Hawaii Wahine Volleyball, UH vs SMU 8 30 24

[Music] ladies and Gentlemen please rise for the singing of our national anthem and ha ponoi singing tonight is a classical singer based in Honolulu and a graduate of the University of Hawaii she's on her way to fulfilling her dream she's currently a flight attendant for Hawaiian Airlines and she dreams of being a pilot for Hawaiian Airlines someday ladies and gentlemen welcome to the simplified Arena Hawaiian Airlines very own Taylor Reay [Applause] isida see can you see by the t's early light what so proudly we hailed at the Twilight last gleaming who's brought stripes and bright stars through the parous fight or the ramp parts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rocket red glar the bombs bur singing keep proof through the night that our flag was still there oh seers that star spangled bur yet way or the land of the free and the home of the [Music] [Applause] bre care [Music] [Music] make come [Music] ladies and gentlemen Taylor Raya [Applause] [Applause] good evening everyone the rainbow Ohana welcomes you to simplify Arena at stand Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii in Majestic mooa for the 2024 Hawaiian Airlines wah volleyball classic tonight's season opening contest matches Atlantic Coast Conference member the SMU Mustangs versus Big West Conference member y Hawaii Rainbow [Applause] wah introducing the SMU Mustang starting lineup at set 61 graduate student from Brighton Michigan number three Celia Cullen at Le bar one 57 graduate from shaie Kansas number four Ellie Bolton and opposite 6 foot graduate student from Casper Wyoming number seven Nia shim and middle blocker 64 senior from Matan M Michigan number 11 Natalie Foster and outside hitter 61 senior from Austin Texas number 15 jams wheeler at middle blocker 64 graduate student from Carlton Texas number 26 N D okore and outside hitter 61 graduate student from Gilroy California number 31 Maya [Applause] tabon and at Le Barrow 2 6- foot graduate student from Dallas Texas number 53 Natalie [Applause] Purdue graduate assistant from La EA Oahu Cena ULU [Music] a technical coordinator Diego agalar director of operations Brittney Clark assistant coaches Christa Branson and Clayton Bristo associate head coach Trent senson head coach for the Mustangs Sam urer in the heart of the islands where the ocean meets the sky a New Journey this is more than a game it's a tradition with every serve every attack every dig we are what strong resilient Fearless for Generations we've defended this court for Generations we've honored this Legacy this is our house this is he volleyball I put careers on sh like Amazon distribution center hell really hate to call brosi for the Dirty Work I rather do it by myself and now meet and greet the starting lineup for your Hawaii R and outside hitter 5 live in sophomore from Pilon Nebraska number one Stella [Music] ad middle blocker 61 Jr from Spokane Washington number five Jon beus and opposite 511 sophomore from kafar Saba Israel number nine t hakers at Center 510 senior from Keller Texas floor Captain number 10 [Music] Kate and middle blocker 61 freshman from AA haa Oahu number 12 Milana Sylvester [Music] at libero 55 Senior from Salt Lake Oahu number 16 Tay [Applause] Gaga and that outside hitter 6 foot Jr from alphareta Georgia number 17 kayn [Applause] Alexander assist coach Nick Castello associate coach Koo Baxter head coach for your Rainbow vah Robin [Applause] [Music] Amo the 2024 rainbow wah volleyball season opens with a question mark who will be this year's Terminator one thing that is known whoever it is Kate Lang will be there to set her up while the middle might be a bit of a muddle right now Robin Amo is confident in the pin Pizzazz of kin Alexander the team's top returning hitter from last season the Mustangs of SMU ride into Honolulu for a season opening matchup with the rainbow wah it is time to serve it up [Music] and with that we welcome you inside simplifier Arena at Stan Sheriff Center canol a he's sitting next to Chris mclin CAC take us through the Kaiser Permanente keys to the match SMU they got to rely on their experience nine of the 14 players players are seniors or grad students six played 100 more sets in 2023 and for Hawaii Super passor T the 55 Senior from moala will often make the first Contact to start the wahini offense her success May dictate the flow and outcome of this game a new look rainbow wahen Squad having lost six seniors from a year ago lost two transfers as well so seven rures total including three starters and we're playing volleyball and SMU strikes first and they work it to the middle n okore a transfer from Florida spent four years with the Gators and she knocks down kill number one of this new season the Hawaiian Financial FCU starting lineups will be scrolling at the bottom of your screen Maya tabon another transfer from Colorado with the serve and here is tal hawas getting the swing for Hawaii but hits it into the pin T hawas who did not arrive in monoa to join the team until two nights ago because she had been playing in Europe with the isra national team the hitting error on her first try and quickly two serving nothing here in favor of the Mustangs first touch there is T eaga and the middle set goes to Jon bis who's blocked back and a free opportunity here for SMU Celia Cullen goes back to the middle it's okore and that is three straight points to get things rolling here for SMU little bit of nervousness going on out there and I think why that assuming that the SMU will set that middle and they get a perfect pass they like to go there here's the pass by Alexander they're going to go back row to Stella adami and she gets the touch and Hawaii is on the board Stella adami the 511 sophomore from Pilon Nebraska won the coaches award given out to one of the players each year for their work ethic she got it last year played in just eight matches a season ago but she lit it up during the Spring she was really good there an overpass why should convert on here is adami the set a little low she's blocked back Ling the cover so bump set back to adami Loops it over the block SMU playing it back they go right side and that is a super charged arm swing there on the right by Nia sh in her second year with SMU she averaged over three kills per set a season ago when she is high and hard very difficult to block so four one and now the labero Ellie Bolton yet another transfer grab transfer from kraton winning the labero position Scramble Play here for Hawaii and it is put over and down by Jon famis the most unorthodox kill that she will likely have here this season you know somebody really should have come up and I thought take a rip at the ball in in the air high at the net they got a back bump set for a kill go figure so here is bis transferred couple of seasons ago from Clemson played sparingly last year and here is another middle attack Natalie Foster hey guess what she's a transfer from witch State spent three years with the Shockers was a first team All American Athletic Conference selection twice once again perfect pass set the [Applause] middle and that is an ace so SMU up to a hot start and it is chame with the service a a 6-foot grad student from Casper Wyoming actually spent three years at the University of Wyoming before matriculating over to Dallas Lang going backside here's hawas the tip and it drops so T hus you may be thinking she just joined the team two days ago she's already in the starting lineup but again she's been playing some volleyball serious volleyball here over the last stretch yeah Robin Amos said no problem with her being in shape at all she's been really training hard with the Israeli National [Applause] Team out of system here bumps that tight to the net we got a joust up there it'll stay on the Mustang side and a little misc there as tabon got caught in between and Hawaii within two finally a Hawaii forced a bad pass that's how they got that point get SMU out of system with some tough serving so it will be hawas again four serving six good pass that time and over on to the put down by Celia Cullen she is the returning starting Setter here for SMU and last year in the American Athletic Conference was the setter of the year she surpassed 3,000 career assists last season she's been awfully good for an awfully long time she's 61 she blocks in the right side touches over 10 ft so she's a very tough right side blocker there's Brook Frasier she was another competitor and candidate to take over that lero position eyeball bump set adami with the swing blocked what a cover there by Lang slapped across by kin Alexander Mustangs on the attack it's tabon dug up by Alexander outside of dami the tip and that'll be punched up and swinging on two is Aon how about the adlib and it works for another Mustangs point oh it's quite the adlib hitting it on to looks like men's beach volleyball in the Olympics they were going on to all the time that's part of their offense U playing its first match as now a member of the AAC the ACC I should say the Atlantic Coast Conference coming over from the AAC the American leted confidence and they go slide that time to Foster and that was a lot of pop on that swing luck for an early time out here from Robin Mo they can't get un trapped SMU they're hitting around 600 here nine serving four on one knee the pass there by Alexander they go slide and this is MIL Sylvester and she gets rejected Maya tabon who has had her fingerprints figuratively and literally all over this opening frame so far she gets the stuff and it's a 4 nothing run here for the Mustang perfect block arms over the net pressing down very tough go by that block serve there by frer tickles the tap here's the slide again Sylvester blocked again rattled around in return Advantage here for the Mustangs they run the slide and it is Foster blocked now they go the other way tabon the big wind up off the fingertips right there isik Naga the swing by adami misses the floor wide he had a little extra oomph laid into that one but poor not and here is the aforementioned timeout signal by Robin am Mo all Mustangs here early University of Hawaii Sports on Spectrum oc6 sponsored by your Hawaii Honda [Music] dealers drive into summer with a Honda CRV and Accord your fun to drive weekend getaway vehicles from Honda the 20124 Kelly Blue books kbb.com best valued brand so act now to get an offer you'll love buy online Reserve from select dealers or hurry into the Honda Summer [Music] Event it was important that 15 craigside allow pits because Viva are haves is part of our family we looked at all the other alternatives for senior living and 15 craigside presented the most comprehensive senior living services including guaranteed lifetime care from our personal experience what I would say to anyone considering moving into 15 cite is don't wait because the window of opportunity might not be there when you're ready Sunday the Hawaiian Airlines wah volleyball classic concludes with a showdown between Hawaii and San Diego rainbow wah volleyball on oc16 exclusively on Spectrum welcome back don't miss a second of the action watch Spectrum Sports on the go the Spectrum news app has the local sports you love and the news and weather that matter most to you download it today on your favorite devices well it is night one of the Hawaiian Airlines wah volleyball classic the traditional opener for the rainbow wah volleyball season and right now Hawaii with a lot of new faces in new places in this lineup they are going up against a formidable FL right now in SMU who has scored five in a row a dami from off the net had to take a little something off they run the slide it's Foster again Foster having a field day along with the other middle na okore Foster at 64 nice reach dami did a nice job of kind of taking that crosscourt angle but you Foster just hitting it so high and hard right now tough to stop [Applause] here is Sylvester it is dug up outside tabon off the block Lang gets her own cover here's adami Big wind up got blocked back hawas is there adami again and that time she drives it down all right Str struggling hitting right now hitting 059 SMU hitting 538 big difference in the offenses canola I love that little cut line shot played in just eight matches 12 sets overall a season ago had a season high four kills in her debut against Cal State Bakers field tabon hits it into the twine and that [Music] is well that actually got through Slither through the block got through the block and so that's a point for [Music] SMU SMU right now batting 571 I mention Hawaii at 059 that is a healthy [Applause] discrepancy off one footed Sylvester blocked and roofed and that is okore and there was a question here coming in C all of the losses from last year for Hawaii including their alltime great Amber iy in the middle who was such a presence both offensively and defensively and right now we are seeing some Growing Pains early on from this new crop of midd yeah especially Amber 2.0 struggling right now and that's an ace it is a 10-point Advantage here for the Mustangs and Robin Amo is going to signal for another timeout we take a break as well the Mustangs galloping [Music] welcome back let's go inside the numbers presented by Long's Drugs nine of 10 that's the number what a non-conference opponents ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes in the ABCA preseason poll the only team that is not receiving votes at the moment is UNLV a lot of it as C bter trying to get RPI points before he gets to the big West cuz that's when you lose in the LPI SMU effectively ranked 30th receiving 76 points and votes as that is a point no they're going to say that it is a point for SMU just missed the back line the crowd started to cheer I think they thought that that was in we are now going to have a substitution here a defensive sub as we get our first look at Victoria Lea the 58 freshman from El Paso Texas enrolled at the University of Hawaii in the spring [Applause] and quickly they serve the newcomer and quickly another point for SMU they are on an 11 to1 surge that was a tough serve all due respect to uh Lea that