Hawaii Heads Into Showdown With a Huge USC Team

More often than not the University of Hawaii women’s volleyball team has some tall girls sprinkled in the program, and while UH does have a couple of tall girls, they will be giving up 2-3 inches at every position when the Wahine match up against USC in this weekend’s regional semifinal at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The No. 3 University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball team will open the NCAA Honolulu Regional against top-ranked Southern California. The two teams play Friday, Dec. 9 at the Stan Sheriff Center in what will be one of the premier third-round matchups in the nation. Hawaii made it to the women’s volleyball Sweet 16 again by knocking of Colorado State last week in front of almost 9,000 fans a the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbow Wahine (31-1) and Women of Troy (27-4) last met in the postseason in 2009 where UH defeated USC to advance to the Stanford Regional. The two teams paired off in the 2006 postseason as well, also in the Honolulu Regional semifinal. The ‘Bows rallied to win a memorable five-set win.

It basically breaks down like this; Hawaii is faster and better at passing and serving. USC is huge, and will have a blocking edge, so the Wahine are going to have to find a way to win, as they have all year. The match promises to be an instant classic, and the Stan Sheriff Center is already filling up.

The other semifinal features Pepperdine vs. Kansas State. The winners of both matches advance to Saturday’s regional final and vie for a spot in the NCAA Final Four.

ESPN3 will carry the semifinal matches and can viewed at espn.go.com/watchespn. The final will be televised live on ESPNU and ESPNUHD.

Ticket Information

Tickets are going fast, so get yours now. Single tickets will not go on sale until Friday (Game Day) but you can purchase ticket packages now. As of this writing, 700 ticket packages remain.

The Stan Sheriff holds up to 10,300 people, and last week’s opening rounds both had over 8,000 people in attendance, so round two will probably come close to selling out, or sell out altogether.

Tickets can be purchased at the Stan Sheriff Center Box Office from 9am-5pm, online at HawaiiAthletics.com, or by phone at (808) 944-2697. Package tickets (on sale) are $35 Lower Bowl and $25 Upper Bowl, and individual tickets (on sale Friday) are $20 for Lower Bowl and $15 for Upper Bowl.