Monday checkin
appreciate all the help with links and analysis on previous tread. And the very entertaining ready.
Long travel day yesterday plus a story. plus booking for Des Moines.
So apologize for not getting to this sooner.
As mentioned, Team in College Station today. They were looking for light workout in the morning (trainer Tony Cox has them on regular schedule)
then light practice this afternoon before heading up to Des Moines Tuesday.
they were thinking of asking TAMU to use practice facility. Thought that a little bold but Shoji said being friends with the Corbellis would make it easy. Since i’m not with the team, can’t tell you how that went.
Technically have a day off this week, likely the only one until next week so will be back later. Like the Wahine, have laundry to do and get some stuff for this cold i’ve developed. .
BTW, the All-Region team comes out Tuesday. I believe UH is still grouped with the northern Pac-12 teams, MWC and WCC. Thinking that Taylor and Magill make the team and COY will likely go to BYU first-year coach Heather Olmstead. but you never know.
Best of luck and safe travels Ladies!
Play hard and play smart.
On to Des Moines!
I’m glad to hear that Tony Cox is with the team.
Cindy, are you back in Hawaii? Texas? Iowa? or set up shop on West Coast and back to Iowa later?
Also, curious if other schools have reporters and radio with them like UH does?
-Aloha!
Cindy, not sure in all the flurries if you saw the great question from Maka (apologies if I’m naming the wrong poster)? Maka was wondering whether the players felt the Europe trip helped them prepare for the stretch of tournament play on the road. Thanks.
Not sure if anyone feels the same, but I think the fact that UH was not seeded in the tournament actually helped them in the draw of opponents that got. Granted they would have been able to host the first two rounds, but I think after they probably would have been sent to the LA regional to face USC, which is far tougher than facing PSU on a neutral court. Not sure who the NCAA would have sent to Honolulu but I think both TCU and TAMU was a very doable first and second rounds compared to some that we have had in the past.
Unless they changed the WCC’s region this year, BYU is in that super rough Pacific South region. Uncertain.
Grew up (for a few years) in the Des Moines area so I wish I was there so I could see how much or how little that morbid city has changed.
GO BOWS!
Safe travels and all the best in Des Moines Ladies!
Exactly my thoughts ANDREW. When I saw the pairings come out, I was ecstatic. I felt we had a great draw being an unseeded team. Had we been seeded, Guaranteed we would have been sent to a region with USC or Washington or UCLA.
#4, #7 Agree, in hindsight, it has been a blessing in disguise! The downgrading of the wahines’ RPI has actually turned into an advantage this year. Go figure! Also, I think another unintended consequence is that the very real near lost to TCU appears to have put the wahines into a very sharp focus mindset – win or be eliminated! Psychologically, I think the team is in the right frame of mind to play their best! Timing is perfect. IMO, the team has already exceeded anyone’s expectations by reaching the Regional. Hopefully the team will play more freely without any undue pressure and burden as they have already succeeded as Shoji said in the TAMU post interview. Do it for themselves and play without reservation as you are already winners and have nothing to lose. Play loose, play smart, and have fun!
with the all-region teams being announced tomorrow, here’s the link to the info on the AVCA web site, including who’s in which regions, and the schedule for the release of the region, AA and POY/COY awards.
http://www.avca.org/awards/nominations/division-one/
Regressing to previous thread about nicknames.
Anon – Emily Maglio’s team mates do call her “Mags”.
I’ve heard Dave refer to Kalei Greeley as “KG”.
in looking at the box score for the TAMU game, it looks like the distribution of sets went to Taylor, McGill, Maglio, Greeley and Olevao in that order. I hope that this continues against future opponent. Olevao hit only .067 on Saturday and this Friday the block will be just as big and tough. Setters need to give the taller players more opportunities. Olevao’s height and inconsistency will hurt the team if she is fed too many sets.
Some interesting facts to consider in the matchup between the Wahine v Penn State:
AVCA ranking: 7. Hawaii
8. PSU
Tournament stats (2 games):
Kill % – .391 PSU
.299 Hawaii
Serve receptions % – .981 PSU
.964 Hawaii
Serve % – .927 Hawaii
.907 PSU
Blocks/Set – 2.7 PSU
1.8 Hawaii
Digs/Set – 15.0 Hawaii
13.1 PSU
IMO, this match against PSU will turn on TMO hitting smart, rather than pound the ball consistently and get blocked….and Kendra should play the front row. Her height and blocking ability will help counter PSU’s excellent Middles and OH’s.
seems like when taylor get twice the sets and OMG, Maglio, TMO and Greeley get about equal sets distribution works great.
