Texas Christian lived on the edge and successfully navigated the bubble late in the season. The University of Hawaii will be all too happy to burst it at the NCAA Division I volleyball championships.
The Rainbow Wahine are the only non-Texas team heading to College Station for the opening rounds, thought they won’t exactly be in unfamiliar territory in the Lone Star State when they face the Horned Frogs at 12:30 p.m. HST on Friday.
Hawaii (26-1) won all six matches against TCU while they were members of the Western Athletic Conference, however, the last meeting came in 2000.
The Horned Frogs (19-7) finished tied fourth in the Big 12 and celebrated Sunday when they learned they’d earned their second NCAA berth in program history. TCU’s highlight came Oct. 28 when it swept Texas for its first victory against a team ranked in the top 10.
To earn their second Friday against the No. 7 Rainbow Wahine, TCU will have to go through Big West Player of the Year Nikki Taylor (4.36 kills per set) and the nation’s No. 1 block.
Hawaii enters their 34th trip to the tournament riding a 21-match winning streak. Statistically, it outranks TCU in every major team category except digs.
At 1:30 p.m. HST on Saturday, the winner draws either 10th-seeded Texas A&M (22-6), the SEC champion, or Southland champion Texas A&M Corpus-Christi (31-4), who meet in second opening-round match.
The 15th-ranked Aggies have the highest ratings percentage index of the four teams at sixth. UH is 26th.
UH bounced back
Forget 3-pointers, Hawaii coach Eran Ganot will take inside play and defense any day.
Stefan Jankovic led the way with 14 points and 12 rebounds Wednesday night, and Hawaii raced past Arkansas Pine-Bluff 75-47 in front of a crowd of 5,182 Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
Isaac Fleming hit the Rainbow Warriors’ only 3-pointer en route to 13 points, but UH (5-1) shot 50 percent and bounced back from its first loss to remain undefeated at home.
“We wanted to get it inside,” coach Eran Ganot told OCSports. “The zone makes you think you have to shoot 3s, but you still have to be inside-outside whether it’s man or zone.”
The Golden Lions (2-5) were only 5 of 28 on 3-pointers, losing to Hawaii for the fourth time in six seasons.
Behind Fleming, Sai Tummala (12 points) and Mike Thomas (nine points), Hawaii’s bench outscored Arkansas Pine-Bluff’s 34-11.
Hawaii used a 24-11 run to take a 36-25 halftime lead, and Tummala’s slam helped UH to an 9-1 spurt and a 20-point lead with 6:05 remaining.
Hawaii owned a decided advantage at the free-throw line, making 22 of 33. The Golden Lions were only 2 0f 4 and were outrebounded 47-31.
“(Defense) was the key, and it has been something forged in our identity so far,” Ganot said. “Defense and rebounding has to be the backbone.”
The Rainbow Warriors host UH-Hilo at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
ARK.-PINE BLUFF (2-6)
Handley Jr. 0-4 0-0 0, Wallace 3-5 0-0 7, Love 4-15 2-2 11, Robinson 6-21 0-0 14, Parker 2-2 0-0 4, Jackson 0-4 0-0 0, Lynch 1-2 0-0 2, Cunningham 0-0 0-0 0, Whiting 1-2 0-0 2, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Bayless 3-8 0-0 7, Berry 0-2 0-2 0, Tillman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-66 2-4 47.
HAWAII (5-1)
Bobbitt 3-7 0-0 6, Smith 2-5 1-2 5, Thomas 2-3 5-8 9, Valdes 2-7 3-4 7, Jankovic 5-9 4-8 14, Fleming 2-4 8-8 13, Filipovich 0-0 0-0 0, Enos 0-0 0-0 0, Tummala 6-13 0-0 12, Jovanovic 3-3 0-1 6, Stepteau 0-0 0-0 0, Drammeh 0-0 1-2 1, Buscher 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-52 22-33 75.
Halftime—Hawaii 36-25. 3-Point Goals—Ark.-Pine Bluff 5-28 (Robinson 2-11, Bayless 1-3, Wallace 1-3, Love 1-5, Lynch 0-1, Handley Jr. 0-2, Jackson 0-3), Hawaii 1-11 (Fleming 1-3, Bobbitt 0-2, Tummala 0-3, Valdes 0-3). Fouled Out—Parker. Rebounds—Ark.-Pine Bluff 31 (Love 6), Hawaii 47 (Jankovic 12). Assists—Ark.-Pine Bluff 7 (Love, Robinson, Wallace 2), Hawaii 19 (Valdes 5). Total Fouls—Ark.-Pine Bluff 22, Hawaii 8. A—5,182.