was a really tough serve so she's moved up about 3 ft now they go right back at her that time Lea handles it a lot better and the on hand set out to kayn Alexander these two have played alongside each other for multiple Seasons K Lang going to her top returning hitter so Hawaii's down 176 if you see the one-handed set here ha's down 176 that's only the second set for kayin Alexander I would have expected she would have gotten a lot more [Applause] sets and there is tabon wow does she look explosive tabon now with three kills SMU as a team CAC has just one hitting error yeah they're playing some pretty perfect volleyball right now outside it's Alexander and that one gets stuffed right back into her grill that was okore jumping up next to chame and this is an SMU team that went 26-7 last year they won the American Athletic Conference by going 18-1 their best Conference record in program history they feel like they are taking a step into as head coach Sam urer describes it the big time now by joining the ACCC that was a big time Crush by kayin Alexander and a much needed point for the rainbow wah once again kin facing two blockers on the outside they're closing nicely almost a perfect block kayen says okay I'm not going to go into the block this time I'm going sharp Cross Court oh it's a beautiful shot oh SMU out of system and it's a free chance here for Hawaii can they cash it in no the stuff again it is tabon getting the gist of that one now as their offense working how about their defense for the blocking they got everything going on and and by the way they're serving time tabon with three kills and three blocks and now she serves middle set it's famis and she hits it long no touchup front 21 serving seven this is an unfamiliar scenario for a rainbow wah volleyball team yeah it really is pass by Alexander is a good one outside it's h and right now this block up front for the Mustangs is impenetrable CH jumping up next to okore that is now five Total Team blocks for SMU in set1 I don't think they have a blocker that's under 61 the middles are 64 and they move well here's Alexander and again two blockers up they are reading this Hawaii offense it doesn't look as though Hawaii's been that successful in getting one-on-one matchups it seems like every time it is crowded at the net and we're going to have a substitution here for Hawaii Jon bamis heads to the bench and now a true freshman out of Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth California 511 Frost Maddie wayy takes over in the middle [Applause] highing away the set goes to hawas tips it over quick reset here it's chame puts it down that's some you can do no wrong they are hitting over 600 it is a lwha ball in set one and this has been nothing short of dominant sh just having her way hitting a thousand right now and she's got a service Ace a dig and two blocks diving layout pass there by Alexander the Deep Touch by way causes some problems on the SMU side here's way that one got slowed down by the net now sh the tip in the middle of the floor and SMU comes in and scorches the Teraflex 257 we'll be back welcome back let's check out tonight's Hyundai head-to-head statline and this tells the story of what was a very one-sided opening frame SMU hit 647 they committed just one hitting error as a team Hawaii 138 uh about as nightmarish a start as Haw you could have imagined and SMU did it from the service line and just about everywhere else yeah they really sered tough they had three service Aces but a number of serves that forced bad passes where Hawaii couldn't run any plays getting any kind of offense going blocking they had five blocks to Hawaii's one look at that one-on-one right there by [Applause] to K and Alexander face two blockers all night long they seem to have a pretty good Scouting Report don't you think can yeah they were on to Hawaii's rhythms Maya tabon who had three kills and three blocks in that first set was just all over the place 61 grad transfer from Colorado had over 330 total kills in each of her three seasons with the buffalos out of Gilroy California and it's all smiles right now for the [Applause] Mustangs you got to remember that how old they are again I'm going to repeat again nine of their 18 nine of their 14 players are seniors or graduate students you never see that in any kind of roster this is a really old roster five of them have ARP cards s Cullen one of those such players a grad student now in her third year with SMU spends a couple of years at Michigan State before transferring over and she serves it out and Hawaii has the lead here here to start set two L changed their lineup a little bit they rotated three spots so they get different matchups up in the front row outside this is chame tip shot diving save hawas bump set Alexander oh what an up by Chim but four KN and this crowd lets out a long anticipated and pent up Roar to celebrate that ha Point really this dig there by that Kate Lang or no T hawas out of the back row what a dig and that Alexander swing right there was vintage that's what I saw when I saw in practice how about that block there by bamis and it is Kate Lang who sends it out golden opportunity she decided to take a crack at it above the tape right decision you think right decision cuz it was close to the net it should have been an easy swing easy put down the center just sometimes get a little over anxious when they get their juicy little cry of killing the ball k l preseason all Big West Conference selection her 85th straight start at Setter for the rainbow wo sets up Alexander through the blocking down and all of a sudden Hawaii portraying a little bit of Rhythm here on it side of the net exactly the offense getting drawing passing a little bit better kayin Alexander tell me she was the most outstanding player I saw in practice all last two practices I went to she was Unstoppable in her third year with the rainbow wah former Big West Conference freshman of the year was all conference honorable mention last year and she returned it to [Applause] Center so not only that she does it from attacking she can block too wow what what's your penetration over the net here pressing the ball down on the other side great form hands perfect so Hawaii by three push D diving save eaga roll shot Alexander and it's going to be a Hawaii point and they're up five serving one here in the second what's going on here this Jackal and hide did we come to a jackal and hide [Applause] show it may have taken the rainbow wah a little extra time time to officially arrive here at the building they're getting touches now on some of these SMU swings middle said it's bayus blocked punched up by Alexander another quick middle and this time V puts it down another point for Hawaii they've scored four in a row they're up by a handful here 6-1 in the second nice little tap down by bamis in the middle love the article Billy Hall wrote about her this morning in the in the in the star Advertiser while she talked about how how she feels responsible in the middle to uh get the job done now that Amber IGI and Kennedy Evans are gone all right we're going to have a challenge here issued by Sam urer for SMU the officials uh you have Randy ruol who is across the way he'll be checking out the replay challenge he is the R2 Dixon Chun is the R1 on the near side he's standing at top of the ladder and then you have the line judges Matthew susumi and Kevin Chun so The Challenge from what we are gathering is a net violation against Hawaii let's see if we can catch it on our net [Music] P like the ball got a piece of the tape [Music] exactly should an easy call and I decision by Randy ruof they did add a little bit to the replay challenge as far as the kinds of plays the variety of plays that can be challenged you also have the ability now to challenge what would be interference calls at the net uh that wasn't technically something that could previously be challenged they have extended some of the range on what coaches can ask the officials to take a look at see what the call is here and they're going to call a net violation against Jon bamis that's going to be a successful challenge for Sam urer and that's going to be a point for SMU he using different cameras than we are they they do have some other angles available to them I don't see any any touch there it's all ball yeah yeah hard to see it at least in in that angle but they do have access to our footage as well as some other static cameras that are located in the building so two serving five that may swing the momentum just a tad Lang going outside here's hawas got under it was there a touch up front yes there was and Hawaii gets the point and we may have another challenge here because immediately Nia shame turned to her head coach Sam erer and said I did not touch it and so she is going to challenge this and this has always proven to be perhaps the toughest of all the challenges to be able to distinguish whether or not there was a touch at the net we should remind our viewers that uh as long as the coaches are right they have an unlimited number of challenges it could be a long night that's right that rule stays the same each team still with three challenges uh if you lose it then you lose that challenge if if you win it then uh you can hang on to it you also get an extra Challenge in a fifth set if we go to a [Music] fifth really hard to tell yeah this has always been the most difficult of the challenges but again they have access to some other angles as well didn't seem like there was anything conclusive either way there again the call on the floor was a touch let's see if we can see a confirmation or otherwise here I don't know CAC we'll see what the call is a quick decision though by Randy ruol and no touches the call so that is backto back successful challenges for Sam urer in her third season top the SMU program the 2023 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year led the Mustangs to the AAC title how about 22 wins and 26 wins respectively in her first two seasons as head coach that's pretty darn good she did come highly highly recommended backside set it's Alexander over the block a little high cheddar there for tabon nice job of centering it by the setter Cullen ha what you will play it back hakus the tip sliding save there Foster chame over the block dug up there by Stella dami and it is going to be a lift violation against Jon famous and that one cannot be challenged and that is also a point of emphasis this year they are trying to crack down on some of those carrying types of push dinks that perhaps have been adjudicated liberally to say the least the last few years so SMU fighting back alas out serve there by Bolton and Hawaii back up too it appears as though the rainbow wah have at least awakened here in this second frame and they are for they are forging a bit of a response here early however that serve gives it right back to SMU how about both teams hitting negative to set both of them the offenses have temporarily disappeared yeah uh SMU has yet to record a kill here in this second set they have one hitting error and no kills hitting negative 143 Hawaii with three kills but four hitting errors but playing some scramble volleyball as Alexander gets the touch and that time no argument from any of the Mustangs players Alexander gets kill number six to lead all swingers she averaged 3.1 kills for set that was second on the team behind amurai GD last year she hit 189 though and she referred to that campaign despite being an allconference honorable mention as the overpass is put down by Mee Sylvester kayin Alexander referred to it as a sophomore slump and she said that she really had to get after it in the off seon to put herself in position to reach what she believes is her standard tip shot diving save Alexander and that'll end up being a SMU point and I watching her practice the other day she was relentless on defense covering the other hitters and attacking it looked like a different kin Alexander from last year I think the trip to the national team uh tryouts I think really made a big difference when she and Kate Lang went there and were successful Lang has a track that pass down standing slap across there by Alexander there's a big swing by tabon away will have a chance here bump set e Naga to hakas two blockers up the cover there eaga back row Alexander The Tick nobody was home she found the open floor and way back up three she's got better Vision she has better shot selection she's hitting higher see she knew that spot was empty she knew there was an open SP on the court so well that Ken Alexander a year ago would not have made that same shot she is hitting 214 with seven kills Hawaii now in the positive numbers in hitting percentage 133 in this set and putting up some fight that was the thing that was shocking for a lot of the people here in the building it was definitely silent down the home stretch of that first frame SMU running away with it 25-7 and it just didn't seem to be indicative of the kind of fight that Hawaii volleyball teams put forth we're seeing much more of that here so far in this second set and that's the one characteristic that Robin Amo said she wanted to see out of this team this year that she knew they'd be young she knew they'd be a little on the smaller side and she wanted to see fight as you just described Foster with the serve tough serve at that here's a dami the tip and it's drops Stella with her third foot [Applause] down Stella seems to see an opening behind the block as well midle blocker Foster had to rush up to take a stab at it what a great serve I love Foster's serve really tough here's Victoria Lea again in and back to serve graduated a semester early from pebble Hills High School was ranked sixth in her graduating class of [Applause] 750 SMU out of system free ball coming over the net Lang going back row hakus the set a little low so she couldn't do much with it and then to the middle they go na okore strikes again the set was very low K Lang wishes she had that set back [Applause] and so now Celia Cullen back to serve diving pass there by Lea Alexander from off the net two