Hawaii’s home volleyball schedule is finally set in "cement," according to coach Dave Shoji. The Rainbow Wahine’s road dates are firm within a few hours.
Now all Shoji needs is for the stars to align at the first practice Aug. 10.
The Wahine open Aug. 30 against NCAA champion Texas, one of seven opponents that played in the last postseason. Shoji should become his sport’s winningest coach the next week.
The final home date now "cemented" is Sept. 25, when Toyota Auto Body returns to the Stan Sheriff Center for an exhibition. Former Hawaii All-American Kanani Danielson plays for the Japanese pro team.
The exhibition comes two days before the Wahine’s Big West opener and follows four tournaments to open the season. The last is at Wichita State. Hawaii plays South Dakota, Creighton and WSU in the Shocker Classic.
UH lost in the NCAA’s second round last December and was 21st in the final NCAA RPI. Creighton was 24th, WSU 36th and South Dakota 161st.
"The preseason schedule is going to make our RPI workable," said Shoji, whose team won 20 of its last 21 last year. "We just need to win a majority of our preseason matches. I think the Big West will be stronger RPI-wise. It can’t be worse. Cal Poly will be better and they really dragged the whole league down last year. I’m predicting everybody will get more significant wins than we did last year."
Hawaii, which has led the country in attendance since 1994, needs all the help it can get to host one of the 16 subregionals. That has happened only once in the past nine years, despite seedings that have ranged from third to 17th (last season).
"Obviously we have to have a great season to host," Shoji said. "Last year we were still in the 16-17 area. Then you give the NCAA a choice. If your are eight or nine to 12 then you will be guaranteed a spot."
He comes into his 39th season with basically 51⁄2 returning starters. UH never found a reliable right-side hitter last year, and all-conference left side Jane Croson is now in Arizona.
Whether she will play this season might not be known until the Wildcats open. They have not won a postseason match since reaching the Elite Eight in 2005 and had 10 new players on their roster last year. They list nine now, including Croson, who could play against UH on Sept. 14 if she wins an appeal to get her release, and is eligible.
A week earlier, Hawaii could see Monica Stauber — Mita Uiato’s backup at setter the past two years — on the other side of the net. She was granted her release and is now on UCLA’s roster. Stauber’s former club coach, Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer, is Mike Sealy’s assistant at UCLA, along with Punahou graduate Stein Metzger.
"I don’t have a problem with it, I really don’t," Shoji says. "Things happen. We’ve taken transfers and obviously we’ve had transfers in the past, we’ve had people leave. You hate to see players leave after they become part of the family, but now it’s pretty much all about playing time, in Monica’s situation anyway."
The only way All-American Emily Hartong won’t play is if her "ankle issues" become a problem. The senior, who took a third of Hawaii’s swings last season, has not jumped since December. She is at "full strength" and cleared to play with "no restrictions," according to Shoji.
Uiato, an honorable mention All-American, and Ali Longo give Hawaii an edge over almost any opponent at setter and libero. The most pressing questions this season will be if the three returning middles can bring their games up another level and if Hawaii can find two more reliable weapons to complement the irrepressible Hartong outside.
Shoji is keeping it low-key as he seeks to replace Croson’s outrageous talents, which were tempered by suspensions and a .223 career hitting percentage. He is looking for a good passer on the left who can get three kills a game, block and raise the hitting percentage somewhere near .300.
On the right …
"We need some offense this year," he conceded. "There are a number of ways we can go. Tai (Manu-Olevao) had a great offseason. She can go left or right. Ginger Long improved drastically, even though she is still undersized. She can go left or right. Ashley Kastl also had a good spring and summer. She is much improved and more of a left.
"The unknown factor is (6-foot-3) Nikki Taylor. She can put up a wall over there and on the right if she doesn’t have to contribute in the back row. All she has to do is block and hit, so it’s not too much for a freshman to start over there. But I would say everybody is ahead of her right now."
Notes
» UC Santa Barbara named Nicole Lantagne Welch its new coach. She replaces Kathy Gregory, who retired in January.
Gregory coached the Gauchos the first 38 years of their program. She had 882 wins — fifth-most in NCAA Division I history — and a winning percentage of .681, highest all-time among UCSB coaches of any sport.
Welch was head coach the past 12 years at Miami, where Misty Ma‘a plays. Ma‘a, an All-State player at Kamehameha, saw action in 12 matches as a freshman.
UC Riverside’s new coach is Michelle Patton, who revived the San Francisco State program. Last season the Gators had the second-best winning percentage in history and went to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
» Dave Shoji’s sons, Kawika and Erik, are training with the national team in Anaheim, Calif., after playing in the FIVB World League. Their next major international competition is the NORCECA Continental Championship in Canada in September. It is a qualifier for November’s Grand Champions Cup. Kawika, recently engaged, will return to his pro team in Berlin for a third season. Erik is headed to Austria after playing a year in Germany.
