Going on its first road trip of the season is not the difficult part of the next two weeks for Hawaii. Road trip
can break up
UH monotonyBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comThe Rainbow Wahine have a mild case of island fever and were looking forward to leaving after playing what coach Dave Shoji called "the longest homestand in the history of women's volleyball."
"Every team in the country has been on two or three road trips already. We're just embarking on our first one," Shoji said. "We've been very, very comfortable and it's about time we hit the road and find out what a lot of teams find out."
Last year, Hawaii (13-0, 3-0 WAC) found its soul during a 10-day trek through three states (Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma). The Wahine learned they could win on the road and gained confidence after a shaky start in the preseason.
This year a seasoned group ventures through Texas for two Western Athletic Conference matches. UH plays Texas-El Paso tomorrow at 2 p.m. HST and Southern Methodist at 6 a.m. on Saturday.
Hawaii has won 55 consecutive WAC matches and will continue to win on the road this week. The Miners (8-7, 2-2) and the Mustangs (8-10, 2-2) are tied for the lead in the WAC East.
The Miners' Jennifer Abbruzzese leads the team in kills (4.19) and digs (3.94) and helped UTEP to a win over struggling San Jose State.
SMU's two WAC wins were against the lower tier teams in the conference.
Neither team will do much damage to Hawaii, whose challenge will be adjusting to a new environment.
"We are excited to travel," senior Jennifer Carey said. "We're looking forward to being on the road. We know it's going to be a challenge playing in new arenas but it's still going to be the same thing -- be efficient and get better on every play.
"It has been a long home stay. ... It's been nice for us but we might have to travel in the postseason so we have to get used to it."
Ten of the 11 players on this trip are seasoned travelers and Shoji isn't worried about how his team will perform. Only freshman Susie Boogaard has not traveled in a Wahine uniform but the rookie has been unfazed by most of her new experiences.
A day after their return on Sunday, Hawaii plays four matches in five days for a grand total of six matches in eight days.
It's an exhaustive part of the schedule and it doesn't want of meaningful opponents. Hawaii plays Notre Dame on back-to-back nights to start the week and then takes a break on Wednesday. The Wahine face two of the tougher WAC foes in San Jose State and Fresno State at the end of the week.
"We usually play better on the road," outside hitter Lily Kahumoku said. "But they put us in a tight situation. Six games in eight days? They're pretty confident in us. It's nice to have the coaches have confidence in us."
Shoji agrees that it's a tough schedule but he also said that his team needs the challenge.
Note: Junior Maja Gustin practiced for the first time in several weeks yesterday. Gustin has a stress fracture in her left foot and did not do any jumping drills.
UH Athletics
