Coach Shoiji out coached himself............................

[seasider]

No pun intended.

LOL...In football, once a KEY player is cleared medically to play, that KEY player is in the game.

Nicky Taylor should have been in the game from the opening set. With Greeley the only effective outside hitter, and Long, Manu-Olevau not making much of a dent, UCLA defenders keyed on Olivia Magill. Clearly Nicky Taylor (playing all-rotation) would’ve been the difference maker. Her ability to put the ball down, would’ve taken a lot of heat off of Olivia Magill.

And…clearly (no pun intended) Long (definitely giving the best she can) is not ready for this level of play. 6-3 Huff should’ve started in her place. Huff’s 6-3 presence, and athleticism in the front row will be needed in conference play to spell Manu-Olevau when she’s having an off night. Until Tai can consistently hit in the .225-.250% range, a game tested Megan Huff will be a plus.

Ditto with Maglio, she needs some extended game experience, to spell Adolpho when her game is off. To date, Kalie has had only to two creditable games, the open versus Ohio, and last night versus UCLA.

Even without Nicky Taylor, all three sets could’ve gone Hawaii’s way, i.e. in opportune serving errors, and unforced hitting errors that turned the momentum around, etc.

Stats

UCLA 45Kills 16E 116TA .250PCT 42A 2SA 7SE 2RE 42Digs 2BS 20BA 4BE 1BHE
Hawaii 45Kills 21E 117TA .205PCT 42A 2SA 7SE 2RE 52Digs 4BS 16BA 4BE 2BHE

Bottom line, except for Tomorrow’s game versus San Francisco, this is the lineup for the rest of the season:

Outside Nicky Taylor 6-3 ½ and Kalei Greeley 6-3 (both will be all-rotation and primary receivers)
Opposite Tai Manu-Olevau 6-1
Middle Olivia Magill 6-1, Kalei Adolpho 6-1
Setter Taylor Higgins 5-9
Libero Sarah Medoza
DS Savanah Kahakai

For Sundays game: 6-3 Megan Huff for Manu-Olevau.

[My3Cats]

I agree with everything seasider says except that I believe that Dave tried to do the best thing by exercising caution with Nikki's injury. I think that he was almost forced to put Nikki in the game as a hitter because Long was not doing the job and Passi had also not done the job previously. I believe it is a hyperextended elbow injury which is something that I had and which does not really heal quickly. Aggravating that injury would mean a really extended healing period. It is still the pre-season and she is needed more for conference and post-season play.

[SM96753]

And…clearly (no pun intended) Long (definitely giving the best she can) is not ready for this level of play.

I agree 100% about Long. She really struggles.

Kalei Greeley, on the other hand, will be a very special player before her time is up.

[reignjah11]

It seems no matter what the sport, UH always play terrible on national tv. Wahine got swept last night at CSUN

[My3Cats]

Wahine lost in 5 at LBSU yesterday. Gotta pick up the pieces and pull things together for the next homestand.