hand save in the back row outside it goes tabon another big bash that is four kills now for Maya tabon that leads the Mustangs a side set to the outside makes it almost to the outside to the pin where tabon has a chance to go line and she does r going high and away it's Alexander And She lays the smackdown that's the Ken Alexander I saw the last two practices just hammering hitting with more velocity than I've seen her in her career so far 6 foot Jr from Alpharetta [Applause] Georgia that is a heavy-handed swing right back at you says Nia [Applause] shim and here is tab Bron and she serves it out so it was a blowout in the first set now we got a tightly contested battle uh led by as many as four when they were up 5-1 it is a two-point Advantage here at the moment and Kate Lang to serve tabon will get a swing from the back row dug up by Lang so eaga bump set Alexander blocked and roofed that is the first block of this second frame for SM you but they're sixth as a team overall I think Kevin Alexander would like to have that shot selection back high hands there would have been a much better choice rather than going low into that block it's a well formed block up their seventh block of the night they've really been doing a great job at the net the fifth hitting error for kayin Alexander the other choice will be will be chiseling the ball off the end BL blocker it's another choice so high and deep or chisel thean blocker take your choice but not into the meat of the block here's Ellie Bolton the grb transfer from kraton spent four years with the Blue Jays recorded a career high 295 digs that's 3.6 digs per set last year and there is Alexander again catching it in The Sweet Spot that was a tough sure was out but uh Ty put up a pretty good pass that time given given the circumstances yeah you could argue whether or not she should have even attempted to pass that but then it turned into a remarkable pass with the angle that she had meanwhile the serve goes long so this is turning into a bit of a battle of serving attrition at the moment three service errors on each side of course Sunday we'll have San Diego in the building go on the air here on Spectrum oc6 at 4:30 what a Serve by shame taia kanaga is passing an awful lot of Court still dam is right on the line over here for passing about half the court right now second Ace for chame fourth Ace overall for the Mustangs and that serve goes long so chame from fides and then she gives one away so here is Jon bamis had to buide her time playing in just nine matches 12 sets overall a season ago and how about that just like she scripted it and Hawaii gets the 15 first after getting clobbered in set one the rainbow wah picking themselves back up off the mat and issuing a challenge to the [Music] Mustangs well kin carrying the load here offensively for the rainbow wah she has Nine Kills to lead everybody and she is getting a whole lot of work in here CAC she really is two kills in the first set she's got seven here in the second and that's been the difference meanwhile We join live action and Jon bamis has just served an ace which was initially ruled out by the line judges overruled by the head official Dixon Chun and ruled in Ace and so coach uh coach urer asked your players hey should I challenge that and they said no it was a legitimate [Music] Ace actually the second Ace of the match in fact for famis jams wheeler in her fourth year with SMU getting that last kill a first team All American Athletic Conference selection last year she averaged 3.3 kills per set that was Tops on the team a season ago now Brook Frasier on the serve middle set and that's Sylvester and the connection not quite there so we missed this in real time but let's just take a look at the Jon bamis Ace smack dab on that sideline [Applause] yep so 15 Serv and 16 crucial juncture here of set two pass by Alexander tight to the net Lang sets up Stella adami off the block they run the slide this is Foster what a dig there by eaga here's adami through the block and down you one of the one of the big differences from set one to set two is the Bo's ability to pass better like that Hal kaga beautiful pass and they're just siding up at siding out at 75 71% first set 25% you're not going to win many volleyball game siding out at 21% so four kills that already matches her career high outside tabon the block slowed down dug up by ik Naga Sylvester blocked and ru roof Nana Sylvester being thrown into the fire here in her first Collegiate match as a true freshman 61 out of University lab school she comes in with a lot in the way of expectations uh her head coach Robin Amo refers to her as Amber 2.0 that is a whole lot to put on a true Frost but Sylvester who says she absolutely idolized Amber RI and watched all of the video and all of the available highlights throughout her career she's welcomes some of that pressure I think one the problems is she's going up against grad students across the net he's facing the midds that are been playing volleyball at the nc2a division one level for five years what you by two outside tabon dug up nicely done there by Lea what a get on Touch number two there by E Naga free chance though for SMU they go middle the block is up on okore outside tabon cross cord and wide no touch point for Hawaii there up [Applause] three coach urer call timeout I guess [Applause] not the first hitting error of the match for Maya [Applause] tabon here She is again slowed down by the block Sylvester got a piece they go out outs side kin lights it a [Applause] flame 10 kills for kin Alexander time out SMU the rainbow wahen looking to flip the script in set [Music] two welcome back kayin Alexander stepping game here particularly in this second set she has helped to elevate the rain aah she herself has elevated to the tune of 10 kills hitting 263 Hawaii by four out of the timeout trying to even this match up at one set a piece pinball action in the return on the tabon swing and over on two goes Cullen second time she's done that here in this match with a veteran Setter showing some veteran Savvy at 61 she touches over 10 ft so she's a Setter who can go up and put the ball down because she can jump so H she now Retreats back to serve crowd trying to get in her ear it's a good serve a good pass by Lea outside Alexander right down colak Calla so you sometimes wonder why I just sit Alexander all the time and be done with it she's just so on fire right now once that 11 kills nine of them in this set over pass famis couldn't get it po but a free ball coming over pass hawas Lang had to go down to make the set great pancake saved by Shem another free opportunity here for Hawaii Lang going step out famus is blocked in roof by [Music] shame Nia shame playing some defense yeah she really is look at that stretch out pops it up perfectly thought this is a good call by Kate Lang to go back that time to Sylvester give from Alexander just a little bit of a break well that ends she sets up Alexander she tried to go deep corner and just misses that end line that was awfully close and now Robin Amo going to signal for a timeout SMU creeping here back within two and Robin realizing they need to you would imagine just for the psychological value they need to win this second set absolutely they do not want to go down 02 for sure so I think she's going to be judiciously using her [Applause] timeouts let's send it over to Ryan Kay suji Ryan what's up hey thanks K here in the Hawaii sideline Robin taking some time to talk to her senior C Kate Lang about her selections about what she's doing offensively wanting her senior center to pay more attention to what the block is doing on the other side of the net for the SMU sideline uh the coaching staff really trying to get their players to calm down saying they're trying to do too much and try to get them back into the Rhythm that they had in the first set they're also telling their attackers to be smarter strategically with using Hawaii's hands they don't feel like Hawaii's blockers are well formed and that the hands are susceptible to getting used back over to you guys thanks a lot Ryan oh he hitting 09 7 in this second set meanwhile still just overall three hitting errors in the match for SMU but they just have not had as many opportunities to record kills here just six kills in the second set they're hitting a buck 82 meantime Hawaii had he's got nine errors in this set 19 overall too many hitting errors yeah that tells you as well SMU six kills on just 22 swings Hawai getting a lot of touches in this second set they're digging up a lot more of these balls that SMU is sending across coach erer did tell us the other day she said I want a low error hitting night I don't want our players taking a lot of chances just keep the ball in play play un let's have long rallies well so far so good on that stat Lang tried to go over on two then a little pitter patter above the tape backside chame and she she has taken over here in the last three points oh what an athlete she is that was a low set to the outside she had to be quick on her feet to get to that ball and she did a great job of it 20 serving 21 good Serve by tabon it's an Ace and we are all square at 21 a piece so what you led by as many as four in this set now it's a Race two4 So grain MO is not going to use her second timeout maybe after this play pass by ikaga is on the screws Alexander one hand save over the net by tabon fielded by bamis Alexander ripping into it and Hawaii back in front do you notice finally tonight she got a one-on-one situation because the middle blocker for SMU went up that time with Kate Lang thinking that Kate Lang was going to take a swing she is hitting the ball with some heavy power backside shim had to readjust the approach diving save e Naga Alexander from off the net the tip shot and right there is Cullen outside that one's going to be dug up punched over by bamis and they're going to call a double hit against Jon bis and so that calls upon the new rule that's being talked about here this year where they are in essence removing the double hit as long as the ball stays on the same team side if it goes over the net then if it is jostled it can still be called a double hit exactly that one tickles the tape last moment Alexander diving in there and hakus with a [Applause] crush didn't pick a better time to come out of her little mini Funk and get kind of in the rhythm [Music] again just her second kill of the match 23 serving 22 and Alexander one of Hawaii's best scoring servers the last couple of years with the serve and that one goes wide J misses the floor it is a loha ball here in set two for the home team a rare error from from sh who was hitting 444 prior to that almost Flawless Sam urer signaling for a timeout the last time these two teams met it was back in November of 2004 it was in the quarterfinals of the western Athletic Conference tournament in Reno for what you winning that one three nothing wasn't that a trivia question this morning oh you were listening to the radio were you I should have called and try to win two tickets for the bower ball game yeah both teams formerly members of the western Athletic Conference SMU of course in its first season now with the ACC but you see the alltime series Hawaii leading at 11 nothing so the Mustang's trying to do something they've never done and that is defeat the rainbow wah alsoo scores that's when the game was to 30 that was a long time ago 30 points SMU preseason picked a finish sixth in the ACC preseason poll and this is going to sound weird not this first part Pittsburgh the favorite this Part Stanford is picked the Finish second in the ACC I don't know if I'm going to get used to that anytime soon Stanford and ACC team poor Pack 12 oh man you feel sorry for a little bit don't you yeah I they're all over the place Washington State and Oregon State playing in the WCC yeah go figure and now those former Pack 12 teams are literally flying all over the place in every sport and so we'll see how that continues to develop because that is a pretty penny and it's kind of interesting of course they're not going to get a lot of empathy from Hawaii teams or fans because hey look that's that's Hawaii's reality each and every time time they travel but uh it's interesting to hear some of the conversation now about the distance and time zone changes in college sports that swing by Lamar by wheeler is dug up and then she's able to get her own dig here is shame over the block and down it remains a loha ball for Hawaii n CH is so athletic she had no approach then as a standing jump she just well yeah she one step one step approach and she just rips it surprised why I didn't get a block up there well she comes out and she's replaced by Reserve Setter Casey bonhurst from Houston Texas it's still Aloha ball and this one goes out and Hawaii responds after being Dr round out in set number one 25-7 Hawaii is able to turn the tide and we have ourselves a match here on opening [Music] night welcome back here are the Pizza Hut match statistics if this is an indication of what we are in store for here with those two set scores in 2024 buckle up holks oh man that was crazy how about the hitting percentage going give a lot of credit to Celia Cullen the center for SMU setting her team to a 378 percentage and uh you know they just played pretty steady actually uh I thought their blocking really poses all kinds of problems for Hawaii I think it's the biggest problem for Hawaii's offense is facing that big block but when you look at the disparity in hitting percentages between both sides how did Hawaii turn it around is it just the uh superhero cape dawned by kin Alexander yes in one word yes she was amazing absolutely was 12 kills to lead everybody the only hitter in double figures on 25 swings she has more than doubled anybody else on the Hawaii side in case she just yeah in case she just joined us she had 10 of those kills in the second set and by the way three kills per said is a good number and here She is again oh what a chase down there by Bolton free ball coming back over here's Alexander again a little extra Chili Pepper water on