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Post by ay2013 on Dec 8, 2011 1:45:52 GMT -5
i was actually talking about BEST PASSING TEAM for HAWAII this decade but if you guys want to compare them to the other great teams from this decade... BY ALL MEANS DO =) Ah my bad
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Post by haw2991 on Dec 8, 2011 2:10:57 GMT -5
I believe Hawaii will need to key on the Middles.....Haley will want SC to feed the ball to them every chance they get. Fuller creamed Hawaii last year and will get her sets so she has to be looked at. And well Jupiter is Jupiter. Just hopefully as a Hawaii fan, the one that can't hit the ball in the court to save her soul is the one that shows up that night. I hope they bring in the bigger lineup to start for Hawaii. Satele can bombs away but is a huge liability at the pins. Jupiter will hit right over her and Mita. I'm hoping for Hartong to get on the right to add that needed height. But it does leave UH with less offensive options in the middle. Hewitt when mita connects with her is effective.....and Adoloph has the "potential" to be a player that can get the ball down. Hartong for some reason is just able to get that ball through whenever called upon as an MH. Kanani will be Kanani....awesome as usual. And Croson will just need to play lights out to give Hawaii a chance. Reduce those errors Croson and you will be fine. Hawaii's fans need to make it as uncomfortable as possible for USC as I know they can. Get in their heads and make them even think a little bit of doubt....and Hawaii can pounce on that. I'll actually be playing hookie at work just cause I can't miss this for the world. Whatever happens though.......these are some awesome teams playing. GO WAHINE. My head says USC in 3 but my heart says Hawaii in 5. Completely agree with your assesment, the only slight difference is my head saying USC in 4 but I hope my heart is correct just like yours.
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Post by kolohekeiki on Dec 8, 2011 2:16:56 GMT -5
I believe Hawaii will need to key on the Middles.....Haley will want SC to feed the ball to them every chance they get. Fuller creamed Hawaii last year and will get her sets so she has to be looked at. And well Jupiter is Jupiter. Just hopefully as a Hawaii fan, the one that can't hit the ball in the court to save her soul is the one that shows up that night. I hope they bring in the bigger lineup to start for Hawaii. Satele can bombs away but is a huge liability at the pins. Jupiter will hit right over her and Mita. I'm hoping for Hartong to get on the right to add that needed height. But it does leave UH with less offensive options in the middle. Hewitt when mita connects with her is effective.....and Adoloph has the "potential" to be a player that can get the ball down. Hartong for some reason is just able to get that ball through whenever called upon as an MH. Kanani will be Kanani....awesome as usual. And Croson will just need to play lights out to give Hawaii a chance. Reduce those errors Croson and you will be fine. Hawaii's fans need to make it as uncomfortable as possible for USC as I know they can. Get in their heads and make them even think a little bit of doubt....and Hawaii can pounce on that. I'll actually be playing hookie at work just cause I can't miss this for the world. Whatever happens though.......these are some awesome teams playing. GO WAHINE. My head says USC in 3 but my heart says Hawaii in 5. I agree that USC will win this match with their middle attack...IMO the Wahine can only do so much to stop Jupiter...she'll get her kills being the all-American and player of the year candidate that she is...she's not up for those awards for nothing...she's a great player and I'm sure she'll bring her game against the Wahine...the Wahine has struggled against teams this season that has exploited the middles...the Wahine hasn't had much luck stopping middles that have been going off...actually hot hitters in general no matter where they are... I have mixed feelings about going with the bigger line-up...I agree with it to the extent that we are going to need the bigger blocks to stop USC's offensive weapons...but I'm against it due to the lack of offensive options...with this, it is going to be easier for USC's blockers to key on the Wahine's outsides and Croson will struggle if she's facing a huge block every single time and Danielson will still get her kills, but I believe she'd get stopped a lot more because the offensive options will be limited and the blockers will just camp out on her...I believe Croson will be one of the keys for the match as she needs to have a big match to take the load off Kanani and Hartong...if Croson is getting her kills, her serves and her passes the Wahine have a good shot! Another huge key will be the consistency of the Wahine passing...if anything this is my biggest concern as this has been the Wahine nemesis all season long...whenever they've struggled it's been because of their passing...if the Wahine can pass money than that will allow Uiato to run her quick offense and beat the USC block... Just can't wait for Friday's match it will definitely be a good one!
