Hawaii women’s volleyball: Hellvig, Okino honored; RPI to 11, No. 19 in poll
Hanna Hellvig earned her fourth Freshman of the Week and Rika Okino her first career weekly award as defensive player of the week as the Big West weekly honors were announced.
Not sure why Maia Dvorcek got POW when team went 1-1.
Hellvig nominated for POW as well. Do think UH is missing the boat when not nominating Norene Iosia.
Big West release click here
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Hawaii opened the week with a new ranking and new rating.
In today’s American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25, the Rainbow Wahine moved up two spots to No. 19. Hawaii also moved six place to 11 in the Ratings Percentage Index, a computer-generated system that rates strength of schedule.
The Wahine (20-3, 10-2 Big West) are in first place in the conference standings, a half-game ahead of the two teams they beat last week: UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly.
The RPI is used by the NCAA to seed the postseason tournament and award hosting duties. Teams rated in the top 16 have traditionally been the host sites for the first and second rounds.
Hawaii has not hosted the opening rounds since 2013. The Wahine close out the regular season with four teams with RPIs currently between 137 and 267: traveling to UC Davis (137) on Friday and UC Riverside (267) on Sunday, then hosting Cal State Northridge (180) on Nov. 21 and Long Beach State (167) on Nov. 22.
In today’s poll, the top six remained the same led by No. 1 Texas (16-2, 47 first-place votes. Pitt (23-1, 14 votes was at No. 2 followed by Baylor (19-1, 1 vote), Wisconsin (16-4, 1 votes), Stanford (16-4, 1 vote) and Minnesota (17-2).
Hawaii is the only Big West team ranked. UCSB received 10 points, putting the Gauchos outside the Top 25 at 31.Of the ranked teams, the Wahine lost to Baylor but have wins over No. 14 Washington and No. 23 UCLA, as well as win over two other teams receiving votes: San Diego (26th) and Missouri (30th).
Hawaii’s RPI moved to 11 from last week’s 17.
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In today’s AVCA Top 25, Hawaii is up two spots to No. 19.
AVCA Top-25:
1. Texas
2. Pitt
3. Baylor
4. Wisconsin
5. Stanford
6. Minn
7. Neb
8. Penn St
9. Creighton
10. Marquette
11. BYU
12. Florida
13. Colo. St
14. Wash
15. Purdue
16. Utah
17. Rice
18. Kentucky
19. Hawai'i
20. Cal
21. Illinois
22. WKU
23. UCLA
24. Wash St
25. Texas A&M— AVCA (@AVCAVolleyball) November 4, 2019
RPI is important to get into the NCAA tournament. Wahine have guaranteed a spot. For me, Seeing the expression of the losers this past weekend is reward enough. Vindictive? You bet !!
UH has wins over RPI #7, 14, 23 (neutral), 26, 26, 33, 41. That’s 10 RPI bonuses and very good eye test wins. If UCSB gets to top 25 RPI, then add two more bonuses. OOC record is very, very strong (UH has the #5 non-conference RPI right now–this is huge because it is an evaluative tool of the committee). If UH wins out, they will have an 11-game winning streak by selection Sunday (a team’s record in its last 10 matches of the season is an evaluative tool of the committee). Even if UH ends up at 17 or 18, I still think UH hosts. I am very optimistic about this, despite the loss to Irvine.
In 2013, UH beat #1 Texas to start the season then lost 3 times in the BW to finish as a tri-champion along with UCSB (auto qualifier) and Northridge. UH beat RPI #2, 16 (neutral), 24, 35 (away), 41, 47 for 9 bonuses and ended up with the #17 RPI on selection Sunday (and the #4 non-conference RPI). The committee rewarded UH with the #11 seed.
2013 was the last year the BW had 3 tourney teams, something that can happen again this year. Before 2013, the BW previously had 3 tourney teams in 2006 (LBSU, Poly, UCSB), when UH was in the WAC.