that offering but she misses the floor wide no touch up front she has added some pop to her arm swing here in 2024 yeah she really has you can tell miles per hour a little bit difference huh right ton into the twine and and it is tied one a piece here in set three well what you meanwhile unranked in the preseason ABCA poll it's the sixth straight year that that has occurred they are receiving votes however uh 20 total votes that puts them in that 38th range effectively and did that one get above the tape no it did not hitting error chame Hawaii with the lead 2-1 a rare error from sh she's been hitting over 450 most of the night now she's down to pre 64 and just dropped another notch down to 250 Naga the serve jump floater outside that is wheeler dug up back bump set Alexander that was a beauty from the true Frost Victoria Lea the back bump set to Alexander oh look at it Smiles all around look at this beautiful back blind back bump set and kayn Alexander starting to develop a little wider fan hitting not only crosscourt crosscourt crosscourt area five she can go lineing as well laa with the up oh that was smashed in her Direction no resistance she was able to still save it and then forces the hitting error as j a second time hits it into the twine Victoria Lea has arrived backto back all League plays right there oh man well Robin Amo and his coaching staff were singing the Praises of Victoria Lea and Robin has said for quite some time now you will see her on the floor alongside T eek Naga which is why she's not wearing herself a labero Jersey because they need to play together as that one is put down by NA okore and another rule change here this year where on the women's side you're able to establish two Laos on the Hai side however specifically uh they don't really feel the need to establish a second one because again you can only play one at a time and they want both of these defensive Specialists on the floor together in some instances as T hawas is able to get it down what was an out of system attempt and Hawaii up 52 things have changed so dramatically since the end of that opening frame well I thought we were going to be out of here in like half an hour next thing you know we're in a barn burer five serving two Lang sending it deep and the block is up Jason bis saying a that was one good block disciplined hands disciplined feet cressing over the net and [Music] [Applause] [Music] down outside and that one is punched through the block by jams wheeler yeah jasine bamis who has been a very offensive-minded middle through her career but one of the areas that she herself admitted she needed to work on last season was in her ability to block at the net to be more of a defensive presence and we saw that moments ago as the serve goes long andai back up four service era number seven on the night SMU more than double the amount of Errors Hawaii has they're going to run the slide it's Natalie Foster a little too hot to hand there for Alexander oh white hitting 250 here so far in set number [Music] three both teams coming off of NCAA tournament appearances last year both coming off Conference Championship Seasons a dam that was some extra s L right there from Stella dami tried to pick on Kay Alexander that time thinking she might put up a bad pass instead she put up a pretty good one and look at Stella drilling it down the [Music] line eight serving four and bamis sends it into the net you know what's interesting about these two teams as well CAC the roster numbers Hawaii with just 13 players on its r here in 2024 SMU with just 14 that will probably be among the two lowest numbers on any roster that we'll see all year oh that middle set floated a little bit on Milana Sylvester and so a Mis connection there between Lang and her freshman middle that's going to take some time to develop you you use the right word there floated it should have been driven there it should have been fired there as opposed to float it just took too long to get there six serving eight played off the net by Lang what a scramble by Hawai just to keep this sequence alive outside it is tabon and she tears into [Applause] it so it's ton getting back to her ways she now has five kills [Applause] Sylvester oh boy see much faster that ball was set that time the tempo was just what I think F needs when setting the middle that ball was on a line on a rope her second career kill as a rainbow wah she was a junior bow just a year ago and now playing on the big team BMP set it is a dami she's going to try to tip it deep right there is shame outside here's tabon tried to take line missed the court wide no way gets to the 10-point mark it was an opening set where it just seemed and felt like SMU could do no wrong and yet here we are we're starting to see thingss in the armor start to collect a little bit more in the negative Alexander has to chase down the second touch bump set to a dami el was a little too close to the net dami with a tough angle on it was unable to make the contact there an ambitious bump set you'd have to say there from klin Alexander I actually like that bump set she puts up close to the net even they becomes a joust that's okay uh but I think adami just got got a little lost there and fr was going to go over oh and that's an ace Celia [Applause] Cullen Ace number six on the night they really do serve tough they drive it hard balls a lot of movement on it see it movement moving there and just died at the end Cullen who has aspirations of playing professional volleyball of course there are now opportunities on American soil to do so a couple of newly established leagues oh miscommunication there as two players were going after the same set tabon off the block and out and SMU has drawn even oh what he led by as many as four it was 84 seemingly just moments [Applause] ago Robin Amo inducted into the USA Volleyball Hall of Fame earlier this year alongside Heather bound former Olympic teammate slide to Sylvester couldn't get it down here's tabon over the double block and out no touchup front and haai back in front Robin was saying that about that the Hall of Fame award oh you know I really don't like those Awards but the trip was really pretty pretty cool back there in Ohio uh no surprise at all that the response to being inducted into the USA Volleyball Hall of Fame from Robin Amo is I'm not really into the award stuff yeah but is so welld deserved free- time Olympian can't say enough about all the Honors that she's gotten throughout the years I mean quite literally one of the greatest to ever play the setter position CH little roll shot dug up by laa middle set Sylvester and that gets blocked back again a little off timed the connection there in the middle there's got to be a lot of gym work I think between Kate and Sylvester get that timing and connection down so important to have that middle [Applause] established outside here's Alexander that big whippy arm swing goes down the line and in that is kill number 14 for number 17 she there you know they see what they're doing they're taking away her crosscourt giving her line sort of almost challenging her to see if she's got a line shot she says okay I'll take it outside and that one put down by jams wheeler a good pass there on a pretty tricky Serve by jams wheeler and that's something that her head coach has laed her for calling her one of the best passers quite frankly in the country yeah she had a out of a three-point skill she had like a two 21 22 23 kned at 12 they run the slide here is bamis and she gets it home Jackson fam with her second kill good on K Lang to keep on feeding those middles give them chances give them swings keep that middle honest see only one-on-one situation right there because the middle blocker thought that that the set was going to go to the outside out serve there by Lang as it drifts [Applause] long now we have a substitution on the SMU side as they will bring in Casey baon horse again to serve third year with the program led the team with 34 Aces last season inaga handles that one middle set bis and the connection between Lang and bamis seems to be pretty strong here in this third frame it'll get better and better as the night goes on we'll [Music] see good swing by damis a 2021 graduate of Vaga prep in Spokane Washington where she competed in volleyball and track and field and that one just long this may be challenge there are fans in that corner of the Arena imploring Robin Amo to challenge and she quickly grabs the replay challenge card that I will say even from our angle in real time looked like it was in let's [Music] see ooh very close very close another angle might be necessary that was pretty interesting and not only did you have some of the Hawaii players who were saying I think it was in you had the fans in that corner that looks like it might be in you had fans in that corner of the Arena they were screaming for Robin Amo to challenge you had a whole lot of line judges over there on that on that play exactly I think it's it's good for her to do that I think it was great that you picked up on all the fans doing that cuz I didn't notice that but uh you know there's a lot of people that saw that ball uh and it looked like more of them thought it was in than not and it will be reversed it will be in it is an ace a successful challenge for Robin Amo and she points to some of the fans in that corner so ha gets to 15 Timeout on the floor Robin issuing a challenge Hawaii doing the [Music] same welcome back my how things have changed in this match meanwhile you have former rainbow wah toia Edmonds who is going to be part of our uh Spectrum oc6 broadcast crew she'll be a part of the game on crew on Sunday when we have Hawaii and San Diego on the final day of the Hawaiian Airlines wah volleyball classic good two hand save there by ad dami but a free ball coming back over here for SMU big Advantage they're going to run it outside this is wheeler dug up by E Naga back row Alexander oh what a dig there by Bolton back over the net again Alexander in the back row but that one was off the mark over on two tries to go Cullen sniffed out by Lang here's hawas and misses the court wide she wanted a touch no such call and so it is an SMU point so you want to be a volleyball line judge a o look like might have been a touch there she took the right shot though going across court she would have been block I like the fact she tries to use the edges of that outside blocker here's a dami what a dig and that one blasted through the block there by Maya tabon the Dig by Brook [Applause] Frasier who had a career high 270 digs last year she's now in her second year for SMU wear in jersey number six and she came up with a rocket dig and we're tied again 15 [Applause] all middle set it is bamis two hand saved there by Bolton tabon lights it up again she now has eight kills she leads the Mustang Squad in that category and SMU in front she was hitting 0 0 0 just two swings ago in this third set she was two kills two errors all of a sudden now she's found her groove and coming out of that timeout SMU was hitting 059 they bumped that up a little bit adami the tip and Diving save back over the net middle set again Off the Mark as Lang and vamus not on the same page that was a tough ball to set too very tight to the net very difficult to set setting the ball outside might have been better but it was a tough tough look so 17 serving 15 four straight points here by the Mustangs backside it's hawas she gets blocked here's a dami two blockers up that one tight rope walks the top of the tap double hit and it's going to be a double hit called against the Mustangs that's going to be on Natalie Foster she touched it before it rolled a top the net and then touched it after it drifted back over to the SMU she do get she do got credit for being a blocker she was standing on the ground there I think she almost touched it below the height of the [Music] net touches it there and then she touches it again yeah so that's a illegal and damus serves it WR a pivotal third set and a pivotal juncture of that third set here as SMU has taken a two-point advantage and Natalie Foster to serve she has a pair of aces in this match course is the overpass it'll be fielded by tabon from off the net the set a little off the Mark L going middle to Sylvester and she pain brushed it but it still counts as a traditional point in the book and she gets the kill nice little cutback maneuver by mie who's got by the way 11 siblings they can play a whole volleyball game in the backyard if they want she's actually a remarkable story played for University lab school last year spent previous three years of high school at Central High School in Missouri as what he ties it up courtesy t hawas [Applause] [Music] imagine what it' be like to have 11 siblings I had a hard time with [Applause] two she has Seven Sisters Three Brothers ranging from age 7- 31 [Applause] yeah out of system here it's tabon trying to time the jump and she smokes it past that Hawaii block oh Hawaii looked like they were loading up on her too but it didn't matter ton just so athletic she can take any kind of a set and put a good swing on it here's the setter Callen 19 serving 18 and that is going to be a block as the pass was tight to the net and tabon stuffing what was a dump shot attempt it appeared by Kate Lang the ball had drifted in that in between gray area above the tape two-point Advantage SMU [Music] timeout welcome back we have more rainbow wah volley ball coming your way next week when Pepperdine comes in for a pair of matches September 6th and September 7th there is tiia Edmonds getting some love on the big screen overhead one of six [Applause] seniors to depart from the program a season ago here is Sylvester on the slide denied access by tabon think M's got to learn that line shot there you only one blocker up the blocker was taking the crosscourt shot you he's got to learn how to hit that Cross Court one and the line shot now this third set starting to slip away here from Hawaii it is 21 serving 18 Lang had to chase it down adami has to bump it over Advantage Mustangs they go backside no blockers up