Final RPI also out, Hawaii No. 14
December 21st, 2010
By Cindy Luis
By Cindy Luis
And the debate will continue. seems very scewed that Stanford can finish No. 2. and Florida No. 3 when Cal, making the championship match, is No. 4.
At least this year Penn State finishes No. 1 in RPI. last year Nittany Lions were No. 2 to Texas despite beating the Longhorns for the national title
http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/weeklyrpi/2010WVBrpi1.html
Volleyshots
Looks like the bad teams in either conference are just plain bad, but from the middle of the conference and up, it seems that the Big West is a slight upgrade in competition. The top 4 or 5 BW teams should provide some very good competition during conference play.
14 Hawaii
62 Utah St.
75 New Mexico St.
106 Boise St.
146 Nevada
150 Fresno St.
155 Idaho
221 San Jose St.
239 Louisiana Tech
35 Cal St. Fullerton
37 Long Beach St.
63 UC Santa Barbara
64 Cal Poly
82 Pacific
114 UC Davis
152 UC Irvine
161 Cal St. Northridge
260 UC Riverside
Thanks for the comparison.Things change year to year and RPI also based on who else you’ve played outside of conference. Sometimes you think you schedule tough and then a team tanks. example is UC Irvine picked to win Big West. Did pretty poorly.
Hawaii moving to the Big West (2012) should help the conference RPI
I think it would be tough for UH to beat the taller, more physical teams. Hawaii’s big gun is 5-10. PSU has 2-3 big guns, all over 6-0. UH had too many gaps in this year’s lineup & was too inconsistent in big matches. I was really impressed w/PSU’s freshmen. How many times has a freshman been named the tourney’s MOP? They’ll be a good team for a long time. Sucks for the other teams.
Not to mention the setting. enn St. had a setter that was a defensive specialist. She is only 5′ 6″ and while she is still learning the position, she set a more heady, consistent match than UH’s in my opinion. After watching the final egiht teams go at it, I am convinced that our setting has not been up to the same level as these teams. When the sets are not there, the hitters cannot get in groove. And if the hitters are not in sync, then the rest of their game suffers. I really hope that Dave plays players that have the skill and not because of favoritism. The bottom line is, being all WAC means nothing if you cannot be a consistent performer. And numbers mean little if when you are in a crucial match, you just fold or get worse. Penn St. took it to Cal and the coaching staff was perfect with their game plan. For a team to win it all, I believe both the coach’s game plan has to be solid and executed correctly as well as the players have to go all out and play with no fear. It’s a holistic thing. If you play tentative, you will loose.
You know, I was getting really irritated when Karch kept on insisting that Penn State’s setter (Carpenter) only had 3 months to learn the position. Truth is, she was a setter in high school! In fact, she set for the youth national team while in high school. To me, that is not someone learning the position — she already has the skills to be successful at setter. Anyway, I’m not going to take anything away from her because she was very impressive to me.
But yes, I agree with our setting — it was just all over the place this season. Sure, our passing was not that great, but the setting didn’t help much. Hopefully, Shoji is done trying these type of experiments (Mafua) when he can recruit athletes who have been training in that position (rather than convert to it in college).
Agree w/most of what you’ve said…this year’s setting was not as good as in previous years…but neither was the passing. As far as the “experimenting” issue goes, Robyn Ah Mow was an OH who was converted to setter. In fact, she beat out a natural setter to become a starter (as a frosh, I believe). I agree that it would be better to recruit a natural setter. But, there are some athletes who are talented & physical enough to make the transition.
Actually, Robyn was a S/OH in Club so it’s not like she didn’t have experience. She was primarily used as a hitter but she also saw playing time as a setter.
Thanks for mentioning that Robyn set in club. So did Mafua. it’s not like it was a grand experiment with her.
Ah Mow probably should have been the starting setter as a freshman but Shoji wanted to go with his veteran in Anderson.
“Hopefully, Shoji is done trying these type of experiments (Mafua) when he can recruit athletes who have been training in that position (rather than convert to it in college).”
Lets also remember that the prospective student athlete NEEDS to want to come to Hawaii also. Shoji can go after the top players each year, but if they don’t want to play at Hawaii then he can only do so much. Seems like being in the Big West will help lure some of the upper level athletes to Hawaii (at least in comparison to the WAC).
And, have said that many times in the past. Just because hawaii wants you to play for them, doesn’t mean the player is going to come.