2. Interesting history lesson and analysis. Keeps my hopes alive that UH could still host. Thanks!
Congrats to the Wahine! The two victories were both exciting and ever so satisfying. Brooke has stabilized the team with her athletic ability. Her calm and cool leadership is a chemistry catalyst for the team. A very balanced contribution by everyone as they all raised their level of play this weekend. Lot’s of work still to do though so I hope they stay locked in and focused.
In watching the Spectrum broadcast, I think they should minimize the end line camera angle or better yet, do away with it. And for goodness sake, do NOT use it on MATCH POINT! What are the guys in the truck thinking? That angle is very frustrating and is only good for the serve. Once the serve is on the way the need to switch to the main camera.
Let’s Go Bows!
Cindy. Just a question with nothing behind it. Would Jolie quality for a medical redshirt?
Does anyone else this we have seen the last of Rasmussen this year? I feel like if she hasn’t made it back by now and hasn’t made it back for this past weekend’s series, that she will take the redshirt(/medical) year.
On another note, I enjoy watching Igiede terminate overpasses. Some of our best recent and more recent MB’s weren’t as effective. Maglio could put them away decently, but she also botched her share. Magil was TERRIBLE at terminating overpasses. We’ve seen Skyler follow through into the net so much so that she reverts to just softly two-hand tapping/swiping. Igiede has great eyework and an agressive mindset to terminate those easy points…without overreaching. Yes, that was a dig at Waters.
Does anyone else think*
Doh! I hate when that happens.
#4 agree, the end line camera drives me crazy.
5. I’m sorry, but I forgot the name of the lady that does all their medical. I talked to her last night and she said that JR would not be eligible for medical redshirt. She was in a hurry so I didn’t get a reason why not.
https://www.avca.org/polls/di-women/11-4-2019.html
UH up to 19, but how the hell is Illinois still ranked at 11-10 when there are other more deserving teams?!
9. Rasmussen redshirted last season and even if she applied for another one, it would most likely be denied, pretty rare that athletes get six years of eligibility.
Curious how Hitchcock for softball got 2 medical red shirts and was here for 6 years. I think she had surgery 2x for the same thing. Hitchcock also had a my story from last year. I think I’ll retread again.
#4 totally agree with minimizing the end line angle, especially on match point. was at the match last night and was looking forward to watching the replay to see exactly what happened on match point and i was like really?! that end line angle needs to go. in any case, glad the wahine were able to win it in 4. let’s go bows!
Yeah, going with the end line camera on match point no too bright! Shouldn’t be used at all except for challenges and replays.
The reason for that stupid end line camera angle is really petty.
Whenever the electronic banner below the officials table across the the court shows a Hawaiian Telcom banner, the Spectrum guys cut away to the angle behind the service line so the audience won’t see it.
Fans watching spectrum broadcasts should inundate them with complaints for being so small minded.
I agree with HAKA. Spectrum should do away with the end line camera. Very hard to see the action. So irritating.
MAHALO…..to ALL of you! My wife and I agree! That end line camera angle SUCKS! Hopefully, someone from Spectrum reads this blog, and they will listen to the voice of the fans!
#15 Harvey, mahalo for that and if that is true, then all I can say is F*:@^>!/|:(/m\
You can complain, but if it is as Harvey wrote, Spectrum won’t change because they own the contract rights with UH Athletics. They can pretty much do as they please, aside from their contractual broadcast commitments.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the coaching staff deserves a big shout out for making this team as competitive as it is. They have done a fantastic job of preparing the Bows and mixing and matching for success. Coach Rob’s “feel” for the game has been simply mahvalous. Great job coaches!!!
Let’s Go Bows!
13-19; All you guys should implore whoever is responsible for negotiating the new contract in spring of 2020 to award the TV broadcast rights to a different company. My pet peeve is that I can’t watch live volleyball broadcasts since I can’t get cable in my area on the Big Island. I am madder than all you guys. I agree with you. Spectrum is petty and mean. They won’t let Telcom subscribers watch live matches either. Time to switch to a company that will allow everyone to watch online and use the proper angle. Please petition for a new company.
