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Post by babybacksets on Aug 21, 2022 10:44:18 GMT -5
I see her more of a Kanani Danielson type player. Her shot selection is really good, jumps out of the gym, and pretty ok in the backrow, with Coach Robyn she can really improve on that, and her serving is quite good. I can hope Stella becomes a Kanani, but Stella does tend to get subbed out for a DS so the comparison is hard to make because Kanani was SO good all around I want to see Stella develop into a great STELLA. Remember she just barely started her last high school season and she’s been improving every year and what better place to improve as a passer/defender than Hawaii?
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Post by staticb on Aug 21, 2022 12:24:37 GMT -5
Side note, just because you get DS'd out in club volleyball, doesn't mean you can't pass. I would say often in club vball, the player being DS'd out is just as good as the DS in many circumstances.
In Club Vball, they want the extra $$$ (and a backup player in case of injury), so they take DS's and because everyone is paying to play, they'll give everyone some play time. In many cases, they will just DS someone out with a heavy workload so that they can extra rest.
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Post by practicesafesets on Aug 21, 2022 12:58:12 GMT -5
Side note, just because you get DS'd out in club volleyball, doesn't mean you can't pass. I would say often in club vball, the player being DS'd out is just as good as the DS in many circumstances. In Club Vball, they want the extra $$$ (and a backup player in case of injury), so they take DS's and because everyone is paying to play, they'll give everyone some play time. In many cases, they will just DS someone out with a heavy workload so that they can extra rest. Side note, Stella got DS’d out during HS play too. Hopefully they allow her to play 6 rotation this upcoming season.
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Post by kaipono on Aug 21, 2022 13:40:29 GMT -5
Wahine make the grade at Sneak Peak open practiceBy Cindy LuisClasses don’t officially start until this Monday but the Hawai’i volleyball team already was being graded on Saturday. That’s when Rainbow Wahine coach Robyn Ah Mow asked approximately 300 fans in the Stan Sheriff Center how they would grade the team’s performance during the “Sneak Peak” open practice. “A to F … what do you think?” Ah Mow asked. While the players tried to convince the crowd to vote “A,” Ah Mow apparently judges on a very critical curve. “I think C-minus,” she said after the final practice of the two-a-day fall camp. “The group didn’t have too many extreme things to work on, the skills were all there. “It’s putting the pieces together and making them fit.” What Ah Mow has liked seeing the past two weeks is the cohesiveness of the 10 returnees, two freshmen and three graduate student transfers after a short time together. “This is one close-knit group, the sixth-year head coach said. She also like the flexibility she sees with players able to switch positions “That’s the whole point, moving everyone around, see what they can do, see how good we can be,” the three-time Olympic setter said. To that end, junior Tiffany Westerberg — recruited as a middle — played that position as well as left- and right-side, and took swings out of the back row. Freshman Jackie Matias, recruited as a setter, was used as a defensive specialist and set. Dynamic freshman outside Caylen Alexander was used at both pins and “for a freshman, not bad,” Ah Mow said. “She’s really stepping right in there, doing her thing. “One thing that surprises us is her back row. She started being six rotations in club. We like her attitude.” (Alexander may remind some of a thinner Kenyatta Lovelace, who played at UH from 1990-93, and was a senior when Ah Mow was a freshman. Coincidentally, Ah Mow said Lovelace texted her earlier Saturday). Due to COVID restrictions last season, Hawai’i was not allowed to have fans for its first 10 matches in the Stan Sheriff Center. Then it was “half capacity” (5,150) but the program that led the country in attendance for over 20 years never drew more than 3,305 for any of its remaining five home matches. “We wanted them to play in front of people,” Ah Mow told the crowd. “Hopefully, everyone will come back and we can have 6, 7,000 again.” The crowd also was asked how they liked the new uniforms, sleeve-less tops that Ah Mow had a hand in designing. Hawai’i has Sunday off and an afternoon practice after Monday’s classes. The Wahine have a morning practice Tuesday then head for the airport and their first road trip of the season. Hawai’i will be at the Texas A&M Invitational where the Wahine will play the host Aggies Friday, No. 6 Pitt Saturday and No. 25 San Diego Sunday. “It’s getting real now,” Ah Mow said.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Aug 21, 2022 14:07:21 GMT -5
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Aug 21, 2022 14:13:50 GMT -5
