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Thursday, August 10, 2000
’Tis the season Maja Gustin will miss skiing in Slovenia's Pohorje Mountains this winter and Kim Willoughby will miss the Cajun flavor of her native Napoleonville, La.
of Wahine
Coach Shoji admits 29 wins
will be hard to do again, but
he says the team is
more balanced
Wilton works on a new contract.
By Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinThe two University of Hawaii Wahine freshmen are new in town, but at yesterday's first practice of the season, they both admit they've died and gone to volleyball heaven at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"The best thing on earth is the crowd here," said the 6-foot Willoughby, who's heard a lot about how knowledgeable Hawaii fans are about the sport.
"In Louisiana, volleyball is very quiet and there are not very many people who actually go out and play," she said.
Gustin, a 6-2 native of Maribor, Slovenia, a popular winter resort near the Austrian border, said she's already been bowled over by the welcome she's received. Being a Wahine volleyball player in Hawaii is something special, and it didn't take Gustin long to figure that out.
Numerical roster 2000 UH WAHINE VOLLEYBALL
1. Margaret Vakasausau, DS/S, 5-8, so.
2. Tanja Nikolic, RS, 6-0, jr.
3. Kim Willoughby, LS/MH, 6-0, fr.
4. Jennifer Carey, S, 6-1, so.
5. Jessica Sudduth, LS/RS, 6-2, sr.
6. Rebekah Cravens, DS, 5-7, fr.
8. Melody Eckmier, MH, 6-3, fr.
9. Lily Kahumoku, LS, 6-2, so.
10. Veronica Lima, MH, 6-2, jr.
11. Andrea Gomez Tukuafu, DS/LS, 5-8, sr.
12. Maja Gustin, MH, 6-2, fr.
13. Aven Lee, DS/LS, 5-8, sr.
14. Lauren Duggins, MH/RS, 6-0, fr.
15. Melissa Villaroman, DS, 5-6, fr.
"My first impression was beautiful nature and very, very nice people ... and food," she said with a shy smile.
"I never eat this kind of food before. Saimin, sushi, a lot of things I don't know the names."
Willoughby and Gustin could be critical to the 2000 campaign. One of them will have to fill the void left by the NCAA's best blocker, middle hitter Heather Bown.
Bown is now playing for the U.S. Olympic team.
Head coach Dave Shoji knows that adequately filling Bown's sneakers would be a major move toward winning a fifth straight Western Athletic Conference title."All of our newcomers have played some middle, but we're probably going to move two of them to the outside," said Shoji. "Maja Gustin is the one right now, on paper, who could take Heather's position. Willoughby can play some middle, but we'd like her to play some outside. Both Maya and Kim are very dynamic players and they're going to give us some kills."
UH's other two incoming freshman recruits are 6-0 Lauren Duggins (Fullerton, Calif.) and 6-3 Melody Eckmier (Simi Valley, Calif.).
The Wahine, ranked eighth in the newest USA Today/AVCA women's Top 25, compiled a 29-2 record last season that ended with a NCAA regional loss to Texas A&M on the Stan Sheriff Center floor. It denied them a chance to play for the national crown on their home court.
Penn State eventually emerged on top in Hawaii with the first-ever volleyball national title for the Nittany Lions."We'd obviously like to go a little further this year," said Shoji, who has led UH to four national titles.
The NCAA finals will be held in Richmond, Va., on Dec. 14 and Dec. 16.
Lily Kahumoku, a 6-2 sophomore, is one of the athletic program's most charismatic personalities and a rapidly developing star upon whose shoulders ultimate success could rest.
"She wasn't completely healthy last year," said Shoji. "She's done a tremendous job getting ready for this season. She's in much better physical condition. She's a lot stronger.
"I think people are going to see a big difference in Lily," Shoji added. "She had a phenomenal freshman year."
Kahumoku was named, along with newly named senior team captain Jessica Sudduth and Bown, to the All-WAC first team, and was also named the conference's Freshman of the Year.
"She hit for a very high percentage (.291, sixth in the WAC), which is very unusual for a freshman left-sider," said Shoji. "Her percentage will go up this year. I'm just predicting that because I know she's worked very hard.
"Hopefully her back is manageable, and she can practice hard and play hard every night."
Kahumoku, known for her powerful drives to the hardwood, admitted her back is bothering her.
"My back is not as good as it could be," she said. "I need to get 100 percent. It's sore right now."
But Kahumoku is cleared to practice and play in the Sept. 1 opener at the Sheriff Center against Texas A&M in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic. Also in the field is preseason No. 1 UCLA.
"I have a back stabilization program, but it still hurts," said Kahumoku.
Despite her amazing progress, Kahumoku insisted she has a lot of work to do on her game.
"I have to work on my back row game, probably passing, service and so many things," she said.
Another concern for Shoji is his need for a right side player.
"But we have a bunch of people who can play that right side, opposite the setter," he said. "(Junior) Tanja Nikolic will be given a shot. We have three outstanding lefts in Willoughby, Sudduth and Kahu-moku, so there's a possibility of one of them moving over to the right."Shoji said he thinks it will be hard to duplicate the 29-win season, but he said he sees promising signs.
"I think the veterans have had a great spring, a great summer," said Shoji. They're much stronger, more physical. Jessica Sudduth is much stronger. "Margaret's (sophomore Vaka-sausau) proved herself physically. (Junior Veronica) Lima's healthy. She touched the highest she's touched in three years. So that's encouraging for a team to be just physically better."
Lima led the team last season in service aces with 0.38 per game.
"One thing we'll be this year is more balanced," said Shoji. "We relied on Heather way too much last year. When she wasn't on, we struggled a little bit. I think this year, we'll spread things out a little more."
University of Hawaii men's volleyball coach Mike Wilton has reached agreement on a contract to replace the one that expired May 31. Wilton deal in the works
Wilton said yesterday that terms of the contract will be finalized next month during a meeting with athletic director Hugh Yoshida.
The earliest the University of Hawaii Board of Regents can consider the contract is Sept. 21.
Sources close to the situation say Wilton will earn a base salary believed to be more than $60,000 per year. He may also receive bonuses for fan attendance and for his players' academic success.
Wilton was hired by the university in 1992.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii