East Coast Kahuna

Volleyball

Volleyball is really popular in Hawaii - that is, the University of Hawaii women's team - otherwise know as UH Rainbow Wahine (Hawaii for woman). They've dominated the Western Athlethic Conference over the past ten years or more and have had very high national rankings as of late. They provide a good role model for girls to get involved in athletics.

In Ithaca, the Cornell Volleyball team has won the Ivy League Championship (actually shared co-championships) for the past two years and is off to a good start this year. This was catalyzed by their coach, Deidre Collins (a former UH Rainbow Wahine player) who led the team to a championship in her first 2 years. It's interesting to note that if both Cornell and UH had survived in the NCAA Tournament last year, they would have played each other. Although the Cornell team is great in the Ivies, it is not nearly up to the caliber of play in Hawaii.

When I'm back in Hawaii on a visit during volleyball season, I will watch the UH games with my mom on TV. Unlike the football games, there is no local blackout of the home games. The whole state is rooting for the UH volleyball team, while in Ithaca, the team is still not getting its proper recognition community-wide. But with Coach Collins, I'm sure Cornell will continue to improve and continue to win Ivy titles. Perhaps it will even win some games at an upcoming NCAA tournament.

posted by tjh14850 @ 1:39 PM