Hawaiian Airlines Classic previews

[808]

the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Sep/01/sp/sp04a.html

Rainbow volleyball set for anything

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's first, tentative steps into volleyball's Twilight Zone will be taken this week against a diverse Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic field.

The Rainbow Wahine come into the four-day tournament with one starter back — 2003 national freshman of the year Kanoe Kamana'o — and last year's seven seniors spectating. Kamana'o, a setter, is one of a dozen UH underclassmen.

Eastern Washington, tomorrow's season-opening opponent, brought in five transfers this season, but its best move might have been administrative: After winning the Big Sky regular-season championship the past two years and getting left out of the NCAA Tournament, the Eagles placed Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator Pamela Parks on the Division I Women's Volleyball Committee, which picks the tournament teams.

San Diego, Friday's opponent, has all seven starters back from its NCAA Tournament team and received votes in the coaches preseason Top 25.

Arizona, the 17th-ranked UH roadblock on Sunday, has all but one player back from last season. The Wildcats also might have the country's most lethal left-side hitter in Kim Glass, but she is broken. Glass is expected to miss at least the first two weeks of the season because of a shoulder injury.

At this point in the Rainbows' rebuilding, it might not matter.

"The thing about this tournament is there is just no guaranteed win," UH coach Dave Shoji says. "In the past, there have been one or two teams we knew would be a win. We can't say that about this field. Everybody is good."

And Hawai'i, despite its No. 13 ranking, is a complete mystery. Shoji is not sure of anything yet, aside from his starters.

Those will be Kamana'o, middle blockers Melody Eckmier and Juliana Sanders, hitters Susie Boogaard, Alicia Arnott and Victoria Prince, and libero Ashley Watanabe.

The optimism that surrounded UH at its first practice has lived on through two-a-days, the start of school and implementation of a new offense. But tomorrow, for the first time, the Rainbow Wahine face a real opponent.

The last time they played Eastern Washington, the Eagles' sophisticated offense gave Hawai'i all it could handle in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

EWU has been frustrated since, more by the NCAA format than the opposition. It went unrecognized for a 22-8 season last year. The Eagles lost their setters from that team, but return all-Big Sky senior middles Megan Kitterman and Keva Sonderen.

In stark contrast to Eastern Washington, San Diego got into the NCAA Tournament last year after finishing fifth in the West Coast Conference, and going 17-13. It is picked fourth this season, behind Pepperdine, Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount.

The Toreros have been in the postseason the past three years and have five all-conference players back. The most prominent is senior hitter Devon Forster, who averaged more than five kills a game last season.

Arizona proved here last year that Glass wasn't its only weapon. The Wildcats started their surge into the 2003 postseason by taking Hawai'i deep into a fifth game in October. Glass, a second- and third-team All-American her first two seasons, had 28 kills but hit just .128.

Jennifer Abernathy added 20 kills that night, and hit .295. Middle Bre Ladd also rattled the Rainbows and helped stuff UH into a horrible hitting night. Both all-Pac-10 players are back and the Wildcats, 17-15 last year, are picked to finish sixth in the country's toughest conference this year.

NOTES

• Two-time defending NCAA champion Southern California swept Georgia Tech and outlasted Minnesota in five games to win last weekend's NACWAA Classic at Colorado State. In other matches, fifth-ranked Minnesota beat No. 11 CSU in four and the Rams took third place with a four-game victory over No. 12 Tech. USC, which hasn't lost since 2002, is ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/AVCA preseason Coaches Top 25.

• The 2004 regionals (Dec. 9 to 12) will be at Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville; the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis; Bank America Arena in Seattle; and the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis.

• It looks like 10th-ranked Cal will be without All-American Mia Jerkov when it plays here Sept. 17. According to the Daily Californian, the Croatian Federation announced Friday that Jerkov would continue her training with the national team instead of playing her final year.


Rainbow Wahine Volleyball

WHAT: 17th annual Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic

WHERE: Stan Sheriff Center

WHEN: Tomorrow to Sunday

SCHEDULE:

Tomorrow
— 7 p.m., Hawai'i vs. Eastern Washington.

