Some updates, courtesy of Wahine booster club
By Cindy Luis
Mahalo to Stanley Ching, booster club prez. Couple of the items we’ve had but some we haven’t.
Jane Croson has a second- and a third-place finish in CBVA events this month.
On May 26, Margaret Vakasausau (1999-2002) wed Fabrice François in France … guests on hand included Jen Carey (1999-2002) and Lily Kahumoku Olteanu (1999-2003) …
At the USAV Open National Championships in Salt Lake City, Nickie Thomas (2004-08) played on a team from Texas that was entered in the Women’s A division … They finished seventh in their division ..
On June 2, Cayley Thurlby (2002-06) teamed with Chloe Markland to win an unrated CBVA event at Santa Monica/Ocean Park. Two weeks later, she teamed with Katie Carter to finish in a tie for third in a Women’s AAA CBVA event at Playa Del Rey.
Volleyshots
Hey,
Any know where Erin Perez (Moanalua HS) is going to play for college. An impressive outside hitter with potential.
Haven’t heard anything about her committing anywhere yet .
Perez will be playing at a small school…either a JC, DIII, or something like that. Can’t remember exactly, but it was not a DI or a notable school. Hopefully she transfers after a couple years.
Always great to hear things about former Wahine.
Jane and Summer played at the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series Belmar Open in New Jersey this past weekend.
http://diggingnawahine.blogspot.com/
Is it true that Jon Stevenson, long time and recently removed coach of Cal Poly women’s volleyball team, has died?
Yes, see AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour Facebook page.
Yes, see new post on Stevenson
Dave is doing a live chat on Facebook on Wed. See the UH web site for info.
According to diggingnawahine, Stephine Hagins is already here, and Kastl to arrive tomorrow, Wednesday.
Also, per diggingnawahine, Jane Croson will team with Tara Roenicke in a CBVA Tour Event, in Santa Barbara, this weekend.
I have often thought about the sparse coverage by the SA during the Wahine off season and of prospective recruits. Todays article by Stephen Tsai about a QB from Thomas Downey H.S. is another example. Although not due to signing an NLI until 6 FEB 2013 the article quoted statements by him, mentioned that he attended several recent football practices during a vacation trip here, his junior year stats, talked to his dad about his relationship with Norm Chow while both were at BYU.
I am aware there are restrictions placed on the WVB staff and boosters. The same applies to all UH athletic programs yet we get alot more informative articles about the football and mens bb programs. Why is that?
Tsai & Ferd old fashion type reporters.They are active in pursuing information and they obviously have good contacts.
I don’t follow Tsai around but I have heard that he spends a lot of time around 1337 Lower Campus Rd hiding in the bushes with his new smart phone. He also doesn’t seem to be shy about asking questions and many times that is all it takes.
True, Tsai spends a lot of time on campus.
“hiding in the bushes” do you suppose he was once a member of Seal Team Six?
Football and Men’s BB by far receive the most nationwide media and booster coverage, so folks and media have a lot more ‘dope’ to sift through. To me, its a large reason why casual Wahine fans often think the Wahine are better than they are (“we are SO good yet not winning naitonal champs like before”). If women’s volleyball had half the TV coverage of football/men’s BB, more people would see how good the talent (and size) is across the country, from the Pac-12, Big-10, & Big-12 in particular. But TV coverage outside the Wahine is sparse and pretty much limited to the minor cable channels. So to most watching the Wahine come postseason, they have never heard of nor seen of a lot of the All-Americans and other excellent players until they play UH.
Robin you made some good points. To be honest except for the Olympics(with former Hawaii players) I seldom watch a complete match if it does not include the
Wahine. When I look at the broad picture, 320+ WVB D-1 programs across the country, locations of the BCS money institutions, look at the map with UH being 2,400 miles off the West Coast I am amazed at the long term success the program has enjoyed. We are one of very few non BCS programs that are continually ranked in top five/ten. Althought not having won a national title in 25 years, we have led the nation in attendance 17 consecutive years(2.4 million fans), the only program that makes kala. Many opposing players say that the SSC was the best enviorment that they ever played in. What attracts players to our program is the fans, though you may criticize the fans for what you may consider unreasonably high expectations, the fans form the base of the programs success. No other program in the country whether it be in the Pac 12, Big 12, Big 10, SEC has the fan support that the Wahine have.