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Post by aaronic on Dec 8, 2011 3:12:36 GMT -5
No doubt this is THE match of the season for the Wahine! I don't care about the NCAA seeds, this is No.1 vs. No.3. Yes USC is probably favored to win, but like someone has already mentioned, they are beatable, and we have yet to see the Wahine with all pieces clicking at once. Hope this will be that match.
All i'm hoping for is some amazing volleyball because I expect the atmosphere (especially with a sellout) to be a "electric!"
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Post by Courtside5 on Dec 8, 2011 3:18:22 GMT -5
As long as Croson bombs her serves and gets her kills. It will definitely help to take the load off Kanani. If the Wahine can pass well then Uiato can run a fast offense. I think Hartong will be key in the middle because she's so quick. If the Wahine can beat the middle block and get kills off that, then they have a good shot. USC might be bigger but definitely not faster. Speed kills! Let's just hope Hewitt is also on and has a monster night in blocks.
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Post by FreeBaller on Dec 8, 2011 4:02:02 GMT -5
Even facing the Home Court Advantage and Kanani Danielson, I like Southern California's chances. A) The entire starting lineup has played and won at Stan Sheriff, last year in the preseason. B) I agree with other posters that the post-Falyn SC squad is more balanced, not only in terms of attack-distribution, but emotionally. IMO Lauren Williams and Natalie Hagglund bring a lot of mental fortitude to the team, and the classic USC meltdowns have been fewer and farther between. C) SC's serve-receive impresses me more than Hawaii's serving. Shaw and Hagglund have been business-like receivers, Jupiter and Fuller have also been good. I don't expect a game-changing amount of service pressure from Croson or Hartong... I see them miss too much ( though I secretly worry about Alex Griffiths). But if anyone's serve is doing damage, it's most likely Jupiter's. D) Last meeting, Mafua tore open the SC block by moving Brittany Hewitt around a lot, neutralizing SC's often-static block. I'm not expecting Uiato to utilize her that effectively.
If USC maintains composure and patience as they're trying to penetrate Hawaii's floor defense, I think they will take the match. Hawaii can't let this match turn into Classic Mick gameplay: We channel and dig your strong left-side attack, then convert with our stronger left-side attack. A big performance by Uiato would really increase UH's chance for success.
Either way, I think it will be a fun and competitive match-- and hopefully the winner will continue their success thru the finals!
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Post by vballfreak808 on Dec 8, 2011 4:13:03 GMT -5
I feel Hawaii will win in 4 (Hopefully....)
If they are going to win, Satele is going to have to be hot because last time they played USC, she had only 1 or 2 kills in that 5 set match. They would have to run an X play with her like she did in the first match of the season.
USC will be better because most teams are better at the end of the season compared to preseason. Last year Fonoimoana slowed them down by hitting negative and having multiple service errors knocking her out of the offense. So now they replaced her and Shaw is effective in serve receive, offense, and blocking.
Uiato will have to spread the ball around have a good connection with Hewitt in order to win. Maeda will also have to play up on defense when they set the middles because the middles can hit straight down (Not slams but little hits that go to the ground fast). Hartong and Croson will have to also make an impact since Croson is a more experienced freshman than when Waber was the L2, and Hartong has improved greatly since last season so watch Mita set her more often.
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Post by Courtside5 on Dec 8, 2011 4:27:06 GMT -5
Hartong and company win this for her grandpa that passed away recently. This team has shown great resilience when they've been down and behind in games. The crowd will be a BIG FACTOR in this game. They'll urge them on to win and the Wahine will be up to the challenge. To me this match is the Championship match!
