Hawaii setter Kate Lang faces a familiar foe for LSU
Dec. 2—Kate Lang knew Hawaii's place in the NCAA Tournament was secure when she took a seat with her Rainbow Wahine teammates to watch Sunday's selection show.
STANFORD, Calif.—Kate Lang knew Hawaii's place in the NCAA Tournament was secure when she took a seat with her Rainbow Wahine teammates to watch Sunday's selection show.
The status of a close friend's season was in far more doubt.
So she shot Paige Flickinger a text of support as the bracket was revealed.
"I was like, 'I'm praying for you guys that you make it into the tournament. I can't wait to see who you're playing against, " Lang recalled on Thursday.
So the Rainbow Wahine setter was thrilled for Flickinger, now a starting outside hitter at LSU, when the Tigers popped up in the bracket.
She then marveled at the turn of events when Hawaii filled the next line.
"I said out loud when we saw LSU on the screen, 'Oh my gosh I wonder who Paige is going to play.' And then it was us, " Lang said. "It's crazy. What are the odds ?"
The Big West champion Rainbow Wahine (22-6 ) were paired with the Tigers (15-13 ) in a first-round match in the Stanford region, and today's matchup in Maples Pavilion will serve as a reunion of sorts for Lang and Flickinger, albeit from opposite sides of the net.
They played club volleyball together in Texas throughout their high school careers and attended each other's signing ceremonies—Lang with UH while Flickinger stayed closer to home in committing to LSU.
"She was my best friend, " Lang said. "Our parents are super close. We spent holidays together. She lived 10 minutes away from me and I carpooled with her every day to practice. It was that type of relationship. ... She was my rock the entire time."—RELATED :
Lang, named the Big West Setter of the Year on Wednesday, said they chatted following the selection show, "but once we both got here, we were like, 'It's business time, we cant talk to each other any more, we have to start watching film on each other instead."
Lang and Flickinger played for rival high schools in Texas, so the competitive aspect of their friendship isn't new. They'll meet on a far bigger stage today in the first match of a loaded sub-regional.
Host Stanford was awarded the top spot in the region, and will face perhaps the toughest challenge among the four No. 1 national seeds when the Cardinal take on Pepperdine following the UH-LSU match.
"I think it's the strongest subregional, " Stanford coach Kevin Hambly said. "If you just look at the RPIs, it's by far the strongest subregional.
"That'll be a very interesting match, " he said of today's opener. "LSU is incredibly athletic and Hawaii is really well coached and very organized and very good at playing volleyball."
The Rainbow Wahine arrived in Northern California on Tuesday, had a full practice at Menlo College on Wednesday and went through their 90-minute session in Maples Pavilion on Thursday to prepare for the Tigers.
"There's height across the board and there's athleticism across the board, " UH assistant coach Kaleo Baxter said of scouting LSU. "But we're excited to play our game : serve and pass, and convert digs into points."
While defense remains the foundation of UH's culture, LSU ranked second in the SEC with 15.54 digs per set and had 108 against Mississippi State on Oct. 30.
"Being scrappy is going to be part of the MO (today ) and who does a better job of keeping the ball off the floor, " LSU coach Tonya Johnson said.
Today's winners will meet on Saturday for a spot in next weekend's regional round. Following is a look at the first-round matchups.—NCAA women's volleyball tournament
