The Rainbow Wahine will have one thing on their minds at the Stanford Regional this weekend: win or go home.
The No. 6 seed Washington and No. 8 seed UCLA both fell out of the tournament in the second round, proving that anyone can lose.
“You have to play well against everybody,” head coach Dave Shoji said. “So, they didn’t and (now) they’re out. But it just means that there are a lot of good teams out there.”
No. 12 seed Hawai‘i, ranked No. 3 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, will now travel to Palo Alto, Calif., to play No. 5 seed Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday, Dec. 11. Illinois (26-5, 16-4 Big Ten) poses a big threat to the Rainbow Wahine, having finished second in the Big Ten to the No. 1 seed and undefeated Penn State Nittany Lions.
“The teams are tougher now,” Shoji said, “so we are going to have to play better if we expect to advance.”
Junior middle blocker Johannah Bangert leads the Big Ten with 1.61 blocks per set. Despite the Rainbow Wahine being out-blocked 17-9 against USC last weekend, Shoji isn’t too concerned.
“They’re a little more physical than us, and we had a stretch where we didn’t pass well,” Shoji said. “So we’re hitting against two big blockers most of the time.”
Joining Illinois and Hawai‘i in the regional are the No. 4 seed Stanford Cardinal (23-7, 14-4 Pac- 10) and the No. 13 seed Michigan Wolverines (26-9, 12-8 Big Ten). Hawai‘i swept the Cardinal earlier this season in Honolulu, giving the team some confidence going into the Regional.
“Preseason is a lot, knowing that we can hang with a lot of the teams,” sophomore outside hitter Kanani Danielson said. “But at the same time, it’s just preseason. ... Everybody has a chance to get better, to improve; so have we.
“So I’m expecting them to be a lot stronger, a lot faster, and just ready to give us a hard rub.”
Hawai‘i advanced to the Stanford Regional after defeating the New Mexico Lobos on Dec. 4 and the USC Trojans on Dec. 5.
The Rainbow Wahine dispatched the Lobos 25-22, 25-16 and 25-21, and hit .340 for the match with Danielson leading the way with 17 kills.
Following the match, Hawai‘i prepared for a feisty USC team on its home court for the second straight year as the ’Bows faced the Trojans in the second round of last year’s NCAA tournament.
Hawai‘i got off to a quick start against the Trojans, winning sets one and two, 25-20 and 25-18, but then ran into a buzzsaw, hitting -.100 in set three, falling 25-16 to USC.
The ’Bows regained momentum, bringing their hitting percentage back up and coming out with a slim 27-25 victory, sealing a trip to the Sweet 16.
“We played really well for two games, and it’s hard to keep that up against a good opponent,” Shoji said. “SC was a good team, and they started to play better; our hitting percentage reflected on that.”
A live video webcast of Friday’s match against Illinois will be available at www.gostanford.com by clicking on the NCAA Tournament link, and radio coverage will be broadcast on ESPN 1420 (1420 AM) and on the Internet at www.espn1420am.com.
If the ’Bows defeat the Fighting Illini on Friday, they will face off against the winner of the Stanford and Michigan match. Saturday’s semifinal match will air live on ESPNU at 8:30 p.m. PST (6:30 p.m. HST).






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