, Rainbowtique at Ward Centre and Windward Community College OCET during normal business hours. ... Tickets for Thursday or Friday only go on sale Thursday, at $12 (lower) and $9 (upper). ... Season ticket holders who have already purchased tickets for this week can pick them up beginning at noon today. ... Uila Crabbe, a senior libero for BYU, played with Nohea Tano and Lily Kahumoku at The Kamehameha Schools. Crabbe set a single-season digs record at BYU with 409.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.

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