|
Post by USAFAN on Aug 16, 2007 19:00:04 GMT -5
Hittle needs to prove that she earns the spot. I am a little skeptical considering she was injured last season and when I saw her she seemed to have lost the lean athletic frame she once had. I would like to see Ferrel or Otineru on the floor. Tara, even when she wasn't injured, was never a consistent big point scorer nor a ball control outside hitter. Actually, as a frosh in 2004, Hittle was solid as UH's second passer next to Boogaard. She played RS opposite Kamana'o in the rotation, but UH adjusted their receive patterns to hide Arnott in receive and make Hittle/Boogaard/Teisa Fotu their primary passers. Well its 2007 and a lot of things have changed. Tara may have been the best at the time, but UH has a lot of other options.
|
|
|
Post by PukaPants on Aug 16, 2007 20:32:04 GMT -5
Does Cubi-Otineru have good blocking skills? I hope she is able to hold her own on the left when she is one on one with opposing middles or an opposite. She was a formidable blocker at the JC level, but D1? We'll have to wait and see.
|
|
|
Post by 5100 on Aug 16, 2007 20:45:16 GMT -5
Ferrell may be athletic and Otineru may be a JC All-American, but they haven't played against Division I competition yet. Otineru could see action early, but I think that Hittle, Keefe and Kaufman would be ahead of Ferrell at this point. Houston wasn't exactly at the top of the left or right side hitter depth chart her freshman season.
If Houston, Hittle and Otineru all start, who wouldn't be in the passing formation?
|
|
|
Post by bunnywailer on Aug 16, 2007 20:48:31 GMT -5
Actually, as a frosh in 2004, Hittle was solid as UH's second passer next to Boogaard. She played RS opposite Kamana'o in the rotation, but UH adjusted their receive patterns to hide Arnott in receive and make Hittle/Boogaard/Teisa Fotu their primary passers. Well its 2007 and a lot of things have changed. Tara may have been the best at the time, but UH has a lot of other options. None of those options have proven they can handle the passing load reliably at the D1 level. All you have to do is look at last season when Kamana'o went from being an All-American setter to being an All-American volleyball track star chasing down all those passes.
|
|
|
Post by ladeda on Aug 16, 2007 20:49:04 GMT -5
The buzz out of Wahine practice on Anelie has been very positive.Good blocking,wicked line shot,one of the hardest hitters,good passing and defensive skills.
As Dave said in Ann's article.
"Aneli is probably the most complete volleyball player we have," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "She really doesn't have a weakness. She hits extremely hard, she's a really smart player, she plays great defense, has great instincts. We've got to find a spot for her on the floor."
|
|
|
Post by ACE on Aug 16, 2007 21:03:44 GMT -5
Actually, as a frosh in 2004, Hittle was solid as UH's second passer next to Boogaard. She played RS opposite Kamana'o in the rotation, but UH adjusted their receive patterns to hide Arnott in receive and make Hittle/Boogaard/Teisa Fotu their primary passers. Well its 2007 and a lot of things have changed. Tara may have been the best at the time, but UH has a lot of other options. I agree with you. Her freshmen year, Hittle looked great. But her sophmore year, injury included, she just didn't look good. Maybe against lesser opponents, but not against top dogs. I agree with USAFAN, Hittle has yet to prove her hitting/passing with consistency. Hittle is a great defensive digger, but not sold on her serve recieve passing abilities.
|
|
|
Post by bunnywailer on Aug 16, 2007 21:23:14 GMT -5
Well its 2007 and a lot of things have changed. Tara may have been the best at the time, but UH has a lot of other options. I agree with you. Her freshmen year, Hittle looked great. But her sophmore year, injury included, she just didn't look good. Maybe against lesser opponents, but not against top dogs. I agree with USAFAN, Hittle has yet to prove her hitting/passing with consistency. Hittle is a great defensive digger, but not sold on her serve recieve passing abilities. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that...maybe....possibly....uhm... PLAYERS DON'T PLAY AS WELL WHEN THEY ARE INJURED AS THEY DO WHEN THEY ARE 100% HEALTHY?
|
|
|
Post by ACE on Aug 16, 2007 22:49:36 GMT -5
I agree with you. Her freshmen year, Hittle looked great. But her sophmore year, injury included, she just didn't look good. Maybe against lesser opponents, but not against top dogs. I agree with USAFAN, Hittle has yet to prove her hitting/passing with consistency. Hittle is a great defensive digger, but not sold on her serve recieve passing abilities. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that...maybe....possibly....uhm... PLAYERS DON'T PLAY AS WELL WHEN THEY ARE INJURED AS THEY DO WHEN THEY ARE 100% HEALTHY? Just look at her numbers last year BEFORE she got injured. Shoji and company weren't high on the passing before the season started and Hittle was in that mix as well.
|
|
|
Post by vbuzz on Aug 16, 2007 23:14:48 GMT -5
Ferrell may be athletic and Otineru may be a JC All-American, but they haven't played against Division I competition yet. Otineru could see action early, but I think that Hittle, Keefe and Kaufman would be ahead of Ferrell at this point. Kaufman shouldn't be in the same conversation as the other players. She is one dimentional, she can't hit anything that is not a slide, and her blocking is so-so. I like Keefe, but at practice she is holding back, playing safe. Ferrell could surprise everyone this year. She is looking good at practice with more room to improve. Houston is unbelievable...and everyone will see a big difference in her game this year compared to last year.
