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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Sept 18, 2005 2:56:51 GMT -5
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Post by Psychopotamus on Sept 18, 2005 3:03:15 GMT -5
Eh.
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Post by Psychopotamus on Sept 18, 2005 3:10:52 GMT -5
To add to that, the only thing that worries me is getting swept by the top two teams. It is all a matter of how the team takes it. I had someone tell me that the bad thing about winning is that it doesn't teach you anything. The thing about losing is that it teaches you what you need to improve upon. I will wait a few weeks to see what kind of adjustments the team makes.
Concerns seem to be their ability to close, consistency, and the willingness to step it up when they're down. Those were their strengths last year, and something that seems to be absent this year.
I was curious, so I went back and watched some of last year's nailbiters. It is evident that last year's teams aren't quite at the caliber of this year's teams in terms of how they react to tense matches. Last year's close matches seemed to be characterized by some opportune errors by the other time. The Wahine can't do anything about that.
I think the difference was that last year they were ready when the other team did make mistake. This year... I'm not sure what they are thinking. Sometimes it seems like they are trying to create too much which is causing them to make some mistakes. I guess, not being patient enough.
I am going to wait and see. This is a situation we as Wahine fans haven't really been in before. UH has a quality win over a good USC team and played #4 Penn St tough so I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. The Penn St match especially shows me that this team is willing to adjust and is learning.
Stanford in particular has been characterized by a number of early season losses, but they are probably the best team around at making a run in the post season. Hopefully this team can react the same way.
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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Sept 18, 2005 3:22:25 GMT -5
Hawai'i fans are a tough bunch. They're with you when you win but lose and feel their wrath. Speaking of whiny fans, what was up with the people booing Kellly Ong when she came in to serve for Tara Hittle in game 2? I know she had a couple of service errors but booing only led to her serving it out again. Give the girl a chance.
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ManoaFan
Sophomore
Student, bodybuilder, swimmer, runner who loves to watch volleyball, but has no time to play VB.
Posts: 179
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Post by ManoaFan on Sept 18, 2005 3:39:08 GMT -5
I don't think they were booing Kelly as much as they were booing the decision to take out Tara because she was serving very tough. No reason to whine about the Wahine. We've gone through this before in the early 1992, 1997, even in 1985-86. Just keep playing and having fun. Hawai'i fans are a tough bunch. They're with you when you win but lose and feel their wrath. Speaking of whiny fans, what was up with the people booing Kellly Ong when she came in to serve for Tara Hittle in game 2? I know she had a couple of service errors but booing only led to her serving it out again. Give the girl a chance.
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Post by Gorf on Sept 18, 2005 3:59:15 GMT -5
Concerns seem to be their ability to close, consistency, and the willingness to step it up when they're down. Those were their strengths last year, and something that seems to be absent this year. That's what I've noticed as well in the matches I've seen or listened to so far this year. Especially in the matches they've lost. The Wahine seem prone to giving up points late in games to let the other team close the gap, take the lead, or close out the match themselves. Something to keep in mind though when starting to make comparisons to last year's results and those of this year is that the matches lost this year to Nebraska, Penn State, and Washington were against teams that are better than pretty much any team Hawaii faced all last season, including in the NCAA tournament last year. The Wahine did nothing in being swept by Washington that any of the players need to be ashamed about. They hung tough in most of those 6 games with an extremely talented team.
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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Sept 18, 2005 4:05:26 GMT -5
I don't think they were booing Kelly as much as they were booing the decision to take out Tara because she was serving very tough. I know. I didn't want Hittle to be taken out either. I just felt it wasn't nice for Ong to have to come in hearing boos from the home crowd. No reason to whine about the Wahine. We've gone through this before in the early 1992, 1997, even in 1985-86. Just keep playing and having fun. I agree. The title of the thread is just a sarcastic note to critical Wahine fans.
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Post by ACE on Sept 18, 2005 4:52:47 GMT -5
The title of the thread is just a sarcastic note to critical Wahine fans. Like Me!!! ;D I'm over it. Simply good job by Washington.
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Post by Barefoot In Kailua on Sept 18, 2005 4:55:45 GMT -5
The title of the thread is just a sarcastic note to critical Wahine fans. Like Me!!! ;D I'm over it. Simply good job by Washington. Good, perhaps there might even be a seat for you on the Wahine bandwagon when you feel like coming home.
