No. 8 UCLA 3, No. 15 Hawaii 0

UCLA and Hawaii do very different stretching and warm-ups

so kendra played soccer before according to the broadcast when she kicked the ball into the air alive versus wisconsin. she would definitely be great in a ‘non-hands’ volleyball.

her number 2 is also a fitting number for her including as a type utility player – the first prime number.

Shud be a great matchup. Hope the Wahine diversify and don’t be too predictable with Nikki. Thought she got tired in the 3rd set last night. The Bruins got a really Big block. Need have a middle attack presence tonight. Go Bows!

I like that the Men’s team is trying to get the crowd to clap for UH serves…

What a run!!

Slow start by all the OHs. Middle attack is very productive.

18. UCLA with 15 digs. Will be a great defensive battle.

Ewww..two of UH’s OHs are hitting negative. 49 digs so far in the match, 27 for UH.

Nikki really struggling right now.

Terrible uh middles and defense and iosia good but our outsides gave too many free points to the bruins, hope they pick it up fast.

Hawaii threw this first set away.
doesn’t help when Nikki is pretty much non existent in the match.

tip shots from ucla being the problem.

UCLA really sharp right now.

This is what I suggested to Shoji. Note the arc on the setter’s sets.

Just trying to help :-). Shoji prefers high and wide.

UH had 41 digs last night–tonight, already 43.

Nikki looks tired.

UH gave UCLA the first set. UCLA outplayed UH in set 2.

Hawaii looks so tight and tentative. I wonder if we’ll see lineup changes in the 3rd.

61.Outplayed but Uh is still making silly errors to give away easy points.

Not sure what should be done at this point , maybe bring in smith instead of anderson/guinasso, try Ross for Sibley.

really frustrating how tight the pin hitters are playing, especially Nikki oh well.

Greeley should not be hitting. Nothing on her attempts tonight.

UH should be able to hit over Chandler. Maybe higher sets? Hit at a higher point? I’ve seen Granato hit over bigger blocks. And it should be easier for Taylor.

Granato has the line with the small blocker.

73. Really was hoping she would have an arizona like match she might not face a smaller blocker the rest of the season.

It’s so PAINFUL to see Nikki struggle tonight. Agh!

Taylor is way off tonight. UH jumps out a 4 point leads and now is behind again. Just like we saw in set 1.

Nikki is trying for high hands due to the double block. (High sets allow the MB to close).

greely recovering shouldnt be used as ds role

I think UH is going to get swept tonight. Other than the middles, liberos and defense in general, no one showed up. Greeley being aced twice is very uncharacteristic. I question whether the team has the mental strength to come back in set 3.

Emma should have been in earlier.

90. She’s the same player a freshmen is just better.

shall it be said questionable or even suspect coaching from shoji tonight?

Granato had the line with the smaller block but chose to hit cross court against the bigger middles. Just couldn’t understand why.

UH will not host a sub-regional this year. Not clear to me the team will be able to beat Washington either. Very disappointing performance from the OHs. Taylor was an error machine. Granato played as I expected against a big block–no Snuka to hit over. Sibley is a freshman, and not a top 20 recruit, so she needs more time to develop. UH needs to use its middles more–that is still a strength of the team. Most disappointing is that the team was able to put up good leads against UCLA in the first and third sets, only to see them evaporate and the team lose those sets. Very alarming.

100. yeah she admitted that. thats not promising at all.

‘(higgins) didnt even set ross once’ – lisa strand ma’a’

So Nikki Taylor was declared Tournament MVP despite a very low hitting percentage tonight. I guess when averaged out over all three nights, she had a high enough percentage and more kills than anyone else. UCLA attack was more balanced. Nikki was set too much tonight. Should have relied more on the middle attack. Anyway, this loss was no surprise.

109. I agree the loss was no surprise, although the sweep was a surprise to me.

a couple things that bother me.

opposing teams seem to love tip shots because Hawaii almost never tries to pick up those tip shots. you literally could see at one point all the Hawaii players freeze because no one knew who was gonna go for the ball. i thought my tv froze in that moment. lol

i saw a lot of bad passes, some by Greeley or maybe that’s just me.