Rich Kern’s US map of regions:
http://www.richkern.com/vb/schoolinfo/AVCANewRegions.asp?Region=All
10, regional selections … interesting carrot-and-stick approach. Coaches must vote in order for their players to be considered. Coaches must also vote for 14 players for their votes to count, AND those votes have to be for players on other teams. Smart/cynical.
Anyone have a link to Pablo? Also thanks to roofer68 for #15. Interesting tidbit, Pablo has UW just one point above UH (16 and 17, respectively).
Dave Shoji on 1420 with Chris & Gary….
Dave took the team to George Bush Presidential Library. Team didn’t want to go, but enjoyed it.
On TCU match: we couldn’t stop them, block was slow, TCU was fast. Game 3 finish (TCU 7-0 run) was demoralizing. It wasn’t coaching, the players turned the match around.
On Texas A&M match: scores make it look easy, but every point was hard fought. Played our best match of the year. Savanah dug A&M’s fast slide line shot repeatedly and “demoralized” A&M. Later, CMA’s one handed dig was incredible & sparked the team.
It was important to advance to Regional…prove the program can get to a Regional. Didn’t tell players that because he didn’t want to pressure the team.
On Penn State match coming up next: Watched film today. PSU is very talented. Physical at all positions. Will be tough for UH (size, great attack & block). PSU played tougher teams…are very physical. We can beat them at passing & ball control. PSU stronger at the net…need good passing to force PSU off the net. We have a chance. Need to play our best game again, rely on our strengths and exploit their weaknesses.
-Aloha!
Here are some fun facts about this year’s team; please enjoy:
1. In the three matches that went five sets, UH came back from 2 sets to 1 down each time, defeating Florida, LBSU and TCU. The only match UH failed to come back from 2-1 down was against UCLA, falling 28-26 in the fourth. This team knows how to come back from a deficit, and this team is conditioned.
2. It is well-known that UH is 29-0 in the second set this year. UH is also 3-0 in set 5 and 11-1 in set 4 (again, the UCLA loss). The worst sets are 1 and 3–UH’s record is 21-8 in each.
3. On senior night, Na Wahine played in front of 7,922 fans. Since then, over the course of 8 away/neutral matches, the team has played in front of 11,768 fans, cumulatively.
4. The player who has played in the most sets this season…Savanah Kahakai (100 out of 102). The only player to have started each of the 29 matches so far this season…Olivia Magill.
5. The five Wahine to have played in all 29 matches: Magill, Manu-Oleavo, Koelsch, Kahakai, and Clare-Marie Anderson.
6. Three players are averaging at least three points per set this year: Nikki Taylor (5.41), Olivia Magill (3.52) and Tai Manu-Olevao (3.05).
7. UH has the current highest win percentage in Div I NCAA (28-1, .966) and the current longest win streak at 23. Wisconsin has the second longest win streak at 14. Also, UH is on a 10-match road/neutral win streak. As bad as Fullerton is this year, someone else is worse. Savannah State is 0-31 this year, and has lost 34 straight dating back to last year.
8. The fewest points UH has held an opponent in any set this year occurred on October 3 at UC Riverside: 25-5 in set 3. UH swept the match.
9. As a team, UH has hit over .300 in 17 matches, including twice over .400. UH hit in the .200s nine times, and thrice in the .100s. UH’s .119 hitting performance against UCLA was its worst of the season.
10. Of the 17 matches in which UH has swept its opponents, UH hit over .300 fifteen times. The two exceptions: at home vs. SDSU (.205) and at Cal Poly (.234).
Finally, PSU and UH each have 10 players who are at least 6′ tall. For the first time in a while, UH is not “undersized”.
Feel free to add more…
18. Thanks for the interview summary.
I did very much enjoy. Thanks
12, 13…agree with your assessment. I am sure coach will notice if the tall and talented PSU start to take advantage of Higs front presence and TMO’s backrow inability and low hitting pct. he will bring Kendra in for Higs more and Granato and Castillo for TMO earlier. I think the team as a group playing just well or better than the TAMU match and TMO having no passing errors and hitting over .250 or better will result in a victory. So far our overall team efficiency has overcompensated for our errors, but not against a team as accomplished as PSU…Go Bows…”We are not done yet!” We are all PROUD of all of you!!
Some ESPNw mention of UH (#2/3):
http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/14312123/5-things-need-know-ncaa-women-volleyball-regionals
Articles confirmed that the UH/PSU match is the second of the night in Des Moines
18. Mahalo for the interview notes. Sounds like Dave really has a lot of confidence in the Wahine.
19. Wow, Maverick, where do you get all that good stuff?! Much mahalos for the kewl info. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Hi Cindy,
I hope you get well soon! Thanks for all you do for us volley fans!
