Wednesday: Shoji on Curran’s show
Shoji is scheduled to be on around 8:03 after the traffic report.
People complained the last time that they didn’t get a chance to ask Shoji a question, which isn’t really the format of the morning show. But if you have a question, suggest you call the show ahead of time and ask Bobby to ask your question.
296-1420.
COMMENTS
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You’re welcome to help with the recap.
Shoji spoke about the loss, how he enjoys competing agains Sealy and that they did a good job at taking away what UH likes to do. Looking forward to playing Florida. win or lose will help the RPI. Would like it to be a win. Doesn’t think Flordia will lose this season, maybe once, before the NCAA tourney, will run the table again in the SEC.
expanded on the ‘frustrated with the same players making the same mistakes.’ more that after all the things players have been taught and practiced that they revert to bad habits or what they used to get away with in high school.
spoke a little about Mitchem and how she’s grown and adjusted, but also learning that what she used to do at the JC level she won’t get away with now in terms of the speed of the game and hitting over the block. now she is seeing faster teams and bigger blocks.
said they want to get Huff more time but trying to do it without having the move Taylor back to the left. And that they’ll give Koelsch a longer look in a game.
Oh and how great the crowd was, especially against UCLA. That they didn’t quit on the team even when down 24-20. wished they could have taken it to five.
Shoji said … Mitchem’s JC set her slower in the middle. Prob because she was so much more physical, but that also didn’t help speed up her footwork. Also, I’ve noticed she doesn’t make herself available to the setter beyond initial play. She just needs time to speed everything up.
Said something about watching tape to see how Sealy took away things UH liked to do.
Been waiting to see more of Koelsch to see how she performs for at least a full set. Go Wahine !!! No sca-dem !
These is NO WAY we can run a 6-2 people. To run a 6-2, both OH have to be quality 6 rotation players. The only one we have is greeley and maybe Granato, who’s not ready to play full time IMO. Taylor may become one, but she’s not there yet. I would try her on the left against SDSU and have huff on the right, as see how it works, but no way in a 6-2.
I know for coach the decisions to be make especially with your captains not playing up to expectations brings about making some tough choices. They have given every opportunity to show they “totally” deserve that position. Sometimes things just don’t work out and we have to do for what is the “best interest” of the TEAM not individual. I also believe if some of these past starters don’t start they will raise their level of play because they have to truly prove themselves. In my opinion, the only 2 truly deserving starters is Nikki Taylor and Kalei Greeley… They make mistakes but are the most steady and contributes more assets than liabilities of all the starters. Every woman on the team can play volleyball , but it is just the ones who can set themselves apart being consistent more often and coach finding the right chemistry (girls) on the court at the same being more than a one dimensional athlete.
#5 don’t forget about Olivia. she in my opinion solidifies her position. she’d be more of a threat offensively if Taylor would set her a high hittable ball. so Nikki, Kalei, & Olivia should still have their starting spots locked in. everyone else i believe needs to prove themselves.
2. oh thought he said that Sealy has always watched a lot of tapes.
4. did anyone mention a 6-2? said yesterday that Shoji said a 6-2 is not under consideration. He said that he wants to see more of Koelsch, meaning let her set a whole set. Or at least that was my interpretation.
one other thing I took away from yesterday was that positions might be ‘open’ but it doesn’t mean those who were starting aren’t earning their spots back this week.
we’ll see who is out there Thursday. Doesn’t mean it will be the same lineup that ends the match or starts against Florida
just my 2 cents:
would like to see Koeslch play an entire set, see Guinasso or Anderson @ Libero or in longer for defensive specialist
and pretty much agree w/ #5 & 6.
thank you for all you do Cindy!
Taylor ranks 2nd in the nation in Points Per Set and 7th in Kills Per Set.
Hawaii is 6th in Kills Per Set (Florida is 1st) and 11th in Blocks Per Set.
This team has talent but seems like Shoji has to do more coaching than some other teams. Perhaps, the leadership is not vocal enough among the players. They got closer from the trip but I don’t see someone fire them up like Longo. They need someone to step up.
You “arm chair QBs” are spot on.
Baby G or Anderson are potential ALL Conference type players. They have a quality and a combination of skilled hands and fluid movement to the ball that is special. Either could replace Kahakai or at least one at any time should be in the back row.. They certainly are better ball handlers than Granato.
Both are under utilized.
Koelsch needs to play an entire set or IMO start.. Annie Mitchem is clearly the best middle. Period. Magill is limited on O and the pass has to be perfect for her to convert. She is OK on D but I believe both Maglio and Michem are better on D.