against Jame it was hitting practice and she pulverized it and a timeout taken by Robin Amo oh the twists and turns that we have seen in this match haai he SE seemingly with the advantage but all of the sudden serve receive has become inconsistent over the last stretch yeah a lot of that credits got to go to the SMU servers they're serving really really tough taking a lot of risks a lot of chances serving really hard you know high as high of miles per hour as they can get and the ball is moving a lot tough to pass all right let's send it back over to Ryan what's up hey thanks going well some frustration here in the Hawaii sideline with the coaching staff actually taking time to talk to each other about what options that they have earlier in the last time out Robin Amo again taking time to talk to Kate Lang about just delivery and overall execution actually calling Jackie Matias the backup Setter over Midway through this set to have her sit next to the coaches so that she can monitor what Kate is doing Robin may be looking for a switch here as we head into the last parts of this set back over to you guys yeah it looks like there might be a change here we shall see you have a couple of players standing Courtside that is reserve Setter Jackie Matias on the left and Tyler ree Mane a junior outside hitter on the right in what is a high leverage and crucial stage of this third set and effectively of this match robin Amo seemingly ready to make what would be a very significant couple of substitutions down four in the early 20s not a bad time to actually try it uh the offense has been slipping I think one of the things that what he's got to look at is the is the passing pattern right now K Alexander is passing middle of the court and she's taking an awful lot of Court meantime taga is on the right side not oh now they're switching around they're putting T in the middle she's taking a lot of court so Tyler re a red shirted a season ago played a couple of years at Casper College in Wyoming comes in in a big moment and the serve goes long I guess the substitution work great substitution huh those coaches are brilliant AR I mean just paying immediate dividends yeah see the intensity of Robin Amo you know when we talk about how she say she doesn't like the awards it's not that she's not honored by it she just doesn't like the attention yeah but she did take some time in the aftermath of that distinction by USA volleyball to reflect on her amazing career three-time Olympian played internationally for so many years now obviously the head coach at alma mater what a Play Tyler re man where did that come from oh my goodness and how did she know back left was open set is way inside she's going to go chase it down if she'd hit it she'd been blocked so she two hand fists it over and finds the Open Court a 2021 graduate of AA High School played volleyball soccer and even played one year in football as a varsity level kicker yeah quite the athlete quite the big shot in this Opening match so the substitutions are made two straight points for Hawaii here is Victoria Lea again to serve down the line set going right side but Off the Mark free chance here for Hawaii Matias going outside Alexander threw the blocking down Hawaii within one okay took a tough Serve by Victoria Lea some good defense and how about this offensive attack by kayin Alexander she's just powering it through the block now not even trying to avoid it she's just challenging the [Applause] block 15 kills for kin so far three straight points for Hawaii Lea again gets it in forces the overpass Alexander puts it down we're tied at 22 time out Mustangs the last two serves by Victoria Lea have just been on on the money really tough to pass Ball's moving a lot coming at a high speed putting SMU out of system that one's an [Music] overpass Robin Amo playing the youth card look at all of the new faces out there on that floor a lot of newbies out there you're [Music] right meanwhile 16 kills for one of the more familiar faces in kin Alexander on 33 swings she's hitting 273 seems like that first set when Hawaii got waxed 257 was a long time ago cuz it has been an utterly competitive match since here as we head down the home stretch of set three kayin doing some coaching there in the in the huddle she's taken on a lot more leadership this year along with ta and Kate Lang the three of them have really taken up upon themselves to guide this team's culture and uh try to build that chemistry as quickly as they can not much time they got training camp and then they got first match and then it's go [Applause] [Music] [Applause] time talk about some of the Fresh Faces Stella adami with six kills that's second on the Hawaii team obviously kayin Alexander carrying the brunt of the load but that is a career high for Stella previous high was four kills in her debut last season against Bakersfield 22 all it's a race to three here CAC and Lea gets it in again outside chame crosscourt wrist away forget about it [Music] that was a big time shot Canela both blockers formed well in front of her and she just does that little wrist away and down with speed with heat and now one of the toughest servers for SMU Maya tabon pass by Lea is on the money outside Alexander rocks it again [Applause] how about this youth movement Victoria Lea playing in her first official match as a rainbow wah and when they needed the most right there she put that pass on the screws y she did she had a monster dig in the last in the last set it was crucial and then two great serves this last turn you can nowo with the serve 23 all backside Chim dug up by Lea bump set Alexander against the double block works it through it's AA B for the rainbow [Applause] a down 228 slipping quickly did you think they go up to 2423 I didn't and look at Kate Lang animated on the sideline rooting on her teammates despite the fact that she was substituted out when hawu found itself down 2218 there's a serve that caus us some trouble right there Center pulled off the net how about the Dig by Lea hopp straight up nice little bump set by Ty tame woo she put it up there pretty good quick reactions well let's get a quick hit from Ryan K suji what's up Ryan hey thanks Kono well SMU on the some new sideline here the coaching staff really just trying to get their players to set it on they believe that the passing has just broken down the coaching staff telling their passers you guys can do this we we're confident in our platform all we have to do is just move our feet one thing they're saying is no campfire they're feeling that balls are falling in between players play campfire defense they want to make sure that no ball falls to the ground that shouldn't be going after aggressively on the Hawaii sideline Kate Lang really taking time to talk to all the players on the court doing all she can to help her fide that coaching from the sideline back over to you guys thanks a lot Ryan oh white you're hitting 219 in this third frame SMU hitting 214 and K Lang one of the two seniors on the squad Robin Amo decided at that late juncture down 228 and she needed to make a change Hawai has responded and you got to give K Lang a lot of credit because she is there rooting her teammates on yeah great leadership setting a great example for other players who later on might get pulled how are they going to behave aoha ball for set three and a match lead e Naga to serve and ser pulled the set her off the net here's CH crosscourt and down my goodness she is a load Nine Kills that matches tabon for Tops on SMU side and we're into extras here we're Deuces 24 a piece volton the serve pass by Lea what a beauty middle set famous blocked no they're going to say it goes off of the tape so no block on SMU side a four hit violation on Hawaii's end and it is now aoha ball in favor of SMU golden opportunity there for bamis Bolton pass by Lea another perfect one money is blocked in roof and SMU hangs on they take it 2624 and take a two sets to one advantage the rainbow W showed some grit and they made it awfully interesting serving for set three but it wouldn't work out in their favor welcome back time now for the Hawaii Honda dealer's highlight reel and uh the majority of highlights put in by kayin Alexander here tonight how about 18 kills so far she has 12 of those I believe in the second set alone and she just continues to hammer away but the thing I think she'd be most proud of Canoa she's hitting 314 she had 190 last year that's the one thing she really wanted to improve in and certainly she is yeah she was awfully candid talking previously in the runup to this season opener about how she felt like she had gone into a sophomore slump last year and uh if only all slumps were like this she still averaged 3.1 kills per set she did as you said a hit 189 on the year but she was still second on the team in Aces she was still six in the Big West Conference in kills per set but she felt like that wasn't good enough and obviously understanding the circumstances at play with three returning starters she being one of the deao leaders on this squad just based on her experience she felt like she needed to improve her game and it came in the practice gym yeah and definitely and I think one of one of the times where she really got to learn about what hardcore volleyballs like is when she went to the national team and got in that gym she found out how important it was to bring your A game on every play not take any plays off as we see one of the aame coaches right there Dave Shi recently returned from Paris France where he saw his son Eric have an amazing tournament yeah it was a whole uh Shi Ohana trip it was a whole experience as a kavika the for for two-time Olympian was there to support his brother playing in his third Olympic Games and how about the former All-American middle Victoria Prince former rainbow wah great who it was just announced is now joining the coaching staff for the rainbow wah beach volleyball program yep good addition they'll be great for her and great for the program win-win all the way around yeah good to have her back in the house meanwhile a two sets to one advantage here for SMU Hawaii once again going to have to reach down deep try to get back into this thing backside here is sh the block slowed it down Alexander loads up and she gets it through the block and maybe going back to that last sequence of set three maybe the second guessing would be in that situation how you don't go to kayin Alexander in that moment you're right absolutely outside that is chame hits it into the twine you know one thing we haven't seen is the usage of her out of back row hitting some some bicks or some pipes meanwhile Kate Lang back in at Setter here to start this fourth set Jackie Matias giving her a spell towards the end of that second frame and here is Maya tabon just doing May T Bron things into double figures now 10 kills SMU got here early they got in at about noon on Tuesday Sam urer saying our goal was to as quickly as possible adjust to Hawaiian Time Alexander oh good dig there by Bolton set going outside and that one tipped over by wheeler away able to play it back Alexander couldn't quite curl that one down it goes long and it's a point for the Mustangs when they had a nice trip to the NorthShore yeah so they have a grad assistant out of puno Cena uluave who was also the American Athletic Conference labero of the year last season and there she is now on the bench has that grad assistant position she also played at Toledo and Witchita State Alexander oh what a layout save there by Bolton and an amazing job by the Mustangs just to keep this sequence Alive Now bamis is blocked the cover there by Alexander right back to Alexander goes Lang she's blocked bamis sets up Alexander off one foot she's blocked again and now a free ball will go wide of the Court well the wall was up there on the SMU side back to the SMU pre-match activities that went out to the NorthShore I think ULU arve had their you know their uh they big nice dinner at their house went a poan Cultural Center yeah uluave who hails from LA and so she had the family hookups they hung out at the beach they went to PCC it was a great experience on all accounts on the SMU side as Alexander is able to get the touch and she gets to 20 [Music] kills L one of the key losses from last year's roster for SMU along with Emma clir who was the 2023 American Athletic conf conference Player of the Year a middle blocker oh sh is blocked and then punches it over but it was wide of the antenna and that was one of the first times that Hawaii has been able to send one back at NAA sh yeah talk about the the blocks right now 123 in favor of [Applause] SMU Lang now to serve floats it short just passed the net and there is jams [Applause] wheeler the great St Jam wheeler that coach ER tell us about she's the only player because of her work e ethic she's seen her go from touching 911 they touching 105 in 6 months you don't see that kind of increase that just shows how much she got after it in the weight room Alexander the tip nice reaction there by shim here is wheeler the push dink diving save e Naga Alexander that one dug up by Cullen from set CH lining it up o dug up by Lea tight to the net we got a joust up there Hawaii will keep it alive on its side backside Alexander one hand saved by Bolton what a rally and then jams weeder for the punctuation mark J wheeler starting to light it up now becoming much more involved in the offense picking up kill number six out of Austin Texas mentioned she was the first team All American Athletic Conference last season had seven double doubles had over a th000 kills in 48 aces in 2022 famous connecting on her fourth foot down I like that set much more than the direct on the setter set I like to set in the Gap right there call it a gap set and uh it's set between two blockers as opposed to going right at one blocker who Smothers you most of the time outside that is wheeler nice job guarding that end line by Alexander here's a dami a dig by tabon wheeler again touch shot and it falls wide of the floor oh gets the point and they inch forward [Music] [Applause] 65 Alexander 