Hawaii-Santa Clara rewind
Quite the night. Was stuck writing on deadline, the rewriting.
sorry that I couldn’t offer live posts.
Banachowski stayed out of it until Shoji called him out of the stands. Thought Shoji did a really nice job of his post match speech. was funny and humble.
anyway, UH hit 303 for set 4, ended up 12-6.5 edge in blocks. after being outblocked 3-0 in Set 1. UH had 6 blocks in Set 2
They are re-doing the box cause it has the wrong final score. 25-18. should be 25-17. not sure if it affects the kills or what.
Taylro 2-1-0, Vorster 10-0-13, 3 BA
Manu-Olevao 6-5-21
Uiato 5-0-7, Hartong 20-8-54, Adolpho 8-4-15, Goodman 3-0-3, Tuaniga 0-1-2, Kastl 1-0-5. 4 aces, 2 SE. 60 digs, 14 by Hartong, 13 by Longo.
Santa Clara hit 119 in Set 4. Â Hess 19-8-54, Anders 13-5-3
4 aces, 12 SE, 48 digs.
most impressive was in Set 4, it was 14-14. UH finished it out 11-3 run. something that hasn’t happened for a while.
Thought Hartong took over at the end. some great defense on both sides. Times like tonight when I wish I could enjoy the match more but just get so busy now with the online stuff.
We’ll see how the team comes back tomorrow. It was a pretty emotional night. But they finished it on a high note, playing really well at the end. The speed of the offense in Set 4 was very quick and Hawaii made all the right plays.
Have a good night.
I hope Taylor and Manu-Olevao step it up big time tomorrow, 8 kills between both of them will not be enough against UCLA.
Karsta Lowe really worries me, she has been on fire to start the season and she’s exactly the type of player UH has had problems stopping in the past.
Hartong and Lowe basically offset each other. UCLA may have a slight advantage with Reeves as OH2, but I think Hawaii can and will win because Vorster and Adolpho are much better offensively than UCLA’s middles.
We’ll see if Shoji stacks the block against Lowe since they rarely set the middle.
Somebody needs to step up,they are depending on Hartong too much.Lowes going to be fun,she’s a lefty, and for some reason UH have problems with leftys’. (My opinion of course)
Agree with everyone. Can’t be all Hartong. And after all that whining by Dedicatedfan about Olevao missing the match and being the difference maker in the San Diego loss, she really hasn’t been a factor. Saw the value that Kawamura brings with her serve, and hoping Shoji gives the top DS job to Mendoza. Long isn’t undersized to play front row, she is just too inconsistent, and sadly, perhaps not good enough at this level.
Believe Wahine need to establish Emily as the primary go to threat. Emily carries the load well and seems to get stronger as the match continues, everything else follows. At the end of the day, Emily is the “big gun.” Towards the end of the season we should observe more balance as other hitters deliver unconscious confidence, as Jade produced to help end game 4. Let’s not overlook how well both Ali and Katie are playing in the back row. -Go Rainbows – Go Wahine
USD defeats #18 Illinois 3-1.
hartong will draw defenses to her. this, in theory, should open things up for other hitters. but last night, there were times when uiato when to her other hitters, and they just couldn’t put it away. i suspect they will get better at finishing over the course of the season, especially taylor and olevao. the middles are better as well, the passing just needs to hold up to be able to go to them more. adolpho is proving she can be a terminator in the middle, and vorster, although not powerful, hits for a high percentage.
Posters keep saying that Ginger Long and Keani Passi are “undersized” as outside hitters. Yet, San Diego has two 5’9″ outside hitters who are doing extremely well this season. San Diego may be ranked in the top five if it beats USC next week in it own tournament. You can succeed at the top level of Division I volleyball and be shorter than 6 feet—example, Kanani Danielson and Kim Willoughby, who were two of the greatest Wahine of all time.
Agree about the middles. Cindy was right about Kalei improving a lot! She really does hit the ball hard and her step out is quick. Vorster doesn’t hit as hard as Kalei but she really seems to see the perfect to hit the ball…her kill % so far this year has been amazing. Either way, its nice to have 2 strong middles each with their own strengths!!
I think it took the whole first game for Hawaii to figure out the Santa Clara attack, as there were no blocks in set one.
As for Long, she doesn’t appear to possess the athletic abilities to overcome her being “undersized”. The others that were undersized made it up in quickness and jumping ability. To be fair we haven’t seen enough of Long yet.
Tai has shown good attacking ability but needs to consistently pass at a better level to really contribute. She does have some powerful hits. I wonder who is stronger her or Hartong?
Nikki Taylor has slowed down a bit from the first weekend. It does that the sets to her dies a little causing her to have to hit cross court. I would like to see that set go a couple more feet toward the antennae so she can hit her powerful line shot.
Kalei has got to be the most improved. Wow. Quick to the outside on the slide and hitting so powerfully.
8. it remains to be seen how well Passi (5-10) will do
Long is undersized. listed at 5-11, not sure about that. and you cannot compare her to either Willoughby (5-11) or Danielson (5-10, both of whom have great verticals. It is why they are both playing professionally.
As for USD’s 5-9 hitters. they are doing well.They hit smart, tool the block well, fit perfectly in the 6-2 offense.
10. I hate to agree but maybe Long will get more playing time elsewhere or maybe she should concentrate on beach volleyball where she has more of a future.
13. Long has a great spirit, looks good on the 3-meter attack, good serve. Maybe needs to be more consistant at passing.. She could be a star on another program but not here. Still, her dream is to play for the Wahine. and she is.