The forecast Friday in Minneapolis calls for a high just a few degrees above freezing. ADVERTISING The forecast Friday in Minneapolis calls for a high just a few degrees above freezing. It will be much more cozy inside The Sports
The forecast Friday in Minneapolis calls for a high just a few degrees above freezing.
It will be much more cozy inside The Sports Pavilion, where the No. 12 Hawaii is ready to hatch a plan to put Southern California’s season on ice in the first round of the NCAA volleyball tournament.
“Their problem has been ball-control,” coach Dave Shoji said. “We hope to serve tough and get them out of system and make them set the ball high.
“We’ll have our work cut out to beat them.”
Despite the unranked Trojans’ pedestrian record (8-13, 10-10 PAC-12), Shoji called them “big, strong and athletic.”
Senior middle blocker Elise Ruddins and freshman outside hitter Khalia Lanier were named to the All-Pac-12 team. Ruddins leads the Pac-12 in hitting percentage (.421) with 214 kills. The league put six teams on the tournament.
While the Big West champion Rainbow Wahine (22-5) will try to use their serve to keep USC off-balance, the Trojans’ power puts an onus on Hawaii staying in system.
If not, Shoji said, “They are going to be big at the pins and middle. It’s not an easy task. Obviously they have some weaknesses, and we have to exploit that.”
Senior opposite Nikki Taylor won her second Big West Player of Year honor earlier this week, leading the league in hitting and ranking second in the nation with 0.65 aces per set.
Hawaii finished the regular season on a 10-match winning streak, but it’s just 3-4 against teams in field of 64.
“I think we feel very confident,” Taylor said. “We know not a lot of teams want to play us because the way we are and with the way our season has been.”
There are not many sports in which Hawaii can compete historically with USC, but thanks to Shoji’s 42 years on the job, volleyball is one. USC has been in all but two of 36 NCAA tourneys, while Hawaii has reached all but one (1992).
Shoji is very familiar with USC counterpart Mick Haley, who’s coached for 40 seasons, including a stint at Texas. Shoji is 11-5 all-time against Haley, including 3-2 in the postseason. However, Haley’s Longhorns swept the Rainbow Wahine in the 1988 NCAA final – in Minneapolis.
The Trojans are 16-0 in NCAA first-round matches under Haley, but Hawaii hasn’t lost it’s opener since 1987.
Considering No. 2 seed Minnesota likely awaits the winner on Saturday in the second round, Shoji called the draw “not the greatest.”
UH and USC meet at 12:30 p.m. Friday with North Dakota and the Golden Gophers to play at 3 p.m.
“A long way to go and it’s very cold, but sometimes that makes you tougher,” Shoji said before the team departed Honolulu. “We definitely have to be tough.”
College volleyball
Who: USC (18-13) vs. Hawaii (22-5)
What: NCAA tournament, first round
When: 12:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Minneapolis
TV: OCSPORTS
Radio: 850 AM
