Friday, November 23, 2001
Hawaii Pacific's loss in the Pacific Regional semifinals last Friday marked much more than the end of the Sea Warriors' season and local Division II volleyball this year. Loss ends Tuitele’s
By Brandon Lee
collegiate career,
several streaks
blee@starbulletin.comIt concluded the outstanding career of HPU setter Nia Tuitele, a four-year starter for the Sea Warriors whom coach Tita Ahuna says has "the softest pair of hands in Division II."
Tuitele quarterbacked HPU to two national championships -- the first coming in her freshman year in 1998, the second coming last year after the Sea Warriors became the first Division II team to go through a season undefeated.
She has won too many awards to list, and more are likely to come for the national Player of the Year candidate.
Among the most significant Tuitele has already earned are two first-team All-America honors. The most recent are her second all-region tournament and third All-Pacific Region team awards, announced this week.
"To sum it up in three words," said Ahuna, describing what Tuitele has meant to the Sea Warriors, "she's our heart.
"What she gave us is what we got, in terms of success. ... She was a security blanket. It is going to be hard to recruit another Nia Tuitele because I don't think another Nia will come around for 10 more years."
Ahuna, a former standout and national champion at Division I Hawaii, said that she always felt Tuitele could have held her own in the upper division.
Tuitele's career statistics lend credibility to this claim, as she amassed 4,748 assists and averaged 12.11 assists per game. Her assists total is 15 shy of the all-time mark for a Hawaii player at any level (Brigham Young-Hawaii's Juliana Lima had 4,763), while her average is the 10th best in Division II history.
While Tuitele also wonders at times what her life would have been like had she chosen to pursue the Division I route, she ultimately has no regrets.
"I'm thankful to God, the school, Coach Tita and my teammates," Tuitele said. "I'll miss the fans, the competition. Being able to play (at HPU) was great."
If Tuitele has her way, her days of playing volleyball are not over. A professional career overseas or in the U.S. is a possibility, but her invitation to a tryout for the national team for Dec. 15-16 in San Diego is what she is really excited about.
The opportunity for this McKinley High School graduate to join another former Tiger setter and current national team member -- Robyn Ah Mow -- is "real important," according to Tuitele.
"It has hit me, and it's very sad," she said of the end to her days as a Sea Warrior. "(But) I definitely want to play more volleyball."
Championship point: The Sea Warriors' straight-game defeat a week ago to Cal State San Bernardino -- the team HPU beat in the regional final last year en route to its perfect season and second national championship in three years -- also snapped a streak of 32 consecutive wins on the mainland.
For the first time since 1985, a Hawaii school will not be playing for an NAIA or NCAA-II volleyball national championship. A Hawaii school has won a national title 17 of the past 20 years. And for the first time in the past eight years, neither BYUH or HPU will walk away wearing a national crown this season.
UC San Diego defeated San Bernardino -- the team many considered the favorite to win the national title -- in the Pacific Regional final last Saturday. The Tritons will play Lock Haven (Pa.) and will be joined by Barry, Truman, Western State, South Dakota State, Mercy and host Grand Valley (Mich.) State in the Elite Eight tournament next Thursday through Saturday.
HPU finished the season 19-5.