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Post by hawaiifan808 on Sept 5, 2015 4:39:37 GMT -5
i haven't read what everyone is saying, because most of what i have been reading has been nothing but negative one after another. i am not excusing their terrible play tonight at all. because how they played right was disappointing and unacceptable. but people were underestimating Iowa before the match began, and that was something i didn't do. i was concerned with how this game could have turned out. just like i am worried about Saturday's match as well. but how about people start pointing out the bright spots of the game as well. Greely was amazing, she seriously needs to be recognized more. we got a stellar performance from Granato, who i firmly believe that after tonight's showing, she has earned herself a starting spot over Tai. the most entertaining thing for me was the blocking. they went from zero blocks after set one, to over fifteen to end the night. that was so awesome. lol. Higgins is taking a lot of heat, so i refuse to put more heat on her. i feel bad that people run their mouths about how bad she is, yet honestly they probably shouldn't talk, because they are no better. she is human, and i get frustrated with her set locations, but i could never do what she does, so... everyone is allowed to have their input, but we are so focused on picking at all the negatives, that we just don't see all the positive things. i say this was ugly, but Hawaii did show that their blocking is very much a threat once it gets going. The negative feedback is what helps the team improve a lot when it comes to game time, players don't improve unless someone tells them what they're doing wrong. This is the truth and that is, if Hawaii continues to play like how they did tonight, letting those tips get the best of it, relying too much on Taylor and not involving the middles,Hawaii will be a disappointment for its fans. But back to reality, these negative feedbacks are something that we(the fans) see that the coaches or players don't see and so far in the season it is still the same since last week. Average to poor passes, service errors, balls dropping, NO hustles on the court etc. terrible just terrible. Some might think that i'am wrong for saying this but, these negative feedbacks are said out of care and love for the wahine on the team. Big teams like Stanford, Penn State, and Texas have always remained on the top because they've focused on what needs to be fixed and changed to improve and progress as a team. Although they have the recruits that Hawaii doesn't, they take the opportunity to change and adapt as a player. As for Hawaii they can become a great team if only they fix on their problems that they struggle with and only when they do Hawaii will jump back ontop the top 10. As a former player of the sport getting back negative responses helped me improve as a player and made me realize that playing a certain style gets old and too predictable.
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vb4me
Sophomore
Posts: 202
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Post by vb4me on Sept 5, 2015 4:59:35 GMT -5
What is the fascination with Koelsch over Higgins? Higgins has her issues (specifically with the middles) but she is the only true setter on the UH team. Kendra's set placement is surprisingly erratic for someone who has trained as a setter; she actually set a ball on top of the net tonight. Kendra has a lot of energy and provides a spark but her dumping of the ball far surpasses her setting the ball. It was nice to see Shoji change it up tonight and demonstrate some potential depth.
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Post by jr67 on Sept 5, 2015 5:12:01 GMT -5
Tonight the set selection was more disappointing tonight. It seemed that the game plan was to set the middle on a decent pass and set Nikki on everything else. Apparently those were the only options. Greely was on tonight, but there were too many rotations she went through the front row without being set once.
