PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRYANT FUKUTOMI / BFUKUTOMI@STARBULLETIN.COM
SO many things have changed on the local NCAA Division II volleyball scene that the game is hardly the same as it was just two years ago. [ VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW ]
Coaching adjustments
Hawaii's Division II volleyball skippers
» UH dispatches Dons quickly
are getting used to rule changes
» Isle schools have opened eyes already
By Jerry Campany
jcampany@starbulletin.comOne thing, however, has not changed: the coaches who are charged with adapting to the constant change.
Brigham Young-Hawaii's Wilfred Navalta and Hawaii Pacific's Tita Ahuna are in the top 10 in career winning percentage. Hawaii-Hilo's Sharon Peterson has already made her mark after notching her 500th win last year. Chaminade's Glennie Adams is on the verge of her 100th win despite battling the three others year after year.
Throw in Western New Mexico coach Jim Callendar, and the Pacific West easily boasts some of the most accomplished coaches in the land. Navalta says there is a simple reason for it.
"All of us are very competitive in Hawaii," Navalta said. "We share a love and passion for volleyball because we know the fans know and love the game."
All four Hawaii coaches refuse to believe that the coaching in Hawaii is stronger than anywhere else, believing that each coach has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. But they do agree that if you plan on swinging through Hawaii on your way to a national championship, you had better do your homework.
"I think we have quality coaches in Hawaii," Peterson said. "But it's no different from anywhere else. The coaching level across the nation is getting higher and higher. We are keeping up with the mainland, but we are no better."
One thing Hawaii has to keep up with are the rules changes that have remade the sport in the last two years. Rally scoring was implemented last year and this season will see the first use of the libero -- a defensive and passing specialist.
Coaches are put in the unique position of being new to the game while their players all have experience with the new rules from their days in club volleyball. But from what they have seen so far, all of the leaders like the libero rule for the same reason.
"At first I was nervous about it," Peterson said. "I am starting to get used to it; it makes substitutions easier. I like the rule for the game because it gives kids who probably would have lost a chance to play. It seems every position is getting bigger, this brings the smaller athletes back into the game."
Ahuna is holding out her opinion on the new rule until she gets a chance to work with it.
"I would have loved it if I had a true libero," Ahuna said. "So right now I have no opinion."
Navalta's Seasiders may have the early edge in implementing the new rule, despite the fact that Navalta says he forgot about the new rule until late in fall camp. He made up for it with an early season trip to Florida, where he could experiment in the face of a crew of referees who knew and understood the rule completely.
Ahuna fears that may not be the case in Hawaii.
"They said they were doing all of this change to speed up the game," Ahuna said. "I don't think it does, though. The only thing it does is make it harder to officiate a match."
All four coaches like the way their game is being improved, with a few exceptions. They are split on rally scoring, with half liking the fact that everything you do has consequences and the other half saying that it has made matches longer and made early points seem like preliminaries.
Whatever opinions they hold, Hawaii's coaches think mostly about the next game, not about what it took to get there.
"I like the rules changes," Navalta said. "The libero gives us better ball handling and is going to help all the teams. As far as all of the changes over the years, I don't meditate and think about how it would be if it was up to me, I don't have much influence on how the rules go, anyway. I just adjust to each change."
The bottom line is that the new addition gives each coach one more thing to use against the others. Although fans rarely leave a gym cursing a coach for finding him or herself out of rotation, those who can look past the great athletes at what it took to get them there might come away with an even better show. The four coaches know each other so well that their meetings had settled into a clash of styles rather than a clash of strategies. The best thing about the new wrinkle might be how it changes that relationship.
But all coaches believe a story about their strategy would not be complete without spouting the cliché that each one of them confesses to believe -- that without players on the floor, a coach is nothing.
"Coaching has always been an important part of the game," Ahuna said. "If you have six-to-12 outstanding athletes, someone still has to bring them together. If you have six-to-12 average players, someone has to make them better players. But you have to have the players to work with first.
"Strategically, I can never win a game," Ahuna said. "I just try not to make so many moves that I take my team out of the game."
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The coaches who vote for the NCAA Division II preseason poll are catching up to something Hawaii fans have known all along. Hawaii schools have
opened some eyes alreadyBy Jerry Campany
jcampany@starbulletin.comHawaii schools can play some volleyball.
Three local programs -- Hawaii Pacific, Brigham Young-Hawaii and Hawaii-Hilo -- received votes in the initial poll, with HPU being the only one ranked, coming in at No. 18. After just one week, BYUH jumped over HPU to the seventh spot after receiving a first-place vote but being unranked in the first poll.
The Seasiders made the leap by traveling to Florida and returning with an undefeated record, including a surprising sweep of national No. 1 and defending champion Barry on its own floor.
Hawaii's other three schools tried to match BYUH's aggressive scheduling, each participating in tournaments and combining to fashion a 15-10 record in nonconference games. HPU and UH-Hilo hooked up in the Hawaiian Style Classic in Hilo, while Chaminade surprised the field at the St. Mary's Invitational for a 3-1 record.
But for all the statements Hawaii schools made outside the conference, each team knows that its only true glory will start with winning the Pacific West.
"I'd put this conference against any out there," HPU coach Tita Ahuna said. "It just gets stronger and stronger. Wilfred (Navalta at BYUH) always pulls some kind of tricks, Sharon's (Peterson at Hilo) come on strong last year and we never overlook Glennie (Adams at Chaminade.)"
