There’s no place like home

For all the reasons Deitre Collins-Parker had to like Emily Hartong this summer when she coached her on the United States A2 team — athleticism, coachability, that great grin — it was one moment off the court that Collins most remembers.

Hartong, Hawaii’s second-team All-American, came up to Collins, a three-time All-American who led the Rainbow Wahine to NCAA championships in 1982 and ’83, and simply said "I want to introduce myself."

Hartong knew who Collins was and the part she played in creating a volleyball program unlike any other in college. In a matter of moments, Hartong let Collins know how much she appreciates what she has.

"I am so partial to how the Hawaii girls act," said Collins, whose San Diego State team meets Hawaii on Friday’s opening night of the Verizon Volleyball Challenge. "I want to tell them you are so lucky. The Hawaii people are so amazing and they will love you forever. You need to appreciate that."

When she coached at Cornell before coming to SDSU 31⁄2 years ago — Collins signed a three-year contract extension in April — a group from Hawaii came to Harvard to cheer her on.

"It dumbfounds me that 32 years later people still care," Collins said. "That’s the part that is so awesome to come back to. It’s so awesome to come back with my husband and show him what I’m talking about. That’s the part I absolutely love and will always love."

It is not easy to forget Collins. As a senior, she became the first volleyball player to win the Broderick Cup, given to the finest female collegiate athlete. She was a starting middle blocker at the 1988 Olympics and is now in the AVCA Hall of Fame.

After a series of one-year assistant stints at three schools, she became UNLV’s head coach, then headed to Cornell, where her teams won three Ivy League titles.

Her SDSU team was 18-10 last year and second in the Mountain West, its best finish in a decade. The Aztecs have won their first five this season and are receiving votes in the poll.

They will join Hawaii in the Big West next year. Collins will be back on a regular basis. She is ecstatic, despite the fact she has never won here as a coach.

"I have really sucked in that area," she admitted. "What makes this trip so exciting is, honestly, I finally believe we have people who won’t be just so lost in the atmosphere in Hawaii."

She has ammunition. The Wahine are coming off their first loss, dropping to ninth in the rankings after falling to Cal on Sunday. And, transfer Michelle Waber is now SDSU’s big gun, earning MVP honors at the Aztecs’ first two tournaments. Waber started every match for Hawaii in 2010, but moved home last year to be closer to her ailing father.

Even Collins did not see Waber and her four-kills-a-set coming.

"Michelle is not a good practice player," Collins said. "Then in a game … it’s like I have never seen that play. I want to pull my hair out in practice, but she’s a gamer. She was so crucial in our win over Cal.

"When the game is on the line I trust Michelle."

Arizona setter Chloe Mathis also transferred in. The transfers have given Collins’ junior-dominated team a new no-fear outlook, to say nothing of competitive practices.

"I’m not walking in with a whole group of people who have not been here before," she said. "And, the goals are just different. No matter how bad Hawaii played Sunday, it was such great news for us in that there is hope here. They are not perfect.

"I’m just asking them to play hard and whatever happens, happens. Then do it the next night and the night after that."