2012 Wahine Volleyball Articles

[Cubicle No More ...]

Santa Clara could give Wahine fits

By Ann Miller, The Star-Advertiser

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 29, 2012
LAST UPDATED: 01:37 a.m. HST, Nov 29, 2012


DARRELL MIHO / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii volleyball coach Dave Shoji wants the Rainbow Wahine to work on speeding up the offense in preparation for the postseason.



SEATTLE » Before this NCAA Volleyball Championship is over, the West Coast Conference really should give a shout out to the Big West.

If the WCC had not gone 16-6 against the teams in Hawaii's conference, no way it would have six squads in the postseason. Only the Big Ten and Pac-12 have more (seven apiece).

The eighth-ranked Rainbow Wahine, unbeaten Big West champs, open the postseason Friday against Santa Clara, in Seattle. The result could vividly illustrate how far apart the conferences are.

The Broncos (21-10) finished fourth in the WCC. They went five sets with three middle-of-the-pack Big West teams, beating UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton and falling to Pacific.

The Wahine (26-2) fought off two match points in their first Big West match in 16 years. That was more than two months ago at Cal State Northridge. They won that in five and also went the distance in beating Fullerton, UC Irvine and Pacific (twice).

Clearly, little separates the two conferences and, realistically, Hawaii and Santa Clara.

"I think there are a lot of teams like Santa Clara in our conference," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "It's a typical Big West team — a West Coast team with good ball control and scrappy players."

The scrappiest is Megan Anders, the Broncos' only All-WCC player, with sophomore Taylor Milton honorable mention. The 6-foot-4 junior middle led her team in kills (3.02), hitting (.362) and was second in blocks (0.82). Her attack percentage was better than .500 in eight matches and she had 25 kills in an upset of then-16th-ranked Brigham Young, which is hosting a subregional this week.

Santa Clara plays two setters and, when its passing is precise, Alyssa Anderson and Anders are almost unstoppable, according their coach Jon Wallace.

"One of the things that makes us unique is our setter and middle connection is kind of amazing even for us to watch," Wallace said. "They find these angles and our middle attack has just clicked, like when Robyn (Ah Mow) and Angelica (Ljungquist) connected on everything back in the mid-90s — when Hawaii got to the final four by that connection alone. Robyn was able to find Angelica everywhere on the court."

This Hawaii team reminds Wallace of the Wahine's bookend bashers of a decade ago — Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku.

"(Emily) Hartong and (Jane) Croson can control an entire match like Lily and Kim," he said. "Whenever you can set them the ball they'll get you get good swings and over time good swings pay off.

"A good middle and right … it's harder to find those kids. You can always find the left-side attack. Also, Hawaii has won its last how many straight (19)? So they have good confidence. They are going in believing they can win. Hawaii knows how to play in the tournament. Dave knows how to coach them, how to go through a conference that's not as challenging and come out and make a final four."

Hawaii has done it before, but so has Santa Clara. Wallace worries about his passing and the three losses to end the regular season. He plays the 6-2 offense in part "to hide people we need to hide."

But the Anders-Anderson connection got his team going and the confidence it built has it back in the postseason for the first time in five years. Before that, Santa Clara made 10 straight NCAA appearances, reaching the final four in a magical 2005.

His team knows how to play in the postseason as well, and it knows what to do with a Big West opponent.

"Wally's been around," said Shoji, who was coaching the UH men when Wallace played for UC Santa Barbara. "He's been at Santa Clara a long time. He's a good coach, a good guy."

If the WCC can get six teams in the NCAA tournament, Shoji thinks the Big West can too.

"It was looking like the WCC would get at least five teams and they snuck a sixth team in there," he said. "I kind of envision the Big West being like that next year. We'll all be stronger next year. That's encouraging that a mid-major conference can get six teams in there. That should be the goal of our coaches."

His last words to his team Tuesday, before it left for temperatures that have yet to hit 50 degrees, were short, sweet and cautionary.

"I don't have anything," Shoji told the Wahine. "You guys are ready. You can't worry about the second night too early. Santa Clara is a good team from a good conference."

