Tuesday checkin
As mentioned before closing out Monday thread, no injury updates. but should know a little more after seeing team/staff in an hour or so.
Until then …
COMMENTS
Comments are closed.
As mentioned before closing out Monday thread, no injury updates. but should know a little more after seeing team/staff in an hour or so.
Until then …
With the Wahine on the road for the entire month of November, senior night is on November 1st. Well not on road for ALL of November. The key match will be at Long Beach State. So long as Nikki is healthy, the Wahine would be okay, knock on wood. Road wins contribute more to RPI, so I hope the Wahine make it all the way to number 16 RPI. If even at number 16 the NCAA denies the Wahine a sub-regional at home, then we know the guys in Indianapolis have it out for us. Of course we have to win out. At this point there is no doubt the Wahine will make the NCAA tournament. It’s a question of where they play. Two at home and five on the road will give the Wahine a 25-1 record going into the tournament, not trying to count the chickens before they hatch of course.
Cindy, caught you on Bobby. I think your explanation as to how and why UH schedules their volleyball matches to co-exist with the rest of the athletic dept. was very fair to all parties involved. I still say that the last road trip was above and beyond being accommodating.
2 Ron: Thank you for shedding light on that boot camp schedule. I guess it shows that despite having the most successful program in UH Athletics (I’m guessing), that Coach remains humble enough to be that accomodating.
1. There seems to be some confusion about road games and RPI. RPI does not account for road wins, home losses, or any other location issues. Road wins don’t contribute any more to RPI than home wins, all other things being equal.
Thank you Cindy for your kind words from the previous thread.
During the aftermath following a wretched battle in Europe, two weary US soldiers, standing on the edge of a muddy, shell pocked road, noticed a jeep with a 3-star emblem attached to its front plates as it crawled unceremoniously pass a line of troops .
That’s ole’ “Blood and Guts” himself” noted the private (Gen George S. Patton), “yeah” his buddy remarked, “Our blood, his guts”.
Shoji may have the humility to schedule a conference accommodating road grind, but IT’s the wahine that play the 6 in 15.
#2 Ron, am chance you can recap the explanation to those of us who missed Cindy on Bobby’s radio show. Thanks in advance if you. If not, no worries.
Looking ahead, the Wahine will be facing tough competition to close the season, not sure how that will affect them during tourney play. They’ll have lots of school work to catch up on and then hit the road again (of course, hoping otherwise). Looks like a lots of players are gaining valuable experience. Thought Granato’s overall stint was very good, she’s needs to adjust as her opponents adjust to her; thus, her time on the court was valuable. Mitchem continues to show she’s a gamer, games and situations as they are, she’ll play more valuable minutes as the season grows. IMO, Kahakai and Maglio are co-most improved players so far and in a BIG way (impacting outcomes of games). -Go Wahine
You have to concentrate on things you can control. How other teams end up playing obviously is not.
Tongo, I would rather have Cindy make her own statements. I don’t want to mis-quote or take things out of context. I just thought that when I was listening to her, she made sense.
First things first, no real update on injuries other than Taylor will see a doctor later today to make sure she is cleared to practice Wednesday. This morning mostly was a training room day
Go Green features this week is on the workout program that has the Wahine, for lack of a better word, so fit this season. Tommy Heffernan spoke with me and Jason Kaneshiro this morning about it and how proud they are when the team is successful in the weight room and on the court. Since we are rarely allowed in the weight room didn’t know that each sport has pictures of the athletes who hold the records for things like bench, squat, shuttle run. Three photos I caught a quick glimpse were Danielson, Kahakai and Hartong. Heffernan didn’t want to name who he considered the best, said the Wahine had many great athletes. But he mentioned training room work ethic usually translated into becoming All-Americans such as Danielson, Hartong, Willoughby, Kamana’o and Kahumoku. And Bown, Ah Mow, Ljungquist etc.
#11, looking forward to your coverage of the fitness program.
#10 No worries. Thank you.
As for Bobby’s show, live radio is always an adventure. never know what will be asked and it’s hard to work out the timing when on the phone because of the delay.
Thanks for the kind words, Ron.
Bobby asked about the injuries, tried to give a recap of those and agreed that this was a good week to have off.
He asked about the RPI and I said that my blog knows more than I do because I don’t understand how and why the NCAA is trusting computer rankings and not going more on common sense. Addressed Arkansas State specifically at No. 13, a team who lost to Missouri but beat everyone else, and no one of significance. said I thought the Big West was better than the Sun Belt so that I just didn’t get it. And not when you have three teams with 7 losses rated ahead of UH.
We discussed the schedule to close out the year and how Nov. 1 might be the last time people see this team at home. Said it was a combination of factors, cost as well as conflicts with football and basketball. That Shoji didn’t want to be playing on a Wednesday night or at 2 p.m. Sunday, because of how it would impact the fans. which in turn impacts the attendance and money related to that.
And that if they played either prior to or after a basketball game, no time to put down the Terraflex which is their preferred playing surface.
Said he decided to go with two road trips instead of three to close it out and that some of that was to save money.
Bobby asked if Uh would be sent to Washington again. So we went through the RPI and discussed who was top 8 and that UW would be in contention as a Top 16 currently. Said I didn’t think UH would get sent to USC again but that if they went strictly regional, that USC, UCLA and … for now … ASU were options. We both agreed that no one wanted to play at BYU.
I said going to UCLA wouldn’t be bad depending on who else was in the subregional. and if they kept UH in the San Diego regional it would be good.
Spoke a little about injuries and how well the Wahine have been recovering, particularly where Higgins is concerned. Mentioned that the Davis coach was surprised about her mobility during warmups and that it had to do with how well Higgins did when working hard with her rehab.
Since we both covered men’s basketball when Phil Martin was playing, we discussed the painful rehab he went through but that, forget the correct name but it was electric stimulus. I mentioned the Phil probably had to oddest set of sports that he played growing up: basketball and curling.
Let me know if I forgot anything and I can recap that. Be back around 230
Considering the last bunch of matches are all on the road, could you see that as possibly affecting them possibly both mentally and physically in the NCAAs? I know the team must be used to traveling but going back and forth like that and staying that long on the road could take a toll on them.
Imo, think NCAA is trying to build the sport. Can power conferences hypothetically exist even now in volleyball, by virtue of the final seedings? Volleyball is the one sport where the probability of an “unranked” team beating a top ten team is a lot better than in football. Power conferences is a remote possibility if……
DON’T KNOW ABT WT. TRAINING FOR SOCCER, BUT OUR PLAYERS SEEMED A STEP SLOWER THAN THEIR OPPONENTS. THE FATHER OF A SCHOLARSHIP PLAYER SAYS SHE SEEMED SLOWER NOW THAN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
Why we eat da hogs.
Every year in Hawaii, while nearing post season play for wahine VB, Ed Murray’s ghostly ground hog day makes its ugly appearance in the form of RPI DAY. But, unlike the Hollywood script, each annual appearance gets nastier, rather than better. There has to be a cure to this curse.
Blog-o-mate Maverick suggests that selecting teams from RPI rich conferences in preseason Tournaments held at home might improve Hawaii’s RPI. Reasonable.
Shoji’s body blockers say he has legit excuses (no surprise).
Dont question da masta. No can!
Scratch that solution.
Than there are others who say, Man the Torpedoes, full steam ahead, no scad ’em bra, we goin’ win.
Optimism has its limits. That rarely works. Ask Norm Chow.
Still others grouse, RPI aside, Shoji needs a tall lineup whether we play at home or on the road we will need to match up against Sequoias. So, start playing the tall reserves.
Then the “real fans” scream, “we cant do that bc our greats of the past were all under 6 feet. Let the coaches coach and the arm chairs should kuli-kuli”.
Ouch! That wont work.
So, this is what I suggest, a Trumpian move… build a wall and eat da freaking hogs!
