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Post by LanaiBoy on Aug 30, 2012 20:20:41 GMT -5
Way to go, Jade Vorster! She's leading the conference in hitting percentage. She is so exciting to watch, and will be a force for the Wahine. Also, the Wahine team this year is one of the best, if not the best ever attacking from the backrow. We haven't had that in long time since Willoughby/Kahumoku era! Agree about the effectiveness of Hawaii's back-row attacks. Cindy Luis of the Star-Advertiser had a suggestion that I believe worth exploring. After watching the Wahine practice, Luis stated that Ginger Long was one of the best of the Bows in hitting from the back row. She suggested possibly substituting her instead of a regular DS in certain occasions, perhaps when hitting is not going too well. That's a thought.
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Post by Courtside5 on Aug 30, 2012 21:34:44 GMT -5
Who`s the other girl in the vid with Longo??
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Post by 5100 on Aug 31, 2012 6:54:58 GMT -5
Way to go, Jade Vorster! She's leading the conference in hitting percentage. She is so exciting to watch, and will be a force for the Wahine. Also, the Wahine team this year is one of the best, if not the best ever attacking from the backrow. We haven't had that in long time since Willoughby/Kahumoku era! Agree about the effectiveness of Hawaii's back-row attacks. Cindy Luis of the Star-Advertiser had a suggestion that I believe worth exploring. After watching the Wahine practice, Luis stated that Ginger Long was one of the best of the Bows in hitting from the back row. She suggested possibly substituting her instead of a regular DS in certain occasions, perhaps when hitting is not going too well. That's a thought. I'd like to see more of her bur I don't know where Long would fit in. In her only appearance this season, she subbed in for Hartong. I'm not sure Shoji would want to take Hartong off the court. The only regular DS they use are Maeda and Lelepali. They lose a lot in passing and defense without Maeda and Lelepali serves for Adolpho. However, the season is long and Ginger may find a spot in the lineup.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Aug 31, 2012 11:20:27 GMT -5
Vorster a 'pleasant surprise'By Ann Miller, The Star-AdvertiserPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 31, 2012 LAST UPDATED: 02:20 a.m. HST, Aug 31, 2012 FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARADVERTISER.COM Hawaii's Jade Vorster hit past the block of Stanford's Inky Ajanaku during Sunday's match at the Stan Sheriff Center.Sixth-ranked Hawaii is in the midst of a wholesale volleyball makeover. That is what made its successful opening week so sweet, and somewhat surprising, for the Rainbow Wahine and their fans. Tonight's Hawaiian Airlines Classic matchup with San Francisco opens the second week of a season in which UH will have new starters at five positions. It will be a weekend for tempering expectations and renewed tampering. The Wahine played their roles remarkably well in wins over Albany, Saint Mary's and then-No. 6 Stanford last week. Still, there are four players with a shot at filling the two middle positions, and the right side remains fluid, according to coach Dave Shoji. He will start Jade Vorster and Kalei Adolpho in the middle again tonight, but wants a longer look at Kristiana Tuaniga and Stephanie Hagins. Kaela Goodman will be back on the right. Jane Croson missed Thursday's practice with flu-like symptoms so transfer Ashley Kastl could take her place on the left. That does not take anything away from what Vorster, a red-shirt freshman, accomplished in her first real matches — sans sand — in nearly two years. The 6-foot-4 middle was astonishingly effective and efficient in her indoor collegiate debut, stuffing 10 balls, dinking and drilling 26 kills — third to left-side hitters Croson and Emily Hartong —and hitting a ridiculous .581 with a lone hitting error. "Jade was terrific offensively," Shoji said, calling her a "pleasant surprise." Apparently her teammates got precisely what they were looking for, and have seen in practice since she arrived in January 2011 as an early high school graduate out of Orlando, Fla. "I expected exactly what she did," libero Ali Longo said. "She was awesome." Hawaii knew what it was getting from setter Mita Uiato and Croson. Both started last year. It had a good idea what Hartong was capable of on the outside after she earned second-team All-America honors in the middle. It took about 10 minutes for Longo, who transferred in from Penn State, to feel comfortable with her new teammates. But the right and the middle will probably be what make or break the