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The Players & Matches


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POSTED: Thursday, August 20, 2009
               

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

       

     

 

Juniors

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Elizabeth Ka'aihue
       

Hometown
        Kailua

       

Position
        Libero

       

Major
        Family resources

       

Homework
        Favorite subject? Scrimmaging. “;I like competing, not doing drills so much, competing against other players.”; Needs tutoring? General studies. “;I don't want to say any one thing because I don't want to believe it. But all my stations I would need help.”;

       

She Says
        “;I'm having a lot of fun. Everyone has trained hard this summer and are working hard in practice. I'm ready to start the season.”;

       

 

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Dani Mafua
       

Hometown
        Kapolei

       

Position
        Setter

       

Major
        Communications

       

Homework
        Favorite subject? Setting. “;It's what I am. It's fun having control of things.”; Needs tutoring? Blocking. “;It's difficult to track a hitter. My size makes it hard and I'm trying to figure out what works for me.”;

       

She Says
        “;Everyone is pushing hard. We're trying to find the right chemistry. It's going to be a fun year.”;

       

 

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Alex Griffiths
       

Hometown
        Seal Beach, Calif.

       

Position
        Libero

       

Major
        Sociology

       

Homework
        Favorite Subject? Defense. “;It's a rush, getting to the ball and making the play.”; Needs tutoring? Overall game. “;I think I can improve on everything and be more consistent.”;

       

She Says
        “;I love it, the coaches, the team, everything. This is the level of volleyball I want to be playing. This is what I wanted.”;

       

 

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Alexis Robins
       

Hometown
        Honolulu

       

Position
        Libero

       

Major
        Political science

       

Homework
        Favorite subject? Digging. Needs tutoring? Serving. “;It's all a mental game, keeping that ball in.”;

       

She Says
        “;It's awesome to be back home. I love being back with my family and being able to carry on the family tradition (at UH) is huge.”;

       

 

       

       

Sophomores

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Stephanie Ferrell
       

Hometown
        Los Angeles

       

Position
        Left-side hitter
        Right-side hitter

       

Major
        Sociology

       

Homework
        Favorite subject: Hitting. “;It's the funnest. It gives you the most rush.”; Needs a tutor? Passing. “;I'd get a passing grade, but ... I'm focusing on passing and defense so I'll be able to play all the way around, be in the back row.”;

       

She Says
        “;This season I see us winning an NCAA championship. That's my ultimate goal and that's the overall team goal.”;

       

 

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Kanani Danielson
       

Hometown
        Ewa Beach

       

Position
        Left-side hitter

       

Major
        Sociology

       

Homework
        Favorite subject: Defense. “;It's where it all starts.”; Needs a tutor? Hitting. “;I'm working hard at becoming a more effective hitter. When I first started playing volleyball, I trained to be a setter, so I missed out learning to hit at the beginning. Setting is a hard position. There's a lot of stuff to think about and remember. I don't know how they do it.”;

       

She Says
        “;I like our team. We'll be the best that we can be. But until we play our first game, we won't know where we'll be.”;

       

 

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Alexis Forsythe
       

Hometown
        Lake Elsinore, Calif.

       

Position
        Middle blocker

       

Major
        Marine biology

       

Homework
        Favorite subject: Blocking. “;Because once you connect, it's one of the most satisfactory feelings.”;Needs a tutor? Passing. “;As a blocker, your main goal is to block and hit. Passing is the last thing you're doing.”;

       

She Says
        “;I'm very happy. Where else can you get this?”;

       

 

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Corinne Cascioppo
       

Hometown
        Temecula, Calif.

       

Position
        Right-side hitter

       

Major
        Art

       

Homework
        Favorite subject? Hitting & defense. “;It's the most fun.”; Some tutoring? Getting low. “;I'm kind of tall so I sometimes have problems getting down as low as I need to.”;

       

She Says
        “;I'm enjoying this 100 percent. It's a lot of work right now, but I'm glad I'm here. I'm looking forward to the season starting.”;

       

 

       

       

Freshmen

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Emily Maeda
       

Hometown
        Honolulu

       

Position
        Libero

       

Major
        Physical education

       

Homework
        Favorite subject? Digging. “;It's the funnest thing to do. It feels really good to dig hard-hit balls.”; Some tutoring? Passing. “;It's one of my favorites, too, but it's challenging. It's what I need to keep working on.”;

       

She Says
        “;The best thing about being on this team is playing with people who love the game as much as you do and push you to be better.”;

       

 

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Brittany Hewitt
       

Hometown
        Eagle, Idaho

       

Position
        Middle blocker

       

Major
        Psychology

       

Homework
        Favorite subject? Blocking. “;It's one of the most satisfying things to do. It's fun.”;

       

Some tutoring? Defense & passing. “;I'm a big girl. I have to work a little harder to get down there.”;

       

She Says
        “;I'm so happy not to be redshirting. It was hard sitting out, but it was totally worth it. I needed that year to get up to speed.”;

       

 

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Kristiana Tuaniga
       

Hometown
        Carson, Calif.

