Setting the standard

In just her junior season, Kanoe Kamana'o is already UH's career assists leader

Soft hands.

Softer heart.

The calmness and grace with which Kanoe Kamana'o runs the Hawaii volleyball offense is only surpassed by her humility. The junior setter, who wears No. 10, became No. 1 on the Rainbow Wahine career assist list last Thursday during the win over Boise State.

She was as surprised by breaking the record as she has been any time she wins an award. And she's had plenty of those -- from the 2003 national freshman of the year to 2004 first-team All-American to the Western Athletic Conference player of the year the past two seasons.

NCAA TOURNAMENT At Austin, Texas; all times Hawaii time Tomorrow's first round » No. 7 Hawaii (25-6) vs. Texas State (17-14), 1 p.m. » No. 7 Texas (23-4) vs. LSU (21-7), 4 p.m. Saturday's second round » Tomorrow's winners, 2:30 p.m. Radio: UH matches live, KKEA (1420-AM) TV: Both matches live, KFVE (Ch. 5)

Kamana'o started this year sixth on the UH career assist list, and gradually moved past some great names in Hawaii setting -- Nikki Hubbert, Jen Carey, Cheri Boyer, Robyn Ah Mow -- before passing Martina Cincerova's mark of 4,637 (1985-88).

"I didn't even know about the record until reading about it the day before," said Kamana'o, who takes her 4,742 total into tomorrow's NCAA first-round match against Texas State (1 p.m. Hawaii time) in Austin, Texas. "I don't keep track of things like that.

"People like to compare me to Robyn (Ah Mow) and it's a great compliment. I idolize her. I was a floor-wiper (at Wahine matches) when she was playing. She is such a great setter, does things that make you go, 'Wow, how does she do that?' "

It's what teammates, coaches and opposing players have said about Kamana'o since her club days. She slid into the USA Volleyball national pipeline as easily as she runs the slide play, beginning with the youth national team while in middle school through last summer's stint with the national team in Europe.

"If Kanoe is not the best setter in the country, she is one of the best," Boise State coach Scott Sandel said after losing to the Wahine last Thursday. "She always keeps them in system, does a great job of controlling the tempo and the flow."

"She is arguably the best in the country," said Texas coach Jerritt Elliott, whose Longhorns could see Hawaii in Saturday's second-round match. "We looked at her very hard (during recruiting) but didn't think she'd leave the islands.

"She has something that most young setters don't have, a tremendous amount of savvy. She gets her hitters great swings, has got a game plan for every situation. She obviously has something going on upstairs.

"Kanoe always betters the ball. She is such an all-around player that it outweighs her being short. She blocks extremely well and she wins the battles when players try to go over her."

Listed at 5-foot-8 -- "in shoes," she says -- Kamana'o is the only player in the country averaging at least 13.5 assists, 2.5 digs and 1.0 blocks per game. She has 110 total blocks heading into tomorrow's match with the Bobcats -- third-best on the team -- including 10 solo blocks.

Two of the solos came during the WAC tournament, one where she stuck out an arm with her back to the net anticipating a dump shot by Utah State. Kamana'o touches 9-8 but figures adrenaline during a match adds to her jump.

"She is always surprising me, and not just her setting," said Wahine senior middle Victoria Prince, who is paired with Kamana'o on the right-side block during certain rotations. "That one-handed block she pulled out was amazing. And she hits the ball as hard as anyone on our team.

"You always hear teams saying 'Setter's up' so they can take advantage. With Kanoe, I'm pretty sure teams aren't saying, 'Go after the setter.' They're saying, 'Stay away from her.' "

While her blocking and dig numbers are impressive, Kamana'o's forte is her setting ability. Cross-court, combinations, quicks ... she can do it all -- and with such deception that her hitters usually have a single blocker or no block up at all.

"That's always fun," Kamana'o said. "What we've been working on this year is seeing where the block is on the other side of the net.

"You want to keep the blockers on the other side honest. When the blockers have no idea where the hitters are going, that is the best time."

Hawaii coach Dave Shoji, a former All-America setter, has long been impressed with Kamana'o, as a player and a person.

"She's just a very humble person, which is unusual in a setter," he said. "I've never heard her say she's the reason for a play working, for the team doing well. She always gives credit to her hitters and passers.

"I don't want to get into where she ranks among our great setters. All I can say is she's very special."

Kamana'o deflects the praise as smoothly as her one-armed block.

"Every award I get I think of as a team award," the Iolani School product said. "When I do get an honor, it's because I'm getting the job done, doing the job right.

"Without my passers getting me the ball, without my hitters hitting the ball -- it isn't an individual award."

Despite all the accolades, Kamana'o said she's nowhere close to where she wants to be as a setter.

"I have a lot more to learn," she said. "There's still things I can work on, so much more that I don't know.

"I'm not satisfied with where I'm at, learning-wise. There are things I can perfect. And I'm more willing to take risks now. Yeah, I do surprise myself sometimes. When I do take the risks, I hope it goes where I want it to go. There's a chance it might fail, but more often than not it goes where I want to go."

As for this season, Kamana'o knows she wants Hawaii to go farther than last year's team that was eliminated in the Sweet 16.

"We have the feeling that we can achieve more," she said. "It's not going to be easy; we have tough competition, beginning with Texas State.

"There's still more of the season to play. I'm not thinking about next year yet."