Wahine's season, and they got all they expected and more last week. After being burned by Stanford in the opening set Sunday, Hawaii stuffed the Cardinal into .175 hitting. Vorster was an error-free 9-for-19, nearly 300 points higher. "It was kind of unexpected," she admitted. "I just went out there and told myself I'm going to stay out of the net and get up every time to make myself available offensively. I wanted to work extra hard so at least, even if I wasn't set, I could distract the blockers because that meant our hitters could be more successful. Mita did a great job setting me when I was open." Vorster appeared to be open for about 72 hours. Even when blockers went up with her she found a way around with an array of shots developed in the practice gym the past two years — "I didn't realize how much I had missed matches until I started to play" — and tested in a sand volleyball season that did wonders for her mobility. Shoji says Vorster sees the block well and is capable of burying balls when she is isolated, but is smart enough to move it around when she's not. Vorster also possesses "a pretty wicked throw-down dink" and the intellect of a chemistry major, which she is. "She is just a smart player," he said. "When things happen to her out there they won't happen twice. She knows when she messes up and tries to correct it. Her learning curve is really high. … It's a nice trait to have as a player." Even Vorster concedes her learning curve had to be high. It took time for her to accelerate her foot and arm speed to keep up with Hawaii's quick offense and build trust with setters Monica Stauber and Uiato. She also had to adjust to new blocking techniques. She would focus on two areas offensively and defensively at every practice, then move on when she felt comfortable in the "more intellectual college-like game." Not that she or any of the Wahine are comfortable. They proved last week that they can be resilient and relentless, but that was one week. This team is deep and competition exists at every practice, to say nothing of matches. Their roles are still being defined. "I want to get more confident every game, but always keep in mind we have a team full of great players," Vorster says. "Anyone can fill any given spot at any given time. That's something to keep in mind. It helps me not get over-confident. "It's the same with teams. Anyone can beat anyone any time. As a whole, all our personalities are pretty humble so that helps a lot." HAWAIIAN AIRLINES CLASSICToday » No. 25 Cal vs. Baylor, 5 p.m.» No. 6 Hawaii vs. San Francisco, 7 p.m.
» TV: OC Sports, Ch. 16 (both games)
» Radio: 1420-AM (UH-USF game only)
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Aug 31, 2012 11:25:54 GMT -5
Wahine looking to stay grounded
By Ann Miller, The Star-Advertiser
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 31, 2012 LAST UPDATED: 01:44 a.m. HST, Aug 31, 2012
While its opponents in this weekend's Hawaiian Airlines Classic search for a return to past volleyball glory, sixth-ranked Hawaii is attempting to keep its Asics on the ground after last weekend's upset of six-time NCAA champion Stanford.
The Rainbow Wahine open tonight against San Francisco, a team that has gone 36-49 since making its second and last NCAA appearance in 2008. In the 5 p.m. opener, 25th-ranked Cal meets Baylor.
In 2009, the Baylor Bears upset UCLA to reach their first NCAA Sweet 16. They have lost 30 matches the past two years and fell to Michigan in the first round last season.
The Golden Bears reached the NCAA championship match in 2010, but also fell in the first round last year.
In the second of three tournaments to open the year, the Wahine face a deeper field than last week but are now prohibitive favorites. Coach Dave Shoji gave them 24 hours to celebrate the win over the Cardinal, after a caution.
"We've got to have a good attitude coming in," he said after a lethargic Wednesday morning practice. "We're on a high right now and sometimes you think you're pretty good. That's when you get beat.
"I told them Sunday night it was a great effort, but it's early in the season and you've got to prove yourself night after night. I'm hoping they listened."
A look at the teams:
No. 25 Cal (1-1)
Adrienne Gehan (6-3 jr. OH) broke or tied all her previous career highs on opening weekend to anchor the injury-depleted Golden Bears … Gehan leads the Pac-12 at 4.88 kills per set … Cal returns Pac-12 honorable mentions Shannon Hawari (6-2 sr. MB), Kat Brown (6-3 sr. MB), Correy Johnson (6-4 sr. MB/OH) and Robin Rostratter (5-11 sr. libero), but Johnson and Rostratter were out with injuries last week and the Bears started three freshmen … Cal beat Hawaii in five in 2009, its first win in nine meetings.
