Thursday, September 24, 1998
Wahine continue
to ‘rearrange
the furniture’
The UH women's volleyball team
By Cindy Luis
is on a roll, but coach Dave Shoji
doesn't want to be complacent
Star-BulletinIf it ain't broke, why fix it?
Because he can.
Coming off one of his biggest wins in two seasons, one would think University of Hawaii women's volleyball coach Dave Shoji would be satisfied with his 11th-ranked team. Not so.
"We're not through trying to improve our team," Shoji said. "This weekend will allow us to do it. We're hoping to do some things against a competitive team (St. Mary's), work on some weaknesses from last week.
"We're going to continue to fine-tune the team every week."
At yesterday's practice, the Wahine resembled interior designers -- lots of rearranging followed by deep thoughts followed by more movement.
As in "maybe this would look better over there" . . . Jenny Roberts went from playing opposite back to middle blocker. That put middle Veronica Lima in the right-side hitter spot, giving her more swings at the ball.
Or maybe several components on the left (Leah Karratti and Heidi Ilustre) should be moved to the middle. Just for a different look, some options, some versatility.
And some confusion.
Yesterday, Shoji went to a 6-2 offense (six hitters, two setters), telling Nikki Hubbert she would be hitting from the left side. Her reply? "I'm not a hitter."
His reply? "You were in high school."
Actually not. Hubbert was the setter for her Bakersfield (Calif.) High team, but was an outside hitter for her club team.
As they say in the design business, "Work with me here."
And things seem to be working well for the Wahine, off to a 7-1 start. Their winning streak -- currently at five -- won't likely be threatened this weekend.
The Gaels, who won the 1985 NAIA championship before moving to NCAA Division I, are 6-3, their best start since 1993. They won three of four tournament matches last weekend, beating Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine and Harvard, but losing to eventual tournament co-champion Nevada.
St. Mary's is led by 5-foot-11 senior blocker Meridith Guevara, who is sixth in the West Coast Conference in kill average (4.03) and fourth in blocks (.97). The Gaels lead the WCC in service aces, topped by Jamie Ivers' .70 per-game average.
The Gaels are hitting .169 as a team. Conversely, the Wahine are at .331, eighth-best in the country, and are fourth nationally in block average (3.44).
For UH, Ilustre's shoulder is healing and Heather Bown's shin problems, which stem from previous stress fractures, aren't serious.
But the Wahine again will be short-handed. Sophomore defensive specialist and backup setter Tehani Miyashiro will miss another week "to resolve some personal problems," Shoji said.
That leaves Karratti and junior Shelly Kim as the reserve setters. Last weekend, Karratti replaced Miyashiro "and we didn't appear to lose anything at that position with Leah in there," said Shoji, who normally subs Miyashiro in the back row for Roberts. "With Leah able to play all the way around (Miyashiro doesn't play in the front row), it gives us a different look.
"Last week, Jenny and Leah both hit for high percentage, both got some blocks and that's huge for us."
Wahine junior blocker Heather Bown leads the Western Athletic Conference in hitting percentage (.496), kill average (5.22) and blocks (2.04), while Hubbert is first in the conference in assists (14.88).
NOTES: Two of the country's top high school recruits visited UH last weekend -- Kamehameha Schools' Lily Kahumoku and Sunny Tonga of Allen, Texas.
Kahumoku verbally committed Sunday night. Tonga, whose sister Kalani plays at Utah, has not made her decision.
The signing date for volleyball is in February. Shoji is hoping to bring in at least four more recruits, including Logan Tom, considered the No. 1 recruit in the nation. Jennifer Carey, a 6-1 setter for Newport Harbor (Calif.) High School, has already visited UH.
Wahine volleyball
Tomorrow: St. Mary's (6-3) at No. 11 Hawaii (7-1), 7:05 p.m.
WAC women
Conference Overall W L Pct. GB W L Pct. Hawaii 1 0 1.000 -- 7 1 .875 Fresno St 0 0 .000 1/2 11 0 1.000 Brigham Young 0 0 .000 1/2 9 1 .900 Utah 0 0 .000 1/2 8 3 .727 San Jose St 0 0 .000 1/2 8 3 .727 Texas-El Paso 0 0 .000 1/2 7 3 .700 New Mexico 0 0 .000 1/2 6 6 .500 San Diego St 0 1 .000 1 2 8 .200
Conference Overall W L Pct. GB W L Pct. Rice 0 0 .000 -- 10 1 .909 Nev-Las Vegas 0 0 .000 -- 8 3 .727 So. Methodist 0 0 .000 -- 8 4 .667 Tulsa 0 0 .000 -- 4 2 .667 Colorado St 0 0 .000 -- 6 4 .600 Air Force 0 0 .000 -- 7 5 .583 Wyoming 0 0 .000 -- 4 5 .444 Texas Christian 0 0 .000 -- 3 9 .250St. Mary's at Hawaii, 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center
Wyoming at Utah
Texas-Pan American at SMU
TCU at Texas-San Antonio
Rice and Tulsa at Villanova Tournament
Colorado State at SW Missouri State Tournament
St. Mary's at Hawaii, 2 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center
Rice and Tulsa at Villanova Tournament
Colorado State at SW Missouri State Tournament
Yale at San Jose State
San Diego State at UNLV
TCU at Southwest State
Wyoming at BYU
1998 UH Wahine Volleyball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