Hawaii’s Tiffany Westerberg returning to middle of the action By Jason Kaneshiro 8/21/22, Honolulu Star-Advertiser JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM Hawaii hitter Tiffany Westerberg soared for a kill shot an open practice and scrimmage at Simpli Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday.Tiffany Westerberg is right back where she started in terms of her on-court role. A middle blocker as a University of Hawaii freshman in 2019, Westerberg shifted to outside hitter a year ago and made seven starts for the the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team. Now entering her junior season, the 6-foot-3 Canadian is again working extensively in the middle as the Wahine prepare for Friday’s season opener at Texas A&M. While Westerberg has circled back to her original position, UH coach Robyn Ah Mow marvels at the distance she’s covered since joining the program. “She’s definitely grown to be a great young woman in every aspect, not only volleyball-wise but as a person,” Ah Mow said after Friday’s practice. “She got it. She figured it out.” Westerberg appeared in 21 matches as a freshman playing in the middle and on the right side. After the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, she moved outside full-time last season and provided a spark in the second half of the Big West schedule in UH’s run to the conference title. Going into the summer, she focused on preparing for the possibility of playing a dual role and worked with All-Big West middle Amber Igiede for much of UH’s two-week training camp. “I’m still trying to pick up on things because I had a season off,” Westerberg said. “So I’m watching Amber a lot and trying to get back in the swing of things. “Coach’s thing is you always have to be ready for whatever. So I was always ready to back in the middle, but I wasn’t necessarily expecting to go back in the middle. I’m fine with wherever Coach Rob tells me to go.” Staying ready included adjusting her summer training program “because (playing middle) requires a little bit different conditioning with the quick bursts,” Westerberg said. “Our strength coaches really helped us with that during the summer.” Westerberg posted 10 kills through UH’s first 20 matches last season before working her way into the starting lineup as the Wahine cycled through a series of right-side hitters. She then put away 53 over the last eight regular-season contests to help the Wahine retain the Big West championship. Westerberg said playing and practicing on the outside helped develop her ball-control skills, and her versatility adds to the depth at both positions for Ah Mow and the UH coaches. “Tiff slid right back in there,” Ah Mow said. “Going from middle to outside is a lot easier than going from outside back to middle, the whole game is different. But she’s taking it like a champ.” Westerberg saw time in the middle and on the right side during Saturday’s open practice at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center that marked the end of camp. As such, when the Wahine players and coaches introduced themselves to the fans after the practice session, Westerberg classified her position as “hitter.” “I like being the player that I am now and how I developed from freshman year,” she said. A fresh face shinesFreshman Caylen Alexander made quite an impression in her first appearance with fans in the arena on Saturday. With close to 300 in attendance, the 6-foot outside hitter/opposite from Georgia powered kills from both pins throughout the six-on-six periods of the open practice. “I was kind of struggling in the first week (of camp) — it was kind of hard transitioning from club to college,” Alexander said. “But I’ve been looking up to some of the older hitters like Riley (Wagoner) and Tiff and all of them and really taking high, aggressive, deep swings and aiming for tips with hands, and that’s really been helping.” Along with showing off an array of shots, Alexander was a defensive presence at the net and Ah Mow noted her play in the back row as the coaches freely shuffled the combinations on both sides of the court. “We’re moving everybody around, that’s the whole point,” Ah Mow said. “Move everybody around and see what they can do and how good we can be.” After completing two weeks of two-a-day practices, the Wahine will take today off and return to the gym on Monday with the start of the fall semester on the Manoa campus. They’re scheduled to depart for Texas on Tuesday. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM Wahine outside hitter Caylen Alexander (green jersey) put down a kill during Saturday’s open practice. The freshman made an impression during the session.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM Hawaii outside hitter Riley Wagoner puts down a kill on Saturday.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM The Rainbow Wahine volleyball team gathered during a practice and scrimmage open to fans at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Aug 21, 2022 14:26:54 GMT -5
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Post by justaUHfan on Aug 21, 2022 14:32:10 GMT -5
So there’s no way to watch UH vs Pitt or SD this weekend? So messed
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Post by babybacksets on Aug 21, 2022 14:50:08 GMT -5
My desired lineup:
S: Lang OP: Alexander OH: Akana OH: Wagoner M: Igiede M: Westerberg L: Ikenaga DS: Edmonds (for Akana if needed) DS: Matias (for Alexander if needed)
Would love to see breakout years from Brae and Tiff. Chandler and Kennedy will be solid depth for them if they struggle.
