Have bags, will travel

Life on the road is a job and a joy
for Wahine coach Kari Ambrozich

SHE'S BEEN part of the Rainbow Wahine program since walking into Klum Gym, a wide-eyed 18-year-old from Minnesota in 1991, awed by four national championship banners that hung from the rafters.

Fourteen years later, Kari Anderson Ambrozich is still a little overwhelmed by the mystique that surrounds Hawaii volleyball.

DAVID SWANN / DSWANN@STARBULLETIN.COM

"There is a lot of pride from the community in this program," said the former setter, who is married to ex-Rainbow basketball player Eric Ambrozich. "People genuinely care. They want us to do well.

"It's not just the people here. There is this aura that attracts Hawaii folks on the mainland to our matches, maybe looking for that sense of home. They will travel far distances to see us."

This season, it's the Wahine who will be going the distance, with six road trips in 14 weeks. The coaches and players will rack up more than 40,000 frequent-flyer miles.

Ambrozich's role in travel includes itineraries, practice times and hotel information. She also helps coordinate the academic end, including proctoring exams.

"This year will be very challenging," Ambrozich said. "We leave on most of our trips on a Tuesday and get back on a Sunday. That's more class time we're missing, more (academic) assignments to be done on the road."

Finals week will coincide with the final-four week in San Antonio. It's a conflict the Wahine both welcome and dread.

Ambrozich knows the drill well, saying it's a stressful, nerve-wracking time. But it's all part of the job, part of the joy.

"I've been with Dave (head coach Shoji) a long time and I'm still learning from him," she said. "I learn from Charlie (associate coach Wade). I learn something new from every team, ... from every player.

"What I enjoy is feeling at home on the road. Someone will get a potluck together, there will be Hawaiian music. There's a sense of ohana."

Go figure 12 NCAA titles won by 2005 NACWAA participants (Stanford 6, Hawaii 3, Nebraska 2, Penn State 1) 34.5 inches, the top vertical jump for a Wahine (5-6 Raeceen Woolford) 1,260 estimated rolls of athletic tape used by the Wahine from first day of practice through WAC Tourney 40,260 miles the Wahine travel on their six round trips to the mainland prior to the NCAA Tourney