A 12th seed isn’t what the No. 3 Rainbow Wahine volleyball team hoped for going into the postseason; now its focus has shifted to winning the upcoming subregional.
“We feel disrespected, but other than that we just got to practice hard and play one match at a time,” head coach Dave Shoji said. “That part is over, and we just need to concentrate on playing now.”
Hawai‘i received the 12th seed from the NCAA despite its No. 3 ranking and a 28-2 record. The Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) takes into account the caliber of teams the Rainbow Wahine played and is not based on their record.
The ’Bows felt that the RPI should not have played the role that it did in selecting seeds for the tournament. Hawai‘i’s 22nd RPI ranking is reflective of the competition in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). In the preseason, Hawai‘i swept fourth-seeded Stanford and eighth-seeded UCLA.
“It’s kind of hard for us to get that low of a seed, but it’s probably the luck of the draw from our RPI,” sophomore outside hitter Kanani Danielson said. “(We) can’t help that we are just a part of our WAC.”
The Rainbow Wahine will travel to No. 15 USC, the host of the subregional, and will open against the New Mexico Lobos of the Mountain West Conference in the first round.
The ’Bows are familiar with the Galen Center, as they made the same trip last season in the NCAAs, defeating Belmont in the first round and USC in the second.
“Flying is always going to be a hassle, but that’s okay,” Danielson said. “At least we are only going to SC, and we’ve been there before.
“Hopefully we can just take care of business and get it done.”
The Lobos (20-9, 10-6 MWC) finished conference play third behind Colorado State and Texas Christian University, and swept WAC member New Mexico State 3-0 on Oct. 13. Junior middle blocker Taylor Hadfield leads the team with 2.73 kills per set. Sophomore middle blocker Ashley Rhoades leads in kill percentage, hitting at .326 and blocks with 1.07 per set.
“We know they’re a good team,” Shoji said. “They beat New Mexico State, so that tells us a little bit about the quality of the team.”
In the second half of the subregional, the USC Trojans will take on the Oklahoma Sooners. USC (21-9, 10-8 Pac-10), led by outside hitters senior Jessica Gysin and sophomore Alex Jupiter, who were both Pac-10 first-team honorees, finished fifth in the Pac-10 conference.
Oklahoma (18-11, 11-9 Big 12) finished sixth in the Big 12 and counters with sophomore setter Brianne Barker and junior middle blocker Francie Ekwerekwu, who both earned Big-12 honorable mention honors.
“We’re a better team than last year,” Shoji said. “But, SC’s a better team, so as long as we play up to our level, we will be all right.”
If the Rainbow Wahine manage to win both matches, they will travel to Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., to play in the Stanford Regional. The top seeds in the Stanford Regional include No. 4 seed Stanford and No. 5 seed Illinois.
Penn State out of the Big 10 received the No. 1 overall seed, followed by Texas out of the Big 12.






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