A conference six times better than the Big West this season.


NCAA DIVISION I SUBREGIONAL

At University of Washington

FRIDAY FIRST ROUND
>> No. 8 Hawaii (26-2) vs. Santa Clara (20-11), 3 p.m.
>> No. 5 Washington (23-6) vs. Central Arkansas (30-4), following first match
>> TV: All matches on OC Sports (Ch. 16)
>> Radio: Hawaii match on KKEA (1420-AM)

[Cubicle No More ...]

Santa Clara, Hawaii keep everyone guessing

By Ann Miller

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 30, 2012


STAR-ADVERTISER / 2012
Passing is key for Hawaii. Good passing by the likes of Ali Longo, foreground, leads to quality swings by hitters like Emily Hartong.[/i]


SEATTLE » Eighth-ranked Hawaii has never seen volleyball quite like Santa Clara will bring it in tonight's NCAA Championship first-round match at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The Broncos are not sure what Rainbow Wahine they will see. It might not matter.

"Do they know what their lineup is going to be?" Santa Clara coach Jon Wallace asked with a grin. "One of the hardest things to prepare for with Hawaii is that Dave (Shoji) changes his lineup quite a bit and puts different girls in different situations. But when 70 percent of the sets still go to two girls ... we have their tendencies down pretty well."

Emily Hartong averages more than 4.5 kills a set for UH and Jane Croson 3.5. Jade Vorster is next, barely over 2.

Hartong and Croson hit from every inch of the court. If the passing is bad, they will get set. If it is good, they will probably get set.

What goes on around them, however, changes constantly. Hartong, setter Mita Uiato, middles Vorster and Kalei Adolpho, libero Ali Longo and Croson -- aside from her seven-match suspension -- have started every match but one. Still, 13 Wahine have played in more than a third of the sets. That doesn't include Kristiana Tuaniga and Stephanie Hagins, who pop in spontaneously to relieve the middles or provide blocking.

Shoji has used a variation of six starting lineups this season and, with just one exception -- Hagins' lone start, the change has involved the player opposite the setter. Kaela Goodman started the season, transfer Ashley Kastl came on the second week and freshman Tai Manu-Olevao was activated in October when Croson went out.

Shoji calls it a "match-to-match and game-to-game" decision and even he is not sure who it will be tonight. Goodman is the most consistent and best blocker. Kastl can create kills. Manu-Olevao is the most athletic, and clearly the future. Wallace is preparing by comparing each of those three to someone in his conference so he can give his players' quick direction.

None of the right-side hitters has given Hawaii all it needs, but the depth has created a remarkably competitive practice atmosphere and, in some ways, made it better.

"The thing is, everybody has played a variety of roles," said Shoji, who admits he has never gone an entire season before without a set lineup. "There's nothing that's going to be uncomfortable no matter how we start.

"We're auditioning people over there so to speak. Everybody has played over there and played the alignments so it's not overwhelming to our team, like what are we doing now? We've practiced this way all year."

Santa Clara's attack has been a constant, and constantly confounding when it is passing well. The Broncos use two setters, which is unusual. They swap them for their middles, which is almost unheard of.

Almost as rare, middles Megan Anders and Haley Cameron anchor the offense, with an assist from left-handed hitter Taylor Milton. Santa Clara has six hitters with more than 200 kills and Anders has nearly 400.

"She moves the ball around a lot, she'll hit to the open spot," Shoji said. "The tempo is a little slower than most middles so the timing is a little different for us. It's hard to work on because we don't run it like that. That will be the biggest obstacle, the timing of their middle attack."

The biggest challenge for both teams will be serving and passing.

When the 20-11 Broncos, who haven't won in three weeks, pass well, they can run their middle at will and open up their outsides. They split matches with the ranked teams in their conference, but could not take a set off unranked Loyola Marymount and St. Mary's -- the league's best serving teams.

If 26-2 Hawaii, which has won its past 19, passes well it is not quite as predictable and Hartong and Croson get better swings.

