[ WAHINE VOLLEYBALL ]
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Wahine roster painted
with new faces
The Hawaii volleyball team
opens its season tomorrow with
only six holdovers from last year
This is one season that folks may want to buy the $12 media guide just for the roster.
The Hawaii women's volleyball team opens its 31st season -- 30th under coach Dave Shoji -- tomorrow with about as many new faces as question marks. Of the 16-player roster, 10 were not wearing Rainbow Wahine uniforms last season, including eight freshmen.
"Patience" is the word being tossed around a lot in the practice gym. It's what the Hawaii fans will need to practice, too, as they join the Wahine coaches and players wondering:
>> How will UH recoup from the loss of two of the program's all-time great players (Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku) as well as five other standout seniors?>> How long will it take to get to the level enjoyed by last year's team which went 37-2, set a record for consecutive victories (35) and reached the NCAA Tournament semifinal?
>> And will this be the year that Hawaii sees its conference winning streak -- currently at 78 -- broken?
The only question that has been answered so far is who Shoji will start against Eastern Washington in the 7 p.m. opener of the 17th Hawaiian Airlines Classic.
Shoji told the team before yesterday's practice that he was going with sophomore setter Kanoe Kamana'o, senior Melody Eckmier and redshirt freshman Juliana Sanders at middle, junior Susie Boogaard and sophomore Alicia Arnott at leftside hitter, junior transfer Victoria Prince at rightside hitter and junior Ashley Watanabe at libero. He also plans to work in as many of the other players in as many of the other players as he can, particularly true freshman Tara Hittle, a 6-foot utility player.
"It's fun for the coaching staff to develop the players but the challenge is trying to get the right people on the court in the right positions," Shoji said. "Usually I'm a 'feel' kind of coach. But a number of people are so close (in talent) that we've been taking stats during practice and using that to figure out some things.
"I think we have a number of pleasant surprises. It's hard to be more athletic than we were last year -- and we had some great athletes -- but our players are all in great shape. What we need to do is to take everyone's strengths and bring that to the forefront."
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The Wahine also have not lost to an unranked opponent in 176 matches, dating back to Sept. 12, 1997 (Pepperdine).
Hawaii starts the season ranked 13th, which the players feel is a good spot to be in. The pressure is off to be a Top-4 squad, but it gives them incentive to move up in the poll.
"The coaches will agree that we've come a long way since we started practice," said Eckmier, the team captain. "We have a lot of new faces but we've become a very tight-knit family and very team-oriented.
"I'm excited for the season to start. I don't know what to expect. We're going to have to come together, play as a team to produce the wins. We won't have Kim or Lily who definitely brought us some amazing kills when we needed them. Our wins this year will have to be a complete team effort."
The situation will be somewhat similar on the opposite side of the net tomorrow night. Eastern Washington lost five seniors from last year's 22-8 team, including both setters.
"To me, this is just a growth tournament for us," said Eagles coach Wade Benson. "The biggest thing for us is where is the leadership going to come from on the court? How are the kids on the court going to gel and play together with so many new faces? Are we ever going to be able to get it?
"Hawaii is in a little different boat (than us). They get Fab 50s, we don't. We've got hard-working kids but we have to spend a little more time on fundamentals and teaching the concepts of the game. We're just going to be excited to come to the islands and play some good competition and see where we fall."
The tournament also includes No. 17 Arizona and San Diego, which received 105 points in the coaches' poll.
No. 13 Hawaii (36-2)
Western Athletic ConferenceDave Shoji (30th season, 840-149-1)
The Rainbow Wahine will be good but very, very young. The UH roster features eight freshmen, four sophomores, three juniors and two seniors.
The Wahine lost seven seniors from last year's team the fell to Florida in the NCAA Tournament semifinal. Gone are Player of the Year Kim Willoughby, All-Americans Lily Kahumoku and Lauren Duggins, All-WAC players Maja Gustin, Nohea Tano and Melissa Villaroman, and solid all-around player Karin Lundqvist.
Running this year's offense is 2003 National Freshman of the Year, setter Kanoe Kamana'o. She's the lone starter from last season but the Wahine have a number of returnees who saw significant action last year, including senior middle Melody Eckmier (captain), junior hitter Susie Boogaard, junior libero Ashley Watanabe, sophomore hitter Alicia Arnott and sophomore backup setter Cayley Thurlby.
The newcomers are talented and could have immediate impact, particularly junior transfer Victoria Prince and freshman outside Tara Hittle. Expect a more diversified offense this season which will make the Wahine very hard to scout, according to Dave Shoji.
No. 17 Arizona (17-15)
Pac-10 ConferenceDave Rubio (13th season, 234-124)
The Wildcats' preseason ranking probably isn't indicative of how dangerous this team could be. Arizona returns seven starters from a team that took the senior-laden Wahine to five games last year.
Junior outside hitter Kim Glass, a third-team AVCA All-American, is back along with all-Pac-10 middle Bre Ladd and outside hitter Jennifer Abernathy. The Wildcats have experience and depth at the outside hitting position. Senior Jolene Killough, a 6-foot-5 middle, will be an excellent complement to Ladd.
Sophomore setter Stephanie Butkus has improved immensely and will be pushed by freshman Amy Dyck whom Rubio says has all the intangibles to be as good as any setter who's competed for the Wildcats.
Against Hawaii: The Wildcats are 0-9 against the Wahine. UH last met Arizona last season in Honolulu, holding off the Wildcats 30-24, 30-26, 22-30, 27-30, 15-13.
Eastern Washington (22-8)
Big Sky ConferenceWade Benson (5th season, 91-27)
The Eagles missed an NCAA tournament berth last season when they were upset in the conference championship final. Benson lost five seniors from last season, including both setters, and will spend much of the early matches gauging what he's got. EWU will be counting on Keva Sonderen and Megan Kitterman to carry the hitting load in the early going. Look for Lizzy Mellor to add to the offense as well. The rest of the roster is largely untested.
Against Hawaii: The Eagles are 0-2 versus the Wahine. UH eliminated EWU from the 2001 NCAA Tournament in a second-round match played in Pullman, Wash.
San Diego (17-13)
West Coast ConferenceJennifer Petrie (6th season, 101-50)
Petrie returns most of last year's bunch that reached the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in eight years. The Toreros were bounced by UCLA in the first round.
Six starters are back including junior setter Lindsey Sherburne and senior all-conference outside hitters Devon Forster and Kristen Hurst. Forster was a first-team all WCC selection. Sophomore middles Emily Haas and Christie Dawson are sure to be more seasoned with a year of experience in the lineup.
Also impressive on Petrie's roster are her assistant coaches. Former Olympians Tammy Liley Leibl and Brent Hilliard provide additional tutelage for an experienced team looking to go deeper into the postseason.
Against Hawaii: The Toreros and the Wahine have met just once before with Hawaii winning 3-1 in 1998.
uhathletics.hawaii.edu
