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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2012 16:29:30 GMT -5
Watching Kentucky yesterday, I saw how well they ran the slide. I think the Wahine should run that more than the quick 1 set. I know they already run the slide, but they should work it more.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Sept 28, 2012 0:32:47 GMT -5
Out of curiosity did Shoji give up on converting Adolpho to a RS? Last season I thought that may have been in Hawaii's best interest, and this year I think it still might not be a bad idea. It would allow him to keep Hartong on the left and put up a big RS block. Was her offense that lacking? i don't remember Adolpho playing right side at all last year. i believe whenever she was inserted to the lineup, she played middle, and Hartong shifted to right side.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Sept 28, 2012 0:36:18 GMT -5
For Wahine, the Big West will finally feel like home
By Ann Miller, The Star-Advertiser
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Sep 27, 2012
Barging back into the Big West will finally feel real in Hawaii this weekend. The eighth-ranked Rainbow Wahine play host to UC Irvine tonight and old volleyball nemesis Long Beach State Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawaii played its first three Big West matches in 17 years last week on the road. It went unbeaten, but the results were mixed, to be kind. Hawaii needed five sets to beat Cal States Northridge and Fullerton.
UH coach Dave Shoji, who changed the lineup after his team went up 2-0 against the Titans, took the blame for that one. The blame was shared after a ragged performance at Northridge. It looked much like the roller-coaster Wahine team that lost to Cal the second week of the season, and nothing like the bunch that buried Stanford and Baylor.
Former Hawaii All-American Kanani Danielson has an intriguing take on her former team's most compelling needs as she heads to Japan to play professionally.
"Right now it is a work in progress," Danielson said at Tuesday's exhibition against her new team. "It's still very early in the season. The main thing that needs to straighten up is leadership. Everybody is talented, what helps out is constant communication and constant encouragement.
"Somebody needs to step up. It could come out in a mean way, it could come out in a soft way. It just has to be something you know is going to trigger your team."
Danielson was crystal clear on who that "somebody" needs to be.
"The only person it can be is Emily Hartong," she said quickly. "She's just been her wonderful self. She definitely brings a lot to the table, but I'd like her to be more vocal as a leader. She's showing it the way she plays, but now they need her to be the vocal leader."
Danielson knows it is easier said than done. She admits she's still working on the challenge. Hartong, a junior co-captain, leads the conference in kills and is second for UH in aces, third in blocking and fourth in digs. She is also trying not to be a reluctant leader.
"It's not really in my personality or nature," she said. "I'm trying to lead more by example, and just be louder and more responsible on the court — that person you can come to and be comfortable and feel like, ‘OK, we're in a good situation' and not panicked on the court."
Shoji is comfortable with that, maybe because he does not want the immensely likeable Hartong to be uncomfortable.
"She has led and stepped up," he said. "She is not a verbal-type leader. She's more into taking care of things behind the scenes, not the girl in the huddle yelling at anybody. She's not that type of person, but everybody respects her game and work ethic and that's what we need from her. That's what she does for us.
"I'm not a huge fan of people being verbal. If you're not a verbal person and it's forced, it doesn't work. Our dynamics are fine. (Ali) Longo can step up and she is probably the most verbal of anybody on the team."
Which brings the Wahine back to trying to keep their focus. Last week that was a bigger worry than their passing, inexperience in the middle and rotating door opposite the setter.
They come into tonight's match with the country's longest regular-season conference winning streak (58) and the challenge of slowing Irvine's Aly Squires. The junior is just behind Hartong and Pacific's Megan Birch in conference kills, at 4.04 a set. Ella Rosenfeld is second in blocks (1.24) after helping the Anteaters to a 35-9 edge in last week's two wins. Senior libero Kristin Winkler is second in digs (5.11) and closing on the Big West record.
Then there is The Beach, which plays at Northridge tonight. Shoji is upbeat after the way his team —especially Jane Croson — played in Tuesday's exhibition against Toyota Auto Body, a Japanese pro team.
"Obviously we are more comfortable at home," he said. "I think we learned a lot last week. I hope we play a lot better."
