LIHU‘E — The Rainbow Wahine are headed to Tampa. A straight-set win over the University of Michigan last night in a regional final matchup in Stanford, Calif. means that the Hawai‘i women’s volleyball squad is headed to the national semifinal
LIHU‘E — The Rainbow Wahine are headed to Tampa.
A straight-set win over the University of Michigan last night in a regional final matchup in Stanford, Calif. means that the Hawai‘i women’s volleyball squad is headed to the national semifinal of the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Championship in Tampa, Fla.
Now just one of four remaining teams vying for the grand prize, Hawai‘i enters Thursday’s match after a 25-23, 25-19, 25-18 win that left little doubt as to the Rainbow Wahine’s status as a top-tier national program.
The No. 12-seeded Hawai‘i team has now improved its record to 31-2 on the season and will need to be at its absolute best going into the next match against top-seeded and top-ranked Penn State (36-0), which after its 3-0 win over California Saturday, has now won an astonishing 100 straight matches.
Saturday’s win for UH was a true team effort, with a number of players getting in on the offensive action.
Kanani Danielson let the way with 11 of the team’s 44 kills. She had five of those kills, as well as two blocks in the third and final set.
Stephanie Ferrell had 10 kills, with Amber Kaufman and Aneli Cubi-Otineru compiling eight and seven, respectively.
Setter Dani Mafua made sure her teammates were set up with 35 of the team’s 39 assists.
Cubi-Otineru led the way with 10 digs, while Elizabeth Ka‘aihue contributed eight.
In the other national semifinal, No. 2 seed Texas (28-1), coming off a four-set win over Nebraska, will play No. 11 seed Minnesota (28-8).
Both games will be played Thursday, beginning at 7 p.m. ET (2 p.m. HT), though the order is still undetermined. They will each be aired nationally on ESPN2.