|
|
|
Post by aaronic on Aug 17, 2007 0:04:40 GMT -5
If Otineru and Ferrel prove to be as promised, suberb athletes hard to keep out of the starting lineup, Hawaii can move Tara Hittle from outside hitter to libero. She has the potential to redefine that position, someone tall but fast and quick, with tremendous reach and range and beaucoup offensive potential from the back row. I am not too sure if Hittle would accept that role, but she potentially could be one of the best in the nation in that position. I'm sorry, but I will heavily disagree with you. She'll (Hittle) be formidable(sp?), but I think she's limited. Since she's been at UH, I don't think i've ever seen her dive for a ball. I think having a long reach and range is only going to get you so far, but unless you have such a tremendously dominating block up front, it's going to be hard to stay in rallies. I guess what i'm trying to say is that Hittle just isn't good enough to play Libero full time/hasn't proven she could successfully play Libero full time. I'd rather see Hawaii with Jayme Lee at Libero. The only time Hittle should be a Libero, is if Hawaii has no one else better in that position- which is something that I don't want to happen this season. If she's not going to be a FR hitter, i'd rather see Hittle as a DS rather than at Libero. Moreover, in regards to Aneli, I see her mainly hitting from the RS. she could be Hawaii's answer when it comes to getting side outs from that position- of course pending her blocking abilities. If Tara is back at where she was prior to her injury (ala the Nebraska spring match), she'll be the LS2. Ferrell- I think the verdict is still out on her. She's a Freshman, i'm not going to make a decision on her until I see her play. Except i've heard that her passing needs work. DISCLAIMER: On my statement :"Since she's been at UH, I don't think i've ever seen her dive for a ball."
I did not intend to imply that all good Liberos need to be able to dive.
|
|
|
Post by hwnstunner on Aug 17, 2007 0:36:17 GMT -5
Ferrell may be athletic and Otineru may be a JC All-American, but they haven't played against Division I competition yet. Otineru could see action early, but I think that Hittle, Keefe and Kaufman would be ahead of Ferrell at this point. Kaufman shouldn't be in the same conversation as the other players. She is one dimentional, she can't hit anything that is not a slide, and her blocking is so-so. I like Keefe, but at practice she is holding back, playing safe. Ferrell could surprise everyone this year. She is looking good at practice with more room to improve. Houston is unbelievable...and everyone will see a big difference in her game this year compared to last year. I agree, Kaufman is one dimensional. Her blocking is strong, but for her to really be effective, she'd need to be able to hit fives. All though her step outs were solid, the right side was non existent last year. Keefe is a good blocker, but I have never been sold on her hitting or passing. I like the mix of Houston, Otineru, Hittle, and Ferrell on the outside spots.
|
|
|
Post by pineapple on Aug 17, 2007 1:00:20 GMT -5
I don't think we can base kaufman's ability by her last year performances. She really didn't play that much nor did she have the sets. We know how she was in high school, so she has that innate ability. We know she is a jumper. I am hoping this will be a coming out year for her.
I tend to agree with aaronic. (Hi, aaronic, no longer ironic ) ;D, he made a very keen observation about Hittle's back row performance. I agree. We really don't know if she'd be the type to dive for balls, now especially coming back from her injury. She might be too gun shy. But If she can explode in the front row as she did her first year it may be too early to sign her off. But to be effective in the front row she must be able to block as well, as aaron pointed out. My dominating memory of her outstanding plays is her kamikazi style of attack. I never paid adequate attention to her defensive plays. Never having seen Otineru or Ferrel play, I really can't compare her to them.
I think this will be the year both Hittle and Kaufman will show us what they can do.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2007 1:04:50 GMT -5
I don't like Kaufman on the right either, She is a middle and should be one ( I think she will be very very good before she is done) . I think Ferell will be alot like Jamie Houston her freshmen year. I expect her to be starting by post season. Her passing wont be a problem if u put in Lee or Kaaihue for her in the backrow.
|
|
|
Post by 5100 on Aug 17, 2007 1:23:43 GMT -5
Ferrell may be athletic and Otineru may be a JC All-American, but they haven't played against Division I competition yet. Otineru could see action early, but I think that Hittle, Keefe and Kaufman would be ahead of Ferrell at this point. Kaufman shouldn't be in the same conversation as the other players. She is one dimentional, she can't hit anything that is not a slide, and her blocking is so-so. I like Keefe, but at practice she is holding back, playing safe. Ferrell could surprise everyone this year. She is looking good at practice with more room to improve. Houston is unbelievable...and everyone will see a big difference in her game this year compared to last year. By all indications, Shoji seems to think Kaufman is a contender for the opposite job, although she could concentrate at middle blocker with Nickie Thomas gone. Knowing Shoji, I wouldn't count Keefe out, either. Ferrell, unless she is going to make a huge impact, is still a redshirt possibility.
|
|
|
Post by 3wood on Aug 17, 2007 2:26:57 GMT -5
Thanks for the link, brings back fond memories.
|
|