I commend Mr. Shoji for trying to accommodate the other sports. Is this the year to do so? They seem to have come together so well that it would seem a shame if their performance in November is affected by the traveling they are going to do.
I wish RPI would include revenue that post season hosting could bring in. Some of the gyms are a lot smaller than the SSR unless they host in another venue other than where they play. I just remember watching the game in Nebraska (before their new center) and thinking it was small.
The team is close and hopefully they will embrace and support each other during the road trips ahead.
#18 You have your opinions and the right to them but it is apparent that you have a huge dislike towards Coach Shoji. I guess your opinions go beyond being an arm chair quarterback.
#1Reggie, what about the match @ Cal Poly as a concern?
I know the RPI is a boring subject but it is a boring week with Na Wahine having a bye.
Somewhere I read that the NCAA considers rpi 70 the probable cutoff point for selecting NCAA Championship teams which do not automatically qualify for the postseason action.
Thus, if this were 2012 or 2013 and you were hired to select opponents for the 2015 nonconference season, would you have been wise to stick with teams from the Power-5? Answer: Yes? Or No?
Big Ten: An amazing 11 of its 14 teams are in the Top 70 … YES: 78% chance of picking a Top 70 and the hired gun picked conference bottom-feeder Iowa (10-11, 0-8, rpi 42!).
Big 12: A J-Woww wow 7 of its 9 teams are in the Top 70 … YES: 77% chance of picking a Top 70, but did the UH contract killer schedule any Big 12er? Nope.
Pac-12: Just-as-amazing 9 of its 12 teams are in the Top 70 … YES: 75% chance of picking a Top 70, which our sharpshooter did by scheduling 3rd-in-conf-standings UCLA (15-3, 6-2, rpi 5), but which was washed away by him/her selecting 10th-in-conf-standings Oregon St(4-14, 2-6, rpi 136).
ACC: 8 of the 15 league members made the Top 70 … YES: 53% chance of picking a Top 70, but our marksman/woman was off the mark in not selecting anyone from the ACC.
SEC: 4 of the 13 schools are in the Top 70 … NO: Only 30% chance, much too iffy, but fortunately our professional hit man/woman picked Florida (rpi 3), which falls into the tried-and-true SEC schools (as is Kentucky).
#14 Thank you Cindy for the recap. It makes a lot of sense and I can now see why Shoji scheduled the way he did. I appreciate his concerns for the fans and the financial ramification for UH. It is no wonder that the program has done so well for so long. We remain in very capable hands.
Hope Annie is okay and I’d like to see her take reps on the left. She had 13 digs in just 3 sets playing backrow. offensively she made too many errors but I think she will just keep on improving the more she plays. I wonder how her passing is.
as was stated in earlier blogs, annie mitchem injured her hand early in the match and did not inform the staff and played on. I also wondered why she was a little off offensively till it was explained about the injury. taking that into consideration I now think she is to be commended for the way she played. coach shoji said that she was the best player in the previous weeks practice and seems to becoming more and more comfortable. hopefully the best has just begun.
2 and 3. ‘above and beyond’ accommodating? shoji was too humble. what happend to the arrogance he professed on tv once?
14. and so what if he had na wahine playing on a wednesday? it would be something new to add to the twist. (i noticed theres no toyota autobody this year) na wahine are there to play. mainland teams do weekdays and it was good enough for them, it should of been good enough for na wahine.
football ill excuse them this time since they are full of excuses anyway. but the basketball what, camp? got in the way? not only is their team in disarray but also their schedule in disarray (like that midnight or near midnight game thats usually on espn2 and they usually lose, including due to falling asleep.)
what would of happened had na wahine were given the shoo-in to host (unbeknownst to uh) and basketball got in the way? ho ho ncaa got 1 more excuse to give the hosting to the next school who can host.
terraflex is preferred, but is it required? how about the retro-ness? sometimes you go play there is no terraflex. call it you will, terraformer.
