Posted on: Thursday, October 10, 2002
HAWAI'I DIVISION II
HPU going in blind against BYU-Hawai'i
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| LIN | GARBELOTTI |
Volleyball • What: NCAA Division II women • Who: No. 5 Brigham Young-Hawai'i (12-1 overall, 3-1 Pacific West Conference) vs. No. 24 Hawai'i Pacific (9-3, 4-0) • When: Tomorrow's Pacific West Conference match at Cannon Activities Center, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday's non-conference match at St. Andrew's Priory, 7:30 p.m. • Radio/TV: Tomorrow's match on AM 1500; Saturday's match on KHWE-14 and AM 1500. • All-time series record: Brigham Young-Hawai'i leads 80-18. . . . Last week |
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Besides playing tomorrow's conference match at home, the Brigham Young-Hawai'i women's volleyball team will have another advantage when it plays conference-leader Hawai'i Pacific this week: the element of surprise.
A conference rule that prohibits live scouting has sheltered BYU-Hawai'i from spying eyes. The rule, which applies to all six teams in the Pacific West Conference, restricts coaches from traveling to other arenas to watch or videotape matches.
That means tomorrow's match at the Cannon Activities Center will be the first time 24th-ranked HPU will see fifth-ranked BYU-Hawai'i and its talented freshmen from Taiwan, Chun Yi Lin and Yu Chuan Weng. HPU (9-3 overall, 4-0 in conference) and BYUH (12-1, 3-1) play again on Saturday in a non-conference match at St. Andrew's Priory.
While the no-scouting rule has ensured fairness in the highly competitive PacWest, the restriction hasn't protected HPU because the Sea Warriors' matches are televised nearly every week on KWHE-14 or Oceanic-Time Warner Cable of Hawai'i (channel 16).
"They can scout us, but we can't scout them," HPU coach Tita Ahuna said. "That's a huge advantage."
To learn about opponents, Ahuna said she gleans information from statistic sheets and "word of mouth." Conference teams are permitted to exchange videotapes with each other, but that option is rarely exercised, coaches said.
One of the reasons for the no-scouting rule was that the four Hawai'i schools could watch each other all the time, but no one would be able to scout the two Mainland schools, said Travis Elam, conference information director. The only time live scouting of conference opponents is permitted is when conference teams compete at the same location, such as tournaments, Elam said.
BYUH assistant coach Mike Apo said the Seasider staff watched HPU's televised match against Hawai'i-Hilo Sept. 25, but insisted scouting means little if teams can't perform on the floor.
He said HPU has many talented players, including senior middle blocker Susy Garbelotti, who is among the conference leaders in hitting percentage (5th, .305), kills (1st, 5.50 per game) and blocks (2nd, 1.36 pg).
"By just seeing them on tape, we can see what their tendencies are," Apo said. "They're going to go to Garbelotti a lot of times. They have a lot of weapons."
Apo said first-time opponents analyze BYUH during the match and make on-the-fly adjustments. He figured the HPU coaching staff would do the same.
"They're good coaches," Apo said. "It will just take them a couple of sets in the first game. They'll figure it out real quick."
Ahuna said BYUH always brