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Post by kaipono on May 22, 2019 16:45:50 GMT -5
No, with all due respect to K. Akana's ability, I don't think she would be considered at OH. I wouldn't say she is the most dominant hitter in the state, but she is one of the best passers and defenders in the state (I think she could be better than Oglivie in this respect). The only reason she plays at OH is because that is where she is needed at Kamehameha. In my opinion, I think she would either earn herself a scholarship, and I think she has the capability of pushing Hanawahine for the starting spot at libero. With that said, there will be a lot of players competing in the back row with Hanawahine, Okino, Gong, and Via, so we'll have to see. However, are we all sure that K. Akana is the recruit Koa is referring to? I highly doubt it would be Oglivie, but does anyone think it could be Nani Spaar as well? Maybe I'm just thinking that it would be harder to take a USC recruit than a Temple one, but I do think K. Akana would be a more valuable recruit than Spaar. I don't agree with Akana being more valuable than Spaar. If we are talking about hitting, Spaar is way ahead. Backrow....give or take. But Spaar is a great player, her technique/armswing is quite impressive. True. Hitting-wise I think that Spaar is definitely ahead of Akana, and I would say by a large margin. I think that Spaar may arguably be the best hitter in next year's graduating class. However, Akana is definitely ahead of Spaar when it comes to passing and back row defense, and looking at what the future of the Wahine program may look like, Akana looks like a better get for the program, but both will be valuable additions based on if we can land either of them. Although Rasmussen will graduate after next year, both Hellvig and Wagoner will be here (also there was rumors about another European OH), and I'm not sure if Spaar could take a spot at OH. She could possibly play at OPP for us though. Hanawahine and Okino will both be gone by next year, and Akana should very much be in a position to start at libero having to compete against Gong and Via.
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Post by goblin on May 22, 2019 17:00:02 GMT -5
Re. K. Akana I don't know for a fact whether she's going to UH or USC, but I have a strong suspicion that among all the positions on the team, a coach is more willing to take away (or not renew) scholarships to DSs/liberos. So, unless K. Akana proves herself to be THE irreplaceable back row player like the way Ali Longo, Savannah Kahakai, Tita Akiu, and heck, even Sarah Mendoza were at Hawaii, her parents may be thinking, "Gee, that's a lot of money for USC if Keonilei loses that scholarship." And suddenly, they're thinking of transferring to some other school where either the tuition is lower or a scholarship offer is on the table. Also, I don't think it would be wise for UH to pony up a scholarship for K. Akana unless they know for sure she's the real deal. If you give up a scholarship, that's one scholarship you can no longer offer to that 6'4" lefty OPP from Brazil, much less a domestic player in the mold of Emily Hartong who oozes potential. Not to mention that 6'7 Chinese OH Hu Jinghua, man she'll be collecting Chinese social security by the time she finally gets here. Keonilei mentioned she was to receive a partial scholarship from USC, I didn't realize Schools could split scholarships for woman like they do for the men's game. I do know that the cost of tuition at USC is about $58K per academic year, so if Keonilei received say a half scholarship, then her parents end up picking up the $29K tuition bill with future tuition increases expected. By contrast, the cost of in state tuition per academic year at UH is just under $12K with
tuition rates frozen for the next 3 years. For athletes on partial scholarships, the price tag for academic excellence at a school like USC is quite high and I'm sure they're not the priciest either.
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Post by Wolfgang on May 22, 2019 17:02:50 GMT -5
I remember long time ago when Hu Jinghua was only 6'1". LOL!
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Post by sasa on May 22, 2019 17:21:58 GMT -5
No, with all due respect to K. Akana's ability, I don't think she would be considered at OH. I wouldn't say she is the most dominant hitter in the state, but she is one of the best passers and defenders in the state (I think she could be better than Oglivie in this respect). The only reason she plays at OH is because that is where she is needed at Kamehameha. In my opinion, I think she would either earn herself a scholarship, and I think she has the capability of pushing Hanawahine for the starting spot at libero. With that said, there will be a lot of players competing in the back row with Hanawahine, Okino, Gong, and Via, so we'll have to see. However, are we all sure that K. Akana is the recruit Koa is referring to? I highly doubt it would be Oglivie, but does anyone think it could be Nani Spaar as well? Maybe I'm just thinking that it would be harder to take a USC recruit than a Temple one, but I do think K. Akana would be a more valuable recruit than Spaar. oglivie is the best passer in the state.... no question i follow the club circuit while not paying attention to high school as much, so that might be where we watch different games/serving abilities but at the highest level, oglivie is the premier serve reception passer in the state by far, and this includes all liberos I follow the club scene as well and Oglivie is not the best passer in the state. In the last few club tournaments I've seen Elena had a lot of trouble on serve receive, and the opposing teams were targeting her for that reason. Akana by far has better ball control.
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Post by noblesol on May 22, 2019 19:07:31 GMT -5
Local 2020, best bets: - Oglivie would have a shot as a 6 rotation OH at any mid-major. Much like our hopes for Wagoner. But, she should be competitive at Libero anywhere. Any team would find room for her somewhere. - Spaar can play either pin, has played some middle, and can hit bombs out of the back row. A bigger girl (6' 1") and strong, can be as terminal as Oglivie and likely to become more so this year. Back row ball handling was a bit suspect in 2018, but have heard she's improved this spring and upped her game all around. Don't know if she'd start for UH as a freshman, but she'd compete for a spot. With 12 schollies, not all will start, but without depth no team goes far. - K. Akana, like her sister B. Akana, is an athlete and competitor, and makes plays not puddles. Consistent digger and passer, probably better than Oglivie in the back row. Pretty safe bet to be at least a good D1 Libero, if not a great one. Could play pin for a set or two here and there, if needed. - F. Danielson is a personal favorite. Doesn't have her big sisters hops, but she leads and makes plays, is undersized at the pin but a strong hitter that still gets it done, and is a very very good back row player. Plays with a little bit of a chip on her shoulder and hates to lose. I don't know if she plays beach but I think she'd be tenacious, and might make a pretty good libero indoor.
