'Bows unbeaten; lineup unsettled

[808]

'Bows unbeaten; lineup unsettled

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's third-ranked women's volleyball team is off on what it hopes will be an excellent 8,000-mile adventure. The irrepressible and, thus far, unbeatable Rainbow Wahine play Western Athletic Conference matches at Louisiana Tech tomorrow and Southern Methodist Saturday.


Hawai'i's Susie Boogaard, right, attempted to block UTEP's Heather Brisnahan on Sunday. The Rainbows won in three games.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

They are still searching for a starting seven, which might be as startling as Hawai'i's rapid race back to national prominence. One middle blocker position and the libero spot are up for grabs.

It might sound like a lot for a team that has tantalized, then terminated opponents all season. But, put into perspective, it is actually dramatic progress. When the season started, only setter Kanoe Kamana'o — last season's national Freshman of the Year — had her name engraved in the starting rotation .

The Rainbows said endless auditioning can be nerve-wracking. It is not always a bad thing.

"I don't know where I stand," Teisa Fotu says. "But my attitude towards that is if I do my best in everything, hopefully I'll get to play."


TEISA FOTU

Fotu, a senior transfer from Hawai'i Pacific, is a reserve hitter whose innate volleyball gifts have launched her into the libero sweepstakes.

UH coach Dave Shoji first handed her the distinctive jersey at Nevada when starter Ashley Watanabe struggled. Fotu's solid ballhandling helped the Rainbows rally to yet another five-game victory. Her spectacular save, as she instinctively stuck her fist at the ball, preceded the stuff that ended the match.

Fotu prefers to call the mid-season search for starters testament to Hawai'i's depth and diversity. So does freshman Tara Hittle, who has solidified her place as right-side starter by crushing almost every set she has seen in the WAC.

"Actually, I don't know where I stand either," Hittle says. "I don't think anyone knows except for a couple people. And quite honestly, I'm not even worried about it. If I'm in there, I'm happy. If not, I'll still be happy because I love this team and it doesn't really matter who is in there."

The two first-year Rainbows go as far as to call the search for starters a "weapon" that proves their depth and provides more players the opportunity to improve.

Even Shoji seems to be enjoying the spontaneity of the journey. He used 13 players Sunday, then characterized the sweep of UTEP as his team's most poised performance.

"It was a confidence-builder," Shoji says. "Everybody feels good about the way we played. It was fun. We're doing some little subtle things we talked about and that's when it's fun — when we're executing and people are having fun playing."

Lots of people are having lots of fun right now. That could change any moment, and Shoji worries most about road matches with his inexperienced team. But, unlike previous years, he doesn't worry about this team looking past the WAC.

"I don't think our players know there's any difference in any of these teams," he says. "They're not that familiar with anybody. That's a good thing."

NOTES

• Both road matches will be broadcast live on KKEA (1420 AM), beginning at 2 p.m. tomorrow and 9 a.m. Saturday.

• The Rainbows remained No. 1 in the third RichKern.com/AVCA Division I West Regional Ranking. They are followed by Long Beach State, Pacific, Rice and UC-Irvine. Nevada, SMU and Boise State of the WAC are Nos. 11, 12 and 13.

• Hawai'i's next home match is Oct. 21 against Eastern Division leader Rice. At 17-2, the Owls are off to their best start in history. They received enough votes to place 26th in this week's Top 25. The match will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of Stan Sheriff Center.

• In WAC matches, UH junior transfer Victoria Prince is hitting .479 and averaging more than two blocks a game. Her season averages of .386 and 1.46 blocks are first and third in conference statistics. Prince's hitting percentage ranks 30th nationally.

• Sophomore Kanoe Kamana'o leads the WAC in assists per game (13.61) and is 11th nationally. She moved ahead of assistant coach Kari (Anderson) Ambrozich into seventh place in career assists last week. Kamana'o, at 5 feet 8, is also 10th in WAC blocking (1.09).