Baylor (3-0)
Won the Baylor Classic last week, defeating Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Nevada and Tulane — teams that finished last season with an average RPI of 231 …Laura Jones (6-2 fr. OH) was tournament MVP, averaging 3.3 kps …lost six seniors and brought in seven freshmen …they play 11 road matches in next 23 days … picked fifth in Big 12 …Torri Campbell (6-2 sr. MB) is preseasonh3all-Big 12 after leading team in blocks and coming up second in kills …0-4 vs. Hawaii.
San Francisco (3-1)
Return four starters and 90 percent of offense … roster includes seven international players and Punahou graduate Jazzy Kealoha (5-8 jr. libero) …With an eye on starting a sand team, former Rainbow Eyal Zimet was hired last month as assistant coach, giving USF two former members of the Israeli national team on its staff, with head coach Gilad Doron … Malina Terrell (5-10h3sr. OH/MB) all-conference last year … 0-6 against Hawaii.
No. 6 Hawaii (3-0)
Won fifth straight Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational last weekend, upsetting then-No. 6 Stanford in final and out-hitting opponents .319-.163 …all-tournament selections Emily Hartong (6-2 jr. OH) and Jane Croson (5-11 so. OH) averaged more than 4 kps apiece … Ali Longo (5-6 jr. Libero) also all-tournament with 34 digs … first-year starters Jade Vorster (6-4 jr. MB) and Kalei Adolpho (6-1 so. MB) combined for 21 blocks and hit .488.
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Post by po'okela on Aug 31, 2012 13:30:06 GMT -5
i'm curious to see where nikki taylor & taylor higgins lands on the senior aces list.
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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Aug 31, 2012 13:51:15 GMT -5
"We're on a high right now and sometimes you think you're pretty good. That's when you get beat."
I like this quote because it is true. If Johnson and Rostratter are on the court for Cal, they can beat Hawai'i if the Wahine are not on their game. Baylor can be competitive, and San Francisco hung around in last year's match against Hawai'i. The win against Stanford was big but that has to be behind Hawai'i now. Time to focus on what is ahead.
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Post by Psychopotamus on Aug 31, 2012 19:40:46 GMT -5
The key for Hawaii right now if to think every point will be a battle. When they start thinking they need to end rallies quickly is when they start to unravel. Hawaii's strength has always been playing together and grinding things out. This year is no different.
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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 Sept 1, 2012 3:46:16 GMT -5
Hartong, Vorster Guide Rainbow Wahine To SweepBox Score: hawaiiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?id=16720Jade Vorster and Emily Hartong packed a solid one-two punch tonight, guiding the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine volleyball team to a sweep of San Francisco (25-14, 27-25, 25-19) on Friday night in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH improves to a perfect 4-0 while USF drops to 3-2. Hartong posted 14 kills, eight digs, and five aces and Vorster put down 12 kills on just one error. Ali Longo equaled a match-high 10 kills and Mita Uiato had 35 assists and recorded seven digs and a pair of blocks. Jocelyn Levig led USF with 11 kills and Rebecca Kopilovitch had a team-high 10 digs. USF played the 'Bows well in the early going of set one, but saw UH eventually assume control for the easy win. After the Dons tied the score at 13-13, Hawai'i caught fire and ran off five straight points. The 'Bows kept the momentum and raced to the win on the strength of three Hartong service aces, finishing the set on a 12-1 run. The Dons did not give in so easily in set two, but the 'Bows prevailed with a hard-fought 27-25 win to take a two-set lead. USF looked prime to even the match when a Levig kill gave her team a 20-17 lead. A Kristiana Tuaniga (2 kills) kill and a Vorster block cut the lead to 20-19 for UH but it was Levig who responded to push the USF lead to two points. The Dons had set point at 25-24, but two kills by Jane Croson (7 kills, 6 digs) and another by Hartong gave the 'Bows the win. UH had little trouble closing out the match in the third set. Consecutive kills by Hartong gave the 'Bows a 13-12 lead, sparking an 8-1 run that finished off the Dons and completed the sweep. In the opening match of the evening, Baylor swept No. 25 California, 25-23, 26-24, 25-23. The Hawaiian Airlines Classic continues Saturday as the 'Bows take on Baylor at 7:00 p.m. following the conclusion of the California vs. USF match at 5:00 p.m.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Sept 1, 2012 13:25:24 GMT -5
