2015 Big West All-Conference Awards

| Big West Release | Hawaii Release |

The Big West has released the 2015 Big West All-Conference Awards today and Hawaii picked up multiple accolades including some of the top ones. Junior opposite Nikki Taylor (Honolulu, HI) was named the Big West Player of the Year and head coach Dave Shoji was named Big West Coach of the Year. A few others received awards as well.

Senior middle blocker Olivia Magill (Shoreline, WA), senior outside hitter Tai Manu-Olevau (Hilo, HI), sophomore middle Emily Maglio (Coquitlam, Canada), and Taylor were named to the All-Big West First Team while sophomore outside hitter Kalei Greeley (Riverside, CA) and sophomore libero Savanah Kahakai (Kalihi, HI) were named All-Big West Honorable Mention.

Taylor received First Team for the third season while Magill and Manu-Olevau did twice. Taylor also received weekly conference awards five times this season which ties the UH record and she is the seventh Hawaii player to be named Player of the Year. This is Shoji's fifth Big West Coach of the Year award. Congrats to all members for these awards.

Wahine Headed To ________

| Hawaii Release | NCAA Tournament Bracket |

November 29th is Selection Show Sunday for NCAA Volleyball teams and fans. The Rainbow Wahine received news of the path in the postseason as they will head to Texas A&M for the sub-regional while being placed in the Des Moines regional. Their first round opponent is TCU of the Big 12. The First Round Matches will be on December 4th at 12:30 AM.

Hawaii

• 26-1 Overall, 16-0 Big West
• AVCA Rank: No. 8
• RPI: No. 26
• Head Coach: Dave Shoji
• Top Players: Nikki Taylor, Olivia Magill, Tai Manu-Olevau
• Notes: Top blocking team in the nation, on a 21 match winning streak

TCU

• 19-9 Overall, 9-7 Big 12
• AVCA Rank: Unranked
• RPI: No. 46
• Head Coach: Jill Kramer
• Top Players: Ashley Smith, Regan McGuire, Sarita Mikals
• Notes: Defeated at the time No.2 Texas, Fourth in the Big-12

Texas A&M

• 23-6 Overall, 16-2 SEC
• AVCA Rank: No. 19
• RPI: No. 10
• Head Coach: Laurie Corbelli
• Top Players: Stephanie Aiple, Jazzmin Babers, Shelby Sullivan
• Notes: Seeded 10th, First in the SEC, Aiple is SEC Player of the Year

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

• 31-4 Overall, 16-0 Southland
• AVCA Rank: Unranked
• RPI: No. 68
• Head Coach: Tony Graystone
• Top Players: Ivy Baresh, Kristyn Nicholson, Kate Klepetka
• Notes: First NCAA Tournament appearance

College Station here we come! #HawaiiWVB will face TCU (19-9) in the NCAA First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Fri. at 5:30 pm! #GoBows!

— Hawaii W. Volleyball (@HawaiiWVB) November 30, 2015

Wahine NCAA Tournament Predictions

Photo Credit: Hawaii Athletics

The Wahine Volleyball team have finished the regular season with a 26-1 record overall and 16-0 in conference clinching them the Big West Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Conference season has ended a week earlier than usual as Hawaii has had a bye week which is a benefit to the team as they get the advantage to rest while other teams continue to battle for their post season lives.

The NCAA Women's Volleyball Selection Show is not until Sunday, November 29th (4:00 PM HT) and will be aired on ESPNU. It is most likely a guarantee that Hawaii will not play anymore home matches as they will not host the First and Second Rounds based on their RPI. Hawaii's latest RPI was at 26 and the selection committee uses RPI as a main criteria for who gets into the tournament along with who is seeded and hosts. That means Hawaii will travel for all their remaining matches.

There are many speculations of where the Wahine will land for the First and Second Rounds along with which Regional they will be in as well. The NCAA seems to base these sub-regionals based on location due to the fact that they will have to cover airfare prices for any teams that have to travel beyond a certain amount of miles for their matches. In the recent years Hawaii has been sent to Washington (2014, 2012, 2010) or USC (2009, 2008). Many people believe that they will be sent back to either Washington (currently ranked No.2 but will most likely be ranked No.1 next week), Stanford (ranked No.6), or BYU (ranked No.11).

If Hawaii is sent to any top ranked sub-regional, I feel they should be fine and that the tournament is wide open as not one team is very dominant. For example, USC and UCLA looked very impressive at the beginning of conference season but despite winning a majority of their matches, their play has showed kinks in the armor as they seemed vulnerable. Teams like Hawaii and Colorado State swept their way through conference play but was still tested as they also showed weaknesses as well.

I predict that Hawaii will be sent to the Stanford sub-regional in the San Diego regional and they will face a WCC opponent in the first round.

Cyber Monday Warrior Sales

| UH Cyber Monday Sales |

On the upcoming Cyber Monday (Nov.30), the University of Hawaii will have special sales regarding the ticket sales for Warrior Volleyball matches. As a fan you can create your own mini-pack by selecting any six home matches for a total of $50. You can save $10 from the original mini-pack prices and from this sale you save 40% with the mini-pack rather than buying individual matches. The sale is only available on November 30th from 12:01 am - 11:59 pm.