Reach Ann Miller at [e-mail] or 525-8043.

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the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Oct/13/sp/sp06p.html

[808]

Another article about the Wahine:

Rainbow Wahine learn life on the road
Hawaii's unbeaten season will be tested by the time zones

By Cindy Luis
[e-mail]

The key to hitting the road is to make sure the road doesn't hit back.

Getting to Ruston, La., to play Louisiana Tech is not easy. As new Hawaii women's basketball coach Jim Bolla describes it, "It's not the end of the world but you can see it from there."

Ruston is the first stop of two for the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team on this week's Western Athletic Conference schedule. No. 4 Hawaii (14-0, 4-0 WAC) meet the Lady Techsters (5-13, 1-4) tomorrow at 2 p.m., Hawaii time.

The Rainbow Wahine left last night on their second trip of the season, and were scheduled to arrive in Dallas this morning. They then were to fly to Shreveport, La., and drive for some 90 minutes before arriving in Ruston some 12 hours after leaving Honolulu.

Out of the 12 players on the Hawaii travel roster, only six have made this trip before. Learning to live on the road is another part of the learning experience for this young -- but undefeated -- Wahine team.

"I think it will test us a little," freshman middle Kari Gregory said prior to the team's departure. "I've heard it's a really tough trip but I'm excited to go.

"The one thing that gets to you on trips is there is so much down time. You don't want to do anything because it makes you tired but you don't want to just hang around the hotel because that's tiring."

Besides game preparation, the Wahine also have to keep up on their schoolwork. Some of the players have papers or tests that are due by the weekend.

There's also a change in eating habits as the players eat all meals together.

"I think we end up eating more on the road because the pregame routine forces you to," Gregory said. "There's breakfast at the hotel, lunch or early dinner.

"I eat out a lot normally but the road does make you change your habits."

The one thing that has remained the same for Hawaii the past two months is the approach to matches.

"We play every game like it's our last," junior libero Ashley Watanabe said. "Every game we play hard.

"It's important for us to come back with two wins. We have a lot of confidence and we have a lot to build on. Our chemistry is really great and so is the camaraderie."

Opposing coaches continue to note that Hawaii may be a better overall team with its young, no superstar lineup. SMU coach Lisa Seifert, whose team takes on the Wahine Saturday, is surprised UH is unbeaten on one hand but not surprised on the other.

"I'm surprised because they lost an amazing group last season," Seifert said. "But I'm not (surprised) because Dave (UH coach Shoji) has created such a great tradition.

"Kids come into the program expecting to win and come in having a lot of confidence. Tradition goes a long way."

In WAC play, Hawaii has no equal. The Wahine have won 94 consecutive WAC matches and are 116-1 in regular-season matches, 132-3 including the WAC tournament since joining the conference in 1996.

There has been amazing success, home and away

"Something Dave (Shoji) always tells us is that it doesn't matter what happens on the other side of the court," Gregory said. "What matters is what happens on ours. If we take care of business, no matter where we are, we'll be fine. It's all about how WE perform."


WAC volleyball
Who: No. 4 Hawaii (14-0, 4-0) at Louisiana Tech (5-13, 1-4)
When: Tomorrow, 2 p.m., Hawaii time

Radio: Live, KKEA (1420-AM)

TV: None

Series: Hawaii leads 4-0


starbulletin.com/2004/10/13/sports/story3.html

[5100]

I hope Shoji keeps Watanabe at the libero position.

[Aikea]

If you look at the stats it seems that Kari Gregory is the obvious choice to be at the M2 position. We'll see who starts tomorrow.

[bigfan]

I have read many posts on this board regarding the Wahines and while I do not really follow the program closely, I gather from these threads that the coach is just trying to keep his team challenged.

[StuffU]

hehe, yes, you are probably right. But us Wahine fans like to beat the dead horse until it turns to glue lol .....