so 2 road trips instead of 3 saves money? i hope it saves na wahine money and not basketball or football money/athletic department money!
anyways shoji with all his experience sometimes doesnt seem to apply his experience or lacks being intuitive or innovative. damages been done but thats no excuse!
one damage he can still prevent is that travel/airfare arrangement better be squared away before 2 weeks later. the fact that shoji saved extra money should be able to facilitate this. no RED EYEs. NO more excuses.
people will b*tch on and on about dave and company but they’ll be begging for him back once he decides to retire which I assume will be VERY VERY soon.
appreciate what we have people. there are some teams that don’t get to see their home team until the 1st conference match. we have the luxury of watching them play for 3 weeks straight.
people are too selfish on here. expect this expect that but they never know what it takes to run a team, recruiting, practice, traveling, scheduling etc. but like always, it’s much easier to demand things when you’re hiding behind a computer screen.
Po’okela, THANK YOU! you took the words right out of my mouth. We are extremely blessed to have them play at home for as long as they do. I wish people would stop being so selfish.
#14 Thanks for an explanation regarding scheduling, asked a few weeks ago. Still sucks that the most prominent program in UH history is relegated to 2nd tier status.
#26 Why all the ragging? Shoji made a decision because he is the coach and is authorized to do so, and the administration approved it. They don’t need your approval nor have they made any excuses for their decisions. You are the only one attributing something from nothing. What is your excuse?
Why does volleyball have to accommodate to football schedules and a consistently losing team as well? It would have been better for the players if they didn’t have to play six teams on the road in succession. How many volleyball fans are also football fans? Some other universities like Cal Poly have no hesitation scheduling volleyball on the same day as football. Most volleyball fans there were not football fans. Attendance was more of a function of how many matches they won rather than football being played simultaneously. I am definitely not a football fan, only a volleyball fan. Why not take a survey and find out how many are fans of both sports and how many are solely volleyball fans?
29. 2nd tier? more like 3rd tier apparently. you would think its 2nd tier only behind lousy football but no, apparently the shoddy mens basketball is ahead.
30. what excuse? i didnt give any.
of course the administration approved it, they already shady enough behind the state. they approved it after dave bent over, apparently more willingly. he did not exercise the ‘arrogance’ he personally professed on ocsports. hes the poorest sorest loser? well hes sure enabling that.
we all acknowledge shoji is the coach with decades of experience yes. but hes too dependent on experience. experience is gained normally with some cost, in this case namely lost. not to b*tch about him but criticizing his lesser use of intuitive or innovative ways, both would trump experience with less or without cost. if it must cost, at least make it gain some benefit rather than accost, which gains no benefit and robs or makes bereft instead.
anyways remember last year the RED EYE accosted na wahine in their siege on csun and the beach and almost AGAIN vs ucsb and cal poly. somebody or somebodies need to ensure that does NOT happen AGAIN especially now since its an all out siege vs not only the beach and csun but also davis, irvine, and cal poly. NO MORE EXCUSES.
I root for all of Hawaii’s teams but I am mainly a volleyball fan first. Like Big Is.VB fan I would also like to see some numbers as to how many fans watch the various sports, especially Wahine volleyball on TV or listen on the radio. We already know the arena and stadium attendance #s so these additional numbers would give us a better picture of just how large the fan base is.
people are just upset because they won’t get to watch their home team for a whole month… get over it. this is college athletics. yes, this year’s schedule is a bit different from years past but it is what it is. most of you aren’t even season ticket holders and prefer to watch them out of the comfort of your own home so what does it matter if they play at home or not? evrryone on here is sounding like a bunch of spoiled kids during the holidays. all you do is WANT WANT WANT….
have any of you guys made any donations to the booster club?
Glad we going to watch the team on the road so our season is not over yet (lol) Like I mentioned in an earlier post I don’t mind the team playing all the road and postseason as long as they come home with the National Championship…I know if they were to go far in the post tourney and were blessed to make it to the Final 4, we would definitely go to watch them even if we had to leave on a Red Eye with Maka Pia Pia Eyes.
