Joselyn Robins' 30-inch vertical leap sets her apart from the crowd.
By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin

She revisits her worst nightmare daily, seeing Dana Cooke's serve dive-bomb over the net and ricochet off her outstretched arm. It was supposed to be a routine dig but, instead, it ended the University of Hawaii's perfect volleyball season one match away from the final four.

Cooke's ace in Game 5 capped Michigan State's stunning comeback in the regional final last December. Since then, Robins has been doing daily penance to atone for what she feels is the worst moment in her Wahine career.

"Any other game, it would have been fine," said Robins, who has overcome a severely sprained ankle to regain her starting spot in tonight's WAC match against Wyoming. "I had never felt so much pressure in my entire life as when we went into that fifth set. I could not breathe, I was so afraid we were going to lose.

"I've never told my teammates how scared I was. We had worked so hard all season. We were inches away from the final four and we blew it."

Robins took the loss very personally, sequestering herself in her apartment for days, not even answering the phone. She didn't want to hear the condolences from well-meaning friends. She just wanted to get back into the gym and start working on her senior season.

Unfortunately for Robins, it hasn't been the senior year she had hoped for. Hours of weight-room workouts and running vanished when she twisted her left ankle in Game 2 of the Sept. 5 match against Rhode Island, forcing her to miss the next five matches.

The injury threw off her timing - she has gone from hitting .261 ot .211 - and has taken away Robins' greatest athletic gift - her tremendous jumping ability. The 5-foot-8 left-side hitter has a 30-inch vertical jump when healthy and such explosiveness that it led the late Kamalii club coach Longy Okamoto to call Hawaii coach Dave Shoji in 1990 saying, "You've got to see this girl jump."

"It's so frustrating because it makes this past summer seem like such a waste," said Robins, second on the team in kills before the injury and now a distant third. "I had dedicated my senior year to my senior year in athletics. Now I'm not as strong as I was and my confidence level has shot back down.

"I felt that I had finally begun to contribute to the team and now my ankle is pulling me back down. I've been so frustrated I've cried every practice the last two weeks. My jumping gave me the confidence that I could finally be a solid Wahine player."

Being a Wahine was a dream that had a late start. Her cousins Mary, Duke and Sean Robins had all worn Hawaii volleyball uniforms, but Joselyn Robins loved hula, modeling and cheerleading, feeling that sports weren't feminine enough.

Aiea High coach Rodney Cavaco kept bugging her to try out for volleyball, finally convincing her to come to a Wahine volleyball match. If Robins didn't like it, he would quit pestering her.

It was love at first spike. Robins particularly became enamoured of Toni Nishida because "I saw her grace, her beauty, her intellect," Robins said. "And she was a volleyball player. Ever since then, I completely changed my attitude and wanted to play for the Wahine."

What Shoji saw was raw athletic ability and potential.

"Jos is not a natural volleyball player but she's got natural athletic ability," Shoji said. "When you see someone who can jump like she can, you feel you can develop the rest of the game. That's what I saw right away, her great vertical and potential, someone we could train.

"She and Cia (junior middle Goods) are two of the best examples of players who have made themselves into very good players with all their time in the gym and the repetitions. I feel for Jos and hope she can get herself back on track this week."

So do the rest of the Wahine. To a player, they have missed Robins' spark on the court and her constant encouragement.

Robins hasn't lost her touch with the fans. Wednesday, she visited Kailua Intermediate School with teammates Angelica Ljungquist and Therese Crawford as part of the UH athletic department's community service program.

"I love seeing the children smiling and that sparkle in their eyes," she said after an autograph session. "I look at them and see myself. I was once that child in the crowd, it was my eyes sparkling. I remember being that age and seeing role models like Toni Nishida giving back to the community.

"I'm proud that they think of me as a role model and being from the islands it's even more important. So many people come up to me saying, 'You're making the locals proud' or 'Go, Hawaiian.' I feel good that, even after having a late start, I could play for a Division I school."

A psychology major, Robins hopes to go on to graduate school and become a child or sports psychologist. She's also considering an indoor pro career overseas.

But first there's a little bit of exorcism to do.

"My heart broke for Jenny Wilton last year," Robins said of Hawaii's lone senior on the 1995 team. "We have five seniors on this team who lived in the weight room this summer. No one wants to see that go to waste.

"That last match against Michigan State we started playing not to lose. This year, we're playing to win. The motto is F4NQA. Final 4, No Questions Asked."

Friday: Hawaii (15-0, 4-0) vs. Wyoming (8-9, 2-1), 7:10 p.m.
Sunday: Hawaii vs. Colorado State (12-4, 2-1), 4:10 p.m.
Where: Special Events Arena.
Broadcasts: Both matches live on KFVE-TV (Channel 5), Sunday only on KCCN (1420-AM).