20 kills on 45 swings and sends it into the string she also has six digs how about Tay eaga 10 digs double figures for her here in this match and six digs for the Freshman Victoria Lea three of which were unbelievable [Music] [Applause] yeah ad dami tried to tip it to the middle of the floor right there was baiton horse push in by wheeler tough angle H how did she do that oh my just out of baon horse reach baon horse going out now you know interesting story on Bon horse her older sister Ally played from Nebraska for many years and she was like the number one portal recruit she goes to SC and they played today in their opener and they played the team that Hawaii will play next week pepper yeah it's almost like you have some inside information there with that USC program kind of watch a little bit of the games I want to learn what pepperine is doing next week you know I got to do my homework okay maybe keeping an eye on a particular assistant coach as well oh nice dig by Alexander outside here's adami the touch that one was tight to the pin adami had to extend about as far as she could and she made it work a what up [Music] to little to move down the line I like way the why he's starting to white hitters are starting to use the edge of the block as opposed to hitting in the meat of the block service error for pamis that's now eight service errors for Hawaii compared to nine for the [Music] Mustangs going to probably be key for the rainbow Wun to minimize the service errors try to apply as much pressure as possible from the service line Haus blocked back here's adami punches it through that block was able to squeak it through and Stella adami now with eight kills she keeps breaking her record her own her own personal record right yeah all time adding to her new career high as a rainbow wah this being her second year listed at 5'11 that might be charitable easily overlooked and probably one of the reasons why she was not more widely recruited by some of the power Conference teams like Nebraska in Nebraska she's from Nebraska despite the fact that she was a three-time state champion and a Max Preps All-American however a campfire moment as the rainbow W had one of those you got it I got it nobody gets it type of situations [Applause] B Lang substituted out again moments ago Jackie Matias taking over the setting responsibilities dami is blocked back Matias this time going the other way it's mané it's dug up along the back line by chm tabon sniffed out there by Matias bump set adami the Hop skip jump approach and it's going to be a net violation I believe against SMU somebody got caught in the tap and so Hawaii gets the point I think it's NY okore that time so 10 serving a let's see if we can catch it on the net cam yeah there it [Music] is about the serving by Victoria Lea she has been consistent and then the two need dig tip shot Alexander doesn't go tabon trying to push dink it past the block Lea back bump set Alexander I'll tell you what Victoria Lea is putting in work in her first career match she's having a career night wouldn't you say well so is number 17 klin Alexander who just tied her career high with her 21st kill on her 47th attempt they run the slide this is okore there there's Lea off the Ricochet middle set Sylvester gets it home four kills now for mil sester if you squint your eyes CAC yeah just the the motion the movement the hand size all of that stuff there is some Amber that you can absolutely see in Milana Sylvester 2.0 that's what Robin aro's saying the block back oh nice chase down there shame free ball coming over the net big opportunity here for Hawaii Matias going middle was a little low Sylvester couldn't put a good swing on it tabon does but Sylvester slows it down and then over on two goes matiz pinballed around and returned Matias going outside Alexander had to slow up the approach SMU coming the other way tabon is blocked sh the cover outside again tabon blocked again Bolton this time scooping it up tabon a third time no Lea bump set here's [Applause] Alexander oh my goodness M Sylvester a couple great blocks and a couple great touches how about Lea with that bump set to get the assist [Music] [Applause] welcome back it's a new career high for kayin Alexander 22 kills on 49 swings CAC hitting 265 for the night he only had two kills in the first set didn't get that many sets but sets two three and four she is lighting it up oh what you buy five here in a must-win fourth set they run the slide do the Mustangs to na okore had such a hot start to this match in that opening frame that's her fifth kill she still has yet to commit a hitting error but that's where things have changed dramatically that first set SMU hit 647 compared to Hawaii negative 138 but right now you look in this set SMU is at 080 they're now at 263 overall for the match good pass there Alexander middle set Sylvester didn't put a big crack on it now tabon you know she will off the block Le of the Dig outside Alexander the quick burst tried to take line but she misses wide her 50th attempt of the evening comes up empty oh boy should took a good swing at that ball just missed hitting the end blocker's hands calling the setter with the serve thought balls out Alexander crosscourt look at that dig by Bolton that was magnificent Advantage Hawaii here's money off the block and down Tyler Reese money like like she tried to use the end blocker not go into the meat watch her turn and go down the line there trying to use that end blocker's hands a lot of credit for that rally goes to Bolton as you said that was a terrific dig to keep the rally alive for SMU middle set okamura is blocked nice play there by bamis and then man did she get the touch no touch tried to go high hands SMU gets the point well we thought that there would be some necessary growth required by this Hawaii team with so many new faces in Prime and important positions that we're almost seeing that growth taking place in one match famous blocked and roofed okore with her seventh block of this match that is team block number 14 for the Mustang yeah she's been so good at the net really good hands moves well her eyes read the read the setter well [Applause] Alexander crosscourt and wide and SMU putting together a little run here that's three unanswered you start to wonder Kay Alexander who put in so much work in the off season in the weight room in conditioning on the Teraflex that's a lot of work they've been asking her to put in tonight [Applause] though mané Cross Court and wide and SMU has tied it up just like that a 40 run and Robin Amo going to signal for a timeout Hawaii I think she took a I think she's challenging oh it looks like she is going to challenge Hawaii seemed to have all the momentum at 1410 the crowd was into it but just like that SMU has changed the vibe here and we'll see what the challenge is it might just be a straight in- out challenge I think oh that might be [Music] in there was no crowd in the corner urging her to challenge that one that time that was just pure all these people over here on this side of the court that looks awfully close C is they're enough to overturn the call though is the big question call on the floor was wide I I think there is that one's hard to tell a little blurry Mr Schmidt can you make that a little more Focus please talking about our producer Dan Schmidt the big boss man the big boss Randy ruol the boss man right now of the replay challenges you can see possibly some of the angles that he has to work with again there's some static [Applause] cam pieces of footage that are available and so he's able to zoom in and do all that stuff on some angles that we don't have at our disposal and it looks like the call will [Applause] stand so Robin Amo loses the challenge have one left [Music] and we're tied at [Applause] 14 here is Maya [Applause] tabon high and Away set goes to Alexander and she blasts it off the hands and out so Robin Amo sticking with Jackie Matias through this rotation and now appears to be utilizing Kate Lang and Jackie Matias in almost a two- Setter type of approach as Kate Lang comes in now on his back to [Applause] serve and it's a good serve it's an a serve pretty good substitution she's been playing some good notes when it comes to the subbing talking about Robin after to the game K back pte credit for that one that's my guess great serve 16 serving 14 another pulls a Setter off the net broken play this is wheeler that was a blasty blast from jams [Applause] [Music] wheeler prepped at Lake Travis High School was a district MVP played Club ball for Austin Skyline and has just been prolific throughout her SMU [Applause] career and a little paintbrush there for bamus but she got the job done still goes down as a kill in the kill call saw that look she flash to her Setter K Lang like whatever works and meanwhile Alexander serves it into the net this fourth set looking a lot like set number [Music] [Applause] three what he wasn't able to finish the deal serving for that third set at [Applause] 2423 backside it's hawas blocked and roof another stuff for this SMU [Music] [Applause] Squad here's more of the reaction after that vamis paintbrush kill T Haus enjoying the moment as well Hawaii led by as many as five here in this fourth set ad dami slowed down by the block outside it is wheeler haakas with the touch from the back row Alexander is dug up wheeler again pass the double block and out was there a touch no touch was called we're going to get a challenge from SMU coach Sam [Applause] urer and they're going to challenge a touch so no touch was called and it's been a busy evening here for Ruben off [Music] yeah it's a pretty good challenge this at least four hands up there that could have touched [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it I didn't see anything there did [Applause] you nope no fingers being P back see if this angle helps [Applause] again and again it must be said we are at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to the replay angles that we have at our disposal Randy ruol has some of the static cam footage from different cameras placed around the arena to work with and some of those because those cameras unlike what we are showing on our broadcast aren't moving along with the ball uh sometimes have a a greater propensity to show whether or not there was a touch right yeah that's just a little bit too difficult as far as the resolution is concerned to distinguish one of the longer challenge reviews from Randy ruol who's been fairly efficient you'd have to say here this evening yeah I would agree it's almost like this one he has to go to all six cameras around the full rotation he is making his determination known to the official scores and let's see survey says the call will stand it is a lost challenge for Sam urer and they'll have one challenge left so each team now with one challenge remaining if this goes to a fifth there will be one more tacked on 18 serving 17 Hawaii trailing two sets to one on opening night of 2024 first match of the Hawaiian Airlines W volleyball classic back row chame slowed down by the block the Dig by Lang bump set goes to Hopkin the cover there by Lang off the block adami blocked in rof oh she was denied Celia Cullen getting most of that one jumping up next to Foster another very efficient SMU block actually the block a little split there dami tried to go line and uh col would have had none of it 61 Setter who touches over 10 [Applause] ft pass a little tight to the net we're going to get an interference call yes we will that is going to go against Natalie Foster and so that is actually a call that can now be [Applause] challenged what do you think CAC was this still on the Hawaii side or was it above the tape yep still on Hawaii side this a correct [Music] call had it been 50/50 or any car breaking that line then it would have been uh anybody's Ball but when it's on Hawaii side to hold ball can't touch it and it's an ace Jackie Matias dealing one out of the deck pops looking on one of the great home run hitters in the history of uh baseball not a lot of reaction but you know he's loving it big time swing there Maya tabon to silence the crowd momentarily block a little late getting out there but tabon now with 11 kills hitting 235 it is coming down to a photo finish here in the fourth 19 serving 20 into the net it [Applause] goes this was very similar to the opportunity Hawaii was given in set three they weren't able to close it out there trying to force a decisive fifth set and Victoria Lea will [Applause] serve and gets it in tabon crosscourt and wide no touch haai up three s you one timeout left let's see if they use it here y they are timeout Mustangs will take a break as well Hawaii not how [Music] yet order Pizza Hut now and get a free large pizza later that's a free pizza on your next order so you can pizza now then pizza again free pizza means your next dinner is covered your future self will thank you get it while it's hot only at Pizza Hut at Kaiser prominente our connected team approach allows us to understand the different aspects of your care the level of communication we have it's Coordinated multidisiplinary Care it's really the future of medicine it's not just patient- centered care it's patient driven we're not just treating conditions understanding the whole person builds trust and leads to better outcomes we all work together to care for all that is you Kaiser Permanente it's that time of year again have you gotten your yearly vaccinations long drugs wants to turn cold and flu season into vaccination season vaccines are an effective way to avoid getting common illnesses and help reduce your symptoms if you do get sick check with your Longs today for vaccination availability and schedule an appointment vaccination season may be a bonus but luckily your lungs has everything you need of day want a real Taste of New York the classic New York Style Pizza offers a big bold taste that's a Hawaii favorite handmade to Perfection on a crust that's 30% larger than our Larch it's just $1.99 for carry out classic New York style pizza only at Hawaii Pizza Hut welcome back so here's