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Post by 5100 on Sept 5, 2015 6:46:03 GMT -5
With Longo and Mendoza, Hittle, Brandt, Maeda, Kaaihue, I never forgot they were in the game. I always seem to do that with Kahakai. I hope she changes that. i thought kahakai had a solid night. passed well, and got some nice digs. she's getting better at anticipating the tip shot. i'd like to see her put some more velocity on her float serve. that said, let's not be revisionist about the other players you've mentioned. longo, yes, i wish hawaii had her for 4 years (instead of just 2). mendoza struggled in the first half of the season as a starting libero, and was even replaced by kahakai for a time. hittle, although she found her calling at libero, was supposed to be a 6 rotation outside hitter. but (like another outside hitter on this year's team) never found the consistency to play all the way around. brandt came in to play in the back row, but she was never relied upon to pass. she was in there to serve and play defense (which i will agree, she did very well). maeda was better as a role player than as a starting libero. when you noticed her on the court as libero, it was because she went into the shank tank. even kaaihue took some time to get acclimated to the libero role. it showed during her first two years, and she didn't really get comfortable in the position until her junior ans senior seasons. Kahakai played a lot last year. This is the fourth match of the season and she has been the libero all four times. Still, she is watching balls fall around her. Mendoza had her struggles, but she wasn't as bad as Kahakai is now during this time. Here are Mendoza's stats for the first four matches of last season: Ohio (3 sets, 24 digs, 4 assists) Arizona State (3 sets, 5 digs, 1 ace, 1 assist) SDSU (4 sets, 24 digs, 3 assists, 1 kill) New Mexico (4 sets, 17 digs, 1 ace, 1 assist) Hittle was injured during the early part of the 2005 season and was out for weeks. She was never the same after that injury. But, she was the 2004 WAC FOY and was a passing right-side hitter. Maeda wasn't perfect. But she wasn't a bad passer and she had a lot of memorable digs. Agreed that she was a better as a role player when Longo took over the libero spot, but she should have been the libero in 2011, not Elizabeth Blake. Ka`aihue also had her struggles as a true freshman libero but she was injured during her sophomore season and saw limited playing time as a DS. She was pretty great when she started again at the libero position after that season.
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Post by kolohekeiki on Sept 5, 2015 7:41:17 GMT -5
I think the Wahine still lacks a terminator on the outside...I'm not completely sold on Nikki Taylor being that terminator on the outside...she still hits too many balls out of bounds when she goes for the angle shot...she still needs to work on her consistency if she is going to become the Wahine's go to and bail out hitter...those balls that she just flails out of bounds needs to be more controlled and she needs to put them in the court...at times I feel she is trying to hard and she cuts the angle to much...
Tayler Higgins still needs to work on her set location as lots of her sets were off the mark...
Olivia Magill and Kalei Greeley I believe have been the bright spots for the Wahine in all four matches as they have brought consistent play and have contributed in a positive way...
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Post by shai87 on Sept 5, 2015 8:58:30 GMT -5
whatever the case is, Iowa is most definitely a team to pay attention to. i would love to see them match up to UCLA. that would be a fun match to see.
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Post by Seahawks 1972 on Sept 5, 2015 9:10:41 GMT -5
i thought kahakai had a solid night. passed well, and got some nice digs. she's getting better at anticipating the tip shot. i'd like to see her put some more velocity on her float serve. that said, let's not be revisionist about the other players you've mentioned. longo, yes, i wish hawaii had her for 4 years (instead of just 2). mendoza struggled in the first half of the season as a starting libero, and was even replaced by kahakai for a time. hittle, although she found her calling at libero, was supposed to be a 6 rotation outside hitter. but (like another outside hitter on this year's team) never found the consistency to play all the way around. brandt came in to play in the back row, but she was never relied upon to pass. she was in there to serve and play defense (which i will agree, she did very well). maeda was better as a role player than as a starting libero. when you noticed her on the court as libero, it was because she went into the shank tank. even kaaihue took some time to get acclimated to the libero role. it showed during her first two years, and she didn't really get comfortable in the position until her junior ans senior seasons. Kahakai played a lot last year. This is the fourth match of the season and she has been the libero all four times. Still, she is watching balls fall around her. Mendoza had her struggles, but she wasn't as bad as Kahakai is now during this time. Here are Mendoza's stats for the first four matches of last season: Ohio (3 sets, 24 digs, 4 assists) Arizona State (3 sets, 5 digs, 1 ace, 1 assist) SDSU (4 sets, 24 digs, 3 assists, 1 kill) New Mexico (4 sets, 17 digs, 1 ace, 1 assist) Hittle was injured during the early part of the 2005 season and was out for weeks. She was never the same after that injury. But, she was the 2004 WAC FOY and was a passing right-side hitter. Maeda wasn't perfect. But she wasn't a bad passer and she had a lot of memorable digs. Agreed that she was a better as a role player when Longo took over the libero spot, but she should have been the libero in 2011, not Elizabeth Blake. Ka`aihue also had her struggles as a true freshman libero but she was injured during her sophomore season and saw limited playing time as a DS. She was pretty great when she started again at the libero position after that season. Kahakai looks out of shape and struggling to get to the ball early on. Don't get me wrong, she did adjust and got higher %s of the balls but being out of shape just makes it more difficult to get the defense generated early on and the momentum goes to the opponent early as a result. Being out of shape will get you in trouble when matches go to 5 sets or very long rallies.