I’m liking the personality that this Hagins girl projects. She seems to be confident but not cocky .She seems to be laid back and down to earth like all of our girls and maybe a little shy.
Love some of her recent statements about Hawai`i :
Dang this place is amazing .
But dang these workouts are on a whole other level
Tell digging her name is spelled Stephanie.
How ?
Everyone on this blog knows that it is your digging na is you, Vinny.
But if you want to keep pretending that it isn’t, Twitter. His Twitter moniker is @diggingnawahine
Isn’t that kind of stupid to assume that some anonymous name is a certain person ?
It reminds me of when I was a member of VT back around 2000. Someone from Hawai`i had a moniker with the number 14 after it. That individual was always being accused of being Lauran Duggins,
But that wasn’t the only case there was always someone who thought they were detectives deciding who the person was behind a moniker.
Get a life idiot , if I ever start a blog or a forum I’ll let you know.
Defensive much?
I just hate stupid people.
You hate stupid people, I hate people who make judgments about players’ mental healths based on their Twitter accounts and then post such thoughts on blogs — which is its own version of stupid.
Anyway, if you want to contact person who runs digging na wahine blog, then “um” is right. Twitter would be the way to do it. I remember a previous post of yours where you said you wanted to thank him for how he handled the Ashley Kastl situation (posting drunken photos of the girl, accusing her of using Shoji just to get a free vacation to Hawaii), so now you have a medium. Good luck.
Enough about calling others stupid, gang. Please
A reminder if you’re on facebook, to post questions to Shoji on hawaiiathletics facebook site. He’ll be answering the questions starting right now 11am.
Left out you make some good points about ‘mundane’ stories However there are others who don’t want to know about the visiting teams. and i see no news value in talking to an opponent after they go home.
During the Ncaa post season matches at SSC they video taped interviews by both teams. I found them very informative. Very little of it was published in print. Isn’t there an interview of every match, seldom hear anything said by the opposing team/coach. Shoji’s remarks are pretty much a constant.
Cindy you have mentioned many times when you were a beat reporter that you had to scurry around to meet your deadline after each match. I’m not saying that there will always be a valid reason to do a post match article all time.
“However there are others who don’t want to know about the visiting teams. and i see no news value in talking to an opponent after they go home”. Thats why articles on the Wahine have become mundane, gotta think out of the box.
the response was in regards to doing something on an opponent after they returned home. I said I saw no news value in THAT.
Our deadlines have changed and the space we are given differs night to night. NCAA tourney much different from regular matches. They have different interview rules. the comment I made about chasing down quotes was mostly for the men’s season since they don’t do a formal interview sessions.
We don’t have room to do the entire taped interview. we have to pick and choose. perhaps we should look at linking to the post game videos.
I said there is no news value in contacting a team AFTER they’ve gone hone. What are they going to say that they didn’t say when they were here to begin with.
We have people on this blog who complain when we talk to the opposing coaches before they show up. how many “who cares’ have we read.
II am not writing the articles. Sorry you thin Ann’s are mundane. We do have different writing styles.
No kidding this “vinny” posts the same stuff here that is also in that blog. That blog also speaks highly of Steph but not of Ashley. Steph replied to this pyscho on twitter, while ashley didnt which is why he hates her and speaks so highly of Steph.
Kind of rich to tell someone to get a life when you are complaining about girls’ Twitter posts, copying and pasting said Twitter posts to blogs, etc., huh, Vinny?
Yep, two more stupid people.
If I had a blog I would have a comment section so I could ban people. I always wanted that kind of power.
So people who call you out on your ridiculousness are all stupid? Lol
You asked how. I answered. And you said before that you wanted to thank him. Just trying to be helpful.
Not surprised that football gets more coverage. Tsai is very good at getting recruiting updates. There is a lot more demand for football news than volleyball so that’s why it gets covered.