#22 I would not count on Casey playing. She is emergency only. If Coach has groomed her during the season then maybe yes. Just like Kendra, hasn’t played much lately. So of course her sets been a little off.
19. Maverick. How about this? Of the 10 players that UH has that are 6′-0″ and taller, 5 are starters with 3 possible subs (Kendra, Castillo, McKenna). Mitchem and Burns are out so that gives us a possible 80% usage of those 10 players. Would you know what PU’s utilization is?
Cindy,
If it’s possible and appropriate, could you get the ‘Bows media page with the team roster (and name break-outs) to the ESPN announcers; they are mangling TMO and Khakai’s names. These girls deserve national recognition and an appreciation of how unique they are; it is such a thrill to the Wahine Ohana and the sport of volleyball.
Thanks for your efforts.
Aloha,
Timark Hamilton
One thing that was good for Hawaii against A&M was that A&M is not a particularly hard serving team. Penn state averages twice as many aces per set and gives up half as many aces per set compared to A&M. Even against A&M, UH did get caught in a bad rotation and give up five straight. Was that the same rotation has against TCU when they dropped seven straight points?
22…you are correct but maybe that emergency might or might not happen in the Regionals. We were able to get by TAMU but PSU is bigger, more talented, been there, and done it back to back…I always agree that you don’t change if it’s not broken, but if the worst scenario occurs regardless of a players PT experience you have to do whatever it takes to advance…change is hard but if you believe in your talent, you may find that “diamond in the rough” if that situation presents itself. As the tournament gets tougher sometimes we got to adapt to the competition.. just talking story but hope it doesn’t resort to that.
Would anyone agree that passing will be one of the keys to staying with Penn State, being in system? As to the team and the tournament, imho, they should remember that playing in the tournament is a privilege, one that they earned. Most importantly, they should be playing for each other first, have the maturity to know to play their best on every play, because those are the memories they will take with them for the rest of their lives. And after Texas A&M, they should have the confidence to know that if they play their best, it doesn’t matter who the next opponent is.
No. 28, just to talk story, imho, the approach of “don’t change if it’s not broken” is never a good one. Think that attitude has led to many a company being “passed” because of their unwillingness to change or adopt new approaches, new technology, or whatever the case might be. Imho, one should always think that there might be better ways to do anything, regardless of how long it has been done “that way”. So I agree, change is hard, and as a coach, you have to believe in your talent. Then, it’s only natural that the player will respond to that confidence and belief you have in them. That belief in the players will translate to their doing whatever the coach asks of them, anywhere, anytime. Just my two pennies, nothing more.
26. This is what I’ve gathered from the PSU-Dayton match. PSU starts 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. Subs in a 6-2. Another 6-1 played in one set but not the first. Three 6-2 redshirt FR or FR saw no playing time. So I guess 70% actual utilization according to your post.
29/30, I was actually thinking that as this team has progressed this year, the women have shown that they play for each other first. The way they bend themselves in offense and defense, hit the floor to keep a rally alive, chase down and salvage balls … I think that shows their heart and how they are taking risks for the team.
Totally agree with your idea that players feed off the confidence of their coaches, and I’d add that when it is working, the whole trust-and-confidence cycle is not only a coach-player dynamic but also among the players themselves.
Any word on the playing status of Annie?
Hmm..I check a couple threads back and this caught my attention…
Bleachercoach December 5, 2015 at 4:38 pm
I love the picture of Kendra holding Granato. That is and appears the epitome of this year’s team. Very Businesslike, no drama problems, just Love!
Hey Bleachercoach do you still have that paper? Perhaps you can post that picture to showcase what Na Wahine need to do? “Very Businesslike, no drama problems, just Love!”
Go BOWS!
Looking at another blog on the flexibility question… No question PSU has that distinct advantage with the depth they have… Ours is a problem of very little flex even with a few good bench players we have… And that’s a coaching decision.
Problem about talking height with this Wahine team is that 6’1″ and 6’3″ across sounds good until you throw in a 5’7″ puka. And I really question whether our 6’0″ is more like 5’10/11″ — when she stands next to Magill and Koelsch it looks like a pretty big difference.
Yup, Magill & Taylor Pacific North All-Region!
Magill named All-Region for a third time.
Other Hawaii girls recognized….Carly Kan of Missouri and Penina Snuka of Arizona. Was disappointed that Kalei Mau of Arizona was relegated to Honorable Mention. I think next year both Savanah Kahakai and Emily Maglio will be recognized. Both have made tremendous strides since the beginning of the season
38. The AVCA page indicates that this is Magill’s third honor, but I can’t find her name in the 2012 and 2013 All-Region teams.
http://hawaiiwarriorworld.com/?p=34776
new link up for Tuesday, all-region picks