the scenario Hawaii trailing two sets to one three points away from claiming this fourth set and forcing a decisive fifth here on opening night of the 2024 season and the Freshman playing in her first match Victoria Lea with the serve outside it is tabon dug up only momentarily and then running out of room a bit of a crash scene over there on the bench good effort by Tyler re [Applause] [Music] mané Robin Amo again sticking with some lesser experienced Players let's say Hawai largest lead is 138 they led by five see if they can Alexander dug up by Bolton over on two goes Cullen what a save diving pancake by Matias to help keep it alive outside ton oh my word wa that was big time Matias gets under does the pancake another great move by Matias to change direction how about that shot by tabon wow signaling for a timeout tabon 13 kills on 37 swings hitting 243 next highest kill producer for SMU is Nia sh she has 10 kills hitting 148 we'll get you caught up on some other statistics uh career night for kin Alexander career-high 23 kills on 55 attempts getting 28 meanwhile you have double figure digs for T eaga she has 10 and Victoria Lea in her uh debut nine digs one away from double figures uh speaking of digs kayin Alexander not only the career high in kills but also one dig away from a double double let's send it over to Ryan what's up it's going to well this is on the Hawaii sideline Robin really getting back just to basic coaching even during these timeouts she's actually physically having players put their hands up and she's moving along like she's The Hitter asking and trying to teach her blockers on where they should be lining up actually putting her hands on her players's hands trying to mimic what their hand position should be doing over the net spending a lot of time during these timeouts just teaching her team the basic skills of things like blocking back over to you guys thanks a lot Ryan yeah about as active a head coach as you will see in the sport of volleyball looks like uh that Robert wants to get a little bit older lineup in now I think I think that uh Kate's going to come back in and so is T [Music] hawas right on Q mané and Matias back to the bench and the setter CIA Cen for SMU getting ready to serve floats it over outside here's Alexander oh she wound up as though she was going to bring the hard and heavy heat instead she pulled the string and Hawaii up too and did you see that Cullen tried to pick on the young freshman Lea Lea put up a dime just per perfect right on the money she has been very impressive here in her debut Victoria Lea now eek Naga to serve 23 serving 21 SMU out of system highball bump set it's chame blocked and R famous jumping up next to Lang saying oh no you don't kayin Alexander in the front row now Bo he's got three chances wrap this one up in the fourth set Aloha ball for set four one hand set goes nowhere it doesn't get back over the net and we are going to a fifth on opening [Applause] night unbelievable are you not entertained welcome back rainbow wah volleyball a thriller to get 2024 [Music] started welcome back well first career start for Jon bamis and while there has been a little bit of turbulence at times she is starting to find her footing sea yeah it's going to take just going to take some time before the connection between the centers and the midds becomes more solid ID more smooth more predictable tonight has been a little bit I would say AR The Nine Kills one off of her career high we' got the DJ in the house on opening night DJ debox who was a regular over at Les morami Stadium get it and here he is now providing a little bit of the party atmosphere at simplify Arena at Stan Sheriff Center [Music] it's a scene man it's a scene here in mono it is pretty good Cloud tonight for a for a Friday night rain yeah the weather was a little iffy earlier some traffic around 4,000 I didn't get did you did you get the uh yeah I got you covered here uh through the Turn Style of 4,857 on a little over 6,000 tickets issued usually when you see the discrepancy with tickets issued and through the Turn Style you can usually blame that on weather on some of the traffic in the surrounding areas so uh perhaps that impacted things but yeah not [Music] bad I bet Sunday night goes up a notch close to 5 G's here on opening night and the fans that did show up they have gotten their money's worth it wasn't looking like it was going to be this dramatic in that first set hard to believe Hawaii lost that first frame 25-7 it looked like they didn't even necessarily belong on the same floor as SMU a team playing its first match as now a member of the ACC but Hawaii was able to respond taking set 2 2523 they were serving for set three 24 serving 23 but ended up losing 2624 another bounce back response in the fourth 25-21 and here we are a race to 15 for the match SMU serving first Alexander the set a little off the net scraped the fingertips of the block back row chame able to drive it through that proposed Hawaii block and down for her 11th kill block a little late in getting there and not forming well CH took advantage of it it is Natalie Foster serving and serves it out so Hawaii on the board one serving one momentum so key in a fif set scenario they enough to an early start very [Applause] important Naga to serve pass little tight to the net and a great play little improv there CIA Cullen who went over on two catching Hawaii off guard and putting SMU up one you see why she wants to turn pro she's got all the shots a really good Setter by the way to the pins down the middle and the back outside Alexander she put a whooping on that one Alexander career high 25 kills on a career high 58 attempts here this evening it's a good thing she's having a career night cuz four other people hitters are hitting negative he's carrying a big load ha he still hitting below 100 for the match outside CH oh she floated for a moment dug up there by laa that's her 10th dig Alexander roll shot diving save J how about that set to tabon blocked back punched up in the air by okore chame will send a free ball over the net and Vantage oh what elang backside hawas down the line and wide youal got blocked a lot in that first set tonight remember about two hours ago and now she's into avoidance attacking just feeling like oh no I don't want to get blocked again so I'm going to go go line and she's just missing she's hitting - 111 here in this match now tabon to serve L going middle it's vamis tabon the save off the block oh that middle set ill timed and Ill executed and okore punching it into the string and so we're tied at three a piece seawing along here early in the fifth from Stella adami back in the lineup she's hitting for a positive number he's hitting 270 Nine Kills and that serve just drifts long and it's another Elemental aspect of a fifth set scenario you got to get your serves in you don't want to be giving away freebies you don't want to be serving lollipops either Ellie Bolton now to serve four serving three here in the fifth pass by Alexander is a good one hakas off the block and down and she lets out a roar it has not come particularly easy for T Hawkin remember she joined the team just two nights ago [Music] yeah good set from K Lang that time too she got a one-on-one situation on the outside SMU out of system wheeler will get a swing out of it though but she hits it into the net and ha he Leads Here 54 in the fifth [Applause] M team got 76 receiving votes so they're just outside the top 30 backside CH dug up by Alexander that was a laser beam ad DAV off the blocking down what a dig by Alexander that gives her a double double performance I thought Lea had the best take of tonight but I'm not sure I think that was just taken over by Kayla Alexander what a big that's call a Chester he just comes off the chest and Pops straight up alas the ensuing Serve by damis gives SMU the point in the [Applause] side this an especially important time to keep the ball in after team that just had some spectacular play the crowds in it you got lots of momentum here is Casey baon horse and she serves it into the net led the team in Aces a year ago but as a serving sub has had a couple of ill time service errors here in this [Music] match and here is T hawas seven serving [Applause] five that gets over over pass placed down by Kate Lang Hawai he gets to the eight-point plateau and they will swap sides and Advantage for the rainbow wah here in set five good serve forces the overpass Kate Lang takes advantage doesn't try to swing that time she's just going to tap it down be a little conservative got the eighth point oh why you're hitting 375 five right now here in the fifth SMU meanwhile flatlining it they have two kills and two hitting errors on seven overall attempts apparently there is a media timeout here at 8 we will keep things here as these two head coaches coach their squad up you know it was a really interesting conversation we had with Sam urer earlier in the week we asked her about coaching against Robin Amo urger herself a Setter in her playing days at both green and she said when I was little Robin was the Olympic Setter and she said I looked up to her and now to be coaching against her as a head coach it is crazy she called her a dog and says she has nothing but respect for Robin Amo uh and that was just kind of an interesting sentiment shared by Sam urer and I'd imagine there are a lot of other head coaches in the Collegiate game that feel similarly when going up against other volleyball Legends I totally agree when I saw Sam before the game uh she said it again she said it's 5:30 place is empty she says you know Chris he says it's such an honor to be here coaching against my one of my Legends My [Applause] Heroes so well maybe a legend in the making in the form of true freshman Victoria Lea who in her rainbow wah debut has 10 digs and three assists see yeah it's been quite theight you know she lost the obviously lost the labero competition to tell you you canot get no surprise there but but then she's come through this defensive specialist position and just lit it up she and T eaga each with double digit digs t with 10 as well to go along with four assists it is eight service five they have swapped sides and hawas will return us to action here that one does not get over the top of the table it's another time important to keep it in after a timeout got the momentum this match very much up in the air it is remarkable that we are even in this position considering what transpired in that opening set pass by hawas L going high and Away here's a dami the tip shot sniffed out there by tabon middle set that was smacked home by Natalie Foster very little resistance that time at theet for Hawaii when SMU gets a good pass and they love to run the middle and do it all kinds of ways that time 31 set to Foster they've scored on that more often than not Foster now with five kills 333 and another uh double sub with Tyler Ree mané and Jackie Matias checking back into the match for Hawaii Matias going outside to mané she goes High hands outside tabon dug up by Alexander he can kna the bump set money that's dug up in the air by shame high ball bump set tab Bron blocked and roof [Applause] Tyler reesman took a great swing in the middle of that rally they just kept things going so the Hawai could score on their block right there pretty good penetration looked like like a dam might have been backing off that a little bit and got lucky now she got all of that one all smiles for a dami along that Hawaii bench and now Victoria Lea to serve nine serving seven and just wide another another out serve for Hawaii here in the fifth they're trying just a little bit too hard to hit their spots I believe that is the first service error of the match for Victoria Lael yeah she's been solid all night long eight serving nine tough server here in the form of Natalie Foster pass by Alexander is a good one quickly back up up to her feet the push dink down the line misses wide we are tied at nine and Robin amov a signal for a timeout oh the anxiety in this building a race to six when we come [Music] back welcome back well we mentioned close to 5,000 here in this building taking in what has turned into a season opening classic we are noted at nine it is first to six for the match it's the amazing part about the sport of volleyball is you can play all of this and put in all of this action play all of this time and it comes down to who's going to get to six [Applause] first here's Alexander as Kate Lang reenters the match and puts up a little bit of guava jelly for her outside swinger pretty good set selection that time by Kate Lang go to the hot hitter 10 serving nine and now e Naga to serve it is imperative to get these serves in late in set five she does so and it's a good one chame with the set and it is a block by Hawaii but it goes out of bounds tabon able to make something happen with it and how about the hutzpah of Nia sh to take on the setting responsibilities and again they are not going to be calling double contacts on those second touches as long as the ball stays on that side of the net the new rule instituted here this season 10 serving 10 Lang going outside here's Alexander off the blocking out Alexander with her 27th kill ball set off the NP and Alexander doesn't mind actually she might even prefer ball being set off than that a little bit [Applause] more use more of her shots that's 62 swings now for Alexander tabon blocked high ball bump set chame crosscourt and wide no touch up front Hawaii up by two and a timeout taken by the Mustangs Hawaii closing in Maya tabron who has been the leading attacker for SMU here in this match 14 kills on 43 attempts she also has 10 digs to go along with six blocks so a double double performance she's done it in a variety of ways four more blocks she'll have a triple double yeah she's she's quite the athlete gets her kills in all kinds of ways that time she split the block she can go sharp angle she can go line she's got all the shots she's really a fun player to watch grad a graduate [Applause] student yeah one of four division one transfers for this roster