Wahine expected With a pair of All-American outside hitters and most of its starting lineup from 2001 returning, it was hardly a surprise that Western Athletic Conference coaches voted the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team the preseason favorite to win its seventh consecutive regular-season title.
to win WAC title
Conference coaches unanimously
pick the UH volleyball teamBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comHawaii received nine first-place votes (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team) to earn 81 points. San Jose State (68) was picked to finish second with one first-place vote.
Hawaii was undefeated in WAC play (13-0) last season and advanced to the NCAA regional semifinals before losing to UCLA. The Rainbow Wahine finished at 29-6.
All-American Lily Kahumoku returned to the team in January after taking a semester off for personal reasons. Kahumoku and 2001 WAC Player of the Year Kim Willoughby anchor a squad that placed four players on the WAC first team last year. Willoughby, who is playing for the USA A2 national team this summer, almost led the U.S. to an upset of Cuba at the Pan American Cup last week.
San Jose State returns all-conference middle blocker Liz Hudson, but lost two all-WAC performers in Savannah Smith and Brianna Blair.
Two WAC schools will have new coaches. Revis Ward-Daggett resigned from Texas El Paso and was replaced by Scott Swanson, an associate head coach at Arizona State. Former men's national team coach Fred Sturm stepped down last week at Boise State. The Broncos have not named a replacement.
WAC preseason
1. Hawaii (9) 81 2. San Jose St. (1) 68 3. Fresno St. 60 4. Rice 59 5. Nevada 51 6. SMU 41 7. UTEP 33 8. Tulsa 30 9. Louisiana Tech 14 10. Boise St. 13 First-place votes in parenthesis
UH Athletics