May want to check ESPN3 – they will probably be broadcasting at least one of the games, probably at least Long Beach match. So you can watch it on your computer, or on a streaming device or tv. If by some chance you miss the live broadcast, they repeat it for a few days too. Sometimes other sports channels pick up the wahine games as well, but haven’t seen that happen this year.
36. ESPN3 will be showing the UH vs LBSU (Nov 6) and the UH vs. Irvine (Nov 17) games
Unofficial ESPN3 broadcasts if anyone is interested =
Friday November 6 Hawaii @ Long Beach State 7:00pm (PST)
Saturday November 7 Hawaii @ Cal State Northridge 7:00pm (PST)
Tuesday November 17 Hawaii @ UC Irvine 7:00pm (PST)
Check Bigwest.tv for other 3 games which can be watched on your computer. Might be able to cast the broadcast to your tv, but the quality isn’t that great.
Good for you, Po’okela. Great comments and that’s telling them like it is as these people that complain about Shoji etc.that’s all they do…….of course, that’s their right and the purpose of these comments but sometimes, it’s just frustrating reading these negative comments about Shoji, RPI, rankings, recruiting, scheduling, traveling etc…just support the team every which way…..PERIOD. Nothing more and nothing less.
po’okea, What happened to you? You used to contribute meaningful information to the blog, now you just complain about the bloggers. I am a member of the booster club and the Aces /roofing club an donate $. So what? Everyone on this blog has the right to support the team in any way see fit including constructive criticism, suggestions for improvement and other volleyball related subject they feel like discussing. People always say that Hawaii has the most knowledgable fans in the world. I think this blog has the cream of that crop of those fans and I think this year Cindy and the gang have been an outstanding source of information.
It isn’t just fans that are affected when Football and Volleyball is on the same day. A lot of the support staff works both events, making it very difficult on a number of people.
At most other schools, it isn’t a big issue as both events are played on campus, sometimes right next door to each other. And, if the volleyball team doesn’t even draw 500 people, it wouldn’t affect football attendance too much if they were played on the same day.
RON,
knowledgeable selfish greedy fans sounds more like it. yes I used to come here and enjoy contributing my opinion about the game but it’s different when I come on here to see what type of comments people have made about previous games and all I read are people constantly b*tching people THEY are not being accommodated. who cares about the staff who actually does this for a living… we need to accommodate the bloggers and their wants and needs. there’s a huge difference between being knowledgable and just being a pain.
and to suggest this blog has the cream of the crop is absolutely absurd.
Mahalo po’okela. Your comments are exactly what I want to say to the whiners. Yes hossana it’s frustrating to read the negative comments about the Wahine team. The negative comments are repeated over and over by the same people. Are these people real Rainbow Wahine fans? Sounds like they just want to disrupt Cindy’s Volleyshots Blog. No real Wahine Volleyball fan will do that.
Yes I agree with po’okela. join the Wahine Booster Club or make a donation. If you can, host a post match meal for the team. You can meet the team, coaches and families. You will see that the players and coaches are “real” people, not just what you see on TV or on the court. Fun to see the Wahine players in normal street clothes with their hair down. Then you realize they are young college students who are representing our University of Hawaii. They are from many different places and I am amazed that this mixture of girls from all over the USA (and Canada and previously from other countries) can jell to play great volleyball. I feel very proud of the team when they win their matches, and disappointed and sad when they lose. Win or lose I support the team, that’s what I believe is a true fan. I went to the Final Four’s to support the Wahine in 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2003. They did not win the National Championship in any of those years, but they played their hearts out and I was extremely proud at how the Wahine represented our State of Hawaii. Remember, many of these girls are not local. They are not from Hawaii, but play with their heart and soul for our Wahine Volleyball team…for Hawaii. Can’t help but admire all the players for all they do. When you see the tears on the girls faces after the final four losses, you realize that no matter how bad and upset you feel as a fan….It’s much more difficult for the players to lose an important volleyball match. And at the final four they still have to sit down and sigh autographs after the match win or lose. The maturity and class shown by our Wahine at the final fours was amazing and made me feel very proud to be a Hawaii fan.