Same with opponents. Someone said recently “Let’s get SC, Cal, etc on the schedule.” doesn’t happen like that. School are much more cost aware these days. You might not even get Nevada out here after the schools split from the WAC. Their coach told me that 90 percent of her budget went to travel, and the majority of the travel budget went to the trip to Hawaii.
Cindy. In the spirit of Thanksgiving/Christmas/the holidays…here’s one.
Personally, I’ve been one following UH VB, intently, since the mid-80s. I realize that some have also been fans since earlier/some later, but couldn’t a new thread be started of favorites, of ones we are most grateful for over the MANY years???
Old school, new school, male, female favorites; all-americans, substitutes, some famous, some not so famous–Your Favorites. Perhaps the line could be drawn at (say) 1995. New school favorites [1995-2010] would be okay. I’ll go first…
___
-Old School-
(M) Mark Presho,
Early in the transitional processes between Rosehill and Wilton in the 90s, Mark literally carried the UH Men’s program upon his own shoulders. The #1 ranked group of Allen Allen and Co. had most recently graduated; Mark came to Hi. from CA to uphold Hi.’s winning traditions. He played his heart out, always, and was a quite a sight in Klum.
(F) Debbie Black,
With another year of eligibility to play, ultimately–and serendipitously–it was her exit of the program IMHO which lead to the 1987 NCAA Championship. The last time HI won thee trophy, of course, is due in part to Black’s return to CA. Team dynamics, Mahina’s new position, the firery quest…yeah, thanks Debbie.
-Modern Age-
(M) Costas Theocharidis,
I don’t believe that I’d need to say anything further.
(F) Kanoe Kamana’o,
For as much as she was steadfast on going to UCLA her entire young life, she opted to remain home and remain a Wahine–leading most extraordinarily. Shear mental strength, along with physical giftings, and a love of her native aina kept her teammates enthralled, inspired, and most importantly, performing. 2003 was quite a year to step into the national spotlight–straight out of high school–at Dallas, TX. Thanks, now, Ms. Ka’aihue. You’re the best!
*What would anyone say???
Robyn Ah Mow: The greatest setter to come out of UH, male or female.
Cindy,
Clarification needed from the Dec. 5 article by Ann Miller (Shoji valued “nice bunch”):
“The most pressing concerns are a libero and a hitter who can pass. There are five freshmen coming in, headed by Jane Croson and Jade Vorster, who will enroll next month.”
Are both Croson and Vorster enrolling in January, or just Vorster (I thought I previously read that it was just Vorster) but looking at the way the article was written it might be interpreted as both of them coming. VTers are wondering?
Also, any news on the spring exhibition (travel restrictions for teams coming in?)
Easy one me ,difficult one for the lame brains of Volleytalk.
Croson heads the incoming class.Voster enrolls in Jan.
have only heard about Vorster enrolling in Jan. I think the clarification should have been Vorster, the latter who will enroll …
let VTers wonder.
no news about spring exhibition.
Still trying to figure out where the travel restrictions thread came from. it is supposedly in effect for the NCAA tourney. have never heard, seen, read anything regarding spring exhibitions.
http://www.volleytalk.net/index.cgi?board=general&action=print&thread=35650
Here’s another format of the thread.
http://www.volleytalk.net/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=35650
thanks for the link to the thread on VB. I’m still confused. the link says travel for spring restrictions but they quote the rule for the playing season, which is not spring. nonchampionship season means non ncaa tournament.
And the way I read it it doesn’t affect Hawaii since there are no other schools in DI within 400 miles.
Can UH get another title? I say yes. Do I know how to do it? No way. I am hopeful that hard work and dedication pays off, yes I am, but it would seem that other factors are needed to win. Does having the “best recruits” mean you will win? I’m not so sure. But does it help, definitely! Is travelling every year a big reason why UH falls short. I believe it does. I can’t explain why I think so, I just look at the physical demands on traveling and the lack of a home court advantage. Dave and co has a hard job, my wish for him and all of Na Wahine is the clarity and the fortitude to fight the fight and be wahine warriors! Happy holidays everyone. See you next year. Aloha.
i don’t know who is more inpressive the UCONN women basketball or Penn st Volleyball both coaches are well intense frankly the wahine best chance will be next year i hope the best
Neither.
This was such a weak year for volleyball overall. PSU won with a 5′ 6 settter and their M2 got no sets in the championship game at all, NONE.
Last season’s wahine team could have won it all this season, oh well!!! Looking forward to regionals at the SSC next season.
A great discussion is really worth a comment. I reckon you need to write more about this matter, it might not be a taboo topic but generally people are not willing to write on such topics. Cheers