Lots of talent and potential on the floor this year, but we'll have to wait and see how long it takes for them to settle into a line-up and get used to each other, the school, the State, the fan attention, and Coach Robyn. There could be a lot of up and down play until they gel and develop winning consistency. 2019 will be interesting.
2020 I expect Hawaii to win the Big West. It could be a big year with a deeper run in the postseason, if we can bring in another talented setter to compete with rookie Lang. Don't count on Choy/Iosia redshirting. That's a plan with many moving parts and subject to the potentially shifting priorities and interests of too many individuals. The better plan is to bring in another 2020 setter transfer/recruit to compete.
I'm not expecting the Wahine to win the Big West this year. Cal Poly is still the favorite. But, both Cal Poly and Hawaii have the potential to finish out in the top 25 this season. I'm hopeful that both make it into at least the second round of the NCAA T. Santa Barbara and Long Beach are likely to improve over last year and not to be overlooked. Either could possibly make it three Big West teams in the post-season, provided the bottom half of the conference can have some success in their non-conference schedule.
Last Edit: Jun 5, 2019 15:56:33 GMT -5 by noblesol
You can't get your Masters Degree at UH in one year. A business degree from Schidler's at UH is awesome so I'm assuming that Choy is taking her graduate degree seriously. If so, there's no reason to think that a redshirt option isn't on the table for next year.
This is why I could see it as a possibility, but I believe she also has two years of eligibility left to play for the beach, as she played beach at Utah for her freshman and sophomore year. If she has to stay at UH for two years, she may consider playing for the beach.
With the Choy transferring in, the Wahine are now 2-deep in every position, which should lead to some very spirited practices, come August. One thing for sure, the coaches will not have to take up a position during practices this year. They can now just sit back and coach the players. Robyn can now hold legitimate scrimmages during practice without having any of the coaches involved in the scrimmages. Which can lead to some all out battles for starting positions. I can honestly say, no starting position is safe, every single player will have to earn it, even Jolie Rasmussen.
Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Jun 5, 2019 16:26:05 GMT -5
There's no setter competition, Iosia is the starting setter. I am happy about Choy transferring home. While she could redshirt this season, I don't see that happen. I think we'll see both her and Iosia on the court in a true 6-2. On paper, this is a talent-laden Hawai'i team. Cal Poly is defending two-time Big West Champions so they should be the top team in the preseason poll but it's not going to stay that way throughout the season. Hawai'i beat Poly last season with a team that (at least on paper) is nowhere near as talented as the team Hawai'i will put on the court this season. Yes, they have a lot of new pieces and young players with room to grow but man is the roster exciting this year. When you look at the type of players that Robyn is bringing in, this is old school Hawai'i volleyball with a little more height across the board. We're in for a fun ride folks!
I have a super secret contact from the San Diego area who informed me Jolie Rasmussen was working out with a local club team a couple weeks ago. Rasmussen is from Encinitas, CA, which is near San Diego. My contact said she looked "healthy" which is good news because it means she's not injured.
There's a shop in this Encinitas photo that's called "La Paloma." At first, I thought it read "Aloha" until I zoomed in. (Edit: so apparently, La Paloma is a theater.)
Last Edit: Jun 5, 2019 16:49:08 GMT -5 by Wolfgang
There's no setter competition, Iosia is the starting setter. I am happy about Choy transferring home. While she could redshirt this season, I don't see that happen. I think we'll see both her and Iosia on the court in a true 6-2. On paper, this is a talent-laden Hawai'i team. Cal Poly is defending two-time Big West Champions so they should be the top team in the preseason poll but it's not going to stay that way throughout the season. Hawai'i beat Poly last season with a team that (at least on paper) is nowhere near as talented as the team Hawai'i will put on the court this season. Yes, they have a lot of new pieces and young players with room to grow but man is the roster exciting this year. When you look at the type of players that Robyn is bringing in, this is old school Hawai'i volleyball with a little more height across the board. We're in for a fun ride folks!
Robyn could go with a true 6-2, the standard 5-1, or even the 6-2 she ran last year. With so many athletic players at her disposal this coming year, Robyn has a lot of options she can go with. Something she has never had in her previous 2 years. It will be very interesting to see what Robyn comes up with, and what positions she puts her players in.