Season tickets have already started sales from the beginning of November. Hawaii has opened up the upper bowl last season as the attendance has increased from the past. The season tickets can be purchased either online, through phone, or through the box office. (Season Ticket Release)

Beach Bows Schedule Hunt

The Wahine Beach volleyball team will soon start its preseason practices next semester, but it is never too early to hunt for their upcoming 2016 Schedule. There are no indication of when an official schedule will be posted as last season it was not posted until time season began. Right now there is a tentative schedule up. As of right now (11/25), these are the schools and tournaments the University of Hawaii will be participating in. For any additional schedule updates, either check back to this post as it will be updated or follow my Twitter for updates.

March 5-6

• Pepperdine Kick Off Tournament
• Location: Malibu, CA
• Featuring: UCLA, USC, Long Beach State, Pepperdine

March 12

• x2 Matches
• Location: Honolulu, HI (TBA)
• Featuring: TCU, Hawaii Pacific

March 15-19

• Queen of the Beach Challenge
• Location: Honolulu, HI (Queen's Beach/Ching Complex)
• Featuring: USC, Nebraska, Loyola Marymount

March 25-26

• Stetson Spring Break Tournament
• Location: DeLand, FL
• Featuring: UCLA, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Stetson, Florida State

April 1-2

• Hawaii Invitational
• Location: Honolulu, HI (Queen's Beach)
• Featuring: UCLA, Arizona State

April 12

• Match
• Location: Honolulu, HI (Ching Complex)
• Featuring: Boise State

April 22-23

• Aloha Invitational
• Location: Honolulu, HI (Queen's Beach)
• Featuring: Long Beach State, USC, Grand Canyon, Florida International, ULM, Washington
• *Televised on CBS Sports Network

April 29-30

• Big West Championships
• Location: Huntington Beach, CA

As of right now there are two USAV hosted tournaments in Chula Vista (March 12-13) and Hermosa Beach (April 9-10) and Hawaii usually participates in one of them. This upcoming season will be the first time being an NCAA Sport along with the beginning of the Big West Beach Volleyball conference. Look for there to be a possible Big West Championships in the ending of April. The NCAA Championships return to Gulf Shores, AL from May 6-8.

This month is also the Pac Rim Championships that is being hosted in Hawaii. This takes place November 26-28 with teams from Hawaii, UCLA, USC, Arizona, Canada, and Japan. Thursday will be the International Competition taking place on the UH campus, Friday will be the duos of the college teams featuring Japan, and Saturday will be 16 Pair tournament with the past duos plus duos from Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade. The last day will also have a coaching clinic featuring head coaches of UCLA, USC, and the assistant coach for Hawaii. (Hawaii In Pac Rim Championships)

Edit: Hawaii Athletics has announced the 2016 schedule but is missing a few events from the list above. (Schedule)

Hawaii Signs Talent

| Wahine Signing | Warrior Signing #1 | Warrior Signing #2 | Beach Signing |

Thursday, November 13 was National Letter of Intent day which is the beginning of the early signing period. All three University of Hawaii volleyball programs have signed players who will be extremely beneficial to the school in their careers. The Wahine signed two players, Warriors signed three, and the Beach Bows signed six. Each of these players who signed have committed to their respective programs months before their signings.

Wahine

Emma Smith, Norene Iosia, and Kirsten Sibley

The Wahine team signed extremely talented players, setter Norene Iosia (Long Beach, CA) and outside hitter Kirsten Sibley (Moraga, CA). Another player who will join the team is walk-on libero Emma Smith (Manhattan Beach, CA). All three players hail from California and have been starters on their high school and club teams. Each of their high school teams have made it to the state tournament. For club, Sibley plays for Vision Volleyball Club which is a successful NorCal team and Smith and Iosia will play on the same Mizuno Long Beach Volleyball Club team for the first time as Iosia has always played up. They will replace graduating seniors Olivia Magill and Tai Manu-Olevau.

Warriors

Jack Reese and Austin Matautia

Three members of the Warrior recruiting class has signed for the upcoming season. Outside hitter Austin Matautia (Ewa Beach, HI), middle blocker Jack Reese (Pittsburgh, PA), and middle blocker/opposite Everett Schuett (Thousand Oaks, CA) are each players who can contribute to the program once they arrive on campus. Matautia is the top player from the state of Hawaii and one of the best in the nation. Reese is a tall middle with a high ceiling of potential and athletic ability. Schuett has been playing up an age group in club and is a great hitter. They will replace Siki Zarkovic, Kolby Kanatake, and Brandon Hiehle. Also expected to walk-on is setter Jackson Van Eekeren (Chicago, IL).

Beach

Julia Chizanskos, Amy Ozee, Sydney Kidd, Cyrene Hertzog

Incoming is Jeff Hall's first recruiting class which consist of six talented beach players. The members consist of west coast players Morgan Martin (Mission Viejo, CA), Chloe Luyties (San Diego, CA), Sydney Kidd (Carlsbad, CA), Julia Chizanskos (Gilroy, CA), Amy Ozee (Makawao, HI), and Cyrene Hertzog (Snohomish, WA). All players have backgrounds of top beach volleyball at the junior level. Martin has represented USA in her beach career while Luyties has had family in the Olympics. This class consists of diversity in height and hometowns where all will bring something different to the team once they arrive. They will replace Heather Boyan, Ginger Long, and Katie Spieler. One more addition to the team is walk-on Regan Hurkett (Sedona, AZ) while Smith from the indoor team will also play on the beach team.