UH WAHINE VOLLEYBALL At Stan Sheriff Center
>> Today: Hawaii (10-2, 3-0) vs. UC Irvine (7-8, 2-0), 7 p.m. >> Saturday: Hawaii vs. Long Beach State (7-6, 2-0), 7 p.m. >> TV: Live on OC Sports (Ch. 16) tonight and on pay per view Saturday >> Radio: Live on KKEA 1420-AM
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2012 4:45:55 GMT -5
Hartong shut down Aly Squires. I love her on the right.
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Post by moi808 on Sept 28, 2012 20:37:59 GMT -5
Adolpho against Irvine looked good hitting, although she only got four kills in eight attempts. Uiato needs to get her middles involved more. She has a problem connecting with Vorster, much like she had an issue with Hewitt. She struggles with the height for the taller middles. The team's reception needs improving so Uiato can run a more balanced offense. The pipe sets need to become BIQ tempo to avoid the three man block as we saw last night. Longo has eased the loss of Kanani, but the team is still looking for that left that can finish; Croson is undersized and, at times, her footwork can be lazy. Kastle, so far, shows she has heat to her hits, but hasn't shown that she has the range of shots that are needed for that position. Hartong is a better fit on the right, she is a better blocker than Kastle or Goodman, and has more offense than anyone that has played that position this year. It would be a good wrinkle to move her around and have her hit out of the middle on a couple of plays as well as setting her the D balls.
This may seem to be a super critical review, but this team has a lot of potential and unlike last year, Dave should settle on a lineup in the regular season to find that go-to person who can finish in the post season. They only lose one person to graduation, so this season is really a two year trial and error. It'd be interesting to see if Dave would toil using Tuininga or Haggins on the right for blocking purposes and move Hartong back on the left. The last couple of years, Hawaii has been a more offensive team, but this year, UH is winning with defense. Uiato has become a better defensive player, perhaps due to the libero being more capable of setting the second ball. Overall, the team is young and is still trying to establish an identity. The team will be great when the offense can catch up to the great defense they've been demonstrating.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Sept 29, 2012 13:44:15 GMT -5
Home sweet home The No. 8 Rainbow Wahine sweep in their return to the Stan Sheriff Center after an arduous road trip[/size] By Ann Miller POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Sep 28, 2012 LAST UPDATED: 01:34 a.m. HST, Sep 28, 2012 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM Hawaii’s Jade Vorster sent a kill past UC Irvine’s Marissa Alvarez on Thursday at the Stan Sheriff Center.JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM Hawaii’s Mita Uiato blocked a kill attempt by UC Irvine’s Marisa Bubica on Thursday night.A week after frustration followed Hawaii all over Southern California in its Big West volleyball return, home soothed the Rainbow Wahine's soul Thursday against UC Irvine. In their first BWC home match in 17 years, the eighth-ranked Wahine cruised past the Anteaters, 25-18, 25-11, 25-18. A season-low 3,376 watched at Stan Sheriff Center. Hawaii (11-2, 4-0 BWC) was hardly flawless, but didn't have to be. Irvine (7-9, 2-1) hit .090 for the night and never found a way to hurt UH. It was a stark contrast to last week's five-set struggles at Cal State Northridge and Fullerton. UH co-captain Emily Maeda pointed to Hawaii's fans, calling them "a big seventh player." "The fans give so much energy to us," said Maeda, who collected seven digs while libero Ali Longo added 11. "I think we notice when we're on the road. We have to be even more vocal." After they stopped missing serves — and the ninth tie in the opening set — they Wahine rolled the rest of the night. The Anteaters had no answer for Emily Hartong and Jane Croson. When UCI's block cheated outside, setter Mita Uiato found middles Jade Vorster and Kalei Adolpho. The Wahine bothered and bewildered Ali Squires, who came in averaging more than four kills a set. She took 19 swings in the first two sets and managed just two kills. She would finish with five, hitting .094. The block didn't stuff her — UH had just six roofs — but it did deny her. "Mita and whoever else was on the right side blocking her set the block really well and the middles closed," Maeda said. "We got a lot of touches off her and made it really easy