Coach Shoji and Wahine Volleyball 2015..Pre-season Rankings

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Coach Shoji and Wahine Volleyball 2015..Pre-season Rankings

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Coach Shoji and Wahine Volleyball 2015

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sportspre ... nough.html

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There are two stories to the above article:

Coach Shoji is eating up all the notoriety given to him by the media…LOL, on his retirement for next seasons…”I am not leaning one way or another at the moment,” he said.

Hey, coach maybe a sure bet Top Five recruit Norene Iosia (PrepVolleyball.com 2016 Senior Ace Top 100) will change her mind. I’m sure there’s more than a few TOP BCS programs who would love to have her setting and leading their team to the FINAL FOUR.

Time to stop this nonsense, either retire or tell the media “It’s not about me, it’s about the team. We (not I) still have unfinished business, and another National Championship to win before I retire”.

On next year’s team, per the above link:

"I think we have a lot of room for improvement," Shoji said. "Each player coming back didn't have their best match (Saturday and) needs to improve; otherwise they will be replaced by one of the current players or someone new coming in.
"If you analyze position by position, we need better lefts (left-side hitters), be more reliable on the right. And we'll take a look at setter. Tayler (sophomore Higgins) played well at the end but still has to be better. Kendra (freshman Koelsch) has shown ability. It's another area we need improvement."

LOL…coach, your honorable mention AA (IMHO going by the stats of all the 1, 2 and 3rd team AAs, Maqill’s numbers were comparable or better) Maqill will be one of your starting MB, Nicky Taylor (who was hindered by her pre-season elbow injury and lack of practice time during the season) will be one of your starting OH, Greeley (who was the best primary passer on the team) will also be one of your starting OH and Taylor Higgins (even with up and down passing Maqill and Adolpho’s hitting % were outstanding) will definitely be your starting setter.

I think coach need to ANALYZE how he had and will utilize Manu-Olevau for this coming 2015 season. IMHO coach is mesmerized by Tai’s athleticism, but blind to the result on the floor. She leads with kills/set, but she also makes a ton of hitting errors. No pun intended, but for a go-to OH, Hitting for <.200% for the last two seasons will not take your team to the FINAL FOUR. She needs more than heat when attacking-a wider array of shots would’ve and will be the KEY to UH success next season if coach continues to use her as his go-to OH. Again, no pun intended, Tai on this level (on the HS and club level she was subbed out when she rotated in the back-court) is definitely not a primary passer.

On the 2015 recruiting class, per the above link:

"It's a good class," Shoji said. "We know what Mitchem can do and she could be in the middle or she could play on the left or on the right. The freshmen will be freshmen and fight for playing time just like everyone else."

IMHO Mitchem and Maqill will be among the best, if not the best, middle blocking and hitting duo in the nation. Mitchem will be an instant success in the front row (defense/offense); however, it remains to be seen if she can be the next Angelica Ljungquist (4 time all-rotation MB AA). Mitchem throughout her volleyball career (high school, club, IVC) was always a middle blocker/hitter. IMHO moving Mitchem to the outside is a definite NO. I'm just a fan, so what do I know. LOL…if it’s not broken don’t fix it.

Forget the “freshmen will be freshmen”; if they’re better than an incumbent put them in the game. Kim Willoughby would’ve been a four-time AA if coach had started Kim at OH from the get go. Freshmen who were instant success from day one: Kahamoku, Kamana’o, Danielson. Stanford, Penn State, Texas has and will always be successful starting freshmen from day one.

If you can make it on PrepVolleyball.com’s Top 100 Senior List, that athlete is not a RAW talent. In the 70s and 80s and early 90s, not much in off-season club volleyball. Now, after high school season is pau, the elite players go on for 9 months of club volleyball training and competition.

IMHO, Granato if she can’t break into the starting lineup as an OH, she can definitely give Kahaki a run for the starting Libero spot.

Castillio, before she fractured her leg, was on her way to a top 10 listing in PrepVolley.com’s Top 100 Senior Ace listing. She can either play Middle or OH. IMHO she’ll make her mark as a wahine’ OH.

Maglio would’ve started on a lot of BCS programs, and definitely she would’ve been a starter on non-BCS programs. She’ll be a good one, but she’ll have to wait until the 2016 season. Just a thought, but maybe coach should redshirt Maglio next year.

Huff (In high school was into basketball more than volleyball) is very athletic, but in her case, came into the wahine’ program as a RAW volleyball player (picked up volleyball late in her teens). From what I saw from her limited time on the floor, she had a lot of enthusiasm and desire when she was on the floor. She definitely has the volleyball athleticism to play on the DI level. Coach gave Long (IMHO Long should have been given a long look at Libero from day one of her Wahine career) and Passi their chance early in the pre-season and they both didn’t seize the moment. IMHO coach should have played Huff more when Manu-Olevao was having a bad set. Knowing how coach feels about freshmen coach should’ve redshirted Huff this past season to help her improve on her volleyball skills, gain strength/quickness and compete for the 2016 season.

Next year’s roster
Setter:
Tayler Higgins, 5-9 junior
Kendra Koelsch, 6-1 sophomore

Outside Hitter:

Megan Huff, 6-3 OH sophomore (basketball scholarship)
Nikki Taylor, 6-4 junior
Tai Manu-Olevau, 6-1 senior
Kalei Greeley, 6-2 sophomore
Makenna Granato, 5-11 freshmen
Casey Castillo, 6-3 OH/MB freshman

Middle Blockers:

Olivia Maquill, 6-1 senior
Emily Maglio, 6-3 sophomore
Annie Mitchem, 6-3 junior
Natasha Burns, 6-5 Freshmen, decomitted from West Virginia (Big 12)

Libero/DS:

Savanah Kahaki, 5-8 sophomore
Clare Anderson, 5-7 sophomore (walk-on)
Gianna Guinasso, 5-9 sophomore (walk-on)
Katiana Ponce, 5-3 RS senior (walk-on)

PrepVolleyball.com preseason Top 50: Hawaii #16
AVCA Division 1 Coaches Poll: Hawaii #18
Rickern Poll 15
Pablo Rankings 23
RKPI Rankings 32

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