Tsai also can be aggressive about tracking coaches down and asking questions. He was the one who finally asked Shoji about FF and he doesn’t even cover women’s volleyball.
Not true. I asked Shoji about Fonoimoana and posted numerous comments. as in. Coaches aren’t counting on her.
AS for coverage, Ann is the beat writer now for WVB. She’s done stories that people haven’t noticed. probably because they don’t get the paper. and I have been remiss in re=posting them.
And FB has much more to write about when they have 80 scholarships plus walk-ons that give them over 100 players. We’re dealing with 18 maybe.
The answer one gets is also dependent on when the question is asked. In the case of FF, many people were asking about her beginning in January. Cindy, you and Ann asked Dave about her during that time also and as you stated, the answer during the Spring semester was a consistent one: we’re not counting on her. Then Stephen happens to see Dave and asks him in June when the picture happens to be more clear and Dave answers that she’s out of the picture for this fall. Makes Stephen look like he’s working so much harder. But it’s all luck and timing.
Tsai is on campus more than I am. Luck and timing … and agreeing not to say anything that coaches want off the record.
Pretty much knew Fonoimoana wouldn’t be here in fall but there are some privacy issues involved. Shoji didn’t want to talk about it on the record then and, as you said, Tsai ran into him at a time he could talk.
Cindy,
The only story I have seen in the paper, written by Ann, has been about the 3 transfers. One article in the last 2 months, or so. Nothing about Jane Croson’s time playing beach volleyball, this summer, or Hartong playing on A2. Or, even what the other players are doing this summer. There is much to write about, but it seems neither Ann or you, really care to write about, or track down. We, the ones who care about WVB, must try to track down those information by ourselves, or get that info from other sources, when it is suppose to be Ann’s and your responsibility as to do that. That is all most of us are asking.
We did a few shorts on Croson’s results. and Ann mentioned Hartong on A2.
if you’re unhappy you have other options.
Cindy,
Not unhappy, just disappointed, not with you, Cindy, but with Ann, since she is the beat writer, as you say. It seems she would rather write about recreational sports, then about the sport she is a beat writer for. There is alot she can write about, concerning WVB, not just one article, or a sentence here or there. Like I mentioned, she can write about how the players are spending their off season, especially Jane and Emily, and I do not mean just in one sentence, a whole article. Like I mentioned in the beginning, this is not about you, Cindy, cause I know you are not the beat writer.
I have no intention of pointing fingers at anyone, simply to state what I would enjoy covered in Wahine articles. I enjoy human interest stories, it doesn’t have to be about volleyball. I recall Cindy mention Deitre asking hurriedly after a match where the nearest L&L was, what a great opening for a story. About Kele Eveland(Georgia Tech) saying that the NCAA post season match at the SSC was the greatest enviorment she ever played in.
After reading years of pre/post match articles they have become rather mundane, sorta generic, just fill in the opponents name. Phone interviews of visiting teams prior to their arrival/ post match done after they return to their campus could spice up those SA articles.
Cindy,
Here is a thought, you can pass on to Ann. Articles about how the WVB players are spending their off season to improve themselves, for the upcoming season. That would be something people would like to know. Just a thought, since she is the beat writer.
leftout,
I totally agree with you, alot more human interest stories, concerning WVB. Also, spicing up the pre/post game story, then just the mundane, and generic, which shows a lack of interest, by the writer.
People hungry for WVB news. Hard not to but try not to take their comments personally. Remember Ann has an editor and maybe he/she doesn’t believe some stories are worthy of print or they are unable to get it space, whatevers. It may not be anyone’s fault just because we WVB fanatics wants news everyday.Lucky Cindy has a blog for all of us to read and find out stuff. No grumble, be thankful.
Hey everyone,
As much as I want to hear more about the Wahine volleyball players during the offseason, there are MANY more that probably don’t want or even care about what the team is doing.
Not only that, but Ann covers other sporting events and stories, not just Wahine volleyball.
So lets just be thankful we get any info, and that we have an outlet to hear/speculate/gossip.
Ann and I both cover other things. Ann currently on the mainland and we are both doing Olympic stories.