4. et al. The observation about Hawaiian Telcom banner pretty much the reason for what Spectrum did. Agree petty but they do have the exclusive rights.
5. Rasmussen received a medical hardship in 2018. It is too late this season for her to get a normal redshirt because she played too many games.
If you remember Kuehu got an extra medical because of pregnancy.
10. Good question considering their only wins against ranked teams are against Purdue and Marquette, and they lost last Friday at Home to Michigan. (14-7, 7-4) IIllinois is 6-6 in the Big Ten.
https://bigwest.org/news/2019/11/4/womens-volleyball-dvoracek-nabs-fourth-honor-hawai-i-duo-also-recognized.aspx
Hellvig is freshman of the week; Okino is defensive player of the week
Hanna Helvig won Big West Conference Freshman of the Week and Rika Okino won Big West Defensive Player of the Week, both of who I expected to win. I thought that Norene Iosia would finally win Big West Player of the Week as she was key to winning UCSB especially, but no, it went to Maia Dvoracek despite Cal Poly’s loss to Hawaii. However, she helped Cal Poly beat CSUN earlier last week.
It will be interesting to see who makes Big West Player of the Year. I think it will hinge on who wins next Saturday since that team will likely be co-Big West Champions with UH, even though UH would get the automatic berth. If Cal Poly beats UCSB and wins the rest of its matches, then Maia Dvoracek would be Big West Player of the Year. If UCSB beat Cal Poly next Saturday and wins the rest of its matches, then Lindsey Ruddins would be Big West Player of the Year. Had Jolie Rasmussen been healthy, she would have been Big West Player of the Year. Well, maybe next year.
23-24. Thanks. was updating when you posted as well
24. It may hinge on what you mention. I think it should be Iosia. But think it goes to either Ruddins or Dvoracek. or, as you suggest, co-POY
With just 4 matches remaining on the season, is there any indication of Jolie Rasmussen coming back this season? The team has looked good as of late (7 straight match wins), but Rasmussen really takes this team from a NCAA tournament team to a team that can make noise and pull off some wins in the tourney. Glad to see Van Sickle is recovering well, but hopefully Rasmussen can also make a full recovery and possibly play the final two home matches in limited minutes just so she doesn’t come into the tourney cold.
If you look purely at stats, then Ruddins and Dvoracek would be the favorites for POV. Iosia’s value to the team her leadership and all the other ways she contributes but is not dominant in any one area. All three are MVPs to their respective teams.
This post is a little late. The NCAA DI Volleyball Committee revealed its top 10 listing on Sunday, Nov. 3 during the Purdue vs. Minnesota match. (Predictably, the Volleyball Committee played it very safe by listing only the Top 10 potential seed positions and not Top 16.)
As you can see, its Top 10 more or less tracks the NCAA RPI’s Top 10 except for Creighton, which just recently beat Marquette and which sits at No. 19 in the NCAA RPI.
1/Texas (No. 2 in RPI) … Big 12
2/Baylor (No. 1 in RPI) … Big 12
3/Wisconsin (No. 3 in RPI ) … Big Ten
4/Stanford (No. 5 in RPI) … Pac-12
5/Pittsburgh (No. 4 in RPI ) …. ACC
6/Nebraska (No. 6 in RPI) … Big Ten
7/Washington (No. 7 in RPI) … Pac-12
8/Minn (No. 8 in RPI) …. Big Ten
9/Florida (No. 10 in RPI) … SEC
10/Creighton (No. 19 in RPI ) … Big East
Again predictably, the so-called Power 5 conferences are all represented in the NCAA Volleyball Committee’s Top 10 but one so-called mid-major conference also gets a potential seed. (The Big West and the WCC are considered mid-major conferences but, IMAO, more “major” than the Big East.)
https://www.ncaa.com/video/volleyball-women/2019-11-03/ncaa-di-college-volleyball-committee-chair-michelle-durban-dives
I think it’s really lame that UH beats UCSB and Cal Poly and none of the Wahine get awarded POW. Nonetheless, congrats to Freshman of the Year candidate Hanna and dig master Rika.