for us in the back row. I think our block made her hold back … it had a very strong presence tonight." On the other side of the net, Hawaii was ahead 16-6 and hitting a torrid .800 when Irvine took its last timeout of Set 2, and tried a new setter. When coach Paula Weishoff — an assistant for the U.S. Olympic team — called her last timeout of the match, the Anteaters trailed 16-8 in the third and were hitting negative .083. "We let them get their confidence," Weishoff said. "We backed down and they got into a rhythm. We tried to fight back in Game 3, but it wasn't enough at that point. "It was their first home match. They found their mojo a little bit." The Wahine called their only timeout 4 minutes before it was over, when a sloppy streak cut their third-set advantage to 21-17. "Jane got a little wild at the end," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "She's got to cut down on her hitting errors." Croson and Hartong, who leads the Big West in kills, both finished with 14 kills and nine digs. Croson had eight errors, but Hartong, who played on the right the first two sets and left in the third, had just three and hit .355. "We're still trying to find our way," Shoji said. "Tonight there were some plays we made we probably didn't make on the mainland. I'm talking about Adolpho and Vorster. They both made some off plays we need out of the middle and they each made just one hitting error, which is something we need out of them." It was Hawaii's 59th consecutive regular-season conference victory, the best in the country. "They dig a lot of balls," Weishoff said. "They come at you from the back row. Maybe they need to find a leader out there though. They seem together, but if things don't go as they should who is going to step up? I think Emily is doing a nice job, but I don't know if she can do it by herself." Hawaii plays Long Beach State (7-7, 2-1) on Saturday at 7 p.m. The match will only be shown on pay-per-view. The 49ers fell in four at Cal State Northridge Thursday.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Sept 29, 2012 13:46:25 GMT -5
Long-ago rivals UH,Long Beach State start anew
By Ann Miller
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Sep 29, 2012
When this generation of Hawaii and Long Beach State volleyball players were born, the country's most compelling rivalry resided in the Big West with their predecessors.
On the road to four national championships, the Rainbow Wahine blew through the 49ers the first 16 times they played. But in 1989, with future Olympian Tara Cross, the Beach broke through in the Northwest Regional final against UH and future Olympian Teee Williams.
Long Beach would end five consecutive Hawaii postseasons and win three national titles of its own, behind Olympians Danielle Scott in 1993 and Misty May in 1998. By the end, the Wahine were in the Western Athletic Conference and the series basically fizzled out.
Until now. The Beach comes back tonight to take on a Hawaii team that has returned to the Big West after a 16-year break. They will play again in SoCal in a month, then again and again in the Wahine's new/old conference.
The 49ers might be dinged up and unranked, but the eighth-ranked Wahine and coach Dave Shoji know they need to be ready for anything against the 12-time BWC champions.
The rivalry was never about respect. It was about attitude and fighting to get to the final four. The players are gone, but the coaches remain the same and have vivid memories.
Shoji's most vivid involve the angst his Wahine went through in the 1990s when the Beach kept swamping their season.
"It's been kind of a tough relationship between our players," Shoji says. "They didn't like each other. Back in the day our players …it was a respectful thing, but that was one team we wanted to beat more than anybody else."
The first time the teams met post-Big West in the postseason came here, in the 2000 NCAA West Regional semifinal. The Wahine won in five sets and nearly 3 hours.
Hours later, the 49er vans were still parked curbside at the Stan Sheriff Center. LBSU coach Brian Gimmillaro wasn't done with his team yet.
He hasn't changed. The 49ers are still the most "technique-oriented" team in the country, according to Shoji, and Gimmillaro still pursues perfection.
What Gimmillaro remembers most about these teams' first round in the Big West are all those Northwest Regionals that included two — his team and Hawaii — or three of the country's top-ranked teams. Back when the NCAA didn't seed and rarely sent teams out of their region, the four best teams rarely made it to the "final four."
