Hawaii women’s volleyball: 5 things to watch in opening tournament

Here’s five things to keep in mind for Hawaii women’s volleyball’s season-opening Hawaiian Airlines Classic taking place at the Stan Sheriff Center from Friday to Sunday.

—————

1) Akana’s debut would be special

The third second-generation Rainbow Wahine could make her collegiate playing debut in the Hawaiian Airlines Classic. Freshman Braelyn Akana is the daughter of former all-conference player Joselyn Robins who was a two-time HAL Classic all-tournament selection (1995-96).

Akana is wearing the same number (14) that Robins wore for four seasons (1993-96).

Head coach Robyn Ah Mow and associate coach Angelica Ljungqvist — Robins’ teammates — both were named to the HAL Classic all-tournament team, Ljungqvist three times (1993, ’94 and ’96) and Ah Mow twice (1995-96). Ah Mow was voted the Most Outstanding Player in 1996.

—————

2) Ranked foes on tap

Hawaii has two chances to defeat a Top 25 team in this week’s tournament, something the Rainbow Wahine haven’t done outside of conference play since 2015 when taking down No. 8 Penn State in the third round of the NCAA tournament. UH hosts No. 21 San Diego on Friday (7 p.m.) and No. 13 Washington (5 p.m.) on Sunday, sandwiching a meeting with unranked St. John’s on Saturday (7 p.m.).

Last year, Hawaii outlasted No. 11 Cal Poly in five in a Big West match at the Stan Sheriff Center, snapping a 13-match losing streak against ranked opponents.

—————

3) Ducks flock together

Four former Oregon teammates will be in the Stan Sheriff Center this week, three with Hawaii and one with San Diego.

Juniors Kyra Hanawahine, Jolie Rasmussen and Brooke Van Sickle transferred to play for the Wahine and sophomore libero Camryn Tastad to the Toreros.

It left the 11th-ranked Ducks, who made the Elite Eight last year, with four players who competed in 2018, three redshirt freshmen — including 6-foot-5 middle Abby Hansen, a transfer from USC — and a top-10 recruiting class of seven freshmen.

—————

4) UH attendance steady at No. 2

The Wahine had been the national attendance leaders for 16 consecutive seasons, starting in 1995, the first full season in the Stan Sheriff Center. Nebraska took over the lead in 2013 when opening the 8,300-seat Devaney Center.

Last season, Hawaii again was second to Nebraska, drawing 93,537 and averaging 5,502 in 17 home matches. The Huskers drew 172,307 and averaged 8,205 in 21 home matches.

In 2018-19, the Hawaii men’s volleyball team again led the country in attendance for a third straight year, drawing 83,362 for 16 home matches, averaging 5,210. Brigham Young was second at 3,255.

Hawaii was the men’s leader from 1995-2011 with BYU taking over from 2012-14. The Warriors led in ’15, the Cougars in ’16, and the Warriors 2017-19.

—————

5) SSC begins 25th season

The Stan Sheriff Center begins its 25th anniversary of competition this weekend. The Wahine were the first team to play in what was then known as the Special Events Arena in October of 1994.

The Wahine also will mark the 40th anniversary of their first national championship, the 1979 Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) title. A number of those players are expected to attend the alumnae match tentatively set for October.