SandBows sweep UCLA, USF
From UH
The No. 3 University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine sand volleyball team swept a pair of matches Thursday over No. 6 UCLA and San Francisco Thursday at Piper Park. The Rainbow Wahine improved to 9-2 on the season with the wins.
UH faced UCLA in the first match of the day and blanked the Bruins, 5-0. UH won in straight sets on three of five courts. UH’s top pair of Brittany Tiegs and Karissa Cook defeated the Bruins’ Jessyka Ngauamo and Kamila Tan 21-15, 21-9 to complete the shutout.
In the second match of the day the Rainbow Wahine took on a USF squad playing host to a sand volleyball contest for the first time in school history. UH easily defeated the Dons, winning in straight sets on all five courts. The pair of Sarah Mendoza and Olivia Urban made their debut as a tandem at the No. 5 flight and won easily over Emily Reed and Inbar Vinarsky, 21-8, 21-15.
UH has won by a 5-0 count in seven of its nine wins this year.
Hawai’i returns to action Saturday when it takes on Stanford, UCLA and Santa Clara in a trio of dual matches on the Stanford campus. The teams will then compete in a pairs tournament on Sunday.
#3 Hawaii def. #6 UCLA, 5-0
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 3, 2, 1
1. Karissa Cook/Brittany Tiegs (UH) def. Jessyka Ngauamo/Kamila Tan (UCLA) 21-15, 21-9
2. Katie Spieler/Nikki Taylor (UH) def. Zoe Nightingale/Madie Smith (UCLA) 21-13, 21-13
3. Ali Longo/Ginger Long (UH) def. Taylor Formico/Karsia Lowe (UCLA) 21-11, 23-25, 15-10
4. Karlee Riggs/Hannah Rooks (UH) def. Skyler Dykstra/Jennie Frager (UCLA) 21-16, 21-15
5. London Chow/Tayler Higgins (UH) def. Karly Drolson/Rachel Inouye (UCLA) 21-19, 16-21, 15-10
#3 Hawaii def. San Francisco, 5-0
1. Karissa Cook/Brittany Tiegs (UH) def. Sara Staengl/Valentina Zaloznik (USF) 21-13, 21-14
2. Katie Spieler/Nikki Taylor (UH) def. Malina Terrell/Jurja Vlasic (USF) 21-12, 21-9
3. Ali Longo/Ginger Long (UH) def. Katarina Pilepic/Courtney Sabahi (USF) 21-14, 21-8
4. Karlee Riggs/Hannah Rooks (UH) def. Rebecca Kopilovitch/Anja Segota (USF) 21-18, 21-14
5. Sarah Mendoza/Olivia Urban (UH) def. Emily Reed/Inbar Vinarsky (USF) 21-8, 21-15
Wow…this team is doing really well.
Can someone remember the pairs from last year? Are the most of the players returnees or new? It would be hard to believe one player could affect the whole team (last year).
you can go to hawaiiathletics.com sand volleyball page archives for past teams
and also get the current roster with bios.
Off the top of my head:
2013: Croson; 2014: Tiegs.
2013: Kastl; 2014: Cook.
2013: Manu-Olevao (not playing sand this year)/Bell (graduated?); 2014: Taylor is new and is now paired with Spieler, who played with Long last year.
Long is now playing with Longo, who played with Riggs last year.
Riggs has been playing with Rooks, who is new.
Mount/Miyashita pair is gone; new sand only player Chow is playing currently with Higgins, also new.
Urban/Zalopany played together last year; Urban’s still here and playing with Chow and/or Mendoza. Zalopany is injured, I think. Younger sister also joined this year.
New sand only players Shinn and Tucker have come in and added good depth. They played in the Silver championship against Riggs/Rooks last weekend.
Holdovers: Spieler, Longo, Long, Riggs, Urban, Mendoza (injured last year?), K. Zalopany (injured this year?)
New: Tiegs, Cook, Taylor, Higgins, Rooks, Chow, Shinn, Tucker
Looks to me like a lot of new, talented sand players came in and have paired nicely with the holdovers. 1-2-3 seem pretty entrenched and there’s a close battle between three to four pairs (Riggs/Rooks, Chow/Higgins, Shinn/Tucker, Urban/Mendoza) for the other two spots for dual matches.
#1 – IMHO, I do believe in this sport, as with many others, one teammate/player CAN affect an entire team. When a player is disruptive to practices, competition matches and feels as though they are above the rules and guidelines set by the coach(es), etc, it CAN and DOES in many instances affect the team/players as a whole. I also believe that this was an issue last season. This season, there is more of a team unity and it shows on and off the courts. The team/players are excited to play/compete and happy to be a part of the team. It HAS made all the difference, again, IMHO.