Coach Dave, Coach Jeff and Coach Robyn are doing a great job this year. The Wahine were ranked #18 to start the year and are now #8. First place and undefeated in the Big West so far. 18–1 record. Not much for me to complain about and I wonder why there are a few people here in this blog whining.
Sorry to all for this long post, but I needed to get my frustration at the negative bloggers out.
We have a great team, great program and great fans.
Lets go Bows!
I’m not a serial or even occasional blogger – this is a first for me to chime in. I’m inspired to join this conversation primarily because I feel the energy from all of you fans. I also appreciate the support from you for the players – that is emotional, and for the coaches – that is often analytical. I’d like to ask for your acknowledgement and support for the other student athlete who goes unrecognized on the sidelines but who quietly pours her heart, time, talent, and experience into the Wahine volleyball program. The team manager attends every practice, and often works into the late hours of the night after the game is over, the players have had their dinner and post game accolades, to post videos and stats to conference and NCAA video banks and exchanges. She was a player from age 6 and a fierce competitor through high school until she was sidelined with a shredded ACL during the preseason of her Senior year. She adds another facet of dedication to the Wahine volleyball program. There are others, so for this moment, please think about those who continue to contribute so much without FANfare and embrace all that is UH Wahine Volleyball. Mahalo.
Thanks again to all you contribute. Personally I don’t understand all the negativity towards an 18-1 team but …
May not answer according to Nos.
29. you may have asked the question weeks ago but it was answered months ago during the season preview.
in regards to why football takes precedent. One problem is that UH has football and volleyball/basketball in two conferences. The Mountain West isn’t looking at what the Big West is doing when it puts out its football schedule.
This is nothing new. Volleyball has often waited on the football schedule to be set before building its schedule. It was easier when both sports where in the WAC.
Agreed with the point that UH staff works both sports and it is tough to on them and the fans if they want to attend both. How quickly people forget last season’s Saturday problem.
32. The redeye schedule did not affect the Wahine. They got in a day early. It wasn’t like they played hours after getting off a plane. Are you really holding onto losses 1 and 2 years ago? CSUN was pretty hostile environment. You can ask the players.
Prior to this weekend’s fights, these are the only matches I’ll be keeping track of:
Wednesday
Oklahoma (7-11, 1-5 Big 12) @ #7 Kansas (18-0, 6-0) ….1st Half of Big 12 play wraps up this weekend … Kansas, one of only 2 unbeaten teams in NCAA D1 women’s vball, takes on a Sooners tribe that is winless in 5 tries against ranked opponents this season and is second from last in standings in the 9-team Big 12 … Kansas’ team hitting percentage (.316) is second-best in the NCAA
#4 Washington (17-1, 7-1) @ #11 Stanford (11-5, 5-3) …. 1st Half of Pac-12 play ends this weekend … Dawgs playing a top 25 opponent for the 6th time in last 7 matches … UW continues to lead the NCAA with a .319 hitting percentage while it limits opponents to a NCAA-best .124 hitting percentage … Last week’s 1-3 loss to Colorado shows the Cardinals have not yet righted the ship
Friday
#9 Minnesota (15-3, 7-1) @ #3 Nebraska (16-2, 7-1) …. Both teams are tied for 1st in the 14-team Big Ten standings, and by the end of the weekend it could be #6 Ohio St that takes over the Big Ten …. Love watching the Rolfzen twins play for the Huskers
#7 Kansas (19-0, 7-0 assuming it knocked out Oklahoma on Wed) @ #2 Texas (17-1, 7-0 assuming it stomped Kansas St on Wed) ….. “Being presented by Mama Fu’s Asian House”
http://hawaiiwarriorworld.com/?p=33865
new thread up for Wednesday