Friday
— 5 p.m., Arizona vs. Eastern Washington; 7 p.m., Hawai'i vs. San Diego.

Saturday
— 2 p.m., San Diego vs. Arizona.

Sunday
— 4 p.m., Eastern Washington vs. San Diego; 6 p.m., Hawai'i vs. Arizona.

TV/RADIO: UH matches live KFVE (Ch. 5)/KKEA (1420 AM)

TICKETS: Tomorrow and Friday—$14 lower level and $11 (adults), $8 (seniors 65-older), $6 (students 4-18) and $3 (UH students) upper level. Saturday—free. Sunday—$16 lower level and $13 (adults), $9 (seniors 65-older), $6 (students 4-18) and $3 (UH students) upper level.

PARKING: $3

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

[808]

starbulletin.com/2004/09/01/sports/story1.html#

Wahine roster painted with new faces

The Hawaii volleyball team opens its season tomorrow with only six holdovers from last year

By Cindy Luis
[e-mail]

This is one season that folks may want to buy the $12 media guide just for the roster.

The Hawaii women's volleyball team opens its 31st season -- 30th under coach Dave Shoji -- tomorrow with about as many new faces as question marks. Of the 16-player roster, 10 were not wearing Rainbow Wahine uniforms last season, including eight freshmen.

"Patience" is the word being tossed around a lot in the practice gym. It's what the Hawaii fans will need to practice, too, as they join the Wahine coaches and players wondering:

>> How will UH recoup from the loss of two of the program's all-time great players (Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku) as well as five other standout seniors?

>> How long will it take to get to the level enjoyed by last year's team which went 37-2, set a record for consecutive victories (35) and reached the NCAA Tournament semifinal?

>> And will this be the year that Hawaii sees its conference winning streak -- currently at 78 -- broken?

The only question that has been answered so far is who Shoji will start against Eastern Washington in the 7 p.m. opener of the 17th Hawaiian Airlines Classic.

Shoji told the team before yesterday's practice that he was going with sophomore setter Kanoe Kamana'o, senior Melody Eckmier and redshirt freshman Juliana Sanders at middle, junior Susie Boogaard and sophomore Alicia Arnott at leftside hitter, junior transfer Victoria Prince at rightside hitter and junior Ashley Watanabe at libero. He also plans to work in as many of the other players in as many of the other players as he can, particularly true freshman Tara Hittle, a 6-foot utility player.

"It's fun for the coaching staff to develop the players but the challenge is trying to get the right people on the court in the right positions," Shoji said. "Usually I'm a 'feel' kind of coach. But a number of people are so close (in talent) that we've been taking stats during practice and using that to figure out some things.

"I think we have a number of pleasant surprises. It's hard to be more athletic than we were last year -- and we had some great athletes -- but our players are all in great shape. What we need to do is to take everyone's strengths and bring that to the forefront."

On the line tomorrow night will be a couple of streaks, one modest and one very impressive. Hawaii has won its last two season openers and is 26-4 overall.

The Wahine also have not lost to an unranked opponent in 176 matches, dating back to Sept. 12, 1997 (Pepperdine).

Hawaii starts the season ranked 13th, which the players feel is a good spot to be in. The pressure is off to be a Top-4 squad, but it gives them incentive to move up in the poll.

"The coaches will agree that we've come a long way since we started practice," said Eckmier, the team captain. "We have a lot of new faces but we've become a very tight-knit family and very team-oriented.

"I'm excited for the season to start. I don't know what to expect. We're going to have to come together, play as a team to produce the wins. We won't have Kim or Lily who definitely brought us some amazing kills when we needed them. Our wins this year will have to be a complete team effort."

The situation will be somewhat similar on the opposite side of the net tomorrow night. Eastern Washington lost five seniors from last year's 22-8 team, including both setters.

"To me, this is just a growth tournament for us," said Eagles coach Wade Benson. "The biggest thing for us is where is the leadership going to come from on the court? How are the kids on the court going to gel and play together with so many new faces? Are we ever going to be able to get it?

