All 4 Warriors contribute to MJNT win
University of Hawaii incoming sophomore Austin Matautia came off the bench for eight points and all four Rainbow Warriors on the U.S. Men’s Junior National Team contributed to Saturday’s victory over Morocco in the FIVB U21 World Championship volleyball match in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
Matautia played in Sets 2 and 3, finishing with five kills, two blocks and an ace in the 25-18, 25-23, 25-21 win. Returning sophomore middle Patrick Gasman, playing the entire match, added four kills, a block and ace; returning junior Brett Rosenmeier had three kills and block when playing in only Set 1; and incoming freshman libero Gage Worsley had a match-high 16 digs.
Reserve setter Micah Ma’a (Punahou/UCLA) played in all three sets for the U.S. (2-5) which meets Japan (4-3) today for 13th place.
“We didn’t have as much energy in the second two sets, but we still pulled it out in three,” Rosenmeier said. “It’s been a struggle this whole week trying to stay focused and get our first wins. Now we face a good Czech or Japanese team. I think it’s going to mean a lot if we end with a win.”
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2017/July/01/Mens-Jr-Team-Picks-up-2nd-Win-at-Worlds
Congratulations to the Warriors and the rest of the US men’s team for the victory!
Congrats to the Warriors!
BTW, now that MVB is officially part of the Big West and Cal Baptist dropping out, the MPSF has now realized that they may lose their AQ status. They’ll still get at least one team in (and probably one of the top 4 seeds), but it may have to be an at-large berth.
I thought that the MPSF was gonna be BYU, UCLA, Pepperdine, USC, Stanford, Grand Canyon & Concordia Irvine? Am I mistaken? How much teams must a conference consist of to get the AQ?
BW has Hawaii, LBSU, CSUN, UCSD (?), UCI, UCSB.
Kismet – since the MPSF (and the MIVA & EIVA) are not full-fledged conferences, I believe they need at least 8 teams for an AQ. The BWC is a full-fledged conference, offering 18 sports, and as such, only needs a minimum of 6 teams for an AQ.
Must suck for the Seniors for coach Robin to call this a rebuilding year.
I also appreciated the Coach calling it the way she sees it. We do need hitters or we need a couple of our outside hitters step up. Granato has worked very hard this summer , Sibley has the tools and the potential and if Greeley is 90% we will be ok. A top setter, a very good libero, and one great middle makes for a very strong nucleus to work with.
5) The seniors may not like hearing it, but if they are honest with themselves they won’t disagree. It sets realistic expectations now, giving them time to prepare. Better hearing it now then the inevitable later.
6) Agree. Essentially they’ll have the team at the start of this year that they had at the start of last year, when Taylor and Mitchem were sidelined. But, this time they should all be more prepared to compete without them.
This could be a very good year for Castillo if they can get her settled in at Opp; Granato’s all around game improved last year and we can expect her to continue to improve; Mags can be a leader of the team if she sets her mind to it and All Big West and All American as well; Greely is the wild card, but if she can contribute near the level of her first two years that will greatly improve the OH situation; setter, libero, and defensive specialists are all team strengths. Burns and one of freshman will likely compete for the 2nd middle position. We should expect improvement there as they move through the pre-season schedule; finally, Sibley I think has potential. She had a promising start at the beginning of last year but like a typical freshman was inconsistent and challenged adjusting to the taller faster Division I game. Others will get a shot to compete for the OH spot so if she wants it she’ll need to make the most of her opportunities.
#7 I had forgotten about Castillo. She is another wild card on the edge of being a really good player.
I think Castillo could be a vital part of the 2017 team. Iosia is very good, obviously. And Maglio could be an All-American. She certainly had the numbers last year.
That being said, I really hope someone can challenge Kahakai. She is just too slow on defense, and her passing remains inconsistent. Granato is a junior and should know how to make adjustments and add some shots to her arsenal instead of just swinging away every time and then getting a puzzled look on her face when she gets blocked. Burns is tall, but is lacking both in offense and defense. She is always late in closing blocks and is practically ineffective against faster offenses. I think one of Howling and Lipscomb (or both) could be ahead of her before the season ends (or begins).
Koelsch is a proven setter who has led the team to victories before. She’s a setter who can put up a good block and can attack occasionally. As a pure opposite attacker, last year proved that she can’t really pull it off. Anderson and Guinasso are veteran DS. Anderson has an effective serve and plays good defense, and Guinasso can pass.
Setter
Iosia
Koelsch
Ma’afala
Opposite
Castillo
Koelsch
Lipscomb (?)
Outside
Greeley
Granato
Castillo (?)
Misraje
Middle
Maglio
Burns
Howling
Lipscomb
Williams
Libero/DS
Kahakai
Guinasso
Anderson
Okino
Gong
#9…….Did Kirsten Sibley leave the team? I think she is the X factor. She came into the program with some pretty sporty resume and if she can step up this year and live up to her expectations,we can two OHs that we can rely on to put balls away(of course Granato is the other).
If our returning OH cannot get the job done look for Robyn to try Skyler Williams at the pin. She did some outside hitting at Mayfair HS so she have some experience out there. Howling is a true MB and I don’t see her moving. Lipscomb can go both ways..MB and OPP but she was money on her step outs in HS and could us her for that since our MBs currently does not run the step outs all that well.
5. it is a rebuilding year. They will have to figure out how to replace the point-scoring of Taylor. Thinking there will be more of a balanced offense but the points will have to come from somewhere.
BTW she spells her name with a Y: Robyn.
9. think Anderson is ahead of Guinasso but we’ll see.
10. haven’t heard of Sibley leaving. only ones that have left are Smith and Freitas.
http://hawaiiwarriorworld.com/?p=44000
new thread up