By Dave Reardon

Billy Hull was at the Notre Dame news conference today, and provides these tidbits. Look for Billy’s full report tomorrow, as well as Jason Kaneshiro’s from UH practice. And on game day, the Star-Bulletin will have a special section previewing the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. … Here are Billy’s Notre Dame notes:  Backup cornerback Gary Gray was left home for “personal reasons” … Terrail Lambert (cornerback), Michael Floyd (receiver), Armando Allen (running back) have recovered from injuries and are ready to go…. 41,700 tickets had been sold as of 10 a.m. … Charlie Weis said Purdue is probably the closest type of offense to Hawaii’s they have played this year, but Alexander is more athletic than the Purdue quarterback.  They are well aware of his ability to make plays with his feet. … Weis will be calling the offensive plays in the game. He said there came a turning point about 2/3 of the way through the season where the offense got out of sync and the focus has been trying to get it back in sync for this game.

By Cindy Luis

It is amazing what shows up on VBTalk. Took me a few days to digest this. http://volleytalk.proboards88.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=25089 

By Cindy Luis

Two Wahine received their degrees today. Thomas walked. Don’t believe Keefe did. It’s Keefe’s 23rd birthday today. 

By Cindy Luis

Megan Hodge had 16 kills to lead Penn State over Stanford 25-20, 26-24, 25-23 today in Omaha., Neb. Nittany Lions finish 38-0, the Cardinal drop to 31-4. 

By Cindy Luis

Penn State University senior Nicole Fawcett was selected as the 2008 AVCA Division I National Player of the Year. The award was presented tonight at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet Omaha, Neb., as part of the 2008 AVCA Annual Convention.VCA Division I National Players of the Year:2008: Nicole Fawcett (Penn State)2007: Foluke Akinradewo (Stanford)2006: Sarah Pavan (Nebraska)2005: Christina Houghtelling (Nebraska)2004: Stacey Gordon (Ohio State); Ogonna Nnamani (Stanford)2003: Kim Willoughby (Hawai’i)2002: Logan Tom (Stanford)2001: Logan Tom (Stanford)2000: Greichaly Cepero (Nebraska)1999: Lauren Cacciamani (Penn State); Kerri Walsh (Stanford)1998: Misty May (Long Beach State)1997: Misty May (Long Beach State)1996: Angelica Ljungquist (Hawai’i )1995: Cary Wendell (Stanford); Allison Weston (Nebraska)1994: Laura Davis (Ohio State)1993: Danielle Scott (Long Beach State)1992: Natalie Williams (UCLA)1991: Antoinnette White (Long Beach State)1990: Bev Oden (Stanford)1989: Tara Cross (Long Beach State); Teee Williams (Hawai’i)1988: Tara Cross (Long Beach State)1987: Teee Williams (Hawai’i)1986: Mariliisa Salmi (BYU)1985: Kim Oden (Stanford)  

By Dave Reardon

No column for tomorrow, so here are some notes and quotes from the news conference this afternoon. Jason will file a full report for tomorrow’s paper. … Ticket sales update: just over 40,000. Notre Dame left at 1:30 p.m. our time because of an ice storm. Scheduled to arrive around 1 a.m., depending on LAX layover…. Notes on Greg McMackin statement: He started by saying he appreciates being here and representing UH and the state. Then the usual kudos for Notre Dame’s tradition and talent.Talked about pride in his players, coming through a tough season. …  Solomon Elimimian: Talked about being excited about this bowl because it’s “our bowl. We’re comfortable.” An honor to be here and playing against a top tier program like Notre Dame. … Greg Alexander: Always been a dream to play D-1 and a bowl game. SE: Said the team learned a lesson from the Sugar Bowl. Kind of a young team. A lot of guys went out and partied. Now a lot more mature. A lot of guys not going out even though no curfew. At the end of the day the game’s played on the field. GM: Talked about six road games and no problems. Business trip. Wants it to be part fun, part business. Treated them like pros and men and they’ve reacted that way. SE: No matter what the record is, they’ll always be Notre Dame. GM: He’s looking at it as the end of the 2008 season. Last game for a lot of seniors. 8-6 sounds a lot better than 7-7. He said it would be good to send the seniors out with a bowl win. It would be good as a set-up for next year and recruiting, but more as a completion of this season. SE: About the transition, it was tough, then Coach Mack’s going to be our coach, it was awesome, he said. “It gave all of us a sense of comfort … and unity.” …  ”We had to stay closer together than we ever had.” … “This game’s going to be like a period and capitalize our season.” … GA: Talked about the transition. Remembers being 1-3 and saying he believes in the team and it will get into a bowl game. The players and the coaches stuck together and worked harder, he said. Said the greatest portion of the fans stuck with the team too. “We’re playing more the type of football we want to be known for.”  …. Talked about having three great experiences here. This one being special because of loyalty, players and coaches sticking together.

