Tuesday, August 31, 1999
Wahine ready to rock
The UH women's volleyball team
By Cindy Luis
is loaded with experience
Star-BulletinIt's Christmas morning. The packages are wrapped. But you're almost afraid to open the one that's been staring at you for two weeks. Just how good is that gift going to be?
Dave Shoji knows the feeling. For the past 24 years, the Hawaii women's volleyball coach has been like a kid on Christmas morning this time of year, anxiously waiting to open that special package. Four times, it's been just what he wanted - a national championship.
Will No. 5 be waiting under the tree in Honolulu when the NCAA national tournament comes to the Stan Sheriff Center the week before Christmas? Shoji wants to only think as far as tomorrow's opener at California.
It's rare that the Wahine have opened on the road; tomorrow marks just the sixth time. It's not an easy trip - Hawaii left this afternoon for the Bay Area, faces the Golden Bears tomorrow, then flies home Thursday in time for Friday's home opener with Minnesota. There's a good chance the Golden Gophers, who play at St. Mary's (Moraga) tomorrow, will be on the same flight with the Wahine, or even beat them back to Honolulu.
"Looking back on the travel planning, I probably wouldn't do this again," said Shoji. "But I felt this team could handle the travel. And Cal is a team we should be able to handle.
UH at California WAHINE VOLLEYBALL
Tomorrow: No. 5 Hawaii (0-0) at California (0-0), 4:30 p.m.
"Final four? I'm not even thinking about it. If we had the playoffs now, I don't think we're in the final four. But that doesn't mean we don't have a chance to be there in December."
Getting there is a series of 32 steps, 10 scheduled matches on the road, 18 at home, with the hope of hosting four postseason matches leading up to the final four. This year could be a case of home being where the heartbreak is - the Wahine host nemesis Long Beach State, the defending national champion, as well as Stanford, ranked No. 1 or 2 in most preseason polls.
Hawaii falls somewhere between Nos. 3 and 6, depending on which coach is opining. Shoji rates his Wahine between fifth and eighth, about where he had last year's overachieving team that went on to finish 32-3, one game away from the final four.
Last year, the big questions were about the newcomers. About how middles Heather Bown and Veronica Lima would fit into the lineup.
Bown finished as an All-American and Lima, often slowed by a chronic back injury, was an all-tournament selection at the WAC Tournament. The 6-foot-3 Bown spent the summer with the U.S. national team and has added three inches to her already imposing jump.This year, the question is who will get the ball to Bown and Lima? Two freshmen, Fab 50 pick Jennifer Carey and University Lab product Margaret Vakasausau, are vying for the position. It's the first time that has happened at UH since 1985, when freshmen Melinda Beckenhauer and eventual All-American Martina Cincerova were battling for the setting job.
"We knew what we were getting into this season," said Shoji, referring to having no veteran setter. "We're ranked high because we have Bown and a good returning cast. Plus everyone (the voting coaches) likes Carey and understands she's very good. And Margaret is going to be a player for us.
"I feel good about this team. Heather (Bown) is a better volleyball player than she was a year ago. Jessica Sudduth (a junior hitter) is going to have a big year. Heidi Ilustre and Jenny Roberts are seniors and I expect the best volleyball from them because it is their final year."
Shoji is still trying to fit the pieces into the big puzzle. Freshman Lily Kahumoku (6-2) will see plenty of playing time. Sophomore transfer Tanja Nikolic is small for a middle (6-feet) but will be a solid backup for when Lima is hurting.
"I'm not sure what Lily's role is going to be," Shoji said. "Lily brings a lot of velocity and sometimes it's better to have heat than finesse. The lineup isn't set. We have some variables to work with."'Some of that flexibility did not make today's road trip. Junior hitter Andrea Gomez Tukuafu may not be eligible to play this season, pending an NCAA decision on whether to allow her to transfer for a second time in three years.
Also, senior defensive specialist Shelly Kim injured her left knee in last Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage. The extent of the damage is still unknown and no decision has been made as to redshirt her or try to get her back on the court later this season.
The Wahine have two solid backups for Kim in junior Aven Lee, who redshirted last season, and freshman walk-on SyRina Makainai.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Ka Leo O Hawaii
