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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Dec 29, 2013 17:56:46 GMT -5
Have you even seen McKenna play besides some videos up on youtube?? She is a fabulous recruit, and will be very very good in college. I have seen McKenna play, and she reminds me of Tai. We know how Tai is turning out playing D1. well, i'm not one to give up on tai. she's a good blocker and attacker. her passing, of course, has proven inconsistent. but she's made tremendous leaps from her high school and earlier time at hawaii. hawaii just has to find the right use for her on the court (if she continues to earn PT).
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Dec 29, 2013 17:59:05 GMT -5
As you all might have heard Shoji is returning for another year, so that's a positive. I see the first three or four tournaments as a transition time to see who can deliver and fit into the chemistry, before heading into the BW season. A new setter in Tayler Higgins, who in my opinion will make people forget Mita Uiato real quickly, and question marks in who will best fit in the OH2 and Libero positions. Agree, I hate to say this, but I won't miss uiato that much. She had a average senior year, that bordered on being below average. She's easy to fill and higgins will be even better. Longo will be harder but I think kahakai or Mendoza can do it. Hartong will be the hardest to replace, but I think Nikki can do it with practice. wow ... how quickly players are disrespectfully discarded on this thread ... sad.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Dec 29, 2013 18:08:37 GMT -5
I like it. She showed she is a pretty good passes in the last part of the season. And with oractice could improve tremendously. Nikki passes better than Tai and she proved it after Shoji finally switched Nikki and Tai in the rotation. Shoji with his old habits was hesitant into having Nikki play back and left Olevao in way too long. He's probably thinking Tai is quicker and Nikki being 6'4 and slower. I see Nikki as having a higher IQ and better instinct in playing the back then Tai. well, to be fair ... the 'switch' didn't happen b/c hawaii was still winning at that point ... after the 3 losses occurred in october, that's when the switch was made. (and those were 5-set losses!) and it's not like taylor took over all of the passing duties that once previously belonged to tai. mendoza started subbing in for tai, not taylor ... so mendoza took up the bulk of the passing for tai. taylor, at most, was passing for 1 or 2 rotations. and even she was targeted on those few occasions she was passing. taylor proved to be a better than expected back-row defender. but let's not confuse that with her being an immediate reliable passer this season. she too had her struggles in that regard. i, for one, liked that taylor's role on the court was expanded gradually over the course of the season ... rather than thrusting her into full-time 6-rotation duties. it might've overwhelmed her, had she been asked to do all that from day one (against #1 ranked texas, no less). taylor's early success was due in large part b/c the coaches simply asked her to block and hit, imo. it allowed her to gain confidence and get more comfortable, before being given more responsibilities on the court.
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Post by imua562 on Dec 29, 2013 19:25:23 GMT -5
Higgins will be good if Shoji allows her to run an offense freely. He did not allow Mita to do so because he had Hartong on the court and expected her to take most of the swings. He is too old school thinking that one player can beat teams…that needs to change and it might next year since he doesn't really have an OH that is a hammer. Even Robyn disliked how situations were handled because Scott and Dave wouldn't just allow Mita to run an offense - they always expected Hartong to get the ball which made Mita robotic in her offense. Hawaii needs new blood running the show… Higgins will break out because the hitters won't be dominant as they were in the past and it will allow her to grow as a true setter, not just someone who contacts the second ball for the coach!
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Dec 29, 2013 20:19:19 GMT -5
Higgins will be good if Shoji allows her to run an offense freely. He did not allow Mita to do so because he had Hartong on the court and expected her to take most of the swings. He is too old school thinking that one player can beat teams…that needs to change and it might next year since he doesn't really have an OH that is a hammer. Even Robyn disliked how situations were handled because Scott and Dave wouldn't just allow Mita to run an offense - they always expected Hartong to get the ball which made Mita robotic in her offense. Hawaii needs new blood running the show… Higgins will break out because the hitters won't be dominant as they were in the past and it will allow her to grow as a true setter, not just someone who contacts the second ball for the coach! there were times when hawaii didn't go to hartong late in sets, and those other hitters couldn't put it away. it's a tough balance ... between going to your clutch player during clutch moments ... or going to other players whom defenders are leaning away from ...
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Post by WahineFan44 on Dec 29, 2013 20:29:37 GMT -5
Agree, I hate to say this, but I won't miss uiato that much. She had a average senior year, that bordered on being below average. She's easy to fill and higgins will be even better. Longo will be harder but I think kahakai or Mendoza can do it. Hartong will be the hardest to replace, but I think Nikki can do it with practice. wow ... how quickly players are disrespectfully discarded on this thread ... sad. How was i disrespectful? I actually defended her and said that her loss was not a blessing like someone claimed. The only reason i say i wont miss uiato is because we have higgins. Uiato is a good setter, she judt had so so senior year
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Post by 5100 on Dec 29, 2013 21:08:06 GMT -5
That team with Kim/Lily/Duggins/Tano/Gustin/Kamana'o/Lundqvist was the most fiercest Hawai'i team I have seen in awhile and still haven't seen a Wahine team like that yet. I do agree that if the offense was more spread moving Kim and Lily around and getting the middles involved more, I would've thought they would beat out USC that year and Florida. You forgot Melissa Villaroman.
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Post by 5100 on Dec 29, 2013 21:13:43 GMT -5
Higgins will be good if Shoji allows her to run an offense freely. He did not allow Mita to do so because he had Hartong on the court and expected her to take most of the swings. He is too old school thinking that one player can beat teams…that needs to change and it might next year since he doesn't really have an OH that is a hammer. Even Robyn disliked how situations were handled because Scott and Dave wouldn't just allow Mita to run an offense - they always expected Hartong to get the ball which made Mita robotic in her offense. Hawaii needs new blood running the show… Higgins will break out because the hitters won't be dominant as they were in the past and it will allow her to grow as a true setter, not just someone who contacts the second ball for the coach! I agree. Everyone's quick to criticize Uiato, but that has always been Hawaii's offense whenever they had a strong outside hitter(s). It doesn't matter whether your name is Carey, Vakasausau, Kamana'o, Brandt, Mafua or Uiato. It's just how the Hawaii teams have been.
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Post by volleyballfan99 on Dec 29, 2013 21:50:47 GMT -5
Higgins will be good if Shoji allows her to run an offense freely. He did not allow Mita to do so because he had Hartong on the court and expected her to take most of the swings. He is too old school thinking that one player can beat teams…that needs to change and it might next year since he doesn't really have an OH that is a hammer. Even Robyn disliked how situations were handled because Scott and Dave wouldn't just allow Mita to run an offense - they always expected Hartong to get the ball which made Mita robotic in her offense. Hawaii needs new blood running the show… Higgins will break out because the hitters won't be dominant as they were in the past and it will allow her to grow as a true setter, not just someone who contacts the second ball for the coach! I agree. Everyone's quick to criticize Uiato, but that has always been Hawaii's offense whenever they had a strong outside hitter(s). It doesn't matter whether your name is Carey, Vakasausau, Kamana'o, Brandt, Mafua or Uiato. It's just how the Hawaii teams have been. It is partly Uiato's fault for being so quiet, and not asserting herself. The majority of the setters you mentioned were also on the quiet side, not really outspoken, and really taking a leadership role. The one setter that was not quiet, and quite out spoken, especially her senior year, is the one setter you left off, Robyn Ah-Mow Santos. I have a feeling Higgins will be more in the mode of Robyn Ah-Mow Santos, be out spoken, and a very vocal leader on the court for the Wahine. When a setter takes that kind of control on the court, a coach feels a lot more comfortable in allowing setter do what she wants to do.
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Post by 5100 on Dec 29, 2013 21:59:50 GMT -5
I agree. Everyone's quick to criticize Uiato, but that has always been Hawaii's offense whenever they had a strong outside hitter(s). It doesn't matter whether your name is Carey, Vakasausau, Kamana'o, Brandt, Mafua or Uiato. It's just how the Hawaii teams have been. It is partly Uiato's fault for being so quiet, and not asserting herself. The majority of the setters you mentioned were also on the quiet side, not really outspoken, and really taking a leadership role. The one setter that was not quiet, and quite out spoken, especially her senior year, is the one setter you left off, Robyn Ah-Mow Santos. I have a feeling Higgins will be more in the mode of Robyn Ah-Mow Santos, be out spoken, and a very vocal leader on the court for the Wahine. When a setter takes that kind of control on the court, a coach feels a lot more comfortable in allowing setter do what she wants to do. No it's not. If we are to follow your logic, then Higgins should have started over Uiato this season because she was more outspoken and vocal, thus giving Shoji the confidence on allowing her to do what she wanted to. But that's not the case, was it? Because they had Hartong on the left and frankly, not many options. After being criticized for not involving the middles more, Uiato tried to get more sets to Vorster and Adolpho. What happened? Their lofty hitting percentages dropped. Vorster does not have variety in her shots and Adolpho was slow. I don't know of any setter who sets a specialized slow slide set just to accommodate a slow middle. Cayley Thurlby was a lot more vocal than Kanoe Kamana'o. Even if Kamana'o was on the quiet side, as you say, Shoji had no problem letting her set Prince, Hittle, et al after Willoughby/Kahumoku graduated. My point was that whenever Hawaii had one or two dominant left sides, you knew the ball was going to that side of the net regardless of whether you had Gustin or Kaufman in the middle.
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Post by ACE on Dec 29, 2013 23:08:58 GMT -5
It is partly Uiato's fault for being so quiet, and not asserting herself. The majority of the setters you mentioned were also on the quiet side, not really outspoken, and really taking a leadership role. The one setter that was not quiet, and quite out spoken, especially her senior year, is the one setter you left off, Robyn Ah-Mow Santos. I have a feeling Higgins will be more in the mode of Robyn Ah-Mow Santos, be out spoken, and a very vocal leader on the court for the Wahine. When a setter takes that kind of control on the court, a coach feels a lot more comfortable in allowing setter do what she wants to do. No it's not. If we are to follow your logic, then Higgins should have started over Uiato this season because she was more outspoken and vocal, thus giving Shoji the confidence on allowing her to do what she wanted to. But that's not the case, was it? Because they had Hartong on the left and frankly, not many options. After being criticized for not involving the middles more, Uiato tried to get more sets to Vorster and Adolpho. What happened? Their lofty hitting percentages dropped. Vorster does not have variety in her shots and Adolpho was slow. I don't know of any setter who sets a specialized slow slide set just to accommodate a slow middle. Cayley Thurlby was a lot more vocal than Kanoe Kamana'o. Even if Kamana'o was on the quiet side, as you say, Shoji had no problem letting her set Prince, Hittle, et al after Willoughby/Kahumoku graduated. My point was that whenever Hawaii had one or two dominant left sides, you knew the ball was going to that side of the net regardless of whether you had Gustin or Kaufman in the middle. I agree with 5100. And I believe Shoji has mentioned it before. I believe after Hawaii defeated Arizona earlier in the season when Hartong got blocked 3 times in a row and even after Hartong got blocked on game point (set 4 against UDub last years subregional) where he mentioned along the lines of "it's who you want swinging for the game." It's hard to go against that and I think it's a "safe play" because had any set gone to another person and they didn't terminate we would all be commenting on "why didn't Shoji tell the setter to set Hartong?" It's one of those "oh wells", but what should be happening is that the setter should be spreading the offense the entire season so that we don't come down to having that one/two person to set when the game is on the line. You want it where all attackers have an equal shot of getting that point.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Dec 29, 2013 23:31:07 GMT -5
I agree. Everyone's quick to criticize Uiato, but that has always been Hawaii's offense whenever they had a strong outside hitter(s). It doesn't matter whether your name is Carey, Vakasausau, Kamana'o, Brandt, Mafua or Uiato. It's just how the Hawaii teams have been. It is partly Uiato's fault for being so quiet, and not asserting herself. The majority of the setters you mentioned were also on the quiet side, not really outspoken, and really taking a leadership role. The one setter that was not quiet, and quite out spoken, especially her senior year, is the one setter you left off, Robyn Ah-Mow Santos. I have a feeling Higgins will be more in the mode of Robyn Ah-Mow Santos, be out spoken, and a very vocal leader on the court for the Wahine. When a setter takes that kind of control on the court, a coach feels a lot more comfortable in allowing setter do what she wants to do. ah mow was a lot of things while a college player ... an all american, a naturally gifted setter and all-around volleyball player, a surprisingly effective blocker for her height. during her tenure at hawaii, she was a natural leader as well. but a quiet one. even she has freely admitted in interviews that in college she wasn't the vocal leader that she grew into as a national team setter and international player. it's easy to pidgeon hole a player as quiet, even when that description isn't so accurate or cut-n-dry. uiato wasn't a rah-rah 'ali longo' type of vocal player. but she was nearly always talking to her hitters between plays.
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Post by kolohekeiki on Dec 30, 2013 3:53:44 GMT -5
I agree. Everyone's quick to criticize Uiato, but that has always been Hawaii's offense whenever they had a strong outside hitter(s). It doesn't matter whether your name is Carey, Vakasausau, Kamana'o, Brandt, Mafua or Uiato. It's just how the Hawaii teams have been. It is partly Uiato's fault for being so quiet, and not asserting herself. The majority of the setters you mentioned were also on the quiet side, not really outspoken, and really taking a leadership role. The one setter that was not quiet, and quite out spoken, especially her senior year, is the one setter you left off, Robyn Ah-Mow Santos. I have a feeling Higgins will be more in the mode of Robyn Ah-Mow Santos, be out spoken, and a very vocal leader on the court for the Wahine. When a setter takes that kind of control on the court, a coach feels a lot more comfortable in allowing setter do what she wants to do. Ah-Mow was not an out-spoken and vocal setter during her time at UH. She was always on the quiet side as well. She led by example. She did not become a vocal leader until she played for team USA.
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Post by lakipuppy11 on Dec 30, 2013 18:38:10 GMT -5
volleyballfan99- Granato is a completely different than Tai. Different hitter, different passer and different player. According to coaches, Granato received multiple scholarship offers so walking on to any team was not an option.
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Post by Mix Breed-TEXAS,HI,LBSU on Dec 30, 2013 19:55:31 GMT -5
Granato is a 2014 recruit or 2015? I was pretty impressed with alot of videos I've seen of her.
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