I’m so happy for Rika that she won DPOW. The only way UH would get wins last weekend facing Ruddins and Dvorcek is if the libero had not just good games, but great games, and Rika delivered. I do think that UH is missing the boat in not nominating Norene for POW. Maybe she wouldn’t win absent some “gimmick” stat like a triple double, but at the very least the recognition of being nominated would be something.
I’d like see the end line camera angle used more often to show how float serves move and why the player on the receiving end seems to lunge at a ball. But, that’s applicable with only selected players. I don’t expect that to happen when the opposing team is serving unless the Producer has a scout report on the team.
#32 They lunge because their is no spin and comes at the receiver like a knuckle ball. No spin toss, stun hit with the palm and sans a follow through, it comes at the receiver with a wobble and then the bottom drops out. This is in theory and not every serve reacts the same. In the old days, you used to hit the balls needle inflation point for added movement. Now please forget the end line camera angle! lol
30. UH nominated Hellvig for POW. As I mentioned in main box, IMHO Iosia should have been nominated.
As for Rasmussen, all that has been said is When she’s ready, she’s ready. She hasn’t been cleared to practice but she is doing weights and other conditioning.
I could see her coming back for NCAA tourney if all goes well with the rehab.
I don’t think the Wahine not getting POW have anything to do with being lame or stuff like that.
UH won as a team. The sets were spread out and nobody really put up eye popping numbers so I can understand not getting any weekly awards.
I’m sure the girls would gladly give up some weekly award for two wins. Bottom line is we are on top of the conference and that is all that is matter.
I would like to see Norene win conference POY even despite her lack of big numbers. She is a double double machine and is the leader of the best team in the conference. She deserves that award at this time.
35. Norene will never get POY because the conference relies too heavily on stats. If you read the BW link to people that won honors, all they listed were their stats…even if the team lost. Why give an honor if you do not lead your team to victory?!!! There is no weight given to leadership, key plays like walk off aces, court presence, etc. The last being the biggest reason Robin keeps Norene on the court for the full 6 rotations. She has said that her leadership and presence is key to the team working together successfully recently.
We all love you Norene and will sorely miss you graduating. But, life does go on. Until then, GO BOWS!!!!
I was surprised that UH nominated Hanna Helvig the freshman instead of Norene Iosia, the senior. It seems unfair to Norene Iosia. I agree with Cindy that Norene Iosia provides the leadership and she also provides clutch plays at the end of the match like that service ace against UCSB. That was huge! I can’t understand why Robyn Ah-Mow shortchanged Norene Iosia when she thinks highly of her. In my opinion, Norene is far more deserving. Hanna Helvig will have her chances in future years. She may have a lot of kills but she needs to improve on her hitting percentage. I would definitely nominate her as Big West freshman of the year. My feeling is that the Big West will prefer a junior or senior rather than a freshman as Player of the Year.
The Cal Poly hitter hit enough to win a set. Norene’s stats are spread all around. She is the MOST VALUABLE PLAYER. She contributes. She gets the job down.
But, as someone mentioned it’s all about stats. Norene is setting, hitting, blocking, and digging. None of the other POWs this year do all of that. I don’t know what can be said. I think the coaches need to play the game to get our name out there. I am confident Coach Rob. values Norene.
Why is Illinois ranked? Well, they play in the Big10. They took Nebraska, Wisconsin and Penn St to the mat losing in five. Coaches like Russ Rose probably feel fortunate coming away with a win and a lot of respect for Illinois. I think this carries a lot of weight with the voters. AVCA voting is subjective. JMO.
Congrats to those nominated for awards this week. I think Norene gladly takes the two wins over POW. I believe not winning the award doesn’t bother her, but getting those two wins surely must satisfy her accomplishments. Bet if you asked her about it, she would say that they can have those awards, and she’ll take the two team victories and being on top of the BW standings. Gotta think bigger picture and not get hung up on weekly awards, as nice as they are.
That end line angle is okay for one or two times, as long as it’s not during match point of a tightly contested game. The producer should be fired for using that angle at that point of the game. I wouldn’t have noticed the banner anyway, too caught up in the game. If it’s as 15 says, then Spectrum is not thinking about the fans, but only about their greedy pockets. If Hawaiian Telcom ever wins the bid for UH Athletics, I hope that they are not as petty as Spectrum.
Hope the two Na Wahine mainland games are either on BW TV or espn3. Go ‘Bows!!
My oops again. Robyn, not Robin. ;o)
yes, Norene should have been nominated for something – she really is the most valuable player on the team if not he conference. she had done it all this year, her hitting has improved tremendously from last year. being nominated for an award is nice because the coaches do recognize her contributions to the team. she may not lead the team in hitting, blocking, digging etc, but she has had triple doubles and double doubles numerous times. that is how she contributes to the team, which make her a valuable member and should be recognized. maybe at the awards banquet she will be named the most valuable player of the team. as for rika, it was well deserved, she had become a really good libero. her ability to dig balls, receive serves and bump set really stabilized the team which made the hitters that more successful.
42. I hope they price the awards banquet so that the “common folk” like us, can afford to attend and really do homage to the people THEY feel are deserving of the awards. After all, the crowd, we, us, do react accordingly when we know who is deserving of just due accolades for deserving plays, performance, applause, and cheering!
GO BOWS!!!
#40 sportsforfun
Oh give me a break! It was just a camera angle for just one play. There was even a replay of the Cal Poly player committing the error on the netcam that we were able to see shortly after. Not something to be THAT angry over. Take a chill pill! That or move to DC and help the President with his re-election campaign. He’s gonna need all the help he can get from people like you.
One positive from Jolie’s injury: Hanna’s development has been accelerated far beyond where she would have been if Jolie was playing. Bodes well when Jolie returns and for next year. We will have first genuine right side terminator since Nikki.
I agree with many regarding the camera angle. The end to end view generaiiy sucks, but if the Wahine don’t utilize their own camera, it may have some utility for coaching. Also agree that for the fans the timing of it’s use is important. Also appreciated the comment/explanation on the knuckleball effect. That being said, I did see an end angle view (not exactly the same as Spectrum) on Bigwest tv streaming broadcast that made me appreciate the english t on a serve. In that case,t was more of a curve than a knuckleball.
Congrats to Hanna and Rika! Agree that Norene should have at least been nominated by UH. Can’t fault them for nominating Hanna for POW, though. She had double digit kills and hit over .300 in each match, against the top two conference teams.
44 I took my chill pill. Want one?
#48 Uh yeah, one play…match point…tough pill to swallow…yikes.
Super stoked that Rika got the award and recognition. She stays the course amidst the criticism and just gets better and better. Everyone misses a serve. Everyone shanks a pass. Not everyone can pass a rocket while diving and put it on the setters hat. Congrats!
#42 & #43 – $75/$80 is about right for a post-season banquet. Depending on how many players are sponsored and other costs, they usually break even, especially if it’s at a hotel and Hale Koa is one of the least expensive ones.
https://www.koaanuenue.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/banquet%20flyer.pdf
#40 – looks like both upcoming road games are on Big West TV.
#45 – totally agree about how Hanna’s growth has been accelerated due to the absence of Jolie. Hanna is currently the top kill leader for the team with opponents serving her at every chance (not now that she is rotating out for backrow) and putting their biggest blockers on her. She is putting up very nice numbers and learning to carry the load. And to be sure, having very experienced and capable setters like Norene and Bailey to bring Hanna along without over stressing her, is a huge factor in Hanna’s development. And of course, the same can be said about the growth of Ross who has been tremendous these past weeks. Once we get Jolie back, our outside hitters will be so much stronger and better.
Both matches on BigWest.TV
https://www.hawaiiwarriorworld.com/?p=51907
new thread up for Tuesday with 2 Big West matches