Hawaii Clinches Big West Title With Dave Shoji’s 1200th Win

Match Stats

• Hawaii def. Cal Poly 3-0 (25-11, 26-24, 25-15)
• Hawaii moves to 21-5 (14-1 Big West); Cal Poly falls to 17-9 (10-5 Big West)
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Attendance: 6107

6,107 fans packed into the Stan Sheriff Center, where the volleyball team draws almost as many as the basketball team does, to watch the Hawaii women’s program hit two important benchmarks.

The first is that with their win, they move to 14-1 in the conference, and while their season isn’t over, they’ve clinched the 2016 Big West Conference championship. That will give them an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament and leave them to play for seeding.

The other is the 1,200th career win by Hawaii head coach Dave Shoji. He becomes just the second NCAA Division I women’s coach to clear that threshold, coming in his 42nd year with the program. The only coach with more wins is Penn State’s Russ Rose, who hit the same milestone earlier this season.

Shoji’s career record now sits at 1200-203-1.

In the victory, the Wahine were led by Nikki Taylor, who had 15 kills. That makes her 3rd-straight game, and 17th this season, with double-digit kills.

While the home team picked up a crucial win, Cal Poly did get one big shot in for the 2nd set when they cleared the 20 point barrier for the first time in the last 16 sets against Hawaii. Hawaii still emerged with a 3-0 sweep, which they’ve now done in 8 consecutive games.

Cal Poly’s top scorer was Raeann Greisen, who had 12 kills on a .139 average. She had 6 of those kills when the Mustangs made their big push to steal a set.

Press Releases

Courtesy Hawaii Athletics

HONOLULU—The No. 14 University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball captured their 25th overall conference and ninth Big West title while head coach Dave Shoji became just the second NCAA DI women’s volleyball to hit the 1,200 win milestone as the Rainbow Wahine swept Cal Poly on Thursday night. UH downed the Mustangs, 25-11, 26-24, 25-15 with Nikki Taylor leading the charge with a match-high 15 kills at the Stan Sheriff Center. Natasha Burns and Annie Mitchem both had five blocks apiece while Norene Iosia recorded her third straight double-double at the Stan Sheriff Center. Hawai’i improved to 21-5 overall, 14-1 in conference and Cal Poly fell to 17-9 overall and 10-5 in the Big West.

The win clinched the Big West’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament for the ‘Bows. The Rainbow Wahine will make its 35th overall and 24th-straight appearance in the NCAA tourney. It is Hawai’i’s second straight-Big West Conference title. The Rainbow Wahine have claimed the Big West crown in the four of the five years since rejoining the league. UH also won its 18th-consecutive home conference game, with that streak dating back to 2014. The ‘Bows have now reeled off 25-straight sets in a row and have won their last eight matches in straight sets. But their streak of holding opponents below 20 points was snapped at 16 as Cal Poly fell in the second set, 26-24.

Shoji, who is in his 42nd year at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine program, now has a career record of 1,200-203-1. He is right behind Penn State’s Russ Rose who notched his 1,200th career win earlier this season. Rose currently has a 1,208-195 career record.

Taylor notched her third-straight and 17th double-digit kill game of the season. She also tallied a match-high five service aces to go with seven digs and four blocks—including one solo block to end the match.

Annie Mitchem and McKenna Granato both added nine kills apiece. Mitchem hit .333 with one error on 24 attacks while Granato hit a match-high .368 with two errors in 19 attacks. Mitchem also had five digs and Granato added a pair of aces, three digs and a block.

Iosia dished out 34 assists and had a team-high 14 digs for her team-leading 11th double-double of the season. Savanah Kahakai and Emma Smith both had 10 digs each, with Smith tying her career-high in digs.

The Rainbow Wahine rolled to a 25-11 win to open the match. It marked the Mustangs’ most lopsided loss in a set this season. UH opened it up on a Granato serving run in which the ‘Bows extended their lead from four points to 11 points at 16-5. Taylor led UH in the first frame with six kills and three Rianbow Wahine all had two blocks apiece.

The second set was a different story, as it was the Mustangs who took hold of the early lead and led by as many as six points at 12-6 which spurred a UH timeout. Hawai’i then started to chip away at their deficit getting a couple of points per sideout before finally catching Cal Poly at 17-17 on a Granato service ace. The Mustangs avoided one set point, but a Granato kill off a Cal Poly net violation ended the set, 26-24.

The Mustangs got off to a quick start again in Set 3, taking as big a lead as three points at 7-4. But behind the serving of Smith UH then caught and overtook the Mustangs on a 5-0 run which gave the ‘Bows a 9-7 lead from which they would never look back.

Hawai’i has one day to prepare for UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:00 pm. Saturday is a Whiteout and fans are encouraged to wear white. More importantly, it is Senior Night for four Rainbow Wahine who will be making their final appearance in the Stan Sheriff Center—Tayler Higgins, Annie Mitchem, Katiana Ponce and Nikki Taylor.

Courtesy Cal Poly

HONOLULU, HI – The Cal Poly volleyball team lost its last road match of the season against No. 14 Hawai’i Thursday night in Honolulu.

The Mustangs could not keep up the pace with the raked team, as they lost in three sets, 25-11, 26-24, 25-15. They are now 10-5 in conference play and 17-9 overall.

Cal Poly struggled through the first set, as Hawai’i went 3-0 before the Mustangs scored their first point. Hawai’i then went on an eight point run, leading the Mustangs by 10 points, before the Mustangs scored again.

The Mustangs turned things around in set two, they scored the first two points and maintained the lead until the Rainbow Warriors tied it at 17-17. The rest of the set was neck and neck and tied up as high as 24-24. The teams tied up the score seven times and had three lead changes. Hawai’i ended up taking the set in the end, leading the match 2-0.

Cal Poly scored the first point in set three, but Hawai’i quickly tied it up. The teams tied up the score three times during the first part of the match but the Mustangs could not keep up the pace after Hawai’i went on a nine point run and ended up clinching the match.

Junior Raeann Greisen led the team in kills with 12 and had a .139 attack percentage.

Senior Taylor Gruenewald led the team in blocks with a total of five of the team’s seven.

The Big West’s leader in assists, Taylor Nelson had 28 of the team’s 30 assists, while Katherine Brouker led the team in digs with 12.

The Mustangs had a .084 attack percentage compared to the Rainbow Warriors’ .265.

The Mustangs will be back on the court for their last match of the season Tuesday Nov. 22 to take on UC Davis. Seniors Taylor Gruenewald and Shannon Fouts will be honored for senior day.