they brought back seven overall players off of what was just a fantastic almost unprecedented level of success last season for this SMU program let's check in with Ryan what's up Ryan hey thanks can well on the SMU sideline the coaching staff Really T talking about specific tactics a lot of balls are saying are out of system for them because their passing is not allowing them to run a fluid offense other players are having to set step in and set the second contact what they're trying to get their team to do is set the second contact a lot tighter we saw an instance of that just moments ago when they were able to use the block they they want their second Setters outside when they're out of system to give their attackers a better set on the net to be able to use the Hawaii block and in this situation they may move to a stack they're going to move all their attackers now over to the left side to flood Hawaii's right side block back over to you guys thanks a lot Ryan Sam urer talking about the opportunity now for this program in the ACC they said they set records and fundraising overall excitement around this program they are taking a step to another level but right now they are finding themselves in a dog fight Alexander with the one hand save and then the push dink down the line and we're going to have a net violation against SMU oh what he's going to get the point oh I did not see that one must been a foul through into the net by okur 13 serving 10 in the fifth it was na okore whose back apparently touched into the sne outside tabon Relentless kill number 15 for her and she is retreating back to serve one of the tougher serves Hawai has had to deal with tonight yeah really good server's got to be happy she's going in the back row now she's H at back row stuff but she's going to be a Terminator 11 serving 13 the crowd trying to make some noise pass k n goes a good one backside Alexander was is a little tight to the antenna swing by wheeler two hand save kaga Lang highing away here's haakas over the double block tab on the easy save outside wheeler drives it past the Hawaii block and pass the diving effort of Victoria Lea robino one timeout left I think she should use it right now before SMU ties it Robin Amo will signal for a timeout and we'll take a break as well Hawaii by a digit in set five welcome back little hydration there for head coach Robin Amo she's working hard tonight I'm telling you looks of anxiousness on both sides 12 serving 13 out of the timeout pass by Lea is a good one outside here's Alexander hits it into the net Point SMU we're tied at 13 that's set just a little bit low on inside kin's got to have that line shot in order to get that it's got got to be further to the antenna three straight points for the Mustangs the slide to bamis off the block it slowed it down Advantage Mustangs bumps it here is chame and that hit the pin it's a point for Hawaii and it is aloha ball for the [Applause] match and nearly 5,000 here in simplify Arena at Stan Sheriff Center Rising although they will probably take a seat for the moment because we appear to have a challenge so they're going to challenge whether or not that ball hit the ant which was the call it definitely did that's easy call Natalie made it right [Applause] here Natalie iwamoto of course are statistician she called it right away a very high [Music] esteem so this is one of those you challenge it it works effectively like a timeout you break up some of the Rhythm on the other side y but that is clearly a call that will be [Music] upheld so here we go they will stand in unison once again except for that small little area over there with SMU cheering section they're waiting to have a turn it's aoha ball for the match well even some of them are standing holding up the SMU flag here we go Aloha ball for an opening night Victory Alexander the serve high ball BM set wheeler the swing off the block save e Naga back row set Alexander what a dig along the backline by ton put down by bis and it is over Hawaii wins it in five he asked me two hours ago when they lost 257 would you have thought they'd win in five that wasn't a come from behind victory that was a resurrection yes after Hawaii lost 257 in set one and look like they did not even belong yeah no question and look at that celebration absolute Jubilation on the side of the rainbow wah they just beat a very good SMU team who's going to win a lot of matches this year even though they're in a tougher conference they're going to win a lot of matches in that conference they're a very good team Hawaii ends up hitting 090 for the match the statistics in some ways will not fit the narrative this was just one of those nights where the rainbow wah put on a vintage fight and they were led by a career performance by kin Alexander 28 kills 66 attempts hitting 227 also had 11 digs you had the Fantastic defensive performances by taga 12 digs Victoria Lea in her first matches the rainbow wah 10 digs and Hawaii is Victorious on opening night Scott robs is with Robin Amo all right thanks a lot guys coach congratulations I don't know if i' if I've ever seen a team lose the opening set 25 to S and come back and win how'd you do it tunnel talk tunnel talk I mean I I could I think I kept saying in interviews this a young team you know the young with some old ones they got to get you know used to play with each other but the fight you still got to have the fight and that's what they did they came back out they got their bus whooped came back out did some tunn talk and came out and like played we had so many arrows but it fight you know you got the win that's all that matters Caitlin Alexander I think she realizes that A lot's going to be expected of her this year it looks like she's taken that next step at least here she did tonight she did man she's on the next level like from last year to this year like I said I don't know what click but some did and I mean she's playing great all right last question we'll let you go a lot of new faces out there tonight we saw a lot of them contributing overall your thought on how the maybe less not always new faces but maybe less experienced players uh perform for you that was awesome you know Jackie we put Jackie in Jackie and Ty they're coming straight Off the Bench and it's like you know a tight situations they coming in and they're doing their job they know what they have to do that's teamwork right there all right go get some get some Excedrin and we'll talk to you on Sunday okay bye come come Sunday guys all right can uh if that does not implore you to show up on Sunday I don't know what will Bank of Hawaii presents the players of the match Maya tabon had 15 kills hit 205 six blocks 12 digs and a service Ace for SMU kayin Alexander uh put on the superhero cape tonight a career-high 28 kills hitting 227 11 digs a block in an A and 66 attempts and so I Turn to You CAC on a night where Hawaii Comm 40 hitting errors as a team as we take another look at Match Point kin Alexander with the big swing a great dig but it wound up down on the SMU side and Hawaii able to celebrate what was an improbable Victory when you look at some of the statistics but I Turn to You they get this win almost out of sheer will and fight how sustainable is this though when you talk about the effort that kayin Alexander had to put in individually in this match a great question because I I don't think it's sustainable to be honest with you um they've got to find a way to have other players help out kin because you know kayin hit for big numbers right but there's four other hitters that hit negative that can't be that can't happen night in and night out and expect to win you know significant matches so she's going to need some help for sure uh anything else that that stands out to you what would be among outside of the herculan performance of kayin Alexander uh what stands out to you about this debut here for Hawaii I love the play of Tay kinaga and Victoria Lea those two dug a lot of balls they passed a lot of balls um they need to get a lot of credit for stabilizing that back row in the passing and the defense all right well stay tuned for the postgame show Corner crew is going to have a whole lot to talk about after this five set Thriller to open the 2024 season if this is just what we're going to get in the opener if this is in any way an indication of what we're in store for this season oh my goodness get ready folks it's going to be a wild ride Hawaii 1 and0 for Chris mclin I'm kol Lei until next time we bid you Aloha from [Music] Manoa heart pumping muscle season opener between Hawaii and SMU first for the Mustangs leading the way was Maya tibron who had 15 kills on the night on 44 swings she hit 205 on the night she also had a service Ace and a couple of blocks on the ho side one of the new faces the Freshman out of El Paso Texas to the DS Victoria Lea made an impact here in her very first division one match how about 10 digs as a Defender specialist really steading out the passing for Hawaii but the story this evening was this young lady the thiry year rainbow W one of the veterans kayen and Alexander and she looked awesome she had a career high 28 kills on 66 swings she hit 227 every time Hawaii needed to answer an SMU attack Hawaii went to her and she delivered as welcome back to the Hawaii hun the dealers postgame show Hawaii takes the opener here in 2024 knocking off SMU in five a great comeback by the rainbow while he made largely in part of this young lady next to me Caitlin Alexander career high 28 kills first off how's how's your arm oh it's a little sore you and I were talking before we went on the air like I and I mentioned this even on air that it looks like you've taken that next step up and you said you can feel it as well how do you explain it um I think I think in the spring my biggest Focus was just consistency I feel like I had all the pieces together it was just like on and off so um I think this summer I was really just getting back to the basics footwork cacy finding new shots for my swing and yeah just getting back to the fundamentals one of the things that impressed me the most was your of course 28 kills is great but your passing your defense you seem a lot more confident in there how do you feel uh in the passing pattern and and defensively has that something that feel has come along as well oh yeah uh spring was like a lot of building like we all knew that when we came in we were going to be young and new so we really had to just focus on servery so we did like lots of drills with footwork and like passing like I think I pass like literally every day for 6 months in the spring so I think that's helped a lot and also it's made me a lot more comfortable with like passing and things like that I want to know after changing it up just a little bit after game one tonight which was a little shaky there's a little rough on you guys nice give me a break give her a break I'm not blaming you guys went back into the tunnel and I want to know what was shared with you because when you guys came out it it did seem like a different attitude and a different team mhm um coach Rob basically did her little tunnel talk and basically she just ripped us a new one as she said and so yeah I think after that first day it was just kind of like okay we're here now like let's start working so I think that's when everyone kind of like dialed in a little bit more cuz we had no idea like what we were going to look like cuz we've just been playing each other so I think we saw like how much potential that we have left in the game and then we just used that and I think that's why we look so different from set one to two yeah I was going to kind of piggy back on that that's kind of what my my thought process was what did you learn about your team tonight yeah um basically we're just really young like in that first set I just showed it um honestly I just see a lot of potential in this team like I'm so excited for like the next games because like if this is how it looks when it's like shaky like imagining how it looks once we like polish like all the little things like I'm so excited and do you relish this role I mean in the years past there's always been a go-to player are you the player not like do you want the set on Match Point on set point oh yeah um I literally I want the ball every time but I'm also telling like the middles like set the middle or right sides to get up and things like that so I just want like everyone to have their like like moments you know so yeah yeah all right last you got a little question no I just I just wanted to say congratulations because from freshman of the year in the big West and then last year you had a little bit you you turned it a a sophomore slump a little bit and now you're completely a different you're a junior you're more mature you're whether you like it or not a leader on this team people are really looking up to you yes all right last thing before we let you go you want to give a shout out to family and friends back in Georgia who's watching hi Mom I know you're watching this with rain and um hello little rainy baby um and I got to tell us who that is oh rain is my new baby niece she's 7 months old she'll be coming to Texas and I'm actually so excited to see her so yes hello to everyone at home and hello Cameron and Camille and yes love you guys very much hey thank you so much I know we'll have you back in the corner again sometime this year keep up the good work thank you guys kayin Alexander helping Hawaii win here tonight in five and taking a look at what's up next for uh of course on Sunday Hawaii Returns the action here on the Tera flick 5:00 start they'll go up against San Diego San Diego and uh SMU actually will play tomorrow at 7:00 so if you're coming through the football game you can go to volleyball after football games at 1:30 volleyball at 7:00 so that's the opening weekend next week Friday and Saturday against Scott Long's pepperine waves and then Hawaii with a kind of a weird Tuesday Friday Saturday schedule Texas State on that Tuesday followed by Oregon State Texas State and then on to the road all right