       

Position
        Middle blocker

       

Major
        Psychology

       

Homework
        Favorite subject? Hitting. “;I like moving around, running different routes.”; Some tutoring? Blocking. “;I can always improve it, work on reaching over, closing out.”;

       

She Says
        “;It's fun being here, I like it. We click. It helps that there are so many new people, I'm not the only one.”;

       

 

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Paige Mitchell
       

Hometown
        Oxnard, Calif.

       

Position
        Middle blocker

       

Major
        Kinesiology

       

Homework
        Favorite subject? Blocking. “;I like the feel you get when you block a ball back.”; Some tutoring? Defense. “;Actually I need to improve on everything.”;

       

She Says
        “;The girls are all cool. It's definitely what I expected. It's a life commitment and it's really fun.”;

       

 

       

;
       

 

       

Name

        Kristina Kam
       

Hometown
        Honolulu

       

Position
        Libero

       

Major
        Biology

       

Homework
        Favorite subject? Passing. “;It's something I have to really work on, so it will help me in my position. I was a hitter in high school (Punahou) but played libero my senior year. I love it.”; Some tutoring? Setting. “;As a libero you have to sometimes set the second ball.”;

       

She Says
        “;I've wanted to be a Wahine ever since I was 10 and went to a camp. I'm going to continue working hard to earn the right to play.”;

       

 

       

 

               

     

 

THE MATCHES

       

CHEVRON INVITATIONAL

        Aug. 28: UCLA vs. Santa Clara, 5 p.m. Western Michigan at Hawaii, 7 p.m.

        Aug. 29: UCLA vs. Western Michigan, 5 p.m.

        Santa Clara at Hawaii, 7 p.m.

        Aug. 30: Santa Clara vs. Western Michigan, 11 a.m.

        UCLA at Hawaii, 7 p.m.
       

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES CLASSIC
        Sept. 3: Texas vs. Cal, 5 p.m.
        Saint Louis at Hawaii, 7 p.m.
        Sept. 5: Cal vs. Saint Louis, 5 p.m.
        Texas at Hawaii, 7 p.m.
        Sept. 6: Texas vs. Saint Louis, 3 p.m.
        Cal at Hawaii, 5 p.m.

       

ADVERTISER CHALLENGE
        Sept. 10: Stanford vs. UT-San Antonio, 5 p.m.
        Weber State at Hawaii, 7 p.m.
        Sept. 11: Stanford vs. Weber State, 5 p.m.
        UT-San Antonio at Hawaii, 7 p.m.
        Sept. 12: UT-San Antonio vs. Weber State, 5 p.m.
        Stanford at Hawaii, 7 p.m.
        Sept. 18 & 19: Pepperdine at Hawaii, 7 p.m.
        Sept. 24: Boise State, 7 p.m.*
        Sept. 26: Idaho, 7 p.m.*
        Oct. 1: at Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m.*
        Oct. 3: at New Mexico State, 7 p.m.*
        Oct. 8: Nevada, 7 p.m.*
        Oct. 9: San Jose State, 7 p.m.*
        Oct. 14: Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m.*
        Oct. 17: New Mexico State, 7 p.m.*
        Oct. 23: BYU-Hawaii, 7 p.m. (Alumnae match, 5 p.m.)
        Oct. 29: at Fresno State, 7 p.m.*
        Oct. 31: at Nevada, 7 p.m.*
        Nov. 2: at San Jose State*, 7 p.m.
        Nov. 6: Fresno State, 7 p.m.*
        Nov. 8: Utah State, 5 p.m. (Senior Night)*
        Nov. 12: at Boise State, 7 p.m.*
        Nov. 14: at Idaho, 7 p.m.*
        Nov. 16: at Utah State, 7 p.m.*

       

WAC TOURNAMENT, ORLEANS ARENA, LAS VEGAS
        Nov. 23: Quarterfinals, 5 & 7:30 p.m.
        Nov. 24: Semifinals, 5 & 7:30 p.m.
        Nov. 25: Championship, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
        Nov. 29: Selection Sunday, 5 p.m. (ESPNU)

       

NCAA TOURNAMENT
        Dec. 3-6: First & second rounds, TBA
        Dec. 11-12: Regional sites: Stanford, Calif.; Omaha, Neb.; Minneapolis; Gainesville, Fla.
        Dec. 17 & 19: Championship, Tampa, Fla.

       

* denotes Western Athletic Conference match All home matches at Stan Sheriff Center