By Cindy Luis

Thanks to Jen at Penn State, one of the best SIDs in the business.The top-ranked Penn State women’s volleyball team (37-0) earned the right to defend its NCAA title with a hard-fought five-game victory (25-17, 25-18, 15-25, 22-25, 15-11) over No. 4 Nebraska in front of a raucous NCAA-record crowd of 17,430 fans tonight at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. The crowd was the largest ever to witness an NCAA collegiate volleyball match. The Nittany Lions will meet No. 2 Stanford for the NCAA title in a rematch of last year’s championship match on Saturday. The Cardinal outlasted No. 3 Texas in five games in the first NCAA Semifinal contest today.  

By Dave Reardon

A report from Jason Kaneshiro from today’s practice:

Bowl week starts in earnest tomorrow when the team gets into its game-week

routine and checks into their hotel. They closed today’s practice with their

third scout scrimmage of the season. Defensive back Kawika Ornellas returned

an interception for a touchdown, aided by a crushing block by Keahi Watson.

Jake Santos led the offense to a touchdown on the final series, connecting

with Ryan Henry on the 5-yard score.

An interesting sight earlier in practice. Rather than having Rich Miano or

one of the managers fire passes at the DBs during ball drills, Ingram

snapped it to them. All of them, of course, were on target.

By Cindy Luis

Hawaii had two players named to the AVCA All-America teams today and two other earn honorable mention.

Senior outside hitter Jamie Houston was named to the second team and freshman Kanani Danielson to the third.

Houston averaged a team-high 4.05 kills per set, adding 0.75 blocks and 1.78 digs per set. The senior was named WAC Player of the Year for the second straight season, while becoming just the second player in UH history to end her career with over 2,000 kills (2,061). Houston also was named to the all-tournament team at the NCAA Regional in Ft. Collins, Colo.  

She was also named to the third team in 2006.

 

Danielson is one of just two freshmen on the All-America teams, along with national freshman of the year Kelly Murphy, from Florida.

The Kamehameha graduate hit .286 in her first collegiate season with 3.02 kills, 2.91 digs and 0.49 blocks per set, despite playing only in the back row for a stretch of four matches during the year. Se was named  the WAC and AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year.

 

Junior outside hitter Aneli Cubi-Otineru and sophomore setter Dani Mafua  were on the honorable mention list. Cubi-Otineru averaged 2.41 kills, 2.28 digs, 0.44 blocks and 0.32 aces per set. Mafua finished in the top 20 of the country with an 11.20 assists per set average, setting UH’s offense which ranks in the top 10 in all offensive categories.

 

The awards will be presented Friday at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet at the Qwest Convention Center in Omaha, Neb., where the AVCA will also announce the national player of the year.

By Dave Reardon

Check out the Hawaii Grown All-Star team in the Sunday edition, chosen by Star-Bulletin sportswriter Billy Hull. It is the 24 best college football stars of the year who played high school ball in Hawaii. It includes six UH players.