Nikki was almost non existent tonight, it’s like she just couldn’t find a good rhythm to stay in.

i wasn’t expecting them to play the way they did. they honestly could have swept Ucla themselves because a lot of times they had a good lead, but really gave that up. which is also something i noticed about this team this season.

No liberos on all-tourney team; Kahakai had 40 digs this weekend. Interestingly, Gotterba of Pacific had 52 while MSU’s Johnson had 54 digs.

98. ever since they lost to k state, i dont think they would of been hosting anyways.

Well, we knew finding a replacement for Olevao was going to be a challenge. Didn’t count on injuries to Greeley, Mitchem and Taylor to make things worse. I think the focus should be on healing up, improving the left-side hitting and getting the team to gel in time for the tournament.

also shoji said theres nothing ‘structurally wrong’ with greeleys passing. but for betters sake. better to have her concentrate on healing and let a ds handle it, perhaps ross? shoji ought to train her to hit from back row.

Nikki will be better. Her first 2 matches back, came against smaller, weaker teams. She didn’t seem to be able to adjust to hitting against a stronger team like UCLA.

Maybe Greeley should sit out and rehab her shoulder. Put Smith back there and hope that Granato/Sibley can improve.

Even with a healthy team, it would have taken a while to replace Tai and Olivia. Both were playing great at the end of the season. Granato, Sibley and Mitchem are still learning to play at this level. We should be good at the end of the BWC, but it will be rough until everyone is healthy.

Was at the game and we had fun, good crowd. Other then the poor performance between certain players 🙁 at least our L, S and MB showed up to play… Again I wanna say, why was Kalei even playing!? What didn’t make sense was having her in the back knowing she’s not playing well, knowing she cant hit the pipe and then having a DS sub her to server!?!?! Come on Dave…

What rain? Its been dry and beautiful in Wailea all weekend except for the tears I shed when UCLA lost in football.

I think high sets are good to get the hitters to jump and to hit down. If the sets are lower, they will hit into the blocks more. The sets need to be faster.

128. Those weaknesses were well-known before the UCLA match. Exception was Taylor’s poor play. Only her third match.

My observation says Nikki had a very off nite. It seems that Sand Volleyball changes the way Maglio and Nikki hits the ball indoor. They don’t terminate straight down as often but hits alot of long shots. I feel that Mitchem or Castillo should be given an opportunity at the other outside spot. (Which probably won’t happen)…Claire played well at DS but Emma IMO is so so good not to be playing. Her passes are pin point perfect. She is so fundamentally sound and watching her footwork, she is excellent. I am glad Higgins got to play. Both setters were not the problem. Everything starts with the pass. We need to re-evaluate who is playing back there. I would sacrifice a 6 rotations player for a better back row player. I feel that not being able to perform 100% offensively is starting to mess with Greenly’s head on defense. This is not the Kalei we all know. She is the one of the best 6 rotations player we have when she is healthy. I don’t know if she continues to play will heal her labrum surgery. I think if everyone in the BW watches the film , they will see the way to beat our team is to dink over our blocks because our backnow players are so deep to run up to dig the ball. We really had a rugged preseason but I still feel we can go deep into the tourney once the “A” team is established…This is my wish list to start : Iosia, Taylor, Mitchem, Maglio, Castillo, and Kahakai (You find that next OH)….First subs: Granato, Sibley, and Emma Smith….(mix match them back row or front)….That A team because of height will take us to the other side of the Rainbow

Disappointing loss, but Dave should have known the Wahine don’t have a left side terminator, so all UCLA had to do was camp out on Taylor.

And I still don’t understand the reasoning for playing Greeley, front or back row.
The more she plays, the longer it will take for her to heal. She’s trying, but not helping the team playing at less than 100 per cent.

Emma has shown she’s a very capable passer and defensive player and should be the DS and on the court.

IMO, move Castillo to the left, her natural position, and replace her with Burns, at least until Mitchem gets back. Then you can juggle the line up…..again.

OK, enough coaching.

The static position of the live stream at least gives a great view of positioning that you don’t get on the telecast. Interesting to see how Higgins’ sets more often require a little adjustment by the hitters — just enough to break them from their stride. Her blocking and defense is pretty solid, though. Did the coaches mention any particular reason why they removed Norene?