"Hawaii is in a little different boat (than us). They get Fab 50s, we don't. We've got hard-working kids but we have to spend a little more time on fundamentals and teaching the concepts of the game. We're just going to be excited to come to the islands and play some good competition and see where we fall."

The tournament also includes No. 17 Arizona and San Diego, which received 105 points in the coaches' poll.


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No. 13 Hawaii (36-2)
Western Athletic Conference
Dave Shoji (30th season, 840-149-1)
The Rainbow Wahine will be good but very, very young. The UH roster features eight freshmen, four sophomores, three juniors and two seniors.

The Wahine lost seven seniors from last year's team the fell to Florida in the NCAA Tournament semifinal. Gone are Player of the Year Kim Willoughby, All-Americans Lily Kahumoku and Lauren Duggins, All-WAC players Maja Gustin, Nohea Tano and Melissa Villaroman, and solid all-around player Karin Lundqvist.

Running this year's offense is 2003 National Freshman of the Year, setter Kanoe Kamana'o. She's the lone starter from last season but the Wahine have a number of returnees who saw significant action last year, including senior middle Melody Eckmier (captain), junior hitter Susie Boogaard, junior libero Ashley Watanabe, sophomore hitter Alicia Arnott and sophomore backup setter Cayley Thurlby.

The newcomers are talented and could have immediate impact, particularly junior transfer Victoria Prince and freshman outside Tara Hittle. Expect a more diversified offense this season which will make the Wahine very hard to scout, according to Dave Shoji.



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No. 17 Arizona (17-15)
Pac-10 Conference
Dave Rubio (13th season, 234-124)
The Wildcats' preseason ranking probably isn't indicative of how dangerous this team could be. Arizona returns seven starters from a team that took the senior-laden Wahine to five games last year.

Junior outside hitter Kim Glass, a third-team AVCA All-American, is back along with all-Pac-10 middle Bre Ladd and outside hitter Jennifer Abernathy. The Wildcats have experience and depth at the outside hitting position. Senior Jolene Killough, a 6-foot-5 middle, will be an excellent complement to Ladd.

Sophomore setter Stephanie Butkus has improved immensely and will be pushed by freshman Amy Dyck whom Rubio says has all the intangibles to be as good as any setter who's competed for the Wildcats.

Against Hawaii: The Wildcats are 0-9 against the Wahine. UH last met Arizona last season in Honolulu, holding off the Wildcats 30-24, 30-26, 22-30, 27-30, 15-13.



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Eastern Washington (22-8)
Big Sky Conference
Wade Benson (5th season, 91-27)
The Eagles missed an NCAA tournament berth last season when they were upset in the conference championship final. Benson lost five seniors from last season, including both setters, and will spend much of the early matches gauging what he's got. EWU will be counting on Keva Sonderen and Megan Kitterman to carry the hitting load in the early going. Look for Lizzy Mellor to add to the offense as well. The rest of the roster is largely untested.

Against Hawaii: The Eagles are 0-2 versus the Wahine. UH eliminated EWU from the 2001 NCAA Tournament in a second-round match played in Pullman, Wash.



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San Diego (17-13)
West Coast Conference
Jennifer Petrie (6th season, 101-50)
Petrie returns most of last year's bunch that reached the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in eight years. The Toreros were bounced by UCLA in the first round.

Six starters are back including junior setter Lindsey Sherburne and senior all-conference outside hitters Devon Forster and Kristen Hurst. Forster was a first-team all WCC selection. Sophomore middles Emily Haas and Christie Dawson are sure to be more seasoned with a year of experience in the lineup.

Also impressive on Petrie's roster are her assistant coaches. Former Olympians Tammy Liley Leibl and Brent Hilliard provide additional tutelage for an experienced team looking to go deeper into the postseason.

Against Hawaii: The Toreros and the Wahine have met just once before with Hawaii winning 3-1 in 1998.



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Compiled by Grace Wen and Cindy Luis

[Ron Mexico]

Apologies if this is answered elsewhere, but who (if anyone) is going to be redshirted this season for Hawaii?

[IdahoBoy]

Bob said:

Apologies if this is answered elsewhere, but who (if anyone) is going to be redshirted this season for Hawaii?

