Hawai'i relaxes before NCAAs
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
LAS VEGAS — Here, in the land where time is forgotten, second-ranked Hawai'i will ponder its volleyball future for the next few days. It will be the last chance to take a breath before the NCAA Championship begins, with the 64-team field announced Sunday.
In their final tuneup, the Rainbow Wahine (30-1) play Weber State (7-18) tonight and Kentucky (14-16) tomorrow in the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament at Cox Pavilion. The opponents would fit nicely into the middle of the WAC pack. The objective here is to stay healthy and focus on what is needed in the near future.
The 'Bows practiced yesterday for the first time since sweeping San Jose State Sunday to win their sixth straight Western Athletic Conference title. Monday, they played in the snow and had lunch overlooking Lake Tahoe.
"We had so much down time we were trying to lighten things up," said UH coach Dave Shoji, who made a Wal-Mart run to buy sleds and gloves. "They have to get very serious after Sunday."
Shoji had been planning the rare team outing for more than a week, but didn't tell his players about it until Sunday. Ultimately, they warmed to it in the Sierra's beautiful, but frozen, landscape.
"I think he just wanted to get us out," co-captain Lauren Duggins said. "I was really against it at first. We had sweats, not snow clothes. I was thinking we were going to get sick, it's a long road trip, people usually get sick around this time. But we had so much fun. ... It was awesome, really ideal."
These matches are the final time the Rainbow Wahine can play in a relatively pressure-free environment. After Sunday, it is one and out, literally for the seven seniors. They have lived close to that reality the past few months, through the few challenges provided by the WAC and their 29-match winning streak.
The "end" has kept Hawai'i going through yet another unbeaten conference season. It will keep it going the next two days, until matches actually matter again.
"We focus on skills, try to keep it going, try to improve what we need for better teams," Duggins says. "It's not boring, it's volleyball. That's always fun for us, especially the games. And for the seniors ... we appreciate every moment.
"To be honest, sometimes you're not in the mood to play. You've got a ton of homework and you've got to go on the road and you're tired, but you have your team. You're not going to let them down."
There is a possibility the NCAA volleyball committee will send the 'Bows back on the road for the first and second rounds. Four criteria — in no order — are used by the committee for site selection: "Quality and availability of facility and other necessary accommodations, financial guarantee, attendance history and geographical location."
Hawai'i shines in the first three, but is hopelessly lost in the fourth.
"It comes down to fewest flights," says Nevada associate athletic director Cindy Fox, who is on the committee. "It hurts teams in the middle of nowhere ... and Hawai'i couldn't be farther away."
Fox, whose support for UH and the WAC is not in question, believes the Rainbow Wahine's high ranking helps only as "a tiebreaker" should they be equal to another host site in other areas. It might not sound fair, but for a championship that loses as much as $1 million, it is reality.
"It's hard to speculate," Shoji says. "I'm ready to go on the road. I'd be disappointed, but we just go wherever they tell us we've got to go. We can't whine. Everybody would like to be home."
UH senior Lily Kahumoku has called the thought of having to play away in the first round "a travesty." Duggins is more pragmatic.
"I would be devastated with school because I've got so much to do Wednesday and Thursday," she said. "I'd probably cry, but I'd be ready to play. We play well on the road. It's easier to focus. There's not that pressure from outside that you have to win. And it's almost like you want to prove them wrong ... that you shouldn't be there."
It is not a worry, for now. The Rainbow Wahine have two more days in the land where time — and the NCAA Tournament — is forgotten.
QUICK SETS: Both Thanksgiving tournament matches will be broadcast live on 1420 AM, beginning at 2:45 p.m. HST. ... UH associate coach Charlie Wade, who runs pre-match warmups, injured his foot in practice yesterday and is on crutches. ... Lily Kahumoku is averaging 4.71 kills, 3.71 digs and hitting .363 since taking a week off to rest her sore back seven matches ago. ... Kahumoku joined the 1,000-kill, 1,000-dig club Saturday. ... UH is 7-1 against ranked teams in this week's Top 25. ... The 'Bows' last loss to an unranked team came in 1997, a stretch of 172 matches. ... UH has not played Kentucky or Weber State in 20 years. ... The Wildcats lost to third-ranked Florida in the first round of last week's SEC Tournament. ...
The Rainbow Wahine have now won at least 30 matches in 15 seasons. ... Hawai'i's WAC Championship semifinal victory over Nevada lasted 1 hour, 12 minutes — a minute longer than the tournament record for quickest match. Hawai'i was involved in the tournament's longest match — 3 hours, 31 minutes to beat BYU in the 1998 final. ... Kim Willoughby and Lauren Duggins earned all-WAC Tournament honors the last three years. Willoughby was MVP in 2001 and 2002. ... Willoughby moved into sixth on the NCAA career kill list Sunday at 2,453.
Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043