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Post by babybacksets on Aug 21, 2022 14:51:01 GMT -5
So there’s no way to watch UH vs Pitt or SD this weekend? So messed Outside of tweeting/emailing Texas A&M, it doesn’t look like it..
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Post by vbsam16 on Aug 21, 2022 15:14:39 GMT -5
I’m going to send an email to the head coach, associate head coach, and the assistant coach asking for them to stream the match and how it’s really important for growing the game to have non-home team matches streamed!
Email addresses (head coach, associate bc, assistant in order) : lkuhn@athletics.tamu.edu wcamargo@athletics.tamu.edu wcamargo@athletics.tamu.edu
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Post by staticb on Aug 21, 2022 15:17:39 GMT -5
I’m going to send an email to the head coach, associate head coach, and the assistant coach asking for them to stream the match and how it’s really important for growing the game to have non-home team matches streamed! Email addresses (head coach, associate bc, assistant in order) : lkuhn@athletics.tamu.edu wcamargo@athletics.tamu.edu wcamargo@athletics.tamu.edu Try the athletic department? I don't think the coaches can do anything...
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Post by vbsam16 on Aug 21, 2022 15:19:40 GMT -5
I’m going to send an email to the head coach, associate head coach, and the assistant coach asking for them to stream the match and how it’s really important for growing the game to have non-home team matches streamed! Email addresses (head coach, associate bc, assistant in order) : lkuhn@athletics.tamu.edu wcamargo@athletics.tamu.edu wcamargo@athletics.tamu.edu Try the athletic department? I don't think the coaches can do anything... I’m assuming they can get the ball rolling.
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Post by justaUHfan on Aug 21, 2022 15:53:22 GMT -5
My desired lineup: S: Lang OP: Alexander OH: Akana OH: Wagoner M: Igiede M: Westerberg L: Ikenaga DS: Edmonds (for Akana if needed) DS: Matias (for Alexander if needed) Would love to see breakout years from Brae and Tiff. Chandler and Kennedy will be solid depth for them if they struggle. I’m down for the same lineup but with Degoede at Opp. She’s the tallest on the team and I think we need that natural height up at the net. Looking at Pitts team, most of them are 6-2 to 6-4 in height for the pin hitters. We can’t have 6 footers all around for our pins, Unless they all can jump like BVS.
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Post by rainbowcard on Aug 21, 2022 16:07:19 GMT -5
My desired lineup: S: Lang OP: Alexander OH: Akana OH: Wagoner M: Igiede M: Westerberg L: Ikenaga DS: Edmonds (for Akana if needed) DS: Matias (for Alexander if needed) Would love to see breakout years from Brae and Tiff. Chandler and Kennedy will be solid depth for them if they struggle. I’m down for the same lineup but with Degoede at Opp. She’s the tallest on the team and I think we need that natural height up at the net. Looking at Pitts team, most of them are 6-2 to 6-4 in height for the pin hitters. We can’t have 6 footers all around for our pins, Unless they all can jump like BVS. I could see Caylen starting for any game except the Pitt match, I think Caylen was making some great touches and Anika although tall I don't think is really the best blocker.
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