"The good news is," Gimmillaro says, "according to several people, including very knowledgeable fans in Hawaii, some of the best volleyball matches in history were played between the two of us. The bad news is they weren't seen by the rest of the country because we were in regionals and not a final-four setting.
"I think some of those matches certainly would have influenced volleyball on a national level and only for the good. To eliminate those matches from the national spotlight was really …I will not understate how detrimental that was to the young people who played, the programs involved and to the country."
This isn't the same Long Beach State team Hawaii left. The last of its eight final fours was in 2001. It hasn't won an NCAA match or shown up in the final ranking since 2008.
Gimmillaro believes he has been snake-bit by injuries over the past decade.
"Literally half the kids we recruit either get some serious injury in their junior or senior year in high school and we have to rehab them," he says, "or they have surgery in high school or need surgery when they get here."
This year, the Beach lost 6-foot-6 all-region middle Haleigh Hampton — third nationally in blocking last year — and returning setter Erin Juley to injury before this season. Alma Serna, a 6-3 sophomore middle, was hurt in the first match and came back last week, earning BWC Player of the Week honors immediately.
Gimmillaro says Serna didn't practice this week, but she played all four sets in Thursday's loss at Northridge and might be Shoji's biggest worry with two first-year starters in the middle.
Shoji admits he doesn't "relish" the thought of preparing for the Beach twice a year again, but he welcomes the competition. Gimmillaro has waited for this moment for 16 years.
"I think it's good for everyone involved," he says. "It's good for our fans, for the Hawaii fans, good for volleyball. I hope it gives the conference some credibility. And maybe one of these days we will get good enough and if Hawaii plays well enough we will play each other in a final-four match. Before or after, Dave and I can talk about how the quality is the same as it was in the past."
UH VOLLEYBALL
>> What: No. 8 Hawaii (11-2, 4-0) vs. Long Beach State (7-7, 2-1) >> Where: Stan Sheriff Center >> When: 7 p.m. today >> TV: PPV >> Radio: 1420-AM
___________
RABID RIBALRY
Hawaii 24, Long Beach State 15, 1 tie
>> Hawaii wins first 16 aside from a 1-1 tie at 1978 UCLA/NIVT tournament. >> LBSU’s first win comes in five-game 1989 NCAA Northwest Regional final. >> That 1989 victory jump-starts a 13-4 49er surge in the series, and they end Wahine’s season again in 1990 (NCAA Northwest Regional semifinal), 1991 (NCAA Northwest Regional final), 1993 (NCAA Northwest Regional final) and 1994 (NCAA Northwest Regional semifinal). >> Since Hawaii joined the WAC in 1996 it has 4-2 edge over the 49ers and has ended their season twice (2000 NCAA West Regional semifinal and 2006 NCAA second round).
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Post by bill on Sept 29, 2012 19:33:09 GMT -5
Unfortunately for Coach Gimilaro, he just doesn't have the horses at this point in time to compete with Hawaii....that brutal fact will be born out tonight when Hawaii sweeps the beach.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2012 19:49:48 GMT -5
If Hawaii has settled into their lineup, then this game will go smoothly.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Sept 30, 2012 15:27:08 GMT -5
Wahine handle The BeachHawaii makes Long Beach pay for past dominationBy Ann Miller, The Star-AdvertiserPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Sep 30, 2012 LAST UPDATED: 01:44 a.m. HST, Sep 30, 2012 Cindy Ellen Russell UH Wahine Emily Hartong popped the ball back to Long Beach as teammates Jade Vorster, Mita Uiato and Alyssa Longo looked on in anticipation during Saturday evening's match.Eighth-ranked Hawaii won one Saturday for all the frustrated Rainbow Wahine from years past, taking Long Beach State apart in the teams' first conference match since 1995. Back then, when Hawaii had lost to the 49ers in five consecutive postseasons, it could only dream of the depth of this 25-17, 25-16, 25-19 domination. The Beach was beached before a loud and satisfied crowd of 6,349 at Stan Sheriff Center. It made up for low turnouts earlier in the week for an exhibition and sweep of UC Irvine — and this crowd clearly had a long memory. "It feels good to win," said UH coach Dave Shoji, whose teams had gone 8-15 against the Beach since 1989. "We played one of our better matches of the