Season was no surprise to Wahine volleyball team

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Back in August, it appears the University of Hawai'i Wahine looked at what was left and asked those who truly wanted to be on their volleyball team to take a step forward.

Wahine sophomore Kim Willoughby made the spectacular seem routine despite being the focal point of opposing teams. Advertiser library photo • Aug. 20, 2001

It was not the most successful season for a program with four national championships and a history of regional appearances. But it might have been the unlikeliest regional rise in the Wahine's proud history.

Coach Dave Shoji admitted that early on he wasn't sure his team would make the NCAA Tournament, a startling statement from a man who has missed the playoffs once in his 27-year career.

"After we started 3-4," Shoji said, "I thought if we didn't coach hard and we didn't have kids who wanted to respond, it could have gone south real fast."

Instead, it went directly north. The Wahine won 24 straight as the coaches anxiously waited for them to falter. It never happened because Hawai'i never let it.

Kim Willoughby made the spectacular seem routine in her sophomore season, thriving in the harsh spotlight of full-time target. Margaret Vakasausau also thrived, winning the setter position in the third match and willing the Wahine to succeed with her unique blend of presence and in-your-face pride.

"Kim and Margaret just bring so much more," UH associate coach Charlie Wade said. "It doesn't matter if they're even touching the ball, just having them out there is contagious. Their personalities are such that they make people around them play better."

And the Wahine probably played better than the sum of their parts, particularly through a brutal road schedule that has Shoji re-assessing next November. They all made the best of awkward positions —Êon the court and off — and transformed one of the coaching staff's most challenging seasons into one of its most memorable.

#Shoji said there was little drama off the court to "mess with the chemistry" and no question on the court as to what each player needed to do. In that sense, he characterized it as one of his easiest teams to coach.

It was also a team that taught he and Wade the power of patience. It was never more evident than two weeks ago at Pacific, against two other Sweet-16 teams, when the Wahine outlasted Utah in five games and fell in five to UOP.

"Dave has really emerged as a very patient coach," Vakasausau said. "Even though he is like 100 years old, he's still maturing and never ceases to amaze me. ... He didn't baby us, but he didn't kill us."

Added Willoughby: "It wasn't like last year when I was afraid to go to the sideline. He was always on the edge, always really into it, slamming his clipboard down. Now he's really cool.

"He's getting used to the thought that this is not the best team he's had, but we are a very good team. He's adjusting to the way we play and the things we do. It works both ways."

Shoji, who turned 55 Tuesday, agreed absolutely.

"These players are so even-tempered that I couldn't be up and down either," he said. "You'd have a hard time barking at (Lauren) Duggins and (Nohea) Tano, they are just so easy-going. Margaret is about the only one that is really excitable. It's better just to coach them."

He did that well enough to coax "drastic improvement" out of his players, according to UCLA's Kristee Porter, and win nearly 30 matches. But the most compelling number —Êbeyond Willoughby's other-wordly ones — might be Hawai'i's digs.

After their season-opening loss to defending NCAA champion Nebraska, the Wahine were never out-dug in a match. It is a statistic that relates directly to training and technique, but ultimately is defined by relentlessness, much like rebounding.

And these Wahine were relentless, until the final moment.

"We can get down, but we pick each other up," Willoughby said. "We come back and kick butt."

Now, all but senior Tanja Nikolic will wait for next year to kick butt. It will be a fascinating wait.

All-American Lily Kahumoku has told coaches she will re-enroll in January. Two freshmen — 5-11 setter Cayley Thurlby and 6-3 hitter Susie Boogaard — are on their way. Shoji is looking for one more — "the best athlete we can find" — probably from overseas or junior college.

"Next year they're going to be really, really good because they'll get a couple of kids back and these kids are all juniors and sophomores," Eastern Washington coach Wade Benson said last week after the Wahine ousted his team. "What they could have been this year ... next year they're going to be better."