Tournament For one team, the dream is just beginning. For another, it's likely coming to an end.
begins for UH
The Wahine takes on
Western Kentucky tomorrowBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comIt has been a fantasy season for Western Kentucky. Lady Toppers coach Travis Hudson didn't envision reaching the NCAA tournament this year after Western Kentucky lost three senior all-conference players and had to play all but a handful of its matches away from home as its arena undergoes renovation.
But the Lady Toppers have thrived during a season that many thought would be a rebuilding one. Led by senior setter Sara Noe -- the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year -- the Lady Toppers own a school record 33 wins and their last loss came in early September.
Who: No. 2 Hawaii vs. Western Kentucky NCAA tourney
When: Tomorrow, 30 minutes after Colorado State-Washington match, which starts at 5 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
They compiled a 19-match win streak en route to winning the Sun Belt Conference and earning the program's first trip to the tournament.
"Knowing that we'd be out of the arena with such a young team, I thought it would be something we'd struggle with, but it's really brought this group together," Hudson said. "We really have learned to face adversity and face tough situations."
Their toughest situation will be tomorrow against No. 2 Hawaii (30-1). The match will begin 30 minutes after the Colorado State and Washington match at 5 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hudson expects his team to compete, but he's realistic about its chances of winning. Just reaching the NCAA tournament was overcoming a major hurdle for the program. The Lady Toppers had come close before, winning regular-season titles the last three years but getting upset in the Sun Belt tournament the last two years.
"It's been a lot of fun. It's been a crazy ride from beginning to end," Hudson said. "In this tournament atmosphere, to be sitting there at the selection party and see that we're going to Hawaii was just another curve in the road.
"We understand that it's been a heavy hand we've been dealt, but we're excited to be there, and what competitor wouldn't want to compete in that environment."
To compete, the Lady Toppers will need to have everything going for them and better ball control against one of the nation's best defensive teams.
"The key to our success is we have great ball control," Hudson said. "We handle the ball very, very well. We've been the best passing team in our conference the last several years and we've led the conference in digs the last couple of years.
"Handling the ball as well as we do allows us to be successful offensively. We keep things pretty fast offensively and certainly we know we have to do that against Hawaii."
That won't be the only thing Western Kentucky needs to do. Not freezing under the mega-watt lights at the Stan Sheriff Center and getting acclimated quickly will be challenges, too.
The Hilltoppers left Bowling Green, Ky., at 4 a.m. yesterday to drive two hours to Nashville. They boarded a flight to Chicago and flew to Honolulu via San Francisco. Western Kentucky knows its cross-country, over-the-ocean trek will probably be the end of the line.
"We just want to come out and represent what we're about," Hudson said. "Certainly, we feel handicapped a little bit to have to make this long of a trip in this short a time and be ready to play; that's less than ideal. We know what kind of a mountain we have to climb to face a team like Hawaii."
Overcoming a Rainbow Wahine team determined to bring home the program's fifth national title might be beyond them. But even so, Hawaii isn't taking Western Kentucky lightly.
"We'd like (the season) to be over for them, but we know that you can never take anyone for granted," senior Margaret Vakasausau said. "They've won 33 games this year. They compete and they know how to play volleyball. On any given day, if we're not focused or not prepared, they can take something away from us. But we won't let that happen.
"Really, we're only guaranteed one game. We're guaranteed that game on Thursday and everything else is just imaginary at this point."
So wipe the slate clean, everyone starts at 0-0 in the tournament. It's what most teams live for, and for the Rainbow Wahine it's the chance to end a 15-year title drought.
"It's definitely an exciting time for us and 64 other teams," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "You play for this time of the year.
"I don't have any feelings for them having to travel, having to play us. Nothing. They're here to beat us and we're here to beat them."
Notes: Hawaii leads the series 2-0. The Rainbow Wahine defeated the Hilltoppers twice in 1987.
New ticket prices: Information previously released from the university had incorrect prices listed. Ticket prices for first- and second-round packages are $22 for the lower level. Upper-level prices are $16 for adults, $14 for senior citizens, and $8 for UH students and students ages 4-18. Individual match prices will be $12 for lower level, $9 for upper level adults, $8 for senior citizens and $5 for students.
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