#3 – 808, you’re pretty right on. The only thing that seems to be lacking with a few pairs,
(Long/Longo, Chow/Higgins and even Cook/Tiegs at times) is height and experience (Rooks) in the pairing of Riggs/Rooks. I watched the recent tournament at Queens and it seems that Riggs is not only playing her game, but coaching/guiding Rooks along the way. That’s a tough role for an athlete, especially when competing. SW has done a great job this season and I foresee the future of UH Sand Volleyball improving and growing in a positive manner each year.
3. again, very easy to go to UH archives and get the rosters and results for the past 2 years.
Saw on twitter Sammie Brown of Notre Dame is committed to play sand next year
Thanks for that info, UH will be loaded next season, Sammie was a member of the youth national beach team. Here is a great article on her
http://www.und.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/082213aaa.html
Also hope I don’t come off as a stalker ( I’m really not just was browsing on the UH sand Facebook page ) but I did notice a comment Kendra Koelsch Left Lara Schreiber which pretty much confirms she is coming .
“Wooo!!! So excited girl!!! Going to be a fun 4 years!! Lara Schreiber”
Coach Wong and Company are doing their best to keep up with Pepperdine and USC with talent.
4. I wonder why the coaches don’t pair up Chow with Riggs, both seem to have a lot of experience but maybe they are worried about their lack of size.
Nice work by the SandBows! Beating UCLA pretty bad after i thought it was going to be a tough match. I have heard Head Coach Stein Metzger has been focusing a lot of his time on the sand team and it must be a little disappointing to have results like this. These coaches have done a great job! Keep it rolling SandBows
way 2 go sandbows!!!!!!!!!!
8. they are still playing around with the lower pairs, particularly No. 4 and 5. Although Riggs-Rooks have been pretty solid.
It’s not a size deal, it’s more chemistry and compatible experience.
9. don’t know why anyone should be surprised by UH’s results. They are among the pioneers of the sport at this level and have been improving every year. They are one of the few schools that fully fund with five scholarships (six cap next year). Interestingly Stein and Kevin Wong paired on the AVP tour.
UCLA wasn’t even sure they were going to sponsor the sport at one point. The Bruins are using a majority of their indoor players while UH is more sand-specific players. Although the Bruins did get two of their pairs into the AVCA national championship last season in Norton-Reeves, Nightingale-Strehlow.
Norton and Nightingale return, the other two are gone.
As for Metzger focusing a lot of his time on the sand team … that is his job as the head coach.
UCLA has a ton of talent coming in for their beach team in the next few years, including some twins from Canada that are very good and Zana Muno who is supposedly the top US beach junior player. They will be tough.
they are doing exactly what Hawaii is doing, about a year later. Don’t expect anything less from Metzger as UCLA allows him to grow the sport.
#8 – I think height does play a big part in the sand game, not as big as indoor however. Sand is more strategic play so not having a 6+ foot player within a pair can work. Ideally, a “big” on the court is an asset. As far as the pairing of Riggs/Rooks vs Riggs/Chow, I believe Rooks has potential, just not a whole lot of experience. She has shown improvement at the net, as she is building confidence in herself and her partner. Riggs is very experienced (especially the mental and strategic part of the game. Her skills and fundamentals have always been there, coming from all her years of indoor and club play). Rooks has a ways to go, but I like the pairing, allowing a “big” on the court with Riggs.
Not to take anything away from Chow. She is a smart player and moves quickly on the sand. She has experience as well but would also benefit with a “big” on the court with her. Chow/Higgins have done very well together. I think with Urban, she’s got the height but not nearly the stamina that’s needed in the sand game, especially with the way Chow plays the game.
Looking forward to the duals vs Santa Clara & Stanford. GO SANDBOWS!!!
The Sand team got a shoutout from Kevin Wong on Pac-12 Networks for the Stanford vs Pepperdine match. Mentioned Nikki Taylor and Karissa Cook and then they showed the team on camera. Go Bows
I am really looking forward to the rematches against the Cardinal and UCLA.
Next year Wong adds some nice size to be able to plug into the pairs with 6′ 1 Koelsch, 6′ 0 Schreiber, and 5′ 10 Brown. Maybe 6′ 2 Greeley, who reminds me a lot of 6′ 3 Nikki Taylor would be a huge boost if she is able to come in and make a big impact like Nikki.
cindy — well, i’ll admit, i’m one of the ones surprised (in a good way!) of the success the sand team is having. they had a lackluster season last year. and altho there are more beach-only players on the roster, there are also a lot of newcomers. some of the newcomers come in with proven beach experience, but still, one never knows if the chemistry will click when there are a lot of new faces.
i do agree, it’s nice to see the progression of the team in just a few short years.
Sad to hear about BYUH, I hope one of the other local d2 schools is wise enough to hire their coaching staff.
the transition for byuh is 3 years.