No. 2 UH expects Of the four volleyball teams in the NCAA Central Regional, Hawaii has either little history (North Carolina, Miami) or a losing one (Nebraska) against the other teams.
tough foe
But the Wahine don't know
too much about No. 13 UNCBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comThe second-ranked Rainbow Wahine (32-1) have defeated the Tar Heels and the Hurricanes once each. Hawaii is 4-5 in the overall series with Nebraska. The Cornhuskers kept the Wahine out of the NCAA title match in 2000, the only time Hawaii has not reached a final when it was one of the last four teams in the tournament. Nebraska also dominated Hawaii in the NACWAA Classic in 2001.
But before the sixth-seeded Wahine can think about exacting revenge against the third-seeded Cornhuskers, they must deal with a North Carolina team they know nothing about.
The Tar Heels have a rich athletic tradition but usually in other sports. UNC's men's and women's basketball teams have won a combined five national titles and it's women's soccer team plays almost annually in the NCAA championship.
This season, however, the Tar Heels women's volleyball program is adding to Carolina's athletic prominence. No. 13 North Carolina (32-3) advanced to Friday's regional semifinal with a 3-1 victory over South Carolina. It is the Tar Heels' first appearance in the Sweet 16.
Surprise probably didn't factor in Carolina's first- and second-round wins, but it will against No. 2 Hawaii. The Rainbow Wahine have no past with the Tar Heels except a 3-0 sweep in 1997 during the Wahine Classic, when Carolina featured Punahou's Erin Berg.
On paper, the Tar Heels look like a solid team. They have been ranked in the AVCA coaches poll for a school-record 14 straight weeks. UNC was No. 11 at the end of September, the highest ranking ever attained by an Atlantic Coast Conference school.
Carolina has been invited to nine NCAA tournaments, including the last five. The Tar Heels have four senior starters and no holes in their lineup. Setter Eve Rackham, right-side hitter Malaika Underwood, middle Holly Strauss and outside hitter Laura Greene haven't missed the postseason during their careers.
"They're a good team. We respect them," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "In most normal situations you'd like to have seen the team play and seen them play in person. That's not going to be the case here.
"We can only assume it's going to be a tougher match and we're going to take it as if it is. Obviously, the third round is supposed to be a little more challenging than the second round. Because we're not familiar with them, it doesn't mean that they're not as good or better than Washington."
Notes: Friday's regional semifinal at Nebraska will begin at 1 p.m. Hawaii time. Nebraska and Miami are set to start at 3 p.m. or 30 minutes after the Wahine's match ends. ... Carolina has a 5-8 record in the NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels played eight NCAA teams during the regular season.
In other regionals, eighth-seeded UC Santa Barbara hosts the West Regional with Michigan State, top-seeded USC and ninth-seeded Pepperdine.
In the Pacific Regional, second-seeded host Stanford, seventh-seeded Minnesota, 10th-seeded Arizona and 15th-seeded Ohio State play at Maples Pavilion on Thursday and Friday. Fifth-seeded Florida hosts the East Regional with fourth-seeded Northern Iowa, 12th-seeded Washington State and Temple. The matches begin Friday.
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