The pride of the Wahine
Hawaii's trademark has always
been defense; this year, Melissa
Villaroman is carrying the D
Big hitters come and go. They pound their way into the record books, earning the accolades and the awards.
Villaroman file
Height: 5-foot-6
Position: Libero
Class: Senior
Hometown: Carson, Calif.
Last school: St. Joseph High School
Source: uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Women's Volleyball
Tonight: No. 2 Hawaii (9-1) vs. Loyola Marymount, 7 p.m.
Tomorrow: Hawaii vs. UNLV, 7 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
Tickets tonight: $3-$14; Tickets tomorrow: $3-$12
Radio: UH matches live, KKEA 1420-AM
TV: UH matches live, KFVE-Ch. 5
Internet: kkea1420am.com and k5thehometeam.com
But defense ... that is another story.
If it is there, it is nearly invisible. If it's not there, its absence is glaring.
It's long been the pride of Hawaii volleyball, the Rainbow Wahine's trademark. It's been a tradition that is passed like the dig of a serve -- solidly, precisely and with confidence.
This season, defense goes by the name of Melissa Villaroman.
As the senior libero, she's in the backcourt almost the entire match, invisible only because she makes playing defense look so easy.
Her motto is: "Life is short, play hard." Being 5-foot-6, life is always short ... and Villaroman always plays hard.
"I always push myself," said the Rainbow Wahine co-captain. "I always want to get better, improve every day. I want to do better than I did yesterday.
"It's a struggle, but I'm going to always try hard, especially my last year."
It's been so far, so good, for Villaroman and the rest of the second-ranked Wahine. Hawaii (9-1) finishes out its first homestand tonight against No. 25 Loyola Marymount and tomorrow vs. UNLV.
The Rainbow Wahine are still smiling about last Saturday's five-set win over No. 4 Stanford. After being out-dug for the first time in 79 matches by Utah State last Friday (45-43), they dug in against the Cardinal, coming away with an 87-80 edge.
Villaroman had 15 of the digs as she continues to move up the career dig chart. With 106 digs so far this season, she needs just 171 more to pass Hedder Ilustre as No. 10 on the all-time list.
"Libero is a good position, but it's difficult," Villaroman said. "It's hard to come in and do that one single thing. If you can't perform, they can't use you for anything else. You really have to be an expert in what you do. You have to master it.
"It's fun to be thrown out there and go for everything, to keep plays alive. Sometimes you do guess wrong, it happens. You just have to anticipate. I try to watch their arm movements, the speed of the ball. You really have to stay on your toes."
It's her balance and instinct that have endeared her to the Hawaii coaching staff.
"Obviously, ball control is huge," Wahine assistant Kari Anderson said. "Even though Melissa is a little shorter, she's got great balance and can make some pretty good moves to the ball. She covers a lot of ground.
"Melissa has incredible balance, incredible court sense and she's got great reactions. It's such a valuable position nowadays. And her leadership comes from being steady and having such a great work ethic."
Villaroman works hard during practice and outside of it. Her normal postpractice routine includes a mile run.
"She's taken Ashley (Watanabe, sophomore libero) under her wing," said Anderson. "Melissa doesn't say, 'Hey, you need to do all the little extras.' She does it by example. She works really, really hard."
Villaroman worked hard to get noticed by the Hawaii coaches. She admits it was an obsession.
"It was my dream to come here," said Villaroman, who is part Hawaiian with relatives on the North Shore. "I was obsessed. There are those of us who don't get as many letters from coaches as a Kim Willoughby. I had to write letters to the schools.
"I e-mailed UH just on a chance, a what-if, just try. I talked to Charlie (Wade, assistant coach) and he came to see me play."
Said head coach Dave Shoji: "Once I saw her play, she didn't have to recruit me. Defense, especially in the early days of the program when we were undersized, has always been one of our keys.
"What we like about Melissa is her defense and her passing. She fits the role of libero very well."
Villaroman was an outside hitter at St. Joseph High School in Carson, Calif., the same school that produced Wahine All-American Teee Williams. But Villaroman knew that wouldn't be her position if she wanted to play at a high level in college.
She's owned the libero spot since the position was introduced last season, playing in all 36 matches last season and all 10 this year. As a freshman and sophomore, she was a defensive specialist in 66 of Hawaii's 68 matches.
Villaroman's career high is 33 digs, set against Fresno State last season. She had 19 crucial digs in the NCAA regional final victory at Nebraska last December.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii libero Melissa Villaroman is 171 digs away from cracking the top 10 school career list.
She was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference second team last year. That was a snub, according to her teammates, who say she's the best libero in the country.
"I don't know about that," said Villaroman. "There's a lot of good liberos out there. I just try to do my best. Every day, there are things I want to work on.
"When the coaches first said they wanted me to come here, I was very happy, excited and willing to accept any role they gave me."
By the spring of her freshman year, Villaroman was given a scholarship. It happened during the team's trip to Japan and, "When Dave told me, I jumped on him and have him a big hug."
Villaroman has a double major in business and marketing. Her goal after graduation is to market herself to the U.S. national team.
"I have a passion for volleyball, and it comes from watching the Olympics, watching both the men's and women's teams play," said Villaroman, who was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team in 2000. "I don't know if I'll make it, but at least I'm going to try."
She is already looking ahead to the postseason and, hopefully, the national championship. After volleyball is over, she would like to do typical Hawaii things: learn to surf, dance hula and paddle canoes.
"And when we go to Haili (Easter Tournament in Hilo) next year, I'm going to be an outside hitter," she said.