year." The Wahine (12-2) have now won their first five in this return to the Big West — and their last four against LBSU. They were in trouble for only the first five points Saturday. From there, Hawaii silenced the 49ers (7-8, 2-2). UH outhit (.370-.142), outblocked (12-5), outdug (40-37) and outaced (4-1) LBSU, whose only lead was 4-1 in the first. Emily Hartong (12) was the only player with double-digit kills, but that was progress for Hawaii. It got 15 kills on .600-plus hitting from its first-year middles, with Kalei Adolpho going 9-for-10 and Jade Vorster adding six kills and eight blocks. It was nothing like last week's roller-coaster BWC openers in California, which have been the topic of conversation at every practice since. Saturday, once the Wahine got up, they never let down. "We kept focused on what we needed to get better on in general and we stayed with it," Vorster said. "We didn't let up and falter a little and have a lot of streaks. I thought we played pretty consistently." The Beach scored four of the first points before the Wahine got a good enough pass to start their offense. When it finally happened, the good passes just kept coming to setter Mita Uiato, who was in on five blocks. The precise passing allowed her to mix up the offense and the 49ers. Vorster jump-started a 15-6 run and Hawaii never had another anxious moment, with Adolpho practically perfect. "The best thing about her tonight was no errors," Shoji said. "She has a tendency to make gross errors if she doesn't get a perfect set and she's come a long way." UH had a .636 attack percentage in Set 2, with only one hitting error. In Set 3, exasperated LBSU coach Brian Gimmillaro — still talking to his team an hour after the match — burned both timeouts in the first 14 points. The Wahine's advantage was 10-4 and never dropped below four. "Maybe we're maturing as a team," Shoji said. "It was pretty matter-of-fact tonight. No one was really amped up and they just did their job. To me that's a good sign where we don't have to be amped up to play well. We can be calm and still play hard." Long Beach, which lost its setter and all-conference middle before the season started, also had a good night from its middles, with Chisom Okpala 9-for-12 and Alma Serna adding eight kills and dropping in on three of the five blocks. But that was it. Its outsides hit a combined .026, with libero Ali Longo and defensive specialist Emily Maeda cleaning up what the block left behind. UC Irvine, swept by UH on Thursday, won in four at Cal State Northridge on Saturday. The Matadors are here for the next home match, Oct. 12. Hawaii plays at Cal Poly on Friday and UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. The Wahine take a national-best 60-match regular-season conference winning streak into their second trip. 3 HAWAII 0 LBSU
NEXT: Hawaii vs. Cal Poly, 7 p.m. Friday in San Luis Obispo, Calif. RADIO: KKEA, 1420-AM
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Oct 2, 2012 15:10:56 GMT -5
Big West secures deal with Fox
By Ferd Lewis, The Star-Advertiser
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Oct 02, 2012
The Big West Conference's new second-tier deal with Fox Sports is expected to give the University of Hawaii more visibility and help preserve its local TV package, conference officials said.
Financial details of the multi-year agreement were not announced, but the conference is expected to receive upwards of $1 million.
The Big West, in which UH participates in most sports except football, is still in its negotiating window with ESPN on first-tier games.
Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell said Fox will show 20 events in the 2012-13 school year and 32 for 2013-14. Most will be men's basketball, but the package will also include women's basketball, volleyball, baseball and other sports. Coverage will be spread across Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket in California and Nevada, major recruiting and alumni areas for UH.
Rockne Freitas, UH acting athletic director, said members will be briefed on details of the agreement this week.
Previously, the Big West had paid as much as $271,000 in production costs to get its events shown on Fox.
Farrell said members will retain local rights to third-tier events. In the Mountain West, where UH is a football-only member, the school does not keep all its third-tier rights.
"We carved out an agreement with Fox that will protect Hawaii's deal with Oceanic," Farrell said. "This is a great step forward and certainly raises our level of visibility as a conference."