There's no setter competition, Iosia is the starting setter. I am happy about Choy transferring home. While she could redshirt this season, I don't see that happen. I think we'll see both her and Iosia on the court in a true 6-2. On paper, this is a talent-laden Hawai'i team. Cal Poly is defending two-time Big West Champions so they should be the top team in the preseason poll but it's not going to stay that way throughout the season. Hawai'i beat Poly last season with a team that (at least on paper) is nowhere near as talented as the team Hawai'i will put on the court this season. Yes, they have a lot of new pieces and young players with room to grow but man is the roster exciting this year. When you look at the type of players that Robyn is bringing in, this is old school Hawai'i volleyball with a little more height across the board. We're in for a fun ride folks!
Robyn could go with a true 6-2, the standard 5-1, or even the 6-2 she ran last year. With so many athletic players at her disposal this coming year, Robyn has a lot of options she can go with. Something she has never had in her previous 2 years. It will be very interesting to see what Robyn comes up with, and what positions she puts her players in.
What is the difference between the 6-2 she ran last year and a true 6-2? I think of a true 6-2 as both setters playing all the way around and hitting in the front court, but Choy won't be hitting that's for sure.
Robyn could go with a true 6-2, the standard 5-1, or even the 6-2 she ran last year. With so many athletic players at her disposal this coming year, Robyn has a lot of options she can go with. Something she has never had in her previous 2 years. It will be very interesting to see what Robyn comes up with, and what positions she puts her players in.
What is the difference between the 6-2 she ran last year and a true 6-2? I think of a true 6-2 as both setters playing all the way around and hitting in the front court, but Choy won't be hitting that's for sure.
I'll answer because I don't think wahinefan actually knows the answer?
This is more for wahinefan than you but a 6-2 just means that you have 6 attackers and 2 setters (as opposed to a 5-1, with 5 attackers and 1 setter). Last year, Robyn ran a modified 6-2 with Iosia playing 3 rotations at Opposite (with Ma'afala setting) and 3 rotations at setter. Ma'afala was subbed out by Gaskin in the front row. So while true that Hawaii had 6 attackers, only one setter was getting subbed out. In a 6-2 with subs, an Opposite would swap out a Setter every three rotations so a setter would not hit. Robyn could continue the modified 6-2 with Choy starting at setter and Iosia at Opposite, then swap out Sibley/ Westerberg/ or anyone else in consideration at Opposite for Choy in the front row. Or she could swap out both Iosia and Choy in the front row. I guess I need to rethink this as a true 6-2 suddenly doesn't seem like a good idea for this Hawai'i team. As they would burn subs and keep their defensive specialists on the bench (because of sub limits). Plus the extra blocking height at the net and available attacker on the rightside might not even be needed because I don't envision huge production out of the right, especially with Hawai'i having attackers who can hit out of the backrow.
What is the difference between the 6-2 she ran last year and a true 6-2? I think of a true 6-2 as both setters playing all the way around and hitting in the front court, but Choy won't be hitting that's for sure.
I'll answer because I don't think wahinefan actually knows the answer? (rofl)
This is more for wahinefan than you but a 6-2 just means that you have 6 attackers and 2 setters (as opposed to a 5-1, with 5 attackers and 1 setter). Last year, Robyn ran a modified 6-2 with Iosia playing 3 rotations at Opposite (with Ma'afala setting) and 3 rotations at setter. In a 6-2 with subs, an Opposites would swap out a Setter every three rotations.
She may have been invited to join the team but I doubt Hall would make any promises of a starting spot on the Top 5 flights. He doesn't even know if Choy is any good. Also, Choy herself may want to focus on her Master's during the offseason. It's serious business, you know.
Last Edit: Jun 5, 2019 19:12:45 GMT -5 by Wolfgang
It's a possibility, and she did play mostly at flight #2 when she was at Utah (given it's a bottom PAC-12 team). I think she could potentially contribute to the flight #5 (maybe 4), but I'm pretty sure she came here through only Robyn. I imagine that now that she chose to play for the indoor team with one year of eligibility, Hall may ask her to walk-on to play for the beach team. If she redshirts this coming season though (which I think is unlikely), then I don't think she'll play beach until maybe 2021.
Hawaii still has a scholarship to give, and there are talks of an international setter (according to Luis at least). I don't think Choy or Iosia is going to redshirt. I think its more likely that Hawaii is still working on getting the paperwork done on whoever this international setter is, which is fine because Hawaii has a lot of players at the pins this year.