By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
For the Rainbow Wahine, revenge will be a dish best served cold and put on ice for a while.
On Sunday, No. 13 Hawaii landed in the NCAA volleyball subregional hosted by No. 2 Minnesota, the team that eliminated UH in a regional final in Iowa last year.
Before UH (25-5) thinks about returning that favor, a first-round opponent awaits in unranked USC (18-13) on Friday at Minneapolis.
The Gophers (25-4) open with North Dakota (26-9).
The only tougher draw was if UH landed at No. 1 Nebraska, the defending national champion.
Last season, first-team, All-American Daly Santana pounded 26 kills on a .438 hitting clip, and Minnesota outblocked UH, 12-4, to win in four sets.
Good news for UH: Santana, who was a senior, is gone. And maybe the nightmare of the Elite Eight loss has vanished, too.
Like last year’s tall Minnesota squad, UH’s best player is a senior in opposite Nikki Taylor, a second team All-American.
The Rainbow Wahine are 22-18 all-time against the Women of Troy, and 7-1 against the Gophers, the only loss being last year’s painful regional exit.
UH has never faced North Dakota, the Big Sky regular season and tournament champion. It’s unlikely the Fighting Hawks upset the Gophers, who have been unbeatable at home.
Minnesota is 13-0 on its home court, the Sports Pavilion, this year.
Hawaii is on a 10-match winning streak and is making its 24th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Rainbow Wahine last advanced to the Final Four in 2009, losing to Penn State in four sets in the semifinals.
That squad was led 5-foot-10 sophomore outside hitter Kanani Danielson, eventually a three-time first team All-American.
The subregional winner will face the winner from the Penn State qualifier in Iowa for regional action.
Teams winning both matches will move on to regional play Dec. 9 and 10. Regionals for the NCAA Championship will be held at four non-predetermined campus sites, which will be announced after play concludes, on Friday.
At each site, four teams will compete in single-elimination regional semifinal competition. All regional semifinal matches will be shown on ESPN3. Regional final matches will air on ESPNU.
The regional winners will advance to the national semifinals and championship final co-hosted by the Ohio State University and Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on Dec. 15 and 17. Both national semifinal matches as well as the championship match will be broadcast by ESPN2.
All regional and championship site match times can be found on the attached championship bracket or online at www.ncaa.com/wvb.