Hawaii finishes No. 7 in final poll, 15 in RPI

1. Jason Oliver of High Point University had the exact same vote in the final poll as in the week 14 poll. Either an error or someone dropped the ball.

In any case, #7 bodes well for UH in next year’s preseason poll, as we know it plays a big role in how teams start out the season.

The Wahine had a great year!

Let’s not be remiss and not consider that the Power 5 schools have reloaded with caliber recruits. Next year we will be facing similar obstacles. And similarly we just have to win. As Coach Shoji pointed out on the Leahy and Leahy show AM football locker room had TV sets over the urinals and at their lockers. As he pointed out we need to recruit “good” players because there are lot of them out there and develop them to become “better.”

The bottom line for us next year is how many players are gotta come back like “Maglio?” Is Mitchem going to step up, come back stronger and quicker and become a force multiplier like we all hope? What will Sunshine Burns play like next year now that she got a taste of D1 ball? Will Nikki be able to develop her cardio to help her stay strong throughout the season? Will Mags continue her rapid development rate by increasing her verticial by 6″? I am rooting for Casey and Kalei to be vastly improved… so many unanswered questions???

Congrats wahines – the 7th best team in the nation – pretty darn good! Thanks for all the hard work and dedication. For us fans, it has been a lot fun watching you grow. Looking forward to next year.

And as you hit the weights in the off-season, make sure you do your rotator cuff exercises to avoid shoulder injuries.

congrats, miss it already.

Even more so the “final” RPI is proof that it’s a flawed system. I know we’ve talked about it enough on here, but obviously Hawaii is going to jump 12 spots because they played and beat the type of teams in NCAA play that RPI dictates it should play and beat to warrant such a ranking. Not going to make a difference next season. Watch them plummet to ~30 RPI after the first few weeks of play and we’re back having the same argument we always seem to find ourselves in. *SIGH* Anyways, proud of Na Wahine and the season they had. Tremendous progress making it to the first Elite 8 since 2009. Hoping this momentum carries on into 2016. Let’s go Bows!

Hawaii’s RPI at 15 is somewhat of an insult when you consider Florida is at 5, Texas A&M at 9 and Penn St at 10; all three teams the Wahine beat and the latter two were swept 3-0 by the Wahine.

If you want to see UH’s best performance of the year, again, the Penn State match is still available on replay on the WatchESPN app/ESPN3. Watched it again last night and it still was exciting and uplifting. Given we won’t have much to talk about regarding the indoor team until next summer, others may find the replay worth seeing. A good pick-me-up if you want one.

Why not have UH travel to play a top tier team on the road in the preseason? UH has proven it has the talent to win away from home against top 25 competition. Name of the game is to play a very high level slate of opponents in the preseason if UH has hopes of a seed next year, even if that means traveling to play a Nebraska or other top team.

Travel sounds like a good idea but with every power 5 school able to invest more into their volleyball program than Hawaii it becomes almost foolish to travel and give up a home game that is their main source of income. The Wahine volleyball program is one of only three or so sports at UH that show a profit. They need to help the UH athletic program financially when they can, especially now.