Wednesday, October 6, 1999
Grimm’s ‘time
to kill’ became
time for kills
A member of the 1979 champs,
This is the seventh in a series on the 1979 Wahine
she sees similarities between that
squad and this year's
volleyball team, the University of Hawaii's
first national championship.By Cindy Luis
Star-BulletinThere was only one cure. Win.
In its first five years of intercollegiate competition, the Hawaii women's volleyball team had never finished lower than third. The Wahine had also never finished higher than second.
"We were so sick and tired of not winning the darn thing," said Cheryl Grimm, now an officer with the Honolulu Police Department. "We all wanted to win so bad. We all had trained so hard.
"There was a lot of dissension on the team, but I think our will to win overcame everything."
Grimm, known for her great sense of humor, never found anything funny about losing. Said Wahine coach Dave Shoji: "Cheryl hated to lose and always let you know it."
She did not come into Klum Gym as a volleyball player. She was on a track scholarship, competing in the maximum number of events (6) and also played basketball.
"I had some time to kill so I thought I'd try it," said Grimm. "I was a little bit of a rebel."
She was one of five freshmen who walked on in 1976. Of the other four, Waynette Mitchell and Bonnie Gouveia continued through with Grimm, forming the nucleus of the senior-laden 1979 squad.
Shoji asked Grimm and the other walk-ons to redshirt at first. They all said no, setting a tone for the future.
"I told Dave, 'I'll be playing this season,' " said Grimm. "I did, mostly back row. That summer, I didn't play for Nick's Fishmarket (comprised of Wahine players that went on to win the AAU title). I played for Coca-Cola because I needed to be on a team where I could get playing time and I could get better.
"I was hurt my sophomore year, had my first (of six) knee surgeries. But I wanted to play and said, 'To hell with it, just go.' "
Grimm ended up quitting the track team and, as a junior, earned AIAW All-American honors; the Wahine finished third at the nationals. In 1979, Hawaii had eight seniors on the roster who knew it was their last chance.
The No. 1 team in the country, Hawaii opened the year 12-0. Then, in the span of four days, the Wahine lost three straight on the road - at Pacific in five, and twice at archrival Utah State, 3-2, and 3-0, to close out October.
The trip may have been a turning point in the season. Hawaii went on to win 14 in a row before senior All-American setter Rocky Elias went down with a sprained ankle at the Western Regionals.
Hawaii lost twice to UCLA in finishing second to the Bruins at the regionals. The Wahine would not lose again that season.
"Dave made the mistake of having a team meeting after we lost the second time to Utah State," said Grimm. "We had a lot to tell each other. But after that, it was all business.
"To tell you the truth, it refocused us on the business at hand. Maybe it wasn't as enjoyable as it had been, it was really like coming to work when we came to practice. We did not socialize, but that was OK.
"Everyone knew their role and we were together in that. We took the tension we had had and threw it on everyone we played."
Grimm said that of the four seasons she played, the 1979 squad probably had the most local players. The Kaiser High graduate said it was a real bond for them to represent Hawaii.
"I prided myself on that," she said. "There was such a sense of pride of being Hawaiian, even if I was only Hawaiian at heart and moved here when I was 6.
"I see a lot of comparisons between the '79 team and the Wahine team now. I see the chemistry. A lot of the players are very business-like. You have your captains and then you have your leaders."
Grimm on sophomore middle Veronica Lima: "She's a lot like Waynette. She comes in day in and day out. Leads this stat and that stat, and you don't realize that she is until you see the stats. She's also a lot like Terry (Malterre), a middle who gets the job done."
Grimm on senior middle Heather Bown: "She's like Diane Sebastian, who was the first pure middle we ever had. They hit a heavy ball, give 110 percent."
Grimm on freshman setter Margaret Vakasausau: She reminds me of me. I like her a lot, I like her spunk. Besides, she wears my number (No. 1)."
"This team plays a lot like we did," said Grimm. "We were notorious for falling behind. We had a confidence and sometimes just played good enough to win.
"This team knows they can come back whenever they want to. There is no sense of urgency."
It's a tendency that reminds Grimm of the national championship match when the Wahine fell behind, 0-2, and Shoji gave what is now known as, "The Speech."
"Dave is telling us not to worry because we were right where we wanted to be," said Grimm. "I was thinking, 'I don't know where YOU want to be, Dave, but I don't want to be down 0-2.'
"To this day, when some of us get together to play and we get behind, we'll say, 'Don't worry, we're where we want to be.' "
Grimm is in a good place these days. She's been at HPD since 1983, currently as a metro field sergeant, "on the road and loving it," she said.
She also loves sports. She surfs and took up golf, winning the low-net division in her first tournament, the 1997 Pua Melia.
Despite the six knee surgeries, she is currently playing for the Hawaiian Wave in the Women's Pro Tackle Football League.
Grimm never graduated from UH but is thinking about it. "Maybe I'll take advantage of that fifth-year scholarship program," she said.
"Playing for Hawaii, that experience, I would do it all again. ...
"When it comes time for the alumnae game, we seem to be in a world where no one respects us until they have to play against us. Dave told me this year, 'They don't make 'em like you guys anymore.'
"I couldn't come up with a better story than if this year's team would end up like we did and win it all."
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Ka Leo O Hawaii
