Rainbow Wahine
learn life on the road
Hawaii's unbeaten season will
be tested by the time zones
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Getting to Ruston, La., to play Louisiana Tech is not easy. As new Hawaii women's basketball coach Jim Bolla describes it, "It's not the end of the world but you can see it from there."
Ruston is the first stop of two for the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team on this week's Western Athletic Conference schedule. No. 4 Hawaii (14-0, 4-0 WAC) meet the Lady Techsters (5-13, 1-4) tomorrow at 2 p.m., Hawaii time.
The Rainbow Wahine left last night on their second trip of the season, and were scheduled to arrive in Dallas this morning. They then were to fly to Shreveport, La., and drive for some 90 minutes before arriving in Ruston some 12 hours after leaving Honolulu.
Out of the 12 players on the Hawaii travel roster, only six have made this trip before. Learning to live on the road is another part of the learning experience for this young -- but undefeated -- Wahine team.
"I think it will test us a little," freshman middle Kari Gregory said prior to the team's departure. "I've heard it's a really tough trip but I'm excited to go.
"The one thing that gets to you on trips is there is so much down time. You don't want to do anything because it makes you tired but you don't want to just hang around the hotel because that's tiring."
Besides game preparation, the Wahine also have to keep up on their schoolwork. Some of the players have papers or tests that are due by the weekend.
There's also a change in eating habits as the players eat all meals together.
"I think we end up eating more on the road because the pregame routine forces you to," Gregory said. "There's breakfast at the hotel, lunch or early dinner.
"I eat out a lot normally but the road does make you change your habits."
The one thing that has remained the same for Hawaii the past two months is the approach to matches.
"We play every game like it's our last," junior libero Ashley Watanabe said. "Every game we play hard.
"It's important for us to come back with two wins. We have a lot of confidence and we have a lot to build on. Our chemistry is really great and so is the camaraderie."
Opposing coaches continue to note that Hawaii may be a better overall team with its young, no superstar lineup. SMU coach Lisa Seifert, whose team takes on the Wahine Saturday, is surprised UH is unbeaten on one hand but not surprised on the other.
"I'm surprised because they lost an amazing group last season," Seifert said. "But I'm not (surprised) because Dave (UH coach Shoji) has created such a great tradition.
"Kids come into the program expecting to win and come in having a lot of confidence. Tradition goes a long way."
In WAC play, Hawaii has no equal. The Wahine have won 94 consecutive WAC matches and are 116-1 in regular-season matches, 132-3 including the WAC tournament since joining the conference in 1996.
There has been amazing success, home and away
"Something Dave (Shoji) always tells us is that it doesn't matter what happens on the other side of the court," Gregory said. "What matters is what happens on ours. If we take care of business, no matter where we are, we'll be fine. It's all about how WE perform."
uhathletics.hawaii.edu