The body scan machines at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport likely didn’t detect the chip that was on the collective shoulders of the Hawaii volleyball team when the Rainbow Warriors left for their first road trip on Tuesday.
But it was there.
Big time.
No. 2 Hawaii has had over nine months to dissect why it was overlooked for the NCAA at-large berth that went to UC Irvine. The closest thing to a logical reason was the lack of quality road wins in 2018.
The Warriors went 2-4 in “official” away matches, dropping three in a row in a span of four days at Cal State Northridge (twice) and Pepperdine, as well as the Big West tournament title match at Long Beach State. (The three wins at the Grow the Game Tournament and the Big West semifinal victory against UC Irvine were considered neutral-site).
“We are out to prove something,” Hawaii senior middle Dalton Solbrig said after Tuesday’s early-morning practice in Gym II. “We’re playing really good right now.
“We’re really confident, but it’s a different type of confidence than last year. Last year we were just confident, I would say, for the wrong reasons. This year, it’s a mature confidence. We feel we are the better team. It’s a matter of going out and proving it.”
That first chance comes some 4,000 miles away in the “Queen City” of Charlotte, N.C. Hawaii takes on host Queens (2-7) in the first of two matches at the Levine Center. They also play the Royals on Saturday as well as St. Francis (5-3) on Friday.
Nine of the 12 on the Warriors’ travel roster made the trips last season and “this group has traveled well together, there’s no red flags for me,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said. “Most of our guys have traveled a lot with their national teams and with this team.
“But anytime you’re on the road things can be a little different. St. Francis getting a win at Ohio State (last Friday in five) certainly got our attention. This is an opportunity to prove to ourselves who we are and how we’re going to travel. The road is going to be a pretty important thing for us this year, and we have some pretty meaningful games on the road starting this week.”
On paper, Hawaii’s toughest matches will be away from the Stan Sheriff Center, where the Warriors haven’t dropped a set. They will travel to the BYU Invitational as well as for Big West matches at No. 1 Long Beach State and No. 3 UC Irvine.
St. Francis already has a signature road win, knocking off the Buckeyes in five in Columbus in the Red Flash’s first match away from DeGol Arena. Traveling to Charlotte will be their second long bus ride in eight days, this one some eight hours and 500 miles south of the SFU campus in Loretto, Pa.
“That was the second time we’ve beaten Ohio State but the first time for this group,” Red Flash coach Mike Rumbaugh said in a telephone call. “This group hadn’t had that ‘good feeling’ win before.
“We’ve watched the Hawaii matches (online). The first thing you notice is how fast Joe (senior setter Worsley) is running the offense, how quick he communicates with the middles. Their block is big, their serve is tough.
“The two things we need to do is keep our service pressure on them, keep them unbalanced, and have a strong serve-receive. We like playing the best of the best and we love that we’re playing No. 2. We’re using this match to help us get better because we know we’ll have to play better in conference (EIVA).”
As for Queens, which is in its second season of existence, the Royals have had little success at or away from home, with their victories coming at Coker College and a sweep of visiting Lees-McRae. Queens is one of four programs in the Independent Volleyball Association, which was established in 2018.
