Wahine sweep Albany in opener

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kolohekeiki
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Wahine sweep Albany in opener

Post by kolohekeiki »

The Wahine opened the season in impressive fashion sweeping Albany 25-17, 25-6, 25-17.

Emily Hartong impressed on the outside with 14 kills, hitting .455. Hartong also contributed with nine digs. Hartong wow'd the crowd with lots of heat and terminating kills. But what might have been the most impressive in Hartong's 2012 debut was were serve receive and back row defense. She helped steady on the passing and played great defense behind the block.

Alyssa Longo quickly became a fan favorite with her dynamic play in the backrow scooping up 11 digs. Longo also picked up two aces while causing multiple passing problems for the Danes from Albany.

Albany hung with the Wahine early in the first set, scoring the first two points of the match, but it quickly became apparent that they were just over matched by the fire power and skill set of the Wahine.

Redshirt freshman Jade Vorster also had a great debut picking up five kills in the first set. Kalei Adolpho the most experienced middle blocker returning had a great opener as well picking up six kills in the match.

Returning all-WAC first teammer, Jane Croson had a nice debut as she added 11 kills, four digs, an ace and a block in the three-game sweep of Albany. Arizona State transfer, redshirt junior Ashley Kastl came off the bench to put down five kills on a .455 kill percentage.

Redshirt junior middle blocker Kristiana Tuaniga came in and made a huge contribution in the third set, putting down four kills couple of them with a lot of intensity. The middles seemed to be the most competitive position as all four middles seemed about even in their contributions tonight. Transfer Stephanie Haggins also saw her first action as a Wahine picking up a kill in the third set. It seems as the middles will be interchangeable and we will be seeing the revolving door in the middle throughout the season. The depth in the middle seems like a plus for the Wahine as they can bring in anyone of the four middles at anytime without losing a beat.

Junior setter Mita Uiato looked impressive in her debut as her location and movement looks to have improved over the off-season. She ran a smooth offense tonight, dispersing a pretty even offense. Uiato dished out 26 assists tonight and also picking up five digs and two blocks. Back-up setter Monica Stauber also came in off the bench and sparked a run in the second set that saw the Wahine run away with a 25-6 win, that tied a rally scoring record for the Wahine for the lowest amount of points allowed.

Coach Dave Shoji was able to play a lot of Wahine tonight in their season opener. Also seeing action tonight was Courtney Lelepali, Kristina Kam, Emily Maeda, Kaela Goodman and seeing her first action as a Rainbow Wahine was redshirt freshman Ginger Long. All made key contributions in their 2012 debut. This season definitely has a lot of promise and the Wahine will be a great team as this team gains game experience and builds that team chemistry. It is promised to be another great and exciting season for the Wahine.

niterunner808
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Re: Wahine sweep Albany in opener

Post by niterunner808 »

:D

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