He credited the addition of San Diego State, Hawaii and Boise State for the rise.
UH became a member in July, while San Diego State and Boise State join in 2013.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Oct 2, 2012 15:16:36 GMT -5
The way I understand it -- and someone correct me if I'm wrong -- but the whole "first-tier"/"second-tier" deal has to do with whether or not broadcasters, like ESPN, exercises its "rights" to pick up/air certain games nationally ("first-tier"). So the "second-tier" is whatever the "first-tier" rights-holder does not pick up.
So, it seems, this deal with Fox is to air whatever ESPN does not elect to broadcast.
And then Hawaii has a carve-out for Oceanic to broadcast its games locally.
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Post by kolohekeiki on Oct 2, 2012 18:45:36 GMT -5
Out of curiosity did Shoji give up on converting Adolpho to a RS? Last season I thought that may have been in Hawaii's best interest, and this year I think it still might not be a bad idea. It would allow him to keep Hartong on the left and put up a big RS block. Was her offense that lacking? I don't believe Adolpho was ever an option for the right side...it was speculation on this board, but I might be wrong, but I don't recall her ever being mentioned as an option on the right... I don't see Adolpho faring that well on the right to begin with...she is a real raw volleyball player and all through high school I don't believe she has played any other position other than middle...I don't see her having the right side hitter or even outside hitter approach and it might set back her game even more if she tries to get accustomed to the right side...just take a look back to when Amber Kaufman was on the right...she never did get fully accustomed to an outside/right side approach and looked awkward and uncomfortable all season...I see Adolpho in the same situation and even looking a lot more uncomfortable than Kaufman did.
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vballfreak808
Hawaiian Ohana
2020 All-VolleyTalk 1st Team, All-VolleyTalk 2nd Team (2023, 2022, 2017, 2016), All-VolleyTalk HM (2021, 2019, 2018), 2017 Fantasy League 1st Runner-up, 2016 Fantasy League Champion
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Posts: 13,127
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Post by vballfreak808 on Oct 5, 2012 16:39:55 GMT -5
Croson suspended from Hawaii volleyball teamThe sophomore outside hitter will not make this week's road trip By Star-Advertiser staff POSTED: 07:00 a.m. HST, Oct 04, 2012 University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball player Jane Croson, hits around the block of Cal State Northridge Matador Ciena Stinson during a Sept. 19, 2012 game on at the Matadome. Hawaii’s eighth-ranked volleyball team flies out tonight for its second Big West road trip and it will be without all-conference hitter Jane Croson. The sophomore is suspended indefinitely for breaking team rules, according to Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji. He called it a “serious offense,” but would not elaborate. Shoji said Croson she would be reinstated later if she “meets some obligations.” The Wahine had hoped to redshirt freshman Tai Manu-Olevao this season, but have taken her on the trip and now expect to use her. She helped Punahou to the state championship a year ago as an all-state hitter. Hawaii will decide on a lineup after Thursday’s practice. The team is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles early Thursday and take a four-hour bus ride up to San Luis Obispo. The wahine play Cal Poly (1-14, 0-3) Friday and UC Santa Barbara (8-10, 1-2) Saturday.
