The senior defensive specialist for the University of Hawaii played at Colorado State her first two seasons and knows how difficult the conference treks are. She clued in her teammates before the top-ranked Wahine left today for a three-state, three-match tour of the West.
It promises to be anything but scenic. Hawaii squeezes in a trio of opponents over four days, beginning with tomorrow's match at San Diego State.
"This is the worst road trip on our schedule and it comes right in the middle of the season," Yamashita said. "It becomes difficult when you face the teams you've already played at their home gym.
"San Diego State wasn't well-prepared for us when they were here. Playing there will be a lot worse."
Hawaii (17-0, 6-0 WAC) swept San Diego State 11 days ago at the Special Events Arena, 15-12, 15-5, 15-8. It is the only conference loss for the Aztecs (10-7, 3-1), who picked up a pair of 3-1 wins last week against Colorado State and Wyoming, the same two teams the Wahine routed in straight sets.
Of its three opponents, San Diego State concerns Hawaii the most.
"To be honest, UNLV (Friday) and Air Force (Saturday) probably can't match up with us," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "Our practice (Monday) focused real hard on San Diego State, especially their back-row attack. It gave us some problems when we played them here. Wednesday night is a big match for us and we expect a tougher match from them."
Hawaii continues to dominate the WAC in statistics, leading the conference in team hitting (.289), assists (15.05 apg) and blocking (3.45 bpg). Individually, setter Robyn Ah Mow is tops in assists (13.02 apg) while Angelica Ljungquist leads the WAC in both hitting (.438) and blocking (1.96 bpg), is second in aces and third in kills.
Not surprising, Ljungquist was named WAC player of the week for the third time this season following her performances last weekend. The senior blocker hit .585 with 19 blocks, 12 digs and 7 aces in the two wins over Wyoming and Colorado State. She recorded her fourth career triple-double against the Cowgirls with 18 kills, 10 digs and 10 blocks in three games.
Tomorrow: Hawaii (17-0, 6-0)at San DiegoState (10-7, 3-1), 4:30 p.m. HST.
Friday: Hawaii at UNLV (4-10, 2-2), 4:30 p.m. HST.
Saturday: Hawaii at Air Force (2-11, 0-4), 3:30 p.m. HST.
Broadcasts: Tomorrow and Friday matches live on KCCN (1420-AM).
No TVbroadcasts.