FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Middle blocker Juliana Sanders leads UH in hitting percentage.

No need for middle ground

Hawaii blocker Juliana Sanders tries to have it all and do it all

Hula kahiko or hula 'auwana?

Bodyboarding or skateboarding?

No, this is not Juliana Sanders' version of "Deal Or No Deal." Because Sanders substitutes the word "or" with the word "and."

The junior middle blocker for the Hawaii women's volleyball team feels she doesn't have to choose between ancient and modern dances, between two board sports or between a career and her heritage.

She enjoys all of it, without worrying about the cognitive dissonance of it all. Much like she understands the difference between "living" in Kaneohe and "residing" in Kapahulu, as well as understanding that volleyball is about both power and grace.

Late to the sport -- but not athletics -- Sanders has been working hard to become the whole package, a player worthy of wearing No. 1 for the 15th-ranked Rainbow Wahine. Going into tonight's match with Idaho, she leads all starters in hitting percentage (.380) and is second in blocks (1.26) to her counterpart Kari Gregory, with whom she shared the spot as a freshman.

"It was assigned to me and at first I didn't like it," she said of her number. "It's so out there, really cocky. There's been so many good No. 1s here ... I'm definitely trying to live up to it and to become a complete player."

Her progress has been impressive, particularly in blocking. Her offense has always been ahead of her defense, but defense is catching up, helped by two new members of the coaching staff, according to Sanders.

She gives credit to first-year associate coach Mike Sealy, an All-America setter at UCLA, and first-year volunteer assistant Scott Wong, a three-time All-America outside hitter at Pepperdine, for some of the improvement. It has helped that both coaches are several inches taller than the 6-foot-2 Sanders.

"It's been weird, because I'm so used to looking down at the coaches," she said. "Mike has got my handwork going and Scott has been working on footwork and helping me read the setters.

They're awesome additions to the staff."

The two coaches are equally high on Sanders.

"We all give her a lot of feedback," Wong said. "She's doing a good job at pushing off, getting that first push that gets you to the ball quicker.

"One of the hardest skills in the game is blocking, and a good blocker is great at reading the setter, reading where the ball is going and getting out to that hitter as quick as possible. She's very athletic, moves well laterally, which are good things for a blocker. She's making great improvements and I'm excited to see where she ends up at the end of the year."

Sealy feels the road could lead to All-America honors for Sanders, whom he remembers seeing play last season against UCLA when he was an assistant for the Bruins. Sanders was a first-team All-Western Athletic Conference selection as a sophomore and a member of the WAC All-Freshman team.

"I think she's on the right path," Sealy said of potential national honors. "When the team starts picking up bigger wins, she should get more notice.

She's got great hands, shoots her hands over (the net) quicker than anyone on the team. Maybe she doesn't have the highest blocking numbers, but she gets a lot of touches (on the ball). She is such a great athlete. And when you talk about competitive greatness, she has it. I think she thrives on tough situations."

Situations like this season, where Sanders has seen three teammates lost for the year with injuries and where Hawaii lost for the first time in conference play since 1998, 26 days before Sanders' 13th birthday.

"It bugs me to hear people already talking about how next year's team is going to be 'the team,' " she said. "It has been hard; we have a lot of great players who aren't even practicing. The depth chart is down. We know it's not what we want, but we have to make the best of what we have.

"Our team is strong. We're backed into a corner, but we have to fight our way out. I don't see us giving up. I still think we can win the national championship. I have no doubt our team is good enough to get there."

Fueling her desire to get to the final four in Omaha is a strong sense of local pride. Sanders said she is about 35 percent Hawaiian and is fluent in the language, partly due to being placed in a Hawaiian immersion school when she was younger.

"I'm happy my grandparents did that for me, let me experience my own culture," Sanders said. "Everything about it is amazing."

She and her four brothers were raised by her grandparents, Alberta and James Sanders, following her parents' divorce. Juliana said she also thanks her grandparents for getting her into volleyball, the last sport in an athletic résumé that includes cheerleading, basketball, skateboarding, canoe paddling and other water sports.

"In a sense I am doing this for myself and for my grandparents," Sanders said. "They're such avid fans, my biggest supporters. Their love of the sport made me want to play.

"There is such tremendous pride in staying home and playing for Hawaii."

Wahine coach Dave Shoji is glad she did. Sanders flew under the national recruiting radar, not getting much attention until after playing for the under-18 championship team at the 2003 Junior Olympics, the summer after she graduated from Castle.

"I feel really, really fortunate to find her and then get her," Shoji said. "You don't find kids who are 6-2, can jump and move, just walking around here. Those kind of kids are nationally recruited.

"I would say she's already exceeded all my expectations of her. As for her wearing No. 1 ... I would tell her not to worry about living up to that. She's done everything I've asked her to do."

But Sanders hasn't done the one thing she's asked of Shoji: to let her serve. The current rotation has just one middle blocker serving, and that is Gregory; Sanders is usually subbed out for a defensive specialist.

"I keep telling her there's still hope she'll serve," Shoji said. "I told her to work on it and not give up."

Given her penchant for seeking the whole experience, few would be surprised to see Sanders on that backline before she graduates.