RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Ashley Watanabe, a defensive specialist from Aiea, never thought she'd be on the roster for the No. 2-ranked team in the nation.
Patience and
perseveranceUH sophomore Ashley
Watanabe never expects to
play, but she's always ready
IT'S not that Ashley Watanabe doesn't have expectations. She does. But ....
>> She never expects to get the call during a volleyball match to go in as the defensive specialist;
>> She never expects her serve to turn into an ace;
>> And she never expected to be on the roster for the No. 2 team in the country.
Yet, here she is, all 66 inches, trying her best to get Hawaii back to the final four for a second straight year. The 5-foot-6 defensive specialist doesn't get in often -- she's appeared in only 51 of the team's 114 games -- but Watanabe always tries to make the most of her time on the court.
"I just never know when I'm going to go in," said the sophomore as the 34-1 Rainbow Wahine prepare for Friday's regional semifinal match with Illinois. "I just have to always be ready. We've been doing so well so I don't expect (coach Dave Shoji) to call on me. You don't want to change the momentum or the chemistry of the people at that point.
"But when he calls on me, I have to put on my playing attitude and do what I have to do."
That would be playing defense, long the trademark of Hawaii volleyball. Watanabe has just 39 digs on the season but no reception errors.
The Aiea High School product also had an impressive serving run during Game 2 of last week's NCAA Tournament first-round match against Idaho last Thursday. Watanabe's first two serves were aces -- her eighth and ninth of the season -- and she also scrambled with a flying dig that set up a transition kill for senior Lauren Duggins.
The three straight points put the Wahine up 14-13. It forced the Vandals to call timeout some eight minutes into the game.
"That dig was right on the money," said Hawaii associate head coach Charlie Wade. "She's got exceptional foot speed and when she starts flying around, she can really help you.
"Ashley is one who really has the respect and the credibility of her teammates. They all know how hard she works. She lifts on her own, during double-days she was running afterwards. Everyone is pulling for her every time she gets in."
WATANABE'S BIGGEST FAN didn't live long enough to see her realize her dream of becoming a Wahine. Grandfather Henry Watanabe died during Watanabe's senior year before she had decided to try and walk on to the team.
"He was one of the people who was encouraging me to go to UH," Watanabe said. "He was telling me, 'When I pass away, I'll be watching you from heaven, looking down on the Stan Sheriff Center, watching you play.' "
Her grandfather's faith was part of her motivation to give Hawaii a shot. Another was how her senior year ended.
Na Alii were one of the favorites to win the Oahu Interscholastic Association tournament in 2000 but were upset by McKinley and didn't make the state tournament.
"We could have taken states that year," said Watanabe, who was an outside hitter and defensive specialist for Aiea. "And game ball ... I shanked it off my arm. I remember falling to the ground and just bawling.
"I never want to feel that way again. I want to fill that void. An NCAA championship would do it."
Watanabe wants to talk about Dallas, the site of next week's final four, but doesn't want to put a jinx on it. She was born in 1983, the year Hawaii won its second consecutive NCAA title, but doesn't want to take that "as an omen."
"Everyone is talking about the 'signs,' " she said. "About how the last time there were seven seniors (in 1983), we won.
"I don't like to think that we're just going to go. Coach always says to take it day by day. I'm apprehensive but it's a good feeling. You know it's going to be a battle and you don't want to go in, expecting that you'll win. You know you have to work hard to get it."
WATANABE HAS MADE herself into a Division-I player. As late as her senior year at Aiea, there were no offers to continue her career.
Wade had approached her during a summer camp, offering help if she wanted to play on the mainland.
"I told her she was a good player, good enough to play at a number of Division-I schools," he said. "I also told her if she wanted to walk on here, to let me know.
"I really liked her athleticism. She's one of those kids who works really hard, really enjoys playing, is always going to go hard. She has no pretenses, no ego. She continues to get better."
That Wade approached her surprised Watanabe.
"I always wanted to come to UH but I didn't think I could," said Watanabe, who red-shirted as a freshman. "It was a dream. When Charlie first talked to me, I was really shocked. I wasn't even being looked at by D-II colleges.
"But I always believe that God puts you in a place for a reason. For me, I was in the right place at the right time. I love the fans and the team is great. I can't imagine being anywhere else."
Watanabe, a marketing major, is hoping to get into UH's business school next semester. Yesterday, she had to do a presentation on restaurant operations for one of her classes, relying on her job as a hostess and busser at Buzz's Pearlridge.
It went well, just as expected.
But as for the next time she'll see the court this season? Watanabe would prefer to be surprised ... and knows she will be ready.
Notes: Some 3,000 tickets remain for this week's regional that pits No. 8 California (25-6) against No. 11 Georgia Tech (33-3) in Friday's 5 p.m. opener. No. 2 Hawaii (34-1) goes against No. 18 Illinois (26-6) in the second match. ... Oceanic 16 has the broadcast rights for this week's regional. The broadcast times have not been announced.
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NCAA to consider appeal this week
Hawaii's appeal to retain the 2002 NCAA men's volleyball title will be heard by the full NCAA appeals committee sometime this week.UH athletic director Herman Frazier said he had been notified by the NCAA that the school's paperwork had been received and that the committee would look at the appeal between Friday and Sunday. The NCAA will notify UH of its decision within 30 days.
At issue is the use of an ineligible player under revised NCAA standards for professionalism. The player, Costas Theocharidis, participated in a league prior to his competing for the Warriors in his native Greece that included professionals.
Cindy Luis, Star-Bulletin