Erratic Wahine winUH coach Dave Shoji uses 15 players in a sweep of San FranciscoBy Ann Miller, The Star-AdvertiserPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Sep 01, 2012 LAST UPDATED: 05:53 a.m. HST, Sep 01, 2012 CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM Hawaii's Kalei Adolpho smashed a kill past the defense of San Francisco's Jocelyn Levig, left, and Hadley Simmons during the Hawaiian Airlines Classic on Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Wahine won 25-14, 27-25, 25-19. CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM Hawaii's Jade Vorster put down a kill against San Francisco on Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.San Francisco provided a few speed bumps, but sixth-ranked Hawaii's volleyball struggles were mostly self-inflicted in Friday's erratic 25-14, 27-25, 25-19 victory over the Dons. Opening night of the 25th annual Hawaiian Airlines Classic was watched by 4,826 at Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Wahine (4-0) could be playing for their 10th Classic title — and first in eight years — tonight against Baylor, which beat 25th-ranked Cal in Friday's first match. That upset gave USF (3-2) ideas. The Dons were aided and abetted by a Hawaii team that looked little like the group that upset Stanford five days earlier. "We played tonight like we practiced all week, not really into it," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "It's kind of understandable coming off a big win, but there's no excuse. We need to play better tomorrow night or we'll get beat." The Dons were up 12-11 in the opening set before their passing crumbled. Emily Hartong fired up four aces in the set, two in the midst of serving the final seven points. Freshman Jade Vorster continued her torrid hitting, going an error-free 5-for-9 in the set to help Hawaii score 14 of the final 16 points. But the Wahine's early struggles came back to stay in the second, when USF coach Gilad Doron — whose team is battling injuries — started "what I think will be our lineup." "You can see there is some potential there," said Doron, who just hired former Rainbow Eyal Zimet — his first cousin — as an assistant. "There is some potential there; the thing is we haven't played together enough." UH's Jane Croson, who missed practice with the flu Thursday, sat out the first set, but played the final two. Shoji also inserted Kristiana Tuaniga in the second. The changes did nothing for the Wahine's focus. They lost track of USF senior Jocelyn Levig, who went from zero kills in the opening set to eight in the second. Hawaii also lost its passing touch, leaving few options for setter Mita Uiato. UH's best attribute turned out to be the Dons' inability to close. They served into the bottom of the net on their first set point and Croson crushed the second. Croson's fifth kill gave the Wahine set point and Hartong, who finished with a match-high 14 kills, pounded that. "Obviously we let the momentum slip away," Doron said, "and we couldn't get it back." Transfer Stephanie Hagins got her turn in the middle for UH in the final set, which began badly for the Wahine but was decided by an 11-2 run in the middle. "I thought USF was like a lot of the Big West teams," Shoji said. "They're not going to overpower you, but they'll chip you to death. They just hung around, and we didn't block well. We just weren't sharp." In his team's defense, Shoji used 15 players. Hawaii Baptist graduate Kayla Kawamura came in to serve and Maui's Ginger Long saw her first action, getting in on the final kill and block. "Him using everyone was a good thing. Everyone is working hard," Uiato said. "When it's close it kind of throws off the momentum a little, but we usually get the momentum back." Vorster ended up going 12-for-21 for a .524 percentage. Her lone error — only her second of the season — came on a misconnection with Uiato. Can she keep it up, and can the three other middles catch up? They combined for just five kills and four errors Friday. "I think Jade will get better," Uiato said. "She just knows where to put it, has great vision … she's smart about it. "I tend to listen for my hitters. First it's the middles and if I can hear them, then I want to get it to them. We need to run our middles. Jade has been the loudest." Baylor 3, No. 25 Cal 0In the battle of the Bears, the unranked ones from Waco, Texas, surprised the Golden ones from Berkeley, Calif. Freshman hitter Thea Munch-Soegaard put down 11 kills to lead Baylor (4-0) to an upset of Cal (1-2), 25-23, 26-24, 25-23. Munch-Soegaard completed a double-double with a team-high 14 digs. Injury-hampered Cal, playing without its senior libero Robin Rostratter, got nine kills from Joan Caloiaro, who was 8-for-8 to start the match. Senior opposite Correy Johnson, who missed last week's two matches with a leg injury, came on in Set 3 with five kills on seven swings with no errors.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2012 22:21:37 GMT -5
I think Vorster will just keep getting better and better. Our back row defenders are a little bit better than last year. I wish we had a lockdown opposite.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2012 22:32:40 GMT -5
I think both Uiato and Stauber have good location. Obviously their height is their main weak spot
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Post by Courtside5 on Sept 2, 2012 9:21:11 GMT -5
Your a long way from the islands FC. Are you a transplant?
