Villaroman digs in In a sport in which 313 teams vie for one national championship, you would normally think twice about listening to your archrival.
at libero for Wahine
The junior eliminates any need for Shoji
to worry about his team’s passing gameBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comHawaii coach Dave Shoji did wonder about a recommendation from a connection at Long Beach State, but in libero Melissa Villaroman's case, he need not have worried.
"Those kinds of concerns were over the minute she showed up on campus," Shoji said. "Her coach in junior ball played for Long Beach. She said 'I've got this player who really wants to go to Hawaii. You should take a look at her.' And I did. We knew she had to come walk on.
"After watching her play in junior ball, I was hoping nobody would give her a scholarship and then she would show up here. After a year, we gave her a scholarship. She was just what we needed."
So thank the pain-in-the-side 49ers for making a love connection.
Villaroman had scholarship offers from Marquette and Division III University of La Verne, where she could have played front row. But the 5-foot-6 libero was a big-game hunter.
"I could have gone to school back east, where I was able to hit, but I wanted to come here," said Villaroman. "It's a final four team and all."
Hawaii wasn't the only final four contender interested in her. Villaroman had compelling reasons to go to Long Beach State. She grew up in Carson, Calif., which was seven miles away, and she played club ball for Cal Jrs., a squad based at Long Beach State and run by 49ers coach Brian Gimmillaro.
It was there that Villaroman furthered her education in fundamentals and defensive technique. But the Beach didn't give scholarships to short players and Gimmillaro made that clear to Villaroman's mother, Elizabeth.
"I really appreciated Brian Gimmillaro because he was honest with me," Elizabeth Villaroman said. "(He said) 'I can give Melissa an academic scholarship, but I cannot give her an athletic scholarship, because I only give it to tall kids.' "
Height was not an issue in the other sports Melissa played as a kid. Tennis was her love and she was ranked No. 9 in her area as a 10-year-old. Only the high cost of private coaches and the time commitment prevented her from continuing in the sport.
The Southern California native started playing volleyball in the sixth grade after a physical education teacher recommended her for the Ichiban club -- a perennial producer of collegiate volleyball players.
In high school, Villaroman owned a decent vertical jump and played outside hitter. She helped St. Joseph High win the CIF Division II title, but volleyball wasn't her only sport. Villaroman earned letters in basketball and played powder-puff football.
"She's kind of like a jock. She's always been athletic," Elizabeth Villaroman said. "She was into basketball and football. She wasn't a missy."
That's easily visible on the court as Villaroman absorbs the force of some of the most brutal blows in volleyball and she dares opponents to swing harder at her.
"I don't worry about what other teams think of me, if they're scared of me," Villaroman said. "I just go out there and dig as many balls as I can.
"It doesn't matter who's out there, or what team we're playing. I just go out there and try to do my job to the best of my ability. I'm a libero and that's what you're there to do."
Villaroman was huge as a defensive specialist for the Wahine last season. She played in all but one Wahine match and tallied 198 digs for the season. (She missed one match to attend her sister Kathy's wedding.)
But it wasn't defense that won her the starting job this year. Her ability to pass gave her the edge over senior Hedder Ilustre, the only first-team defender on the all-conference team last year.
Villaroman's role in initializing the offense is as crucial as the Wahine superstars who terminate the plays. She enjoys the extra court time that comes with being a libero, though the pressure to be perfect can be a bit much for the self-proclaimed perfectionist.
"Everyone expects liberos to be perfect passers, perfect diggers all the time and it's hard," Villaroman said. "If we didn't have that different color jersey, then people wouldn't think about that."
Actually, no one has noticed if Villaroman hasn't been perfect this year. With powerful outside hitters to fix most broken plays, the mistakes aren't as glaring.
Not that there have been many of them.
"All anybody needs to do is look at our passing statistics," Shoji said. "They're very, very high. They're the highest they've ever been. They're pretty much related to her and Lily (Kahumoku) and Kim (Willoughby) who've passed perfectly almost all year.
"That's a big part of our game. That's the most improved part. She's just been an anchor back there. That's never been a worry of mine. Almost every year and every game, you're supposed to be concerned about your passing. That's never been a concern this year."
When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m. Hawaii vs. Tulsa
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: KFVE
Radio: 1420-AM
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