"A lot of our success comes from serving tough and making teams predictable," Wallace said. "We have a good block when we can set it up. The goal is to get Hawaii in predictable situations. Then Megan and Hayley can close the blocks and that will present a big challenge for Hartong and Croson."


Notes

Hawaii had five fans at Thursday's open practice. Along with Emily Maeda's parents and fiance, Chad Reis, former Wahine volleyball player Maile (Golden) Toeaina was watching. She brought her husband, former Rainbow football player Andrew Toeaina.

Andrew is the pastor at Soul'd Out Christian Center International in nearby Kent, Wash. He started the church in 1997 and many members are from Hawaii. They have three daughters. ... The Wahine were in Seattle exactly 24 hours before they saw the sun, which made a fleeting appearance mid-day Thursday. The temperature finally got into the 50s and, for the first time this visit, the rain stopped for more than 10 minutes.


NCAA DIVISION I SUBREGIONAL
First-round matches

TODAY

» No. 8 Hawaii (26-2) vs. Santa Clara (20-11), 3 p.m.

» No. 5 Washington (23-6) vs. Central Arkansas (30-4), following first match

» TV: OCSports (Ch. 16)

» Radio: Hawaii match on KKEA (1420-AM)

[Cubicle No More ...]

UH gets rematch

By Ann Miller, The Star-Advertiser

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 01, 2012


ANTHONY BOLANTE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
UH's Ashley Kastl hit past Santa Clara's Katherine Douglas and Haley Cameron during Friday's match in Seattle.


ANTHONY BOLANTE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
UH's Jane Croson acknowledged Hawaii fans in Seattle after Friday's sweep of Santa Clara in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship. Croson had a season-high 22 kills against the Broncos to help UH advance to today's match against Washington.


SEATTLE » Santa Clara knew exactly what was coming from eighth-ranked Hawaii on Friday and simply could not stop it.

Jane Croson and Emily Hartong lowered the boom on the Broncos in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship. The Rainbow Wahine stretched their winning streak to 20 with a 25-20, 25-13, 25-19 win at Alaska Airlines Arena.

In the second match, fifth-ranked Washington ended Central Arkansas' NCAA debut nearly as quickly as UH dispatched SCU, winning 25-13, 25-17, 25-18 before a crowd of 3,588. The Sugar Bears' finest season ended 30-5.

The Huskies (24-6), seeded 13th in the tournament, play Hawaii (27-2) tonight at 5 p.m. for the right to advance to the Omaha, Neb., regional next week. The winner plays fourth-seeded Nebraska on Friday.

The Wahine have been here before, literally. Two years ago, Washington blasted them in another second-round match in Seattle. That left a lasting impact.

"It was a terrible feeling losing there, so it will be nice for all the girls who have been here as long as I have to go back and play there again," Hartong said Sunday after she heard Hawaii would not host a subregional. "Hopefully we don't feel the same when we come out of there."

The Big West Player of the Year blasted 17 kills against Santa Clara. Croson was all but untouchable early, getting eight kills in each of the first two sets and finishing with a season-high 22.

"The first two sets they gave me line," Croson said simply. "That's my best shot, so I took advantage of it."

Over and over again. The Broncos did not/could not block her until the 11th point of the third set. Croson was hitting .600 after the first two and finished at .419, with Hartong .375.

"It kind of went how we thought it would go," Santa Clara coach Jon Wallace said, "but we thought we'd have a little more success slowing down Jane and Emily. They got the ball a lot.

"They are two hitters that are very challenging. They use the block quite a lot and a lot of random-ness comes off of that that we couldn't get a good bead on. Hawaii did a nice job controlling the match through those two players."

Later, Wallace basically said his team lost to four people — Croson and Hartong, setter Mita Uiato ("because she knew to go to them") and libero Ali Longo (17 digs), who was instrumental in UH out-digging the Broncos 51-40.

There were more. Jade Vorster was in on all but two of the Wahine's eight stuffs and Ashley Kastl joined her four times. Kastl was the starting right-side hitter of the moment and also had five kills, but UH coach Dave Shoji used all three in the opening set and subbed often.

