Ending and Beginning Season News

Wahine Ending
Hartong Named All-American

| AVCA All-Americans | Hawaii Release |

Senior outside hitter Emily Hartong received AVCA First Team All-American for the second consecutive season. This is the third season overall as she was a Second Team selection in 2011. She got the opportunity to go to Seattle for the Final Four and receive her award at the All-American Banquet. The AVCA will post interviews later of the All-Americans getting interviewed by former Washington Huskie, Courtney Thompson. Congrats to Emily!

Hartong Named Senior CLASS All-American

| Senior CLASS Award | Hawaii Release |

Senior outside hitter Emily Hartong received yet another award but this one as a Senior CLASS Award Second Team All-American. She was one of ten finalists being chosen for this award as the final winner was National Champion Penn State opposite hitter Ariel Scott. Despite Hartong being second in the fan voting, that was only part of the selection process. Congrats again to Emily and thank you for representing UH well.

Final Rankings

| AVCA Poll | RPI |

The Wahine are ending the season with a ranking of No.17 in the final AVCA Poll. National champions Penn State were the unanimous pick for No.1 followed by Wisconsin, Texas, Washington, Southern California, Stanford, and Nebraska. Hawaii was also No.20 in the final RPI of the season.

Warriors Beginning

Warriors Ranked No.9 in MPSF

| MPSF Poll | Hawaii Release |

The Warriors were voted at No.9 in the 2014 MPSF Preseason Poll. This was the spot that they finished last season and they made the MPSF Tournament due to Cal Baptist not being eligible for postseason.

Warriors Open Season With Exhibitions
| Hawaii Release |
The Warrior Volleyball team opens its 2014 season with a pair of exhibition matches against Canada team Thompson Rivers. The matches take place in the Stan Sheriff Center on Jan. 2 and Jan. 4 at 7PM PT.

Blogger Comments:
This upcoming Warrior season looks to be an exciting one as usual. The team is a year older after losing one senior libero and four reserves. However they brought in five new players and five players are coming off redshirt years. From reading the Star Advertiser articles, the only players that seem to have a lead in their positions are senior setter Joby Ramos, sophomore libero Kolby Kanatake, and senior middle blocker Taylor Averill. I think the final outcome will be this:

Hawaiivolleyball808 Starting Line-Up Prediction:
OH1: Sinisa Zarkovic - 6'4" Sophomore
OH2: Jace Olsen - 6'7" Senior
OPP: Brook Sedore - 6'5" Junior
MB1: Taylor Averill - 6'7" Junior
MB2: Nick West - 6'8" Senior
S: Joby Ramos - 6'0" Senior
L: Kolby Kanatake - 5'8" Sophomore

Catching Up

Not sure why this post deleted but I will repost it again

Sorry for the long disappearance. I have been really busy lately but I appreciate the support of people who still came by and checked if this blog actually still existed. All these things posted may just be old news to the Hawaii fans since we are all pretty dedicated to our volleyball, but here you go.

Wahine News:
BYU Sweeps UH
| Hawaii Athletics Release | Box Score | Post Match Press Conference |
The Rainbow Wahine were swept by BYU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Hawaii was seeded 11th and got the opportunity to host the first and second rounds. This loss was the worst in the rally scoring era. The team will say good-bye to seven seniors (Emily Hartong, Mita Uiato, Kaela Goodman, Ali Longo, Ashley Kastl, Courtney Lelepali, Kristiana Tuaniga). Despite the loss, we will all be exited for the 2014 season! Go Bows!

Big West Awards
| Big West Release | Hawaii Athletics Release |
Senior outside hitter Emily Hartong earns as the Big West Player of the Year. Hartong led the team in kills and aces. She is the first Wahine since Tee Williams-Sander in 1988-89 to repeat as conference player of the year. Senior libero Ali Longo and setter Mita Uiato were named to All-Big West First Team along with freshman opposite Nikki Taylor who also was named to the All-Freshman Team. Junior and sophomore middle blockers Kalei Adolpho and Jade Vorster received Honorable Mention.