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Sept 2, 2012 13:12:40 GMT -5
Wahine roll over BaylorBy Ann Miller, The Star-AdvertiserPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Sep 02, 2012 LAST UPDATED: 03:09 a.m. HST, Sep 02, 2012 CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM University of Hawaii's Emily Hartong towered over the net as teammate Courtney Lelepali looked on and Baylor's Arien Richburg defended during night's match at the Stan Sheriff Center.[/i] Baylor went from unbeaten to unable to cope in less than 90 minutes Saturday as sixth-ranked Hawaii blew by the Bears 25-17, 25-13, 25-19 at the 25th annual Hawaiian Airlines Classic. The Rainbow Wahine ran their volleyball winning streak to five matches to start the season. A victory tonight against 25th-ranked California will clinch their 10th Classic title, but last night’s blowout was probably enough to give UH its first win in this tournament since 2004. Before a Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,967, the Wahine ran away from Baylor (4-1) in every set. They scored 14 of the final 20 points in the first and closed the second with a 17-5 surge. After the Bears scored five of the first six points in the final set, Hawaii caught them at 11 and sprinted to the finish line with an 11-3 run. The Bears started three seniors and four freshmen and their youth was served — hard. They could stay with Hawaii only when they passed well and that was rare. The Wahine had just one official ace, but Baylor senior Kate Harris was setting her offense from behind the 10-foot line much of the night. The Bears hit negative .080 in the second set and .089 for the match. “They really couldn’t get their middles involved,” UH coach Dave Shoji said, “so they had to go high outside. When you’ve got two freshmen out there hitting high balls it’s not going to be pretty.” Defensively, Harris and the rest of her team barely touched UH junior Emily Hartong, who had 11 kills and was hitting .611 after two sets. Her first error came an hour into the match and she finished with 18 kills on .457 hitting. “Mita (Uiato) did a good job opening me up and she was aware when the (5-foot-9) setter was up (on the other side),” Hartong said. “She did a really good job of isolating each hitter. Their middles were honest with our middle, so it left me open the whole time because Jade and Kalei did a really good job getting up in transition.” Jane Croson added 11 kills and freshman Jade Vorster eight with three hitting errors — one more than she had in her collegiate career until Saturday. Kalei Adolpho dropped in on five of the six UH blocks — four in the first set. Hawaii started four juniors, two sophomores and Vorster, as it has all season. It played dramatically better than it had in a sweep of San Francisco on Friday, against a team that has gone to two of the last three NCAA tournaments and won its first four matches this season convincingly. “We had much more energy tonight,” Shoji said. “We were quick to the ball and played high energy. Mita found the hot hitter, too. We went a little too much to the left, but when Hartong is that hot we’ve got to go to her.” The Classic closes today with Baylor playing San Francisco (4-2) at 3 p.m., followed by Hawaii and Cal (1-3). The Dons beat the Golden Bears on Saturday for the first time in the teams’ 37-match series. 3 HAWAII 0 BAYLORNEXT: UH vs. California, 5 p.m. today at the Stan Sheriff Center. TV: OC Sports, Ch. 16 Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Sept 2, 2012 13:18:45 GMT -5
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