Hawaii Pacific (19-5, 12-5 PacWest)
Top returners: Susy Garbelotti (Jr., MB, 6-foot-1, sat out 2001, 2000 AVCA All-America First Team)Top newcomers: Alyssa Collins (Fr., S, 5-10); Vera Lucia Oliveira (Jr., OH, 6-0)
Top players lost: Nia Tuitele (S, three-time AVCA All-America, two-time PacWest Player of the Year)
This year's Sea Warriors will be different from any other edition, simply because of the loss of setter and two-time PacWest Player of the Year Tuitele. But Ahuna believes she may have another national-caliber setter to fill the hole.
Taking Tuitele's spot will be freshman Vera Olivera from Brazil, whom Ahuna calls "excellent with great hands." As great as she is, Olivera is still a freshman and will require big hitters to ease the transition to collegiate volleyball.
Luckily for Oliveira and HPU, the Sea Warriors have the conference's most accomplished hitter to turn Oliveira's sets into points.
Fellow Brazilian Garbelotti returns after sitting out last year, and seems to have not missed a beat. She was the PacWest Newcomer of the Year two years ago in an AVCA All-American season and will return to be the focal point of the Sea Warriors attack.
"Susy is just Susy," Ahuna said. "No team or individual can take her away from her game."
Garbelotti will not be asked to carry the team herself, however, as junior Teisa Fotu will be asked to step up her game. Helping them out at the net will be outside hitters Katy Wilson, Davina Dodson -- who was a member of HPU's 2000 national championship team -- and sophomore Helena Ward.
Forming the future for the Sea Warriors will be incoming freshmen Alyssa Collins, Ashley Ellizar, Briana Marinas and Mahealani Rawlins.
Even though the Sea Warriors got off to a good start in Hilo last week, it is not good enough for their demanding coach.
"We're young and make some mistakes at certain times which had our game break down," Ahuna said. "But when you are so young that will happen. I still have the same high expectations I have every year."
BYU-Hawaii (14-6, 10-5 PacWest)
Top returners: Leiau Meatoga (Sr., L, 5-5); Kaala Lo (So., S, 5-5); Ashley Moeai (Jr., OH, 5-11); Dan Xu (Sr., OH, 5-11)Top newcomers: Chun Yi Lin (Fr., MB, 6-0); Yu Chun Weng (Fr., OH, 5-9); Mariah Goslin (Fr., MB, 5-9); Crystal Casebolt (Fr., S, 5-8); Natasha Tacgere (Fr., MB, 6-0)
Top players lost: Nicole Olmstead (DS); Carleen Waldron (OH); Karla Ribeiro (MB)
If you call two years without a national championship being down, BYUH is back.
The Seasiders started their season last week with an upset of the top-ranked team in the nation, and they did it with a slew of new faces.
While HPU reopened the Brazilian pipeline, BYUH's Navalta turned to Taiwan to rebuild his program. And it appears to have worked, with Lin and Weng taking over the Barry tournament and Weng being awarded national player of the week for her efforts.
The newcomers could not have posted such impressive numbers without veterans Moeai and Xu taking the heat off. Moeai led the Seasiders in kills last year, with Xu right behind. They expect to share the swings this year to form the PacWest's most balanced attack.
Running the attack will be setter Lo, a sophomore who started at the position for Navalta last year. Navalta's teams are well known for their defensive prowess, and Meatoga will be the poster child for that defense. Meatoga racked up 237 digs last year and led the team in service aces with 37, but her strength is her versatility that allows Navalta to put her nearly anywhere on the floor.
Hawaii-Hilo (16-15, 6-9 PacWest)
Top returners: Sara Pilgreen (Jr., OH, 5-9, second team all conference); Megan Denman (Jr., S, 5-9); Cheriesse Shiroma (Sr., MB, 5-9)Top player lost: Elena Salvador (MB)
At the beginning of each season, Peterson describes her team with one word: "scrappy."
For Peterson, "scrappy" means effort and mental preparation, and the veteran coach may have her hardest working team in years.
That is not to say that Peterson's squad lacks talent, as she may have the best collective front line in the conference. That line is made up of the four-headed monster that is Emily Hutchinson, Shiroma, Pilgreen and Heidi Fabritz.
Pilgreen recorded 30 kills against Montana State-Billings last year and was fifth in the conference in kills. As a group, Hilo's front line may be the conference's most accurate, as three players finished the season in the Top 10 in hitting percentage.
Any one of the four has the ability to take over a game, giving setter Denman a lot of options. Denman was the best setter not named Tuitele last year, finishing second in assists and service aces.
With another year of experience and growth with her hitters, she will be expected to meet and surpass those marks.
Chaminade (10-14, 7-8 PacWest)
Top returners: Aubrey Brady (Sr., MB, 6-0); Janeen Waialae (So., S, 5-8); Valasi Sepulona (So., OH, 5-8)Top newcomer: Kanani Yockman (Fr., RS, 5-10)
Top player lost: Jessica Robins (OH), Julianne Hastert (DS).
The Silverswords have long lived in the shadow of BYUH and HPU, at least until the last four matches last year.
Chaminade swept their last four games to move from last in the conference to third. Middle blocker Brady keyed the sweep and earned PacWest Player of the Week for it, and will be counted on to do more of the same if the Silverswords are going to be able to put together such a run over the course of this season.
Helping Brady at the net will be sophomore Sepulona, who is the returning kill and digs leader. Brady and Sepulona will be surrounded by new faces in the order, so will be asked to carry the bulk of the load until an underclassman can establish herself as another option.
Finding that other option will be the task of sophomore setter Waialae of Honolulu. Waialae was last in the conference in assists last year, something coach Adams will need her to improve on. She has improved over the summer, though, and keyed a 3-1 record with 10.65 assists per game in the Silverswords' season-opening tournament.
Sophomore defensive specialist Kalae Araujo could blossom into a special defender, as evidenced by her performance in the preseason tournament.