All-Region Awards
| AVCA Release | Hawaii Athletics Release | Big West Release |
The conference player of the year Emily Hartong was named to the AVCA All-Pacific North Region Team while freshman teammate Nikki Taylor received honorable mention. With this award, Hartong and Taylor are now in contention to be AVCA All-Americans. Despite not making the teams, setter Mita Uiato and libero Ali Longo both received votes but were edged out. ("I predict Hartong will make first team again while Taylor will receive honorable mention.")

Warrior News
Announcing the New Assistant Coach
| Hawaii Athletics Release |
The University of Hawaii officially announces the hiring of the new assistant coach Milan Zarkovic. Zarkovic is the father of sophomore outside Siki Zarkovic. Milan has had 20+ years of coaching experience and will be a great addition to the Warrior coaching staff.

Warriors Picked at #13
| AVCA Poll | Hawaii Athletics Release |
The mens team was voted at #13 in the AVCA Preseason Poll. Hawaii was 1 of 11 teams to be voted in the preseason poll of 15 teams. Non-conference opponents Penn State (9) and Ohio State (12) were also in the poll.

Setter Commits to UH
| Coast Commitment Post |
The Warriors received their fifth commitment for the 2014-15 season from Kekoa Pukahi (Oceanside, CA). Pukahi is a 6'4" setter who plays for Coast Volleyball Club. He was an All-CIF Second team member as a junior at El Camino HS but he is currently at La Costa Canyon HS. Making multiple club switches, Pukahi also played at San Diego Volleyball Club and Wave Volleyball Club. ("Welcome to the Warriors!")

Men's Tickets on Sale
| Hawaii Athletics Release |
The season tickets for the upcoming volleyball season are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased online, at the Stan Sheriff Center Box Office (Monday-Friday, 9 am–5 pm), or by calling 944-2697. The Warriors open the season in a non-conference two match series against Thompson Rivers on Jan. 2 and 4. ("Would be great to have big crowds at the mens matches especially since they support the women.")

Sand News
2015 Commit
The Wahine received a commitment from 5'8" Ariana Homayun (West Hills, CA). There is no confirmation whether she is an indoor and/or sand recruit but she is most likely a sand recruit. As an indoors player, she is an outside hitter/setter/defensive specialist and plays for Elite Volleyball Club. She is the first sand recruit for the Hawaii 2015-16 class. ("Welcome to the Wahine!")

Friday Night Recap (Warriors and Wahine)

Wahine Sweep

Recap | Box Score

The Rainbow Wahine completed the season sweep against Cal Poly tonight 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-19) in San Luis Obispo. Going back on the road for the first time since the back-to-back road loses at Northridge and Davis left a few fans worried about this road trip.

But the Wahine improved its passing and set distribution to contribute to this win. Freshman opposite Nikki Taylor led the Bows with 12 kills and had five digs in her first match playing all the way around for an entire match. She also received her first career ace along with three blocks. Sophomore outside Tai Manu-Olevau also had 11 kills and two good blocks. After Emily Hartong has been taking a majority of the swings this season, tonight was more evenly spread out as Taylor and Manu-Olevau had 24 swings each and Hartong had less with 22. On the night Hartong had nine kills, 11 digs, and an ace which she received after switching to a standing float serve for the first time this season. Senior libero Ali Longo had a match high 12 digs and junior defensive specialist Sarah Mendoza had three digs in her new spot at middle back.

The team travels to Santa Barbara to take on the Gauchos and get revenge for their lose in Honolulu last month. There is no live stream for this event (according to Bigwest.tv) but there is live stats and audio available on ESPN1420 with commentary from Tiff Wells. [EDIT] Bigwest.tv has updated the Saturday matches for volleyball and lists a live stream for Hawaii vs. UCSB.

Warrior Road Trip

The Warriors entered in their first fall tournament before the upcoming 2014 season in Southern California. This tournament features ten MPSF teams and two others and is hosted by USC. Matches started today and UH was supposed to be represented with two teams to compete against opponents. But senior setter Joby Ramos sprained his ankle leaving the only other setter, freshman Jennings Franciskovic to run the offense and now only one team was available to represent UH. Head coach Charlie Wade called in on ESPN1420 this morning saying that they had to reschedule everything now that there would only be one Hawaii team. I am sure he wanted two teams to get all the players a chance to get in and have some playing experience.

The schedule for Friday was with matches against USC and UCLA. Men's volleyball blog "Off the Block" posted results from the preseason tournament but with no scores. However the UCLA Men's Volleyball twitter posted a few score updates throughout the match but did not mention any UH players that played. HBA alumni Michael Fisher ('13) played against UH in this match. I believe the layout for today was all matches will go to three sets, no matter what the outcome was of the first and second set. The first two sets were to 25 and the third to 15. [EDIT] USC posted the results on there athletics page.

Friday Scores:
- USC defeats Hawaii (2-1) 25-20, 20-25, 15-11
- UCLA defeats Hawaii (2-1) 25-17, 25-20, 10-15

The schedule for the Saturday matches is this:
- Hawaii vs. Pepperdine (1:15 PM PT/11:15 AM HT)
- Hawaii vs. UCSB (3:00 PM PT/1:00 PM HT)

Don't Forget to Vote
Everyone go out and vote for Emily Hartong for the Lowes Senior CLASS Award. Voting ends December 9th and she has been at the top of the voting this whole time and is competing at the top.

Vote Here

Updates

Sorry for not posting recently, been pretty busy lately.

Wahine:

Recap | Box Score

The Wahine swept the anteaters of UC Irvine last night (25-22, 25-16, 25-23) in a match that followed back to back loses for the Bows. The incredible plays of senior libero Ali Longo helped keep them in the game as she had a match high 18 digs and had three aces. We did see a lot better connection between senior setter Mita Uiato and redshirt sophomore middle Jade Vorster. Despite Vorster's hitting percentage on the night (.284), she had quality swings and brought a smile back on her face that we have not seen for a while. The rematch between Hawaii and Long Beach State starts tonight at 7 HT.

On Thursday (10/31), Emily Hartong was one of ten players across the country to be named a finalists for the Lowes Senior CLASS Award. She is the second Wahine Volleyball player to receive the award since it started in 2010. The first Wahine Kanani Danielson won the award in 2011. This award recognizes the senior that represents more than just a volleyball player but the player that is all around great in and out of the classroom. The winner is partially determined by the amount of votes received in the online voting system where fans can vote as well. The winner will be announced during the National Semifinals in Seattle, Washington. (Release from Kanani's Award) So go vote for the all around Emily Hartong! (Vote Here)

Warriors:

Photo courtesy of Hawaii Athletics Instagram

Back Row: Iain McKellar (RFr.), Jace Olsen (Sr.), Johann Timmer (Sr.?), Nick West (Sr.) , Brook Sedore (Jr.) , Davis Holt (Jr.)
Middle Row: Head Coach Charlie Wade, Garrett Komisarek (RJr.), Kolby Kanatake (So.), Joby Ramos (Sr.) Drew Durni (RFr.), Dane Keckin (Fr.) Assistant Coach Jeff Hall
Front Row: Jennings Franciskovic (Fr.), Taylor Averill (RJr..), Sinisa Zarkovic (So.), Kupono Fey (Fr.), Nesi Bechard (Fr.), Hendrik Mol (Fr.), Zach Radner (RFr.)

Roster

The roster has been updated with new headshots of the players. The only thing left to complete the roster is add the info on the five freshman. But this is most likely a mistake but the roster has Johann Timmer as a senior. It could mean he is graduating early but I doubt that so it is probably a mistake.

