2008 Woodie Awards
Rainbow Wahine suffer first-ever second round loss
Ashley Nonaka
Issue date: 12/3/07 Section: Sports
The University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team's season came to an end Saturday night at the hands of the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (35-2) in Louisville, Ky., at the NCAA tournament.
With the loss, the No. 9 Rainbow Wahine, the tournament's No. 11 seed, ended the season with a 27-6 record. The match marked the first-ever loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament in the program's history.
Middle Tennessee's four-game win (30-22, 30-18, 15-30, 33-31) marked the 14th straight victory for the Blue Raiders, who are making their first appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 in school history. Leading the way for the Blue Raiders was junior outside hitter Ashley Adams, who posted 22 kills and ended the night with a .306 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Ashley Asberry recorded a .556 hitting percentage with 18 kills.
The Blue Raiders posted a .241 hitting percentage, while the Rainbow Wahine hit .161. The loss was Hawai‘i's fourth to an unranked opponent this season.
Junior outside hitter Jamie Houston recorded 25 kills, four blocks, eight digs and a .246 hitting percentage in the defeat. Houston ended the season with 1,611 career kills, securing the fourth spot on the UH career kills list.
For the past 10 years, the Rainbow Wahine have made it to the NCAA Regionals, but with the loss against the Blue Raiders, the 'Bows will miss out on this year's NCAA Regionals. Four graduating seniors - Juliana Sanders, Kari Gregory, Caroline Blood and Raeceen Woolford - ended their collegiate volleyball careers with the loss.
With the loss, the No. 9 Rainbow Wahine, the tournament's No. 11 seed, ended the season with a 27-6 record. The match marked the first-ever loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament in the program's history.
Middle Tennessee's four-game win (30-22, 30-18, 15-30, 33-31) marked the 14th straight victory for the Blue Raiders, who are making their first appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 in school history. Leading the way for the Blue Raiders was junior outside hitter Ashley Adams, who posted 22 kills and ended the night with a .306 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Ashley Asberry recorded a .556 hitting percentage with 18 kills.
The Blue Raiders posted a .241 hitting percentage, while the Rainbow Wahine hit .161. The loss was Hawai‘i's fourth to an unranked opponent this season.
Junior outside hitter Jamie Houston recorded 25 kills, four blocks, eight digs and a .246 hitting percentage in the defeat. Houston ended the season with 1,611 career kills, securing the fourth spot on the UH career kills list.
For the past 10 years, the Rainbow Wahine have made it to the NCAA Regionals, but with the loss against the Blue Raiders, the 'Bows will miss out on this year's NCAA Regionals. Four graduating seniors - Juliana Sanders, Kari Gregory, Caroline Blood and Raeceen Woolford - ended their collegiate volleyball careers with the loss.
***NOTE: Log in before posting a comment. Anonymous comments will not be posted.***
Be the first to comment on this story