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vballfreak808
Hawaiian Ohana
2020 All-VolleyTalk 1st Team, All-VolleyTalk 2nd Team (2023, 2022, 2017, 2016), All-VolleyTalk HM (2021, 2019, 2018), 2017 Fantasy League 1st Runner-up, 2016 Fantasy League Champion
#GoBows
Posts: 13,127
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Post by vballfreak808 on Oct 5, 2012 16:42:51 GMT -5
Evolving Wahine head out on roadBy Ann Miller POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Oct 05, 2012 LAST UPDATED: 01:45 a.m. HST, Oct 05, 2012 DARRELL MIHO / SPECIAL TO THE HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball players Alyssa Longo (4) and Emily Hartong (17) celebrate after a point against the Cal State Fullerton Titans during a game on Saturday at the Titan Gym. Hawaii's year of living erratically moves on today when the eighth-ranked Rainbow Wahine open their second Big West Conference volleyball road trip at Cal Poly. UH coach Dave Shoji insists his team will move on as well after Jane Croson was suspended indefinitely this week. Croson, a primary force in Hawaii's passing, hitting, defense and serving, was left home for breaking team rules. Shoji would not say what those were, but did say she "is a big part of our team and we hope she can meet the standards of a UH student-athlete in order to be reinstated soon." Her absence KOs the Wahine's 1-2 punch. Emily Hartong and Croson are first and fifth in conference kills, each averaging about four a set. Freshman middle Jade Vorster is next with half that. Tai Manu-Olevao, who was playing for Punahou this time last year, took Croson's place on the plane and could take her place on the floor tonight in San Luis Obispo, Calif., burning her redshirt year. Shoji plans to start Hartong and transfer Ashley Kastl on the left, with Kaela Goodman opposite the setter. All three are juniors. He expects Manu-Olevao to play at some point because "we've got to find where we need people again." The first test will be Kastl's passing. "We haven't given Ashley Kastl any opportunities to pass," Shoji says, "so this will definitely give her a chance to show what she can do. I think she's a good passer, but we have been taking her out in the back row. From now on she will have to stay in and pass." The Mustangs (1-14, 0-3 BWC) have lost their past 11. They have ‘Iolani graduate Chelsea Hardin starting outside, a new coach and a huge puka of their own with 2011 Big West Player of the Year Jennifer Keddy out for the season with a shoulder injury. In the NCAA's first power ranking of the year, released Monday, Cal Poly was 235th out of 330 Division I teams. Hawaii (12-2, 5-0) is 21st, but admittedly still "evolving" even before it lost Croson. The Wahine went 3-0 on their first trip, but needed five sets to silence Cal State Northridge and Fullerton. They played dramatically better back home last week, sweeping UC Irvine and Long Beach State. "We came back and didn't like the way we performed on the last road trip," said junior libero Ali Longo. "And we responded by coming out strong against Irvine and showed everyone we are not the team that played in Northridge, Riverside and Fullerton. "We are still trying to evolve, trying to get different strengths and work out the kinks so at the end of the year we have options. We've started to eliminate the things that were wrong." The Big West has more speed bumps than the Western Athletic Conference, Hawaii's home for the last 16 years. Rallies are longer and opponents more evenly matched. UH is the only unbeaten team and has three of only seven conference sweeps this season. Two came last week and left Long Beach coach Brian Gimmillaro talking to his team for more than an hour after its loss. "We were not in the Hawaii match," Gimmillaro said flatly. "I'm not sure how well Hawaii played, but it played well enough to win. … I wish we'd played better so the fans could have enjoyed it more. I'm sure they enjoyed the win, but you enjoy it more the tougher it is." Shoji is not sure how well his team played, either, and makes no promises for this trip. Instead, the coach echoes Longo's words — "We are still an evolving team," Shoji says, "but I think we will be ready this time." Hawaii has taken Ginger Long on both trips, primarily because she gives the team one more option on the outside. But the 5-foot-11 redshirt freshman has only one swing this season and has focused on back row. What Shoji saw on the last trip, and last week at home, opened his eyes. "We needed to take her to be part of our hitting in case something happened," he said. "She had to be on the trip for depth purposes. We also put her in a position to come in for the other middle to serve and I think she did a really nice job of that in those three matches on the first trip. "Courtney (Lelepali) has done a good job there, but she can't play front row. That almost eliminates her from making the road trip. Ginger, by process of elimination, has got to be that person, but she has earned another look." This trip ends Saturday at UC Santa Barbara (8-10, 1-2), whose only conference win is over Cal Poly. The Gauchos' setter is Georgia Tech transfer Ali Santi, who was Manu-Olevao's Punahou teammate. Hawaii takes a national-best 60-match regular-season conference winning streak into the trip. WAHINE VOLLEYBALL » What: Hawaii vs. Cal Poly » When: 4 p.m. today » Where: San Luis Obispo, Calif. » Radio: 1420-AM » Online: bigwest.tv
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