Nikki was the pin that dropped Na Wahine. She clearly was in her head once her kills were either sprayed out or into the net. She was given so many sets that she just bombed on. And Granato is awful. The passing needs to be better, but with such beautiful sets, Nikki had no business hitting out. No blocks in front of her, just her very big ego.

It is disconcerting when coaches fail to properly diagnose the root of a team’s problems. For example,

1. Hawaii’s hitters commit many errors against a good double block.

–Hawaii: Changes the hitter, but the new hitter faces the same problem.
–Root problem: The double block is impeding our hitters.
–Logical solution: Remove the double block, set faster.
–Observation: The setter is changed as a last resort; however, the new setter is also required to set the slow high and wide ball. (Because it gives the hitter ample time to make adjustments and is an easier ball to hit.)

2. Tips are dropping, hits are landing in the back row.

–Hawaii: does nothing, expects players to get better.
–Root problem: players out of position to make the play.
–Logical solution: put players in a better position to make the play, continuously adjust defensive alignment to counter attempts to exploit open spaces.
Observation: Players are put in a particular defense where they stay. The opposition notes where the defense is positioned and puts the ball in an open spot.

Tough loss because the team had their chances if not for couple critical lapses at end of set 1 & 2. This is understandable considering the moving lineup changes. The OH positions will likely remain “under construction” for some time. I would like to see a greater focus on a middle attack as we have two good MHs in Maglio and Mitchem (once she returns). This will require outstanding in-system passing. A Kahakai and Smith back-court looked pretty solid last week.

Lastly, one of my very favorite player Greeley is clearly not recovered. There is nothing wrong with sitting it out and hoping for a medical reshirt.

It is evident the KG is not the player she is due to her injury. She admits not being 100% according to some on this blog. If so and due to her backrow results why is Shoji still playing her.

She said she hopes to be 100% before the playoffs, wishful thinking. The injury needs to be rested and physical therapy and the correct exercises need to be priority. Who is fooling who here? The more she plays, is not what will improve her capabilities. We all know what she is capable when 100%. It is her mind that is now fighting what the body cannot do, which is causing the frustration she is experiencing resulting in the play not fit for success.

According to one’s report she stated she hopes to be 100% before playoff time.
Thus the question again is who is fooling who here or maybe should it be added is who’s mind is being fooled here?

Previous comment @66

Not sure why Emma Smith hardly played this weekend? Was she in the doghouse?

#124 Agree with you Ron. Excited to see how it plays out and what adjustments the staff will make this coming week.

#149 No disrespect but never said you didn’t. Playing less than 100% healthy is commonplace. You can only try. Sometimes you can play through it and sometimes – not so.

Cindy, if you haven’t done so ready, can you please ask Shoji why he is playing Greeley when she can’t effectively hit and when he has an army of really good DSs on the team? Why not let her heal up a little and bring her back in November before the post-season? Many of us in the blog are perplexed as to the strategy behind leaving her in when she is defensive only and there are so many defensive options available.

it’s regroup time.

the ucla match exposed a bunch of weaknesses and deficits in the left side attack (poor efficiency and too much reliance on nikki), middle attack (lack of it, altho maglio stepped up last night, and castillo’s hitting numbers should have warranted more sets to her!), and passing (even the reliable passers from last season have taken a step back). to some extent, even in the blocking (the block showed up this weekend, but disappeared in stretches against ucla, and they still struggle to block the slide). even the setting (location for both setters has been an issue at times).

really though, it wasn’t just the ucla match that exposed these things. there were glimpses of these issues in the other matches this weekend against missouri st and pacific.

smith needs to see the floor. the passing is just better, at this point, when she’s in there. find a way for her to play back row for one of the left sides, b/c with nikki’s return, she’s not needed to play back row for the opposite.

do some shuffling amongst the left side attackers? granato, sibley, who can step up and hit for some efficiency, and hit smarter too. not low into the block, and be able to take advantage of the 1-on-1 situations that iosia gave them. i liked that ross was tried in set 3 against ucla, but they didn’t even set her! so that “experiment” hasn’t even really been given a chance yet, and i’m open to what ross can do there.

i would even be open to castillo being tried on the left now (and trying burns again at M2). at this point, some offense on the pins is more critical, and they can just give burns a directive to focus on blocking.

not the end of the world. ucla is a good team. and hawaii didn’t get blown out (even though getting swept leaves a bad taste in ur mouth, especially considering that hawaii nurtured leads in the first 2 sets).

this team should still look a lot different between now and the end of the season. but the upside to the potential lineup by season’s end is dependent on health. which leaves you as a fan hopeful and concerned at the same time … (still leaning toward hopeful!)