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Post by Wolfgang on Sept 5, 2015 9:50:40 GMT -5
Unfortunately, it might take a loss before Dave Shoji realizes we are right and he is wrong.
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Post by manoamist on Sept 5, 2015 10:05:49 GMT -5
What is the fascination with Koelsch over Higgins? Higgins has her issues (specifically with the middles) but she is the only true setter on the UH team. Kendra's set placement is surprisingly erratic for someone who has trained as a setter; she actually set a ball on top of the net tonight. Kendra has a lot of energy and provides a spark but her dumping of the ball far surpasses her setting the ball. It was nice to see Shoji change it up tonight and demonstrate some potential depth. IMO the fascination with Kendra is that our current setting especially to the middles is not good. KK, i believe, deserves more time than one turn on a side out. Start Granato permanently with Greeley as ÓH1, and more extended time, as others have stated, for Huff, Metchem, and why not give Baby G.. a shot. From a fan standpoint i understand Tai's personal story but the TV commentators are making me nauseous about the her life's trials. Adjustments are being tinkered with.... but again that seems to be fan's main frustration. Interesting to see what the line up looks like tonight. Lets start a "Save Nikki's Arm" campaign.
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Post by surfboy on Sept 5, 2015 11:00:40 GMT -5
+1 Save Nikki's Arm!!! Start Mitchem at Middle and make Granato permanent in the backrow for Tai!
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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Sept 5, 2015 11:02:56 GMT -5
Did Cubicle really say Kahakai played a good match? Kahakai was not good. She was slow to react and her passing was inconsistent. She has been outplayed by almost every Libero thus far. This position is a weakness right now for Hawai'i, I hope she steps up.
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Post by surfboy on Sept 5, 2015 11:02:57 GMT -5
Unfortunately, it might take a loss before Dave Shoji realizes we are right and he is wrong. Im actually surprised he pulled Tai to start set 2.....and last week when Granato had some rotations to the front...so I guess he is taking baby steps lol
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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Sept 5, 2015 11:15:16 GMT -5
whatever the case is, Iowa is most definitely a team to pay attention to. i would love to see them match up to UCLA. that would be a fun match to see. Shymansky's 3 middle system is fun to watch , especially with Keala at the helm but UCLA should win, I think Iowa played beyond their potential last night.
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Post by CrushTheCoconut on Sept 5, 2015 12:22:25 GMT -5
Jeez, They're 4-0 and have loss 2 SETS!! Relax. It's early and things will work themselves out.
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Post by hawaiifan808 on Sept 5, 2015 12:26:34 GMT -5
Did Cubicle really say Kahakai played a good match? Kahakai was not good. She was slow to react and her passing was inconsistent. She has been outplayed by almost every Libero thus far. This position is a weakness right now for Hawai'i, I hope she steps up. A few times it looked as if she gave up when the ball deflected off the defenders hand and didn't make the effort to hustle for the ball. She planted herself too much out on the court instead of being on her toes, that's why those tips helped out Iowa real well. At times where kahakai is out on left back, she tends to react slowly to those tips. She needs to get with the program or else face losing her spot to some other wahine who would give up her body just to keep the rallies on.
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