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Post by Wolfgang on May 22, 2019 19:15:39 GMT -5
Local 2020, best bets: - Oglivie would have a shot as a 6 rotation OH at any mid-major. Much like our hopes for Wagoner. But, she should be competitive at Libero anywhere. Any team would find room for her somewhere. - Spaar can play either pin, has played some middle, and can hit bombs out of the back row. A bigger girl (6' 1") and strong, can be as terminal as Oglivie and likely to become more so this year. Back row ball handling was a bit suspect in 2018, but have heard she's improved this spring and upped her game all around. Don't know if she'd start for UH as a freshman, but she'd compete for a spot. With 12 schollies, not all will start, but without depth no team goes far. - K. Akana, like her sister B. Akana, is an athlete and competitor, and makes plays not puddles. Consistent digger and passer, probably better than Oglivie in the back row. Pretty safe bet to be at least a good D1 Libero, if not a great one. Could play pin for a set or two here and there, if needed. - F. Danielson is a personal favorite. Doesn't have her big sisters hops, but she leads and makes plays, is undersized at the pin but a strong hitter that still gets it done, and is a very very good back row player. Plays with a little bit of a chip on her shoulder and hates to lose. I don't know if she plays beach but I think she'd be tenacious, and might make a pretty good libero indoor. Spaar has not committed anywhere? I'm not too excited about players under 6'0" at the pins unless your name is Kim Willoughby.
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Post by Wolfgang on May 22, 2019 19:34:21 GMT -5
I hate it when the UH website's front page has an interesting story so I go to click on it, but I'm not fast enough in my clicking, so instead of taking me to my desired story, it takes me to the next story in the queue. I feel like I'm always fighting in that front page, like I'll want to read about the UH men's vb team's recent victory but I'm so slow that I end up clicking on the next story which is about how the golf team lost some sort of Desert Classic tournament. Happens a lot.
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Post by noblesol on May 22, 2019 19:34:49 GMT -5
Spaar is said to have made a verbal commitment to Temple a year or so ago, as reported by her club coach. Nothing signed sealed and delivered though, that I'm aware of.
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Post by WahineFan44 on May 22, 2019 19:40:07 GMT -5
Oglive will not be a Wahine. You do not turn down stanford.
Its either Akana or Sparr.
Either would be a nice addition to the 2020 class IMO
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Post by kaipono on May 22, 2019 20:35:08 GMT -5
Local 2020, best bets: - Oglivie would have a shot as a 6 rotation OH at any mid-major. Much like our hopes for Wagoner. But, she should be competitive at Libero anywhere. Any team would find room for her somewhere. - Spaar can play either pin, has played some middle, and can hit bombs out of the back row. A bigger girl (6' 1") and strong, can be as terminal as Oglivie and likely to become more so this year. Back row ball handling was a bit suspect in 2018, but have heard she's improved this spring and upped her game all around. Don't know if she'd start for UH as a freshman, but she'd compete for a spot. With 12 schollies, not all will start, but without depth no team goes far. - K. Akana, like her sister B. Akana, is an athlete and competitor, and makes plays not puddles. Consistent digger and passer, probably better than Oglivie in the back row. Pretty safe bet to be at least a good D1 Libero, if not a great one. Could play pin for a set or two here and there, if needed. - F. Danielson is a personal favorite. Doesn't have her big sisters hops, but she leads and makes plays, is undersized at the pin but a strong hitter that still gets it done, and is a very very good back row player. Plays with a little bit of a chip on her shoulder and hates to lose. I don't know if she plays beach but I think she'd be tenacious, and might make a pretty good libero indoor. I love watching F. Danielson play! I don't think she is the player Koa is referring to because I'm not sure if she is committed anywhere yet, but I would love to see her play as a Wahine! She is a strong leader for the Mililani team, and she could definitely contribute in the back row at UH. I also wouldn't mind seeing Aysia Miller as a back-up setter to Lang, and I think she could make things competitive.
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Post by HawaiiVB on May 22, 2019 21:51:28 GMT -5
Toodie Sopi. Robyn may want to sign her asap. She is a beast.
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Post by mcman27 on May 23, 2019 0:40:19 GMT -5
Bailey Choy coming to Manoa? Is this real life?
If so, I’ll be overjoyed. This season is shaping up to be quite exciting.
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Post by noblesol on May 23, 2019 19:19:06 GMT -5
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Post by Wolfgang on May 23, 2019 19:25:38 GMT -5
In addition to the five mentioned in the article who left, two others from the list at the bottom of the same article will eventually leave early, although no one knew that at the time: Adrienne Bradley, transfer to Utah, and Veronica Lima, who left early after the 2000 season to go back home to Brazil. Possibly three, because I have never heard of Nicole Huihui, so maybe she left, too.
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Post by goblin on May 23, 2019 20:14:22 GMT -5
1998? Poor Hu Jinghua, must've taken the slow boat from China or maybe the dog ate her paperwork. Ha
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