Rainbow Wahine finish ranked No. 8

Advertiser Staff

The University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team, which finished its season 30-1, was ranked No. 8 in the final USA Today/College Sports Television Coaches Top 25 released yesterday.

National champion Stanford (30-6) was No. 1, followed by NCAA runner-up Minnesota (33-5), Washington (28-3), Southern California (23-6), Nebraska (30-2), Ohio State (30-4) and Penn State (29-3).

The Rainbow Wahine were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by Wisconsin in the round of 16 at the Green Bay Regional. Wisconsin lost to Stanford in the regional final. The Badgers (22-10) were No. 14 in the final poll.

Hawai'i, which returned just one starter from a final-four team, began the season at No. 13 in the preseason poll conducted by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The Rainbow Wahine rose to No. 1 on Nov. 22, before falling to No. 2 the following week.