Huff is a story line ready to happen. Most fans saw what she did in wahine BB when given a chance. In a word, she is an awesome athlete. To start a senior with a poor and inconsistent record over a future STAR begs for reason. Im at a loss and Shoji deserves better. He needs to learn what stock brokers acknowledge and warn– do not fall in love with your favorites.
#6…yep you are absolutely correct on Olivia…I still love Maglio best when she double blocks to the outside with Nikki Taylor or Huff…She closes well…
Coach Shoji will be on Call-The-Coach on ESPN1420 next week tuesday (I think). This year its at the LaSalle Room at the Pagoda Hotel. So all the experts can call in or better yet go down there and criticize Shoji’s decisions and strategy to his face…
One loss, doesn’t make a season…, however, having five wins over solid teams is a great beginning.
This team is a least 2 deep in all positions allowing for “change,” coach has always demonstrated his ability to “adjust” during games and his ability to develop players.
This is a situation that begs patience. Need to take one game at a time and freely substitute to take advantage of the team’s depth. Go WAHINE!
#11 IMO, the current starters and formations are the best and will likely be retained. To me, Dave is serving notice that he will no longer hesitate to bench starters that he sees falling back to old habits. Like to see if Mitchem at M1 can make step out threat real enough to help our OH, but it will be tough call as Maglio is showing real growth. Think Huff will still be coming off the bench – but quicker and more often. No changes at libero/DS but incoming 2016 libero Emma Smith is another story. Now don’t go ballistic, this is just speculation for entertainment and fun – right?
The changes I’d want to see in the starting lineup is Nikki on the left and Megan on the right. Emily does a slide and needs to make herself more available by communicating with the setter. Tomorrow night is a good time to experiment.
11. don’t know how you can say Mitchem is clearly the best middle. She may eventually be but not now.
Taylor too effective on the right to move. Today’s practice Huff is on the left.
currently Koelsch’s side has Mitchem, Taylor, Greeley, Granato. Maglio, Guinasso. Ponce.
Higgins has Huff, Magill, Manu-Olevao, Kahakai, Castillo, Anderson.
But that was before water break they have switched setters with the rest of the players the same.
BYU needed 5 against Idaho State. After losing Set 1 25-7, Bengals came back to win Sets 2 and 3.
#18 Watching it right now in So. CA on BYU network.
#16. So you want Nikki, our best OH to become a primary passer. I would serve her every time – short and long.
Also eliminate her as an option on the D set.
claire does make an excellent passer and defender besides her steady serving. remember she was actually primary libero in her days at punahou. in contrast to kahakai who was a prolific outside hitter for her farrington governors.
Interesting with the two lineups and having the setters switch sides. Just glad Dave is taking a re-look at everyone to see what’s the best lineup.
#20 Why eliminate Nikki as option on D set? It works when not so predictable and even better when MH is setting up for a slide. Great 1-2 punch to split the block. Now…if we can just get the slide working.
Cindy, did you see anyone working the slide this week? Thanks for all you do!
Like another poster said, Annie needs to make herself available to get a set and demand it from the setter. Get aggressive. She still looks a little scared out there and that will pass. I just hope sooner rather than later. Once she gets used to the game, she will be our best middle. Not yet. But…I strongly believe she has to play a lot more to get comfortable. Playing 1 set a match, or playing and not getting set (hello, game 4 against UCLA), is not going to make her better.
Huff…oh Huff. She just ooooozes star power. Another one that just needs playing time. And once she gets it I just know she is going to be a star…I have no doubt. She just has that intangible quality that you can’t teach. She needs to play. And if that is at left, so be it. We have DSs that can come in for her in the back row.
oh man…steve/laura is all over volleytalk right now dissing Shoji and Cindy. This dude/dudette is a true psycho. Thank goodness we don’t have to deal with that here.
20. Anything but the Olevao/Granato on the left. 6 kills/9 errors ain’t cutting it when playing bigger/better teams. May work against the weaker BW teams but not in post season. As someone mentioned Huff with a DS on the left may work too. A bigger key as brought up by many is getting Mitchem/Maglio getting the slide in motion, giving the outsides one on one looks.
It would not make sense. Moving Nikki to the left and having Huff on the right. Moving a player who is having tremendous success where she is and having her to get comfortable and confident in another. Another player not playing much would be better just learning the left with real game experience. Practice means a lot however some players are game players and some are practice players.
25. certain posters have been blocked by our web administration for cause on all our blogs. I, Stephen, Dave, et al do not have the authority to do so. So if you read the Terms of Service posted above the comment box, those are the guidelines that are used.
When discussing VolleyShots on The Animals yesterday, Gary said he found it very entertaining. I said the biggest issue was keeping it civil. Thank you all for keeping it so.
25. so yes, just had to go look.
One thing I will agree on. I miss Ann Miller too. I miss having two papers and giving fans different perspectives and more stories.
