2013 UH Wahine Thread

[arick2582]

How wonderful for Emily Hartong. She'll now get 90% of the sets and her arm will literally fall off.

Can anyone tell me what a likely starting line up would be? It seems like a lot of players have transferred and I haven't been able to keep track. Thanks.

[bucky415]

Sorry, but I think there is definitely cause for concern if you are a Wahine fan. They were able to grind out wins in tough matches on the road without Croson last season, to their credit, but it isn't easy with a target on your back in a stronger league now. Most of the Hawaii teams I can remember have had the advantage of having two really strong left sides, and that means someone will have to step up if that is to continue. Hartong is an elite player, but she can't do it alone. Obviously, losing Croson, as well as Maeda to graduation, means that players will have to step up in the back row as well. Given how they schedule, there won't be any time to ease into adjustments. At this point, I think the best chance Hawaii has to get where they want to be would be to get the middles to emerge as big time offensive threats in their second year as starters, with Hartong maintaining her high level. That would require solid ball control, usually a strength for the program, and a better connection between Uiato and the middles, which could come with the additional time they have now had to train. At this point, however, I think they have to have a lot go right for them to contend for the national title. Of course, they will have plenty of opportunity to prove me wrong early in the season.

[karrietfan]

Well said and thought out bucky. I'm thinking this info of Croson's transfer is going out to the college volley world, so what few left over players are calling Shoji right now. With a scholarship available hopefully they can land a top proven D1 OH or a MB to shore up the depth there.

[ACE]

May 29, 2013 1:06:52 GMT -5 bucky415 said:

Sorry, but I think there is definitely cause for concern if you are a Wahine fan. They were able to grind out wins in tough matches on the road without Croson last season, to their credit, but it isn't easy with a target on your back in a stronger league now. Most of the Hawaii teams I can remember have had the advantage of having two really strong left sides, and that means someone will have to step up if that is to continue. Hartong is an elite player, but she can't do it alone. Obviously, losing Croson, as well as Maeda to graduation, means that players will have to step up in the back row as well. Given how they schedule, there won't be any time to ease into adjustments. At this point, I think the best chance Hawaii has to get where they want to be would be to get the middles to emerge as big time offensive threats in their second year as starters, with Hartong maintaining her high level. That would require solid ball control, usually a strength for the program, and a better connection between Uiato and the middles, which could come with the additional time they have now had to train. At this point, however, I think they have to have a lot go right for them to contend for the national title. Of course, they will have plenty of opportunity to prove me wrong early in the season.

I have to agree. Croson provided the extra support to Hartong, especially in the big games. Hawaii's ball control will need to be as good as if not better than 2009 team with Cubi-Otineru and Danielson anchoring the passing.

As of right now:

S - Uiato
OH1 - Hartong
OH 2 - Kastl (Manu-Olevau or Taylor)
MB 1 - Vorster
MB 2 - Tuaniga (I still like her foot speed better than Adolpho)
OPP - Goodman (I still like her block, hopefully her offense picks up)
L - Longo

I would really like to see Tuaniga get some playing time. She seemed very athletic in the limited action I did see last year.

[Psychopotamus]

The bright side to this is that I think it will force Hawaii to be more of a ball control team in the upcoming year. Hawaii's passing went into the shank tank at times last year. A lot of the time it seemed to go hand in hand with how well Croson was passing. She did so much in the front that I think fans tend to overlook how horrible she was at times in the back. The bipolar season Hawaii had was more closely tied to their back row woes than anything else. With Croson's departure, I would expect to see the most solid passing hitter at L2 this season.

Hartong and Longo play back row well enough to keep Hawaii in system with the L2 up front. I think the bigger concern is to keep Hawaii in system for the other three rotations in order to keep teams from camping out on Hartong now that Croson's back row attack is gone. If the passing goes south, then Hawaii will be in real trouble for those three rotations (unless Taylor proves to be as much of a back row threat) because Hawaii's only real bailout set would be to Hartong.

Having a better passing L2 may not be a bad change for the matchups with the bigger teams like Texas. Hawaii put up a fairly big block last year and I think what was lacking was the ability of the back row to pick up the ball when the block got touches. Hawaii's back row defense showed up in the Stanford match and in the NCAAs, but was absent during some of the Big West matches and sporadic throughout the season. To me, this was the biggest reason the Big West was such a tight race last year... it really shouldn't have been.

It would be nice to see Hawaii go back to it's roots and play some solid defense. I think that is the surest way to avoid the roller coaster season they had last year.

