Hawaii 3, UCI 0 11-1

Why does shoji let olevao pass, Kastl passes better

Kastl has the heart of a saint. She comes in totally focused and makes a pretty good pass. Manu has a lot of maturing to do. Body language not positive.

Shoji should have start Kastle in place of Olevao.

Very nice play from Uiato to Vorster to win the set. Reminds me of how UH played in the pre-season, quick strong play.

I think it is less favoritism and more being committed to a starter who, until the last couple of weeks, was performing. As a coach, you want to give your starters every chance to get out of a funk rather than make snap decisions. Kastl brings more energy, but has yet to prove she is a superior terminator.

Right now, Longo is the MVP of the match. She’s all over the court.

It seems Kastl brought in the motivation. As soon as she hit the court the ladies caught fire! Longo mostly, maybe it is a better dynamic even if the numbers are not reflecting her contribution.

tee hee… hilarious that none of the TV commentators mentioned the removal of Olevao from set 1 as the catylst for the comeback. I on the other hand believes the insurgence of Kastl and the removal of Olevao turned it around…please give it atention.

Kastl doesnt have to be a kill leader, her other parts of the game is helping.

Its the INTANGIBLES that Kastl brings…Don’t worry about the STATS athletes (haha)

36. LOL. In any case, intangibles only go so far. Longo was the hero in set 2 with good serve receives, passing, digging. Kastl’s insertion was a push at best.

Another UCI service error. Broken record.

Kastl brings intangibles to the team as she should, she’s a Senior, but I can honestly say, in her two years of playing here, I have never seen her be able to make key kills when the match is on the line in a “big match.” By big time match, i’m talking about when the chips are on the line, such as last year at UW!! (grr…). Granted, she didn’t get the chance to play against Texas, but in that game Olevao WAS able to make kills when she needed to, as she did against Wichita State. So i’d give her the advantage on that, even as a Senior, and even until now Kastl has not proven herself to be a key important player.

Even Goodman played well against Stanford last year, as well as against UW (well, better than Kastl did for sure!). As well as Taylor vs. Texas. But I digress…. Don’t get me wrong, I would love it if Kastl became that player that UH can rely on in big games, but that remains to be seen.

#35.
Listen to Cindy, gunfunnit, she knows what she’s talking about!! 😉
😛

Longo, Kastl, Olevao, Uiato and poor sets. It kinda sounds like the team should attempt a 6-2 this season.

tai is annoying me. and why is Nikki playing back row?

56. Lots of improvement needed, that is.

Glad to see Longo honored as UH’s player of the match. Clearly well deserved.

Kastl could still be real effective if she was allowed to play more and have some confidence that the coaches wouldn’t yank her at the first opportunity. Someone has to step up besides Hartong and it is not going to be Olevau. Give Kastl the opportunity to be great and improve under fire and maybe she can deliver instead of inserting her here and there with no continuity.
She should have been the starter the whole season.

I really don’t think Shoji has any other options and he is running out of time. They will be eliminated in the first playoff game the way they are playing now especially since they won’t be playing at home.

Totally agree with the analysis of 61 and 62. I was at the match, begging for Kastl to go in during that first set, and when she finally did the chemistry changed and it became a different team. Reminds me of Jonny Gomes and the way he lit a fire under the Red Sox this season. John Farrell stuck with him during the World Series, and that turned out rather well.

I agree with the comments about Olevao. She just looks beaten. Go with Kastl. I would like to see more of Higgins too. Nickie is not the answer to better back row play. And yes, Dave has favorites as much as Cindy spins.

At the game it felt like Wahine did just enough to win, but UCI didn’t do enough (tough serving vs. errors) to keep pressure on Wahine. Longo upped her defense and whole team still need to be better to beat solid team. Tomorrow should be an adventure, hope Home crowd shows up (post Halloween crowd was so-so). In person can’t see what Kalei is doing and maybe she should come in off bench too. Agree Ashley brought energy with her and seniors were all contributing tonight. Go Wahine!

I really belived that they would win out the rest of the season,but the way they played last night, now i have my doubts.Shoji is hoping that his team will pick it up,but its not. I don’t see them coming out of this slump anytime soon, and i think Shoji knows that.

69. No I don’t think Shoji knows that…..

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” – Lao Tzu

The team chemistry seems to be much better with Kastl in. She may not be producing with offense, but neither is Tai, and there is something about the energy on the floor when she is in. It is almost a similar situation with Lizzie Blake a few years ago. Once Maeda was inserted back into the libero position, the magic came back. This might be the case with Kastl, I don’t know. I have been noticing that Tai’s demeanor on the court seems a little odd, perhaps just not confident? But her demeanor is a little off putting. Kastl seems much more upbeat and positive and energetic. Her passing and defense look to be a notch above Tai’s as well. Not my call, just my observation, but I do think give Kastl a longer look on the floor.

Blake/Mendoza is an example of ‘active learning’. Dave continues to grow. 🙂
I LOVE Maeda; Lizzie was not the S2 / Libero but rather DS1 (a la Brandt).
Blake could pass. It may have been discovered too late as it turns out.

hmmm… 74. all good points to ponder. makes one wonder (in anonymity) who you really are.

:o)

so Dave’s ego is bigger than a possible solution right in front of his maka’s. Then, UH gets what they get. And no way no how you can now convince me that Dave does not have favorites. Manu is not the solution no one person is, however, when she came in on the third set, the energy and play of everyone that started was off kilter. These views and offerings are from eyes that sees the situation without the muddiness of knowing the players. Its purely observationaly. I be would be the first observer to rally behind Manu if it warrants it.

79.78. Great Trhread. Confession time: purple&gold is really Dave Shoji.

Could always eat Passi’s redshirt.

I have no doubt that some posters are part of the UH machine. But as this season plows through, spinning facts/things will not neccessarily make them true. It could possibly make observers turn off. Playing this game since I was 8, that’s over 35 years ago and still playing weekly, being coached by some really good coaches, watching the game as a spectator, I, like other recreational players,see the offensive and defensive system as they are. You can see plays attempted to be carried out and you could see where the play broke down. Technically, UH has superior players for their level. Yet, right now, execution is inconsistent. That’s where intangibles can come into play. Drive, tenacity, being in the zone, heart, confidence, focus… these factors can make a so so team into winning teams. Body language and over thinking in a match can over power positive intangibles to the point of being out of control. Either you have it or you don’t.

What’s going on with Taylor is Dave Shoji’s way of slowly having a player going into certain roles that he want’s her to do in the future. As I see it he sees Taylor growing into Hartong’s current role. You’ll see Nikki serving and playing backrow with the threat of her 3 meter attack when the situation of the set presents itself to do so.

Ok, not sure what I’m doin anymore. Either I’m trying to sway people my way or I’m disputing some of the things other have said here. Either way, allow me to present a couple of points. First, I just finished watching last nights match for the fourth time in its entirety. And I have come to the conclusion that making a point of the lack of kills Kastl had seems disingenouous. All UH hitters within their first six shots hit pretty close to zero. Both Taylor and Vorster’s first set proved to be a pretty awful hitting display. Throughout the match, of Jade’s kill total, thre were over passes hardly displaying skillful hitting. AS for Taylor, she was hitting negative for her first 6 shots. Even Hartong did not hit for a good average in set one. Yet, stating that Kastl was in effective based on about seven total kill attempts. Only because of the total amount of sets were Taylor, Vorster and Hartong able to pull their numbers up. I conclude then, that had Kastl been given the same opportunity with the same equal attempts and quality of sets, she could have had a similar outcome. So why the emphasis on her kills and not everyone elses? Also, bringing Manu back in the third did not provide anything better, in fact the overall play went down in the third IMHO. When UH lost on the road, no one attributed Hartong’s performance against Northridge as an OH that was ineffective therefore she should be replaced. Even though double, triple blocks continued to shut her down. Instead the explanation was hat the passing was bad or that the scouting was really good. But even last night the passing was pretty awful from everyone but Longo and the DS’s, Uiato and possibly Kastl. Yet no one is stating that OH2’s had to deal with out of system sets. It seems trying to justify things is easy when not all of the facts are first brought into the discussion and then analyzing them to figure out how things came to be.

Oh and the 6-2 player is kalei Greeley!

94. Ron. That would be Savannah Kahakai from Farrington and Gianna Guinasso (sp?) from Calif.

I also suspect that tayler higgins has potential to be great like Kamanao or Robyn. She’s very vocal on the court and takes leadership. Dave has commented that mita only beat her out by a little.