Tuesday, December 4, 2001
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LONG BEACH, Calif >> The weather may be warmer, but it's no day at the beach for the Hawaii volleyball team. Trip to So. Cal splits
UH in half: 6 in team
hotel, 6 with familiesBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comThe Wahine flew to Southern California on Sunday and practiced yesterday at Golden West College in Huntington Beach. They lifted weights, had a team meeting and dispersed to their respective temporary homes.
The mood at practice was loose and energetic with the pressure of the first- and second-round matches off.
"Everybody's really upbeat," Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. "We had a really good practice today. I think everybody's excited to be in the regional, excited to play UCLA."
Added setter Margaret Vakasausau: "I think everyone's relaxing right now," Vakasausau said. "We're kind of happy our first obstacle of three is over."
Here, there, and everywhere: With half of the members (six of 12) of the team from Southern California, only six players were staying at the current team hotel. The other six (Jennifer Carey, Lauren Duggins, Hedder Ilustre, Melissa Villaroman, Melody Eckmier, Megan O'Brian) were picked up by their parents on Sunday and whisked away for a few days of rest in the comfort of their own homes.
"It's nice to sleep in my own bed for two days and spend some time with my family," Villaroman said.
Meanwhile, the other players are back at the hotel cooking for each other and enjoying some down time.
"We're staying at a very nice hotel, so we checked out some movies and a VCR," senior Tanja Nikolic said. "Tonight, we're going to go shopping. We're trying to cook. We have our own kitchen. Maja (Gustin) and I are the only ones who cook."
The entire team will converge at the same hotel today.
Defense, defense, and more defense: A trademark of Shoji's teams, yesterday's practice was no different with defensive drill after drill. At least 30 minutes of the two-hour practice was devoted to blocking and digging. It's no secret that opposing teams should expect long rallies, with Hawaii digging its opponent an average of 17.54 times a game.
Hiatus from School?: Not quite.
After two weeks of being on the road, the Wahine haven't forgotten about their academic responsibilities, not with finals looming ahead.
"It's difficult. Maja and I vouched that we would write one of our papers tomorrow (Tuesday) together," Vakasausau said. "I made a plea over the radio. We're good kids. We just didn't bring everything, because Dave promised we'd go home because they thought we'd go home even if we won (the WAC tournament).
"Jen's been studying really well. Lauren's been working hard faxing all her papers back to school. We still have to study."
Top teams advance: All 16 of the seeded teams in the NCAA tournament advanced to the Sweet 16. While some seeded teams may have initially balked at the idea of being on the road for the first and second rounds, seeding teams regionally seems to lend credibility to the notion that it's best for creating the most competitive tournament at the end. Shoji, however, is worried that this year's results might send the NCAA the wrong message and set a precedent for next year.
"My greatest fear is that they'll look at this and say it all worked out," Shoji said. "All the seeded teams advanced so we didn't hurt anybody, which is not actually the case. A lot of people were lucky to get out. Arizona went four and kind of struggled ... we struggled, and (No. 2) Nebraska went four with Kansas State."
Hawaii plays eighth-seeded UCLA on Thursday in the regional semifinal. Top-seeded Long Beach State faces No. 16 Northern Iowa in the other semifinal.
The final four is next week at Cox Arena at San Diego State.
UH Athletics