This looked much like a Big West match, only the Wahine started well and simply got better when Santa Clara (20-12) had no answer. Hawaii hit a season-best .677 in the second set, going without a hitting error.

"Jane and Emily really had great nights," Shoji said. "We felt like we were better at the pins than they were and it turned out that was true. We served tough and kind of took them out their offense. I felt pretty good about our effort tonight."

Still, he knows his team will have to play dramatically better tonight. Against SCU, the Wahine had 100 fans and three Hawaiian flags and owned the momentum early.

It will be very different tonight, with a few thousand UW fans and the country's best blocker (UCLA transfer Amanda Gil) waiting. The Huskies also celebrated the return of Krista Vansant, their best offensive weapon, on Friday. She had been out with an injured ankle since Nov. 16.

Asked what more UH will have to do to reverse the 2010 result, Hartong basically listed every aspect of the game, emphasizing passing and balance.

Shoji was more specific, zeroing in on Washington's vaunted blocking system and a certain 6-foot-6 senior.

"We have to hit smart tomorrow," he said. "We have to stay away from Amanda Gil. They do have some shorter players. They are athletic, but we're going to need to attack some of their pin players. Vansant is big (6-2), but the others are about the same size as us. We have to hit smartly and take advantage of anything they give us."

There were seven ties in the opening set before UH got hot and Croson scored four of the final seven points. The Wahine blasted at will in the second and broke away mid-set in the third.

Earlier in the week, Wallace had a feeling Hawaii would be trouble.

"I'm still amazed at why Hawaii is 26-2 and not in the top 15," Wallace said. "How does that happen?"

From the moment it did, the Wahine have wanted a date with the destiny they have desired for precisely two years. Hawaii, denied a home match seven straight years despite a top-16 seeding, had beaten four home teams in the second round by the time it got to Seattle in 2010. It did not come close against the Huskies.

"We played very poorly the last time we were here, not up to our capabilities," Shoji said. "Washington had a lot to do with it. They had a great team, like they do now. There are four or five girls who were there two years ago and we remember. We think we're better now, so we think we have a chance."


3 Hawaii

0 Santa Clara

Next: UH vs. Washington, 5 p.m. today at Seattle.

TV: OC Sports (Ch. 16)

Radio: 1500-AM

[madonna]

Croson had a really nice night. And so did 1 time NPOW Hartong.


Longo was outstanding too.

[dd2000]

Who will match up with Vansant, Jane or Emily? I'm expecting a great match.

[madonna]

Dec 1, 2012 10:59:59 GMT -5 dd2000 said:

Who will match up with Vansant, Jane or Emily? I'm expecting a great match.

I'd put Hartong there. Vansant would have to try and stop Hartong. And that's not an easy order.

[Deleted]

It needs to be Emily. Jane's blocking really is lacking in my opinion. I feel like Hartong is much more of a dynamic blocker

[dd2000]

Dec 1, 2012 13:41:38 GMT -5 @swaneys14 said:

It needs to be Emily. Jane's blocking really is lacking in my opinion. I feel like Hartong is much more of a dynamic blocker

Is Vansant a left side hitter? Wouldn't she then face Hawaii's right side attack, which would be Goodman or Kastle, unless Shoji moves Hartong to the right?

[Deleted]

Dec 1, 2012 14:06:20 GMT -5 dd2000 said:

Dec 1, 2012 13:41:38 GMT -5 @swaneys14 said:

It needs to be Emily. Jane's blocking really is lacking in my opinion. I feel like Hartong is much more of a dynamic blocker

Is Vansant a left side hitter? Wouldn't she then face Hawaii's right side attack, which would be Goodman or Kastle, unless Shoji moves Hartong to the right?

Great point, didn't think that through

[Cubicle No More ...]

Dawg gone

The Huskies send the Rainbow Wahine home with a five-set defeat

By Ann Miller, The Star-Advertiser

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 02, 2012
LAST UPDATED: 02:13 a.m. HST, Dec 02, 2012


ANTHONY BOLANTE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Washington's Kaleigh Nelson smacked a shot past UH's Jane Croson during the first set of Saturday's second-round match of the NCAA•Volleyball Championship in Seattle.


SEATTLE » Hawaii was a swing away from redemption in so many ways Saturday. Instead, the eighth-ranked Rainbow Wahine suffered volleyball heartbreak for the second straight season.

They fell to fifth-ranked Washington in the NCAA Championship's second round, 20-25, 25-20, 19-25, 27-25, 15-11, at Alaska Airlines Arena. The loss was Hawaii's first since Sept. 9 and ended its season at 27-3.

"I told them I've never been prouder of a team in a losing effort," said UH coach Dave Shoji, who will have to wait for next year to become the winningest coach in women's college volleyball history. "They played their hearts out. We had a swing for the match and got blocked.

"It was fun. Our kids were playing at a really high level. At the end, Washington made the plays and we didn't, so it's really disappointing. But I can't fault my team for any lack of effort. There was effort all the way, as you saw. I'm very, very proud of these women."

The Huskies (25-6), seeded 13th in the tournament, play fourth-seeded Nebraska in the Omaha Regional on Friday. Last time they played in the postseason the two coaches practically came to blows when it ended.

Saturday, before about 3,500 loud UW fans and a very vocal and devoted 200 or so UH fans, both teams just kept swinging at each other, separated by a net.

Emily Hartong was unstoppable in the opening set, burying 11 kills and the Huskies in 23 minutes of utter dominance. The Wahine were practically perfect in a 12-2 surge — senior Emily Maeda serving six straight — that gave them an 18-11 advantage and all the momentum.

They won going away, despite five missed serves. Hartong had one more kill than the entire Washington team, which looked shell-shocked. She would finish with 30 kills, with Jane Croson adding 20 and each collecting 14 digs.

But Hawaii, which had won the past five times it went five sets, could not get the one kill it needed most. It staged a gutsy rally at the end of the fourth, erasing three set points with Ali Longo serving and providing breathtaking digs with Croson and Mita Uiato.

Hartong put the Wahine ahead 25-24, then went up for what would have been her 26th kill and a ticket to the regionals. Amanda Gil — the country's best blocker — and Kylin Munoz stuffed her.

On the next play, Croson's rip from the backcourt sailed long. The Wahine argued for a touch, to no avail. Munoz served an ace and it was over.

The Huskies, national champs in 2005, scored four in a row to take control of the fifth set at 11-7 and Hawaii could not come back.

It had been months since anyone could say that. This team was up and down all year, but it was never for lack of effort and it played its best the final two nights in the NCAA Championship.

Which only made the end more difficult.

"It was just how hard we tried," said Hartong, her eyes red and her voice cracking. "I thought this was the best match we played this year. Everyone showed the effort and the heart out there. You could see how bad we all wanted it."

The Huskies were just as relentless, and found a very Wahine-like way to get back in it. Behind the defense of Krista Vansant, Jenna Orlandini and Cassie Strickland, they started to stay in rallies in Set 2, scoring seven straight points early. They hung on through yet another Hawaii comeback, which cut a deficit that had been as big as five to 19-18.

UH could get just one more ball to hit the floor in that set, but found it much more in the third, breaking from 5-all with a 10-4 run that got everyone involved and ended with Croson serving five in a row. She served three more the next rotation around to take UH to 23-19. One came on a jump-serve ace she hit while practically parallel to the floor.

From there the country's best blocking team began to find the range and the Huskies' better balance helped them out-hit UH .288-.159 the final two sets.

"We have been in some fights and certainly had some highs and lows this season," said UW coach Jim McLaughlin, whose team tied for fourth in the Pac-12. "But that really strengthened us for conditions like this. I was proud how we responded to the conditions. We did not play well in Game 3 and these guys didn't quit. They kept fighting, counting on each other in the toughest situations, and they lifted each other.

"It was a huge win for our program. Hawaii is big-time. It's been big-time many years. It's too bad they didn't get to host."

Shoji jumped on that subject last, blasting the NCAA for not seeding his team and allowing it to host.

"It's a disservice to our athletes to disrespect them like that," he said finally, and angrily.