Amen brother! This is a real good team with a solid core. They are mature enough to weather the storm. The return of Annie gives the staff a lot of options. Excited to see what next week brings.

A lot of interesting comments and observations in the blog today. I think that once Annie can play 6 rotations it will free up the substitution #’s to allow Smith or another D/S to sub for the Lt. side hitters. I like Higgins’s moxie but Iosia is a natural born player. I would keep Castillo where she is improving every game but Dave wants Annie in the middle. Dave’s the boss and he is still sharp as a tack.

Stanford just swept Penn St. #13 Nittany Lions are now 2-3 on the season. #14 Texas A&M and #15 UH also have three losses each.

There were a couple of comments by the announcers during the game that frustrated me because it was working and seemingly, nothing was done to address it. First, UCLA was tipping every time Nikki was in the back row. It forced her to dive for the ball and she was out of position to do a D-set. This was happening way too often; not sure what they really could have done about it. 2nd, McCloughlin (sp) said that UCLA had watched film of everywhere Nikki hit the previous 2 matches and placed their players in those spots. That’s why Nikki wasn’t able to put much down. I believe that Dave and company saw all of this, it was just curious as to why it kept happening. I have all the faith in the coaches and the girls and I hope they come back calmer and more focused this coming weekend. GO BOWS!

Curious with Emma Smith, too. From going to one of the main DS from last week, to not even seeing the court this week.

I still stand by Mitchem at least try outside. Castillo is holding her own out there. Mitchem can play all the way around and add the pipe. At least try it.

How long has Renee been our trainer? I’m sure she is a great trainer, but I’m going to play Devils Advocate here and say that I’m not sure she’s a good D1 trainer. Lots of our injuries take waaaay to long to get better, and in some cases don’t at all. There is no way a shoulder surgery should take this long to heal and get strong. No way. Maybe it’s a combo of trainer and athlete being scared to push while training to get stronger.

On the flip side of that last comment, I’m excited to hear that Mitchem could be cleared to play this week or next. That’s exciting news. TRY HER ON THE LEFT!!!! 🙂

165. The first day of practice is designated by the NCAA. Usually the second week of August, about 18 days before the first serve.

166. They used Smith as a three-rotation passer/defender for Koelsch last week. With Taylor’s return, they thought they didn’t need her anymore. Kahakai, Granato and three rotations of Greeley/three rotatioms of Sibley made up the passing formation this week.

I don’t think Mitchem should be moved to the left. Yeah, she took some swings from the left in JC, but this is DI VB. And if anyone remembers last year when she was healthy, she didn’t exactly put up All-America numbers in her natural position.

169. Does a trainer have the expertise to accelerate the healing of a surgically-repaired finger or shoulder? I would think a trained physician has that expertise, not a team trainer. Don’t team trainers handle the relatively minor issues like sprains, scrapes, bruises, muscle stiffness, and the like?

Also, when you say, “Lots of our injuries take waaaay to [sic] long to get better, and in some cases don’t at all”, can you provide five examples? If there are lots, five should be easy to identify (Greeley’s doesn’t count as her injury takes longer to fully heal than the elapsed time since she got surgery, per other sources).

If a person is going to question someone’s competency in a public forum, then I think we should see what data supports it. I want to avoid speculation or supposition so that a person’s reputation isn’t tarnished unnecessarily.

175 Maverick, I concur with your thoughts on Renee. I didn’t say anything about it to avoid confrontation to comments way out of line about her responsibilities and skills.

And it was meant as a devils advocate comment.

I think Cindys not going to leave blog open anymore.