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Post by OverAndUnder on Dec 8, 2011 7:48:03 GMT -5
Looks like it's going to be a sold out crowd! hawaiiathletics.com/news/2011/12/7/WVB_1207110722.aspxApproximately 700 Tickets Remaining For NCAA Regional 12/7/2011 5:03:00 PM HONOLULU – Approximately 700 ticket packages remain for the NCAA Honolulu Women's Volleyball Regional hosted at the Stan Sheriff Center. Ticket packages on sale now and individual tickets will go on sale beginning Friday, Dec. 9. The third-ranked and 10th-seeded Rainbow Wahine volleyball team opens the regional on Friday against top-ranked Southern California. The semifinal match, set to begin at 7:00 p.m., will be proceeded Pepperdine versus Kansas State at 5:00 p.m. The winners will play Saturday, Dec. 10, at 7:00 p.m. for a place in the Final Four held in San Antonio, Tex. Tickets can be purchased at the Stan Sheriff Center Box Office from 9am-5pm, online at HawaiiAthletics.com, or by phone at (808) 944-2697. Package tickets (on sale) are $35 Lower Bowl and $25 Upper Bowl, and individual tickets (on sale Friday) are $20 for Lower Bowl and $15 for Upper Bowl. Yes! The crowd will be the X-Factor. 10,000 screaming maniacs will push Hawaii to play at their highest level! Oh, is Natalie Merchant going to be there?
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Post by Psychopotamus on Dec 8, 2011 8:04:35 GMT -5
Wait... so it isn't going to be aired by OC12? I kind of assumed it would be since in all likelihood it will be a sellout. Looks like I need to scramble to get some tickets.
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Post by kaikai on Dec 8, 2011 9:20:51 GMT -5
Yes! The crowd will be the X-Factor. 10,000 screaming maniacs will push Hawaii to play at their highest level! Oh, is Natalie Merchant going to be there? Natalie Merchant. I love her. God Rest Her Soul though. I remember when I was seven or so years old, my oldest sister would sing over and over again, "Hey Jack Kerouac, I think of your mother and the tears she cried, they were cried for none other..." and I would tell her to STFU everytime. If Jupiter can't get the job done, then Katie Fuller will. She's one of the best I've seen so far at tooling blocks and going for kills when the oportunity presents itself. She just seems reliable. And if not, then Lauren Williams will jump up, and grab that ball and throw it down across her her body to the floor if she can't get a good swing and score a bunch of points that way. This match is a toss up for me. I like both teams a lot and wouldn't mind seeing either of them win the NC. I'm just going to enjoy the match for once without having to root for any one team while my sister's old old old "In My Tribe" cassette tape blares in the background.
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Post by wolfgang1 on Dec 8, 2011 10:58:43 GMT -5
USC has to simply camp out on the left side pin to slow Danielson/Croson. They don't have to worry about the right or middle because Uiato can't connect with Hewitt/Hartong that well.
The aunties in the stands need better signs. The ones they got are pretty lame and won't scare anyone. I mean, come on -- "Whew It!"??
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Post by skeleton on Dec 8, 2011 14:19:34 GMT -5
I'm worried about the Wahine starting slow of late. Maybe they should play 1 set against HPU half an hour before game time at Klum Gym
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Post by newbee on Dec 8, 2011 14:30:22 GMT -5
All USC losses this year had been a case of total meltdown. They( mostly) either won 3-0 or lost 3-0 except for the 3-2 loss @ PSU. It's very important for Hawaii to not second guessing themselves and to play with authority.
Somebody mentioned about how USC is big and slow and how Mick doesn't like to adjust. I don't think that's the case this year. You might be succesful for awhile but USC will adjust, especially Hagglund and Shaw.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Dec 8, 2011 15:11:30 GMT -5
USC has to simply camp out on the left side pin to slow Danielson/Croson. They don't have to worry about the right or middle because Uiato can't connect with Hewitt/Hartong that well. The aunties in the stands need better signs. The ones they got are pretty lame and won't scare anyone. I mean, come on -- "Whew It!"?? Uiato/Hewitt connection has been the one that's inconsistent. Uiato/Hartong has been sublime (to continue with the music metaphors in this portion of the thread ).
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