[ WAHINE VOLLEYBALL ]
Big day for walk-ons,
as Shoji makes his cuts
The first cut is the deepest. And it is final.
Seven walk-ons who have sweated through the past six days of two-a-day practices sweat it out today. This is when Hawaii coach Dave Shoji will make his first and only cut of this Wahine volleyball season, trimming his roster from 22 to 18.
It's not going to be easy. For Shoji or the players.
"It's a tough decision," said Shoji during Media Day interviews yesterday in Gym I. "They're all good volleyball players. They all feel good about their game.
"They're all what you might consider 'invited walk-ons.' No one is here sight unseen. We've been in contact with them all spring. We didn't paint a real pretty picture for some, but they're here anyway."
Hawaii, ranked No. 2 in the coaches' preseason poll, is loaded this season. The Wahine have seven seniors who are expected to get the majority of playing time.
It will be difficult for anyone to crack the starting lineup -- outside of the setting position, which is between redshirt freshman Cayley Thurlby and true freshman Kanoe Kamana'o.
That Kamana'o was on the team helped Raeceen Woolford follow her Iolani School teammate up the street to UH. Woolford and freshman Katie Carlson from Los Alamitos (Calif.) High apparently have the best shot of making the roster
"I know there's no guarantees," said the 5-foot-7 Woolford, an outside hitter for the Raiders who is training as a defensive specialist. "You come and see what you can do. I wasn't too surprised to see all the walk-ons. Hawaii is such a popular volleyball program and there are a lot of people wanting to be part of it.
"Everyone is working hard. I'm very excited. And I'm hoping."
Woolford is one of five freshmen trying to make the squad. Two others are island products: Carly Hayashikawa from Hawaii Prep and Kapaa's Melissa Yama.
There is one senior walk-on. Teisa Fotu is trying to make the team at her third school in four years.
Fotu, a Kahuku High graduate, played her freshman year at Eastern Arizona and the past two years at Hawaii Pacific. The 6-footer has the option to redshirt this season, which would allow her to practice with the team.
"It will be tough to break into this lineup, so redshirting would give me a better chance," said Fotu, moving back to her natural right-side position from the middle that she played at HPU. "I'm taking it day by day."
Hawaii's season opens a week from today. Shoji said he didn't have enough time to evaluate his walk-ons and that he likely will invite several of them back next spring.
"We want to get a longer look then where they'll have a better opportunity to get more reps," said Shoji. "They're not going to play this season and we can't spend a lot of time with them. We'll invite 2-3 to stay this year and train. We're going to need some of them next year."
Senior libero Melissa Villaroman was a walk-on her freshman year and earned a scholarship. She understands the system.
"It's going to be a tough decision," said Villaroman, who has been working with the walk-on liberos and defensive specialists. "They all have talent. A couple are really outstanding."
One of those who has stood out is Carlson. Her Los Alamitos team won the CIF 1-AA championship and her Mizuno Club Long Beach placed second at this past summer's Junior Olympics.
"I've wanted to play here ever since eighth grade," said Carlson, who has attended several Wahine summer camps. "I had offers from other places, but if I was going to play volleyball in college, it was going to be at a high level or not at all.
"The team has really bonded. We all know the situation. Several of the walk-ons went out to dinner the other night and talked about that if we don't make the team, we're still going to hang out together. It's a good group of girls and it's going to be a bummer to see who has to leave."
Note: Castle High graduate Juliana Sanders is already on the roster as a walk-on. Shoji said the 6-2 freshman middle will receive a scholarship in 2005.