He had no anger for his team. All year, through all its struggles, the players had each other's backs. Their practices were more competitive than some teams' matches and he knew they would never quit on each other.

First-year libero Ali Longo had a match-high 17 digs. Uiato and lone senior Emily Maeda also hit double digits with 10 apiece, and many were spectacular. Uiato, the smallest front-row player on the court, was also in on all but one of UH's six stuffs.

The Huskies hung 17 blocks on UH.

Hawaii played better in the first five minutes than it did the whole night two years ago against UW in Seattle.

Last season, for the first time in eight years, UH was allowed to host a subregional and it won before more than 8,000 fans. A week later, before a soldout Stan Sheriff Center, it suffered a gut-wrenching five-set loss to USC.

This one was no easier, for any of the Wahine. They all played their part — and often over their head — particularly Hartong.

"Emily led our team almost all year," Longo said. "It's incredible to play with her, behind her and be able to talk to her. She was just bombing away. Every point we were talking about it — ‘Just let it all out here' — and I think she did a great job of that tonight. You couldn't ask for anything more from her … from anybody."


3 Washington

2 Hawaii

Key: UW scored four straight for an 11-7 lead in the fifth set that Hawaii couldn't overcome.

[tomclen]

Thanks for posting this. Great article.

[Cubicle No More ...]

Wahine still steaming


By Ann Miller, The Star-Advertiser

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 03, 2012
LAST UPDATED: 09:06 a.m. HST, Dec 03, 2012


ANTHONY BOLANTE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii's Dave Shoji walked off the court dejected after his team lost to Washington on Saturday.



Ironic that the NCAA would send away a Hawaii volleyball team that refused to go away all season.

Of all the emotions swirling in the eighth-ranked Rainbow Wahine's heads after Saturday's devastating five-set loss to fifth-ranked Washington in the NCAA tournament's second round, anger was the most intriguing.

They will deal with the disappointment of letting a match point get away and losing popular senior Emily Maeda and all their individual frustration. It is part of the game.

But they were truly ticked off that the NCAA committee refused to award them one of 16 seeds and the chance to host a subregional that goes with it despite the Wahine winning 20 consecutive matches. A 27-3 team that tenaciously kept winning simply by sticking together through good and bad had no control over that.

Dave Shoji, who will become the sport's winningest coach next season and guides the planet's only revenue-producing college volleyball program, was angrier still.

"I felt for our players because they earned a seed, they earned a homecourt advantage," Shoji said early Sunday morning. "I thought Washington and Hawaii should be in the regional. If they want to tell us that we're not good enough, which is essentially what they're telling us, that's a copout.

"There is no criteria that they list we didn't meet to be able to be a seeded team. We were 26-2, won our last 10, had no bad losses, beat the No. 2 seed in the tournament (Stanford). On and on and on.

"If they want to say it's financial, they didn't want to bring three teams to Hawaii, they need to say that. But they needed to seed us. I thought they should have seeded us and if they didn't want us to host send us to San Diego, send us to Santa Clara, send us somewhere with the seed but not the homecourt advantage.

"That's what they could have done and should have done. But to tell my team they weren't good enough to be in the top 16 teams is absurd … to disrespect this group of athletes is tragic to me."

According to the NCAA website, "Per the established bracketing principles the top 16 seeds were provided the opportunity to host."

The Wahine's helpless feeling will linger long into the offseason, which will be a crucial time for this team that could have eight seniors next year.

Shoji has to find a weapon for the right side. His four middles must make huge strides. Emily Hartong, Ali Longo and Mita Uiato played at a remarkably high level all season. Jade Vorster was relentless in her pursuit of improvement. Jane Croson came back from suspension stronger.

But in 2013, the Wahine have to find a better balance. Hartong and Croson, as awesome as they were over the weekend, cannot be 80 percent of the offense if Hawaii is serious about winning a fifth national title before Shoji retires.

Today, he and the team are still feeling the pain of ending their last two seasons with five-set losses. Last year, it was USC in Hawaii. This year, Washington at Seattle. Shoji believed his team would win both, and got the players to buy in.

"I had a feeling we were going to shock the world (Saturday) and we came so close," he said. "It was just fun to watch our team have so much fun out there and play well.

"We had a swing for the match. If you were to ask for one thing it would be Hartong swinging for the match. That ball could have just as easily gone off Amanda Gil's arms and into the bleachers as going straight down. It could have gone either way, but it went their way. And Game 5 they just made the plays, they made several plays. At 8-7 we switch sides and miss two serves and it just wasn't meant to be."

Next fall Texas, UCLA, San Diego, Arizona and Northwestern are among the teams coming to Hawaii. Shoji believes "everybody in the Big West will be a little better."

The Rainbow Wahine will supplement their depth with Punahou setter Tayler Higgins and 6-foot-4 hitter Nikki Taylor, out of Kaiser. And they will always remember how close they came over 2 hours and 29 minutes Saturday night in Alaska Airlines Arena.

"That team is going to be so awesome next year," Maeda said. "Better than this year because they've had experience playing with each other a year. It's going to be a great season. I want them to believe that. I know they do."

They will, when the anger subsides. This team had what Maeda called "an attitude — not a bad attitude, but it was a team that just believed it can get it done. It was really inspiring to be on a team like this with girls who really believe in each other."

That elusive quality contributed to Shoji's anger, and helplessness.

"I told them it was just an enjoyable team to be with," he said. "There was no drama. Jane had her issues, but Jane doesn't have an ego. Jane had an issue, but it didn't drag the team down. She came back really strong from it and everybody supported Jane. Jane was never a problem.

"Other than that, it was just fun to be around this team. It was low-maintenance all year. And the kids that weren't playing as much as they wanted to, they never caused a problem. We never had an issue with playing time or attitude problems."

Turns out, the Wahine's only issue was out of their control.

[kolohekeiki]

Adolpho, Long not focused on seeding

UH to face Santa Clara in first-round match Friday
November 29, 2012
By ROBERT COLLIAS - Staff Writer ([e-mail]) , The Maui News


Last season, the University of Hawaii women's volleyball team was seeded 10th in the NCAA tournament and - after No. 2 Nebraska fell in an early upset to Pepperdine - could have reached the Final Four without leaving home.

A five-set loss to Southern California in the round of 16 derailed the Rainbow Wahine's hopes, ending the freshman season for Molokai High School graduate Kalei Adol-pho and a redshirt season for Kamehameha Maui's Ginger Long.

This year, after a 26-2 mark in the regular season that included an 18-0 run through the Big West and a No. 8 spot in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, UH is unseeded.
Article Photos

"Right after the seeding came out (Sunday), we watched it together, and we had a little team meeting and the first thing Dave (Shoji, the UH coach) said was, 'This is something you can't control,' " Adolpho said. "That's the situation we're in and we're just going to have to make the best of it."

The Rainbow Wahine will face Santa Clara on Friday in a first-round match in Seattle. A win would likely pit UH against 13th-seeded Washington on the Huskies' home floor Saturday.

"I personally think and I know a lot of the girls and the coaching staff thinks that we should have gotten a seed," Long said, "but that's just the way that it turns out and in order to win we have to end up beating everybody anyway, so I think our lower seed has more motivation for us to do even better."

The disappointment didn't last long - Shoji said Tuesday's practice was one of the Rainbow Wahine's best of the season, especially for the middle blocker group, including the 6-foot-1 Adolpho.

The team departed for Seattle on a red-eye flight Tuesday evening.

"We just kind of forgot about how it was unfair or what we thought about it," Adolpho said. "We are all excited to go out and hopefully go far and prove that they seeded us wrong."

Santa Clara (20-11) finished fourth in the West Coast Conference, which sent six teams to the tournament.

"They are almost like a Big West team, they are pretty scrappy, they have two big middles," Shoji said. "(Adol-pho) will have to play well for us to win, that's for sure. She has been giving us some really added offense and she really needs to block some balls. She is a big part of our team, so she needs to come up big."

Adolpho hit .349 with 100 blocks in 27 starts this season.

"Every once in a while she looks like an All-American-type player," Shoji said. "She is a little up and down, she has some really great games and then some games where she has struggled. She has the ability, she just needs to refine all of her skills. By the time she is a senior she'll be an All-American, I think."

Adolpho has emerged from shy freshman to stalwart on the front line. She nearly tripled her kill total from last season, from 54 to 155.

"I hope I came far, but it really doesn't feel like I'm making too much of an improvement," said Adolpho, who started playing volleyball as a high school freshman. "I know there's a long way for me to go. That's the No. 1 thing Dave always tells me: 'I need you to make volleyball plays, I need you to make volleyball plays.' So, there are things that I'm continuing to learn and I definitely have more to work on I just want to keep getting better."

Long has 12 aces this season, sixth on the team and best among reserves.

"I'm enjoying it," she said. "My role on the team is obviously not a big part, but it's an important role and I'm happy just to contribute to our team's success in any way."

Adolpho said Long is an important piece of the puzzle.

"I don't know if the stats show it, but she had a couple really great assists and digs some good balls and covers the court really well," Adolpho said. "The things she does don't really show in the stats, but she makes great plays, brings that fresh body on the court, like a spark off the bench."

Long laughed when a similar question came up.

"We help out each other," she said. "It's really funny, some of the games when I get to go in as a sub for her and serve, I come to the line and she's, like, 'Oh, thank you so much. I don't have to serve.' So I'm always cheering for her and hoping the best for her and our entire team, so it's good."

At 5-11, Long is the shortest outside hitter on the roster besides first-team All-Big West selection Jane Croson.

"Ginger has been our serving specialist, especially on the road." Shoji said. "At home, we have got more of a selection, but she has been doing a really nice job on the road for us. Ginger is in a tough spot because we have got a lot of good outside hitters and she is down the depth chart a little bit as far as being a hitter, but certainly she has a good role now, she's important to the team. Just time will tell if she can move up on the depth chart."

Adolpho said being on the road may relieve some of the pressure that comes with playing elimination matches.

"I just remember the USC match, every ball you could just see the crowd go, 'Ohhh,' " she said. "You could feel the tension. Being away, maybe we won't have that."

Long added, "I think that our team is ready and we will do very well."

* Robert Collias is at [e-mail]

[kolohekeiki]

Dave Shoji: Kalei Adolpho can be an All-American

Bald-Headed Truth
December 2, 2012 - Robert Collias

Their season ended in a five-set heartbreaker — a sleepless night in Seattle, no doubt — when the University of Hawaii Wahine volleyball team fell to 13th-seeded Washington on Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Next season, the Wahine return their entire roster, minus senior libero Emily Maeda, to a team that finished 27-3.

Hall of Fame coach Dave Shoji tol me on Tuesday night as they waited for their red-eye flight from Honolulu International that Molokai High School graduate Kalei Adolpho can be an All-American by the time she is a senior in two seasons.

If y'all don't want to read the link above — and believe me, you should — here is the pertinent quote from Shoji on Adolpho, who hit .349 with 100 blocks in 27 regular-season starts this season, only her sixth playing the sport:

"Every once in a while she looks like an All-American-type player," Shoji said. "She is a little up and down, she has some really great games and then some games where she has struggled. She has the ability, she just needs to refine all of her skills. By the time she is a senior she'll be an All-American, I think."

Saturday night, she played like it with seven kills, three blocks, two digs, a .417 hitting percentage, and a nifty, athletic, no-look assist to Jane Croson in the third set. Kamehameha Maui graduate Ginger Long had an assist and a dig one nights after having three digs, an assist and an ace in a sweep of Santa Clara.

Speculation is that the 65-year-old Shoji deeply desires one more national title before retiring — he has four — and that may coincide with the career arcs of Adolpho and Long, who just finished their sophomore and redshirt freshman seasons, respectively.

[kolohekeiki]

The last two article I posted is from the Maui News...local newspaper from where Ginger Long is from...Kalei Adolpho is from Moloka`i, but Moloka`i is part of Maui County for those that don't know