Catching Up With UH

Wahine News

• Senior outside hitter Emily Hartong named Big West Player of the Week
•  Seventh weekly conference award for her career
• Hawaii moves up to No. 5 in the latest AVCA Poll
• Received four first place votes
• Hawaii ranked No. 3 in first RPI release

Photo from Hawaii Athletics

 Warrior News

• Middlehitter.com posted 2014-15 commitment from Mamane Namahoe (Waiakea, HI)
• Plays with Pilipa'a Volleyball Club with other commit Kama Paio
• Position: Libero
• Hawaii Athletics posted a 2014 Schedule but no release
• Non-Conference Matches:
• Thompson Rivers (Team from Canada)
• Outrigger Hotels Invitational (Penn State, Ohio State, UCLA)
• Home Matches:
• Long Beach State, UC San Diego, BYU, UC Irvine, Cal Baptist, UCLA

Photo from Hawaii Athletics

Sand News

• 2014 Roster Listed (Roster)
• New players
• Karissa Cook (Stanford), London Chow, Emily Carman, Hannah Rooks, Sydney Shinn, Mikayla Tucker, Hannah Zalopany, Kelsi Delgado (Fresno Pacific)
• No indoor players are listed yet
• New sand courts have been added but not finished
• The team is now practicing there 
• KaLeo Sports article mentions that the upcoming season will host at least three tournaments

Photo from UHawaii SandVolleyball Facebook

Wahine Going Up + Pacific Mens Volleyball

Hawaii in the Polls

With the release of the polls today, the Wahine have gone up in all of them. In the AVCA and RichKern poll, they are ranked 9th but in the Pablo Rankings, they are at 10th. Some coaches may have not stayed up to find the results of the San Diego match before turning in their ballots which may be why the Wahine up. But San Diego was the biggest leap in the polls going from receiving points to 14th. Texas went from #1 to #6.

Hawaii's futures opponents that were ranked this week were UCLA (#10) and Creighton (#19) with Long Beach State, Wichita State, and Cal State Northridge receiving points.

Hartong is Big West POW

 

Hawaii Release | Big West Release

Senior outside hitter Emily Hartong has received this weeks Big West Player of the Week. This is the fifth time in her career that she has received this award and first time this season. She earned this award after having an outstanding weekend with 62 kills while hitting .356. She was named Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational Most Outstanding Player while her team went 2-1 upsetting #1 Texas but was upset by unranked San Diego.

Congrats to Emily and what a great performance she has had this weekend and can't wait to see her play the rest of the season!

Next Match: Thursday vs New Mexico State

Help University of Pacific

The University of Pacific Mens Volleyball team is in trouble right now. Their athletic director has considered dropping the program for financial purposes. But fans have created an online petition to send to the athletic director in order to save the program. Please help by signing. Pacific has been a great opponent for the University of Hawaii and their existence helps expand the mens volleyball world. So please click this link in order to sign the petition. Spread the word!

Emily Hartong a SENIOR Award Candidate

2013 Candidates

Outside hitter Emily Hartong was one of thirty players across the country to be nominated as a candidate for the SENIOR Class award. This award recognizes the success on and off the court. This started during the 2010 year and Hawaii has only had one candidate in the past which was Kanani Danielson in 2011 and she ended up winning the award.

They will cut down from thirty players down to ten where they will be the finalists. That will happen during the mid point of the season. Once the finalists are released, the voting will start. Lets get Hawaii a second SENIOR Class Award winner! Go Emily! Go Bows!

Photo from NCAA.com

Emily Hartong on Leahey and Leahey

Her interview starts at 15:20

Tonight Emily Hartong was on the Leahey and Leahey show on PBS Hawaii where she was asked about the up and coming season. They asked her about head coach Dave Shoji with his retirement plans and his humor.

She was also asked about Jane Croson and how she was with the team. In my opinion, it kind of put her on the spot because I am pretty sure she did not want so say much about that. But Emily is still pretty shy when it comes to interview. Great player and person in general. Looking forward to watching her play her senior season!