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Post by ACE on Sept 18, 2005 5:02:13 GMT -5
I've always been on...just not always positive. But, through life, you have to take the bad with the good. I get down on the Wahine (as if I can play better myself) as a way to help ME deal with their loss. I always believe they can win (upset) anyone, so when they lose, the best way for me to deal with it is by getting upset. As many said, we Hawaii fans expect a lot, I certainly do. I was screaming in my house...then got silent...then started screaming again...then said..."oh well..they lost" Then I said, Hawaii just needs to settle on a line up get things in sync, build confidence and the season should be saved. Might not win a National Title, but at least they should have a good run at it.
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Post by gobows on Sept 18, 2005 6:46:32 GMT -5
What's with the players not being allowed to get the lei from the Aunties. Did coach make a new rule that they only get to do that when they win? The Aunties put all the lei out on the railings and just sit and wait....and wait....and wait.
I do think they played better in the second match and deserved the hug and kiss and the lei.
Aunties just might stop bringing them....knowing they might all be wasted!!!! And that would be a shame.
gobows
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Lost
Sophomore
Posts: 111
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Post by Lost on Sept 18, 2005 7:07:51 GMT -5
I think ACE hit a lot of good points right on the head. I am like that too. Coming into this season, there were high expectations, but losing (especially getting swept), makes me irritated, and one way to calm me down is to post and see other people's comments on this board.
But I think the Wahine have to figure out their lineup and get the ball rolling. That, and maybe some passing drills, and clutch kills at key moments ... then I think we'll be alright.
Hell, I think we'll be alright even now, but hopefully by post season time, we will be a more solid than now ballclub.
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Post by 808 on Sept 18, 2005 10:17:12 GMT -5
Hawai'i fans are a tough bunch. They're with you when you win but lose and feel their wrath. Speaking of whiny fans, what was up with the people booing Kellly Ong when she came in to serve for Tara Hittle in game 2? I know she had a couple of service errors but booing only led to her serving it out again. Give the girl a chance. Were the fans that were sitting around you booing? Most of the sound around me were groans. Which is just as bad, given the volume of the collective groans. I kept thinking that these people obviously didn't watch that round 1/2 match that UH played last year at Fort Collins where Kelly served 10 straight points. Yes, she had had two previous service errors (and then promptly served out again), but the fairweather fans could have been more supportive. I know that's too much to ask of the fairweather fans, though.
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Post by The Bofa on the Sofa on Sept 18, 2005 10:17:31 GMT -5
Something to keep in mind though when starting to make comparisons to last year's results and those of this year is that the matches lost this year to Nebraska, Penn State, and Washington were against teams that are better than pretty much any team Hawaii faced all last season, including in the NCAA tournament last year. Gorf has nailed it right on the head on this one, except for the part about "pretty much." Hawaii didn't play anyone last year that was near the quality of the teams they have played this year. I warned many times last year about the problem of getting down 2 - 0 versus teams. Yeah, when it's Utah Valley St, Nevada, or even UCLA at home, you can pull those out. But what would happen against a really good team? I don't think it is fair at all to this year's Wahine to say, hey, you didn't quit after going down 0 - 2 against teams last year, but this year you just don't have the spark. Of course last year, the best teams they were facing were Wisconsin and UCLA, good teams but in the 10 - 20 range, whereas this year it is top 5. It's a lot harder to compete at that level. Despite the losses, I _still_ think this team is better than last year. Get to the WAC, where the level of competition is more comparable to what they had last year, and it will be more evident.
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Post by 808 on Sept 18, 2005 10:35:11 GMT -5
Despite the losses, I _still_ think this team is better than last year. Get to the WAC, where the level of competition is more comparable to what they had last year, and it will be more evident. At this point in the season, I wouldn't go so far as to say that this team is better than last year's -- they have the potential to be better but they've got some improvements to make. Small things like playing together better, communicating, keeping focus, raising their level of intensity. The talent level is higher but execution is key. They're getting healthy now so there won't be that excuse to fall back on. I don't have much concern about the WAC. I was hoping that the team could gel soon enough to have a good pre-conference season record. Unfortunately that didn't happen. I just don't want Hawaii's success in the WAC to make them forget what it was like playing and losing to the top-5 teams.
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