Wahine try on a
different roster

Kanoe Kamana'o is the only sure
starter as Hawaii's volleyball team
begins camp

He has been through this before.

Twenty-nine years of coaching have readied Hawaii coach Dave Shoji to start the post-Sensational Seven rebuilding. The Rainbow Wahine volleyball coach goes from the end of summer youth camps to another youthful camp as Hawaii holds its first practice of the 2004 season.

No. 13 Hawaii begins its season today at 9 a.m. in Gym 1 with one returning starter and a batch of fresh faces. Shoji admits there will be more time spent teaching and coaching during the nine days of two-a-day practices than the last three years, when the final four was an expectation and there were fewer question marks in the lineup.

"We've got a lot of new faces and a lot of young faces, so it does feel a little different," said Shoji. "We're going to have to break things down a little more now and that would be the biggest difference."

That won't be the only difference.

Hawaii will have to learn very quickly how to operate on offense without All-American outside hitters Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku. Only seven of the 16 players on this year's roster have seen Division I court time. There is no hitter -- yet -- to bail out a team that will rely heavily on sophomore setter Kanoe Kamana'o's ability to deceive defenses.

Kamana'o isn't a bad building block. As a freshman, she showed no weaknesses in dishing the ball different directions on the court. Kamana'o wasn't given the opportunity to use her tremendous talent, but Shoji promises the Rainbow Wahine will be balanced and quicker.

The AVCA Freshman of the Year is the only front-runner for her position. Kamana'o is all but a lock to start when Hawaii opens against Eastern Washington on Sept. 2 in the Hawaiian Airlines Classic.

"Cayley (Thurlby) is competing for playing time, so I'm not going to say at this point in time that she's out of the picture," Shoji said. "She's going to contribute somehow, but I think Kanoe is pretty solid. She's probably the most solid player we have as far as experience."

Sophomore Alicia Arnott and junior Susie Boogaard will get first crack at the outside hitting slots. Senior Melody Eckmier will occupy one middle-blocker position and the primary leadership role. The fifth-year senior is the last link to a 2001 season that had similar personnel questions. Eckmier's experience will be valuable to a group searching for identity early and needing to win against five ranked opponents in three tournaments in three weekends.

"(Melody) will be the one trying to rally everybody," Shoji said. "She's been here five years. She knows what's expected. She's almost the motherly type. She'll be trying to reel people in and get them on the same page."

Hawaii's postseason hopes hinge on its ability to find chemistry, succeed in the early season and maintain its Western Athletic Conference dominance.

"We still have high expectations," Shoji said. "I don't know if it's realistic to say we could get to the final four, but I'm not telling my players that's impossible. We're going in with the idea we're going to be a good team. We'll train accordingly. We'll train to win. We don't know any other way."