Rainbow Wahine volleyball team picked second for first time in 23 years
STAR-ADVERTISER / 2017
Hawaii’s McKenna Granato guides the ball over the double block during a match against Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 21. Hawaii is picked to finish second in the Big West.
For the first time since 1995, the Hawaii women’s volleyball team was not picked to win its conference.
Today’s Big West preseason coaches poll had the Rainbow Wahine second behind defending champion Cal Poly. The Mustangs received 77 points with five of the nine first-place votes while the Wahine had 75 points and the remaining four first-place votes.
Picked to finish third was UC Irvine (62 votes), followed by Long Beach State (48) and UC Santa Barbara (45). Rounding out the poll were UC Davis (38), Cal State Northridge (30), UC Riverside (18) and Cal State Fullerton (12).
Hawaii had been the Big West favorite every season since rejoining the conference in 2012. The Wahine were picked second behind Pacific in 1995 their last year in the Big West before spending 16 seasons in the Western Athletic Conference.