It was only speculation before, but in talking with girls from the team last night, it appears there will be two redshirts: Thomas (who I didn't expect) and Keefe, who is still in recovery from ACL tear this Spring.

Things are not in stone though.

[808]

Another couple of preview articles on the Wahine:

the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Sep/02/sp/sp05a.html

Posted on: Thursday, September 2, 2004

Shoji surprised by rebuilt Rainbows

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer


If you are looking for panic or desperation in the eyes of the Rainbow Wahine as they forge into their volleyball season opener tonight, blink again.

Volleyball season ticket sales are down, but just a little at the University of Hawai'i. Concession sales forecasts are up, but more because of enhanced variety, efficiency and quality than the anticipation of matches that last deep into the Manoa night.

Dave Shoji is relatively relaxed, even buoyant, heading into his 30th year as head coach. His players aren't in a panic despite losing a tidal wave of all-conference senior teammates from last year. The seniors took 90 percent of the UH offense, 86 percent of the block, 77 percent of the defense and every primary passer with them.

Still, the atmosphere is startlingly ... serene and upbeat.

"I'm actually somewhat relieved at what I've seen," Shoji says. "We've been doing good things in practice. The individuals have all improved over the summer. It almost looks pretty good out there at times."

It is a qualified endorsement for sure, but any endorsement is surprising at this point for the renovated Rainbows, ranked 13th in the preseason despite returning just one starter.

This is a program that hasn't lost to an unranked opponent in seven years, hasn't been out of the Top 25 in 158 weeks and has led the country in attendance the last eight years. Two out of three would be an accomplishment this season.

One is all but assured. As of yesterday morning, Hawai'i had sold 3,764 season tickets — less than 600 off last year's final total. Apparently, Rainbow Wahine fans are looking forward to a little tough love and nurturing after the last few years of great expectations, and don't mind sitting in the Stan Sheriff Center past 9 p.m. to provide it.

Shoji won't make promises — "All phases of our game are a little bit worrisome," he admits — but he has been pleasantly surprised by what he's seen last spring and during the last three weeks of practice.

"Offensively, we have more weapons than we thought," Shoji says, "and our setter (Kanoe Kamana'o) can get the ball to the right person and give them the opportunity to make something happen."

He is also surprised at the hurt Susie Boogaard, Alicia Arnott, Juliana Sanders and Victoria Prince have put on the volleyball. After spending the first few weeks on detailed technique work, the past few days have focused on "going after it," and they have.

"Now he wants us to go out and make it second nature," Sanders says.

The read-and-rip offensive approach makes for spectacular kills, but rapid rejections. Kamana'o and a new offense designed to stay under the blockers' radar are there to minimize the rejections and help Hawai'i gain confidence as its players learn each other's names, to say nothing of nuances.

The amped-up offense has been in place eight months or — no coincidence — since Kim Willoughby, Lily Kahumoku, Lauren Duggins, etc., used up their eligibility and All-America arms.

"The tempo we set to the left and right will be much lower and faster, from just about anywhere on the court," Shoji says. "Some hitters prefer it higher, but we don't have the luxury of setting the ball higher. We've determined this is the only way we can be very, very successful."

If the passing holds up and the new offense works, it will be a dramatically new look. Even if it doesn't, the 'Bows will barely be recognizable. Almost every position is up for grabs and the sense of urgency in practice, where each mistake might translate into a drop on the depth chart, could be suffocating.

It isn't, the players say, because the team has already formed a personality. It is exceedingly witty. Freshman and "all-around comedian" Tara Hittle is a major reason why, Sanders says

"It gets a little tense at times but we'll relax," junior Ashley Watanabe adds. "You can't work through it yourself, but we have each other to calm our nerves."

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

===============================================

starbulletin.com/2004/09/02/sports/story2.html#

Kamana‘o is UH’s rock

Sophomore setter Kanoe Kamana'o is the only returning
starter in tonight's opener

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By Cindy Luis
[e-mail]

Change is constant. That's a given.

Change is good. That's often debatable.

And when it comes to the changes in this year's edition of the Hawaii women's volleyball team ... well, there's already a reality show on TV.