Thing is we never considered ourselves competitors in the true since she was writing for the morning cycle and I the afternoon. before online editions, readers always got to see stories first. Her approach had to be more ‘hard’ news on game nights. She was up against some very tight deadlines and sometimes couldn’t get quotes in.
On the other hand, my approach had to be what they call ‘softer’ or ‘feature-y’ because readers already knew the score and stats. My thought was that I had to be a better story-teller because I had more time to write.
Probably TMI but I do miss her and I miss where I had the luxury of not having a later deadline.
What I find odd is that some of these very detractors have no problem using our things, such as stories, photos, videos, blog observations and then try to pass those off as their own. Bothered by the lack of attributions which could be considered plagiarism in some cases and copyright infringement in others.
Cindy, I’ve always been curious about the process of HOW you write your stories on game night. Do you write it as the game progresses? Take notes and then write it after its over?
30. depends. while i do keep my own play-by-play with notes, i also use my updates on the blog to help me keep track of some things. Sometimes the lead comes to me early and I can write abound that. sometimes I keeping think of a lead while I’m writing the story and go back to ‘top’ it.
I am doing recaps of each set that will be used to fill out the story should I only have 10 minutes to get it in because of an early deadline. that is less analysis and just straight facts.
Sometimes I’ve been on such a tight deadline that when a match goes five, I am writing two leads that reflect which team wins.
When it’s an early match like 5 p.m. Sundays, I am heavy on quotes and less on play-by-play.
I also immediate post a breaking news story online that is about three paragraphs with just the basics. I try to get that in within 2-3 minutes of the final play.
on a side note Cindy: caught you on the radio (AM) station talk show… we enjoyed listening to you on our drive home. Thought you had great “insight” of Na Wahine.
31. Wow Cindy, that’s tight. When I worked as a production scheduler on the mainland, we always had to have “just in case” plans/scenarios ready to go to keep our production lines running. But I don’t believe my window for reaction was measured in a few minutes like yours is.
32. On the side note, are you on the radio on a regular basis? If so, when?
Keep up the great work!
Nice article on Mitchem, Cindy. Do you know if she was training at IVC during the off season before she arrived here? Was she on a strength/conditioning program?
I would not be surprised to see only minor changes to tonights lineup. It may simply be that, this early in the season, the best players are the ones playing now. They just need to step it up and play smarter as a team. The newer players may not be ready until later in the season.
A big upset. North Carolina with a losing record of 1-4 just swept Stanford, the #3 rated team in the nations. Watched it. Granted that the team lost Inky Ajanaku and Jordan Burgess seemed to have gotten hurt at the beginning of the match. Still Stanford has so many top ten recruits that have not really played up to their hype.
“revert to bad habits or what they used to get away with in high school … what she used to do at the JC level she won’t get away with now”. Here are my two pennies – Imo, coaches’ confidence extends to the players. Repetition with the right fundamentals critical before the body learns and ingrains it into play. And you can’t argue with the success of coaches who know how to bring out the best in their players.
Tonight is the night to try out new lineup and not go with old one. you need to get your best team ready for Florida and you need to try new combinations to see if they can perform. if you leave the same players in the lineup, we will not improve to the level needed to compete with the best teams in the nation. #34 the best players are not some of the ones playing now.
Just a thought. How’s Mitchem’s serve? She was a six rotation player so she got to serve in JC. Brittany Hewitt was a decent serving middle.
I have witnessed staff on the SA take clever storylines from bloggers and expand it into an article. Not exactly plagiarism, but still, they are stealing a unique thought. It goes both ways. I do enjoy your coverage as it allows fans to vent. Although I disagree with you more than 50% of the time.
5-11, OH Kim Willoughby and Colt Brenan were outstanding athletes and great examples of Annie Mitchem. Neither knew what they were doing when they first got here. Shoji and JJ both saw outstanding capabilities. They played and received on-the-job training. Colt told everyone, like Annie, he had no clue and he relied on his assets and instincts. The following year both Kim and Colt had break out seasons. I could say the same with Kendra Koelsch, Clare-Marie, Baby G and Huff. They all deserve a shot. Their individual athleticism speaks for itself..
#38 It is a long stretch. Kim Willoughby was a HS AA and State Player of the Year, as well as one of the most sought after HS players in the nation. Mitchem was the Senior Prep #16 in 2012. Clearly, both know how to play. Annie just needs more playing time.
Like to see Kendra start tonight, also like to see Castillo have some time.
Don’t think its going to happen though.
39. you’re welcome to share your examples of taking stuff from bloggers. be interested in who did what first.
new thread up for EWU Fla.
http://hawaiiwarriorworld.com/?p=33072