[shai87]

it's sucks that she chose to do this, but in the end i think this is better for the team. Jane has issues. Maybe she couldn't stand not being the STAR of the team. I don't know, all speculation on my part. But it will be nice not having to deal with the drama she seems to bring.

[arick2582]

It should be really interesting to see how this season goes.

I agree with what others are saying. The big key for Hawaii this season will be having good ball control so they don't only have to bail out to Hartong. The middles need to become a bigger threat. Vorster needs to learn how to actually hit the ball, very rarely did she hit with power and velocity so she had to rely on placement. Adolpho needs to be more consistent. Goodman and Kastl need to be better at terminating as well so I hope they start the season being aggressive even if they don't do so well at first. I think it would pay off later in the season.

[Psychopotamus]

With the confirmed departure of Croson, that frees up another scholarship. I am wondering if Shoji tries to go the international route. It has been a few years since Hawaii had an international player, kind of strange considering that I can't recall another time Hawaii has been without one.

I also think it is strange nobody has discussed Taylor's role on that LS. When her commit was announced a few fans were saying they expected her to start in the upcoming season on the RS. Does Croson leaving open up the possibility of her starting on the LS? I am wondering just how good she is/will be.

[5100]

I agree with what Shoji said regarding Croson. Additionally, along with Croson's kills came her inconsistencies. Looking at her hitting percentage tells you that. I hope Olevao has made huge strides and that Taylor lives up to the hype, because Kastl isn't the answer on the left. Sadly, Goodman also needs to upgrade her terminating skills on the right.

Also agree with the poster above regarding seeing more if Tuaniga. Adolpho's a strong presence at the net, but she tends to operate in slo-mo at times.

[northwestguy]

I do think Keani Passi will be a pleasnt surprise for those who have not seen her play. Could be an X factor of sorts, brings a lot of offense and solid ball control.

[vbgirls2]

Every coach at one time or another (regardless of level) has one of those really talented athletes that can be trouble on and off of the court. It takes a lot of energy for that coach to deal with the laundry list of problems, and it takes away from the energy of the team to never know if that athlete will play week in and week out due to a variety of issues. We have all dealt with this before and it is not fun. Are they better with her skill-wise- probably....... but in the long run they also may be better without the distractions that come with this type of player.

[surfboy]

I think Manu-Olevau will fit in nicely to Croson's spot as LS hitter, bringing a lot of athletism. I would let Hartong remain Hartong as LS1 but also would like to see her on the right for atleast one of the three rotations when she is upfront. I like the potential of incoming recruit Nikki Taylor but I just seen some video of her and her jump needs a lot of work. Her arm seems to be a weapon and back row seems good enough but she 8s going to have to make a lot of strides if she is to be LS2. Me id put her on the RS with 1 rotation on left when she is upfront.

Link to NIKKI TAYLOR's playing for IMI IKE this yr...she is #1. Totally wished Hannah Rooks would play indoor instead of sand at UH.

[vballfreak808]

May 30, 2013 15:45:16 GMT -5 surfboy said:

Totally wished Hannah Rooks would play indoor instead of sand at UH.

Not that I have seen much of Rooks but I'd rather have 2014 sand recruit Kendra Koelsch play indoors instead of sand. She is a great right side player who can also set at times

[surfboy]

May 30, 2013 16:34:39 GMT -5 vballfreak808 said:

May 30, 2013 15:45:16 GMT -5 surfboy said:

Totally wished Hannah Rooks would play indoor instead of sand at UH.

Not that I have seen much of Rooks but I'd rather have 2014 sand recruit Kendra Koelsch play indoors instead of sand. She is a great right side player who can also set at times

Glad I seen some video of Kendra she could be a force if she was indoors!

[internationalball]

May 30, 2013 15:45:16 GMT -5 surfboy said:

I think Manu-Olevau will fit in nicely to Croson's spot as LS hitter, bringing a lot of athletism. I would let Hartong remain Hartong as LS1 but also would like to see her on the right for atleast one of the three rotations when she is upfront. I like the potential of incoming recruit Nikki Taylor but I just seen some video of her and her jump needs a lot of work. Her arm seems to be a weapon and back row seems good enough but she 8s going to have to make a lot of strides if she is to be LS2. Me id put her on the RS with 1 rotation on left when she is upfront.

Link to NIKKI TAYLOR's playing for IMI IKE this yr...she is #1. Totally wished Hannah Rooks would play indoor instead of sand at UH.

Nikki Taylor is 6-4, she doesn't need to jump that high. More so...strength training will be good for her. I think she will be a great player fir the Wahine!