It's called "Extreme Makeover."

But to the one constant in the Rainbow Wahine lineup -- sophomore setter Kanoe Kamana'o, change is inevitable. It starts tonight when No. 13 Hawaii hosts Eastern Washington in the opener of the Hawaiian Airlines Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Kamana'o had to grow up fast last season as the lone freshman starter on a senior-laden, All-American-heavy team. She more than survived, earning her own All-American hardware as well as the National Freshman of the Year.

This season will be as challenging with the learning curve just as steep.

In 2003, Kamana'o had two terminators on offense to go to when needing a critical, automatic kill in Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku. "High and outside" bailed out the Wahine in nearly every situation.

Tonight, the offense will be more diverse, quicker, less predictable and likely less efficient. Kamana'o, surrounded by five new starters, is eager to get started.

"Definitely, my role has changed," she said. "It's gone from me being the freshman, guided by all the seniors, to me helping the other five people on the court feel more comfortable.

"It's a whole different team this year. And I like the faster offense. It's not that last year was boring, but we'll be running our middles a lot more and trying to distribute the ball more evenly to all the hitters."

Willoughby and Kahumoku finished their careers Nos. 1 and 3 on the UH all-time kill list. The two had more than 50 percent of the team's kills, and their efficiency helped Kamana'o to already become the career leader in assists per game (13.58).

"She's grown in subtle ways," said coach Dave Shoji. "She's much stronger and quicker. It might not be noticeable to most people, but I can tell. She's worked very hard on her physical stature.

"She's also not only going to be more vocal but she'll have to change the plays just about every time. Last year, it was pretty much do what the hitters wanted her to do. This year, the hitters are going to do what she tells them to do. As the season progresses, she'll be more confident in what she's doing."

But Kamana'o isn't thinking about last year, other than to say that the goal is to repeat the success and earn another final-four berth. It's possible, she says, but it's going to take hard work and communication.

A lot of hard work. A lot of communication.

"For me, I have to start talking more," said the 2003 Iolani School graduate. "This is a quiet team and we all have to talk more.

"My role has changed in that I wasn't the leader out there last year. I just set things up on the court. This year, I have to do more and make sure we stay steady. We will have to compete a lot harder and, at times, our youth will be showing."

Shoji will open his 30th season tonight with one of the youngest lineups in terms of experience. Senior captain Melody Eckmier played sparingly in the middle last year (23 games out of 125), and middle Juliana Sanders is a redshirt freshman.

Junior hitter Susie Boogaard got into 69 games, sophomore hitter Alicia Arnott 63 and junior hitter Victoria Prince sat out last season after transferring from Washington State. Junior libero Ashley Watanabe backed up all-conference Melissa Villaroman, playing in 61 games.

What Kamana'o likes is the change in chemistry, with everyone pushing for a starting spot.

"Everyone has been working hard and we can be young and learn together," Kamana'o said. "A lot of the freshmen came in early, showed up in the beginning of summer to be together and to work.

"Last year, people expected a lot of the team. Being (ranked) No. 13 is a good place for us to start. It will push us to get to the top. Realistically, we have a lot of potential and the season is just starting. We have the time to get better."

Eckmier has seen Kamana'o get better, during her freshman season as well as since spring practice.

"She was great last year and I expect nothing less from her this year," Eckmier said. "She has worked really hard on spreading the offense. And she is getting pushed by Cayley (sophomore backup setter Thurlby). Everyone is getting pushed to work harder and get better."

The time has gone quickly, Kamana'o said, since the Wahine lost to Florida on Dec. 18 in the NCAA Tournament semifinal. She's looking forward to being back out under the bright lights of the Sheriff Center.

"I'm excited to get back out there," she said. "I think there was more pressure for me last year because of the high expectations. I was really nervous the first game. But seeing the thousands of fans when you come out of the tunnel ... it gets you so pumped up.

"This team is a lot of fun. There's a lot of smiles going around. Last year was more serious, it was the last chance for the seniors. This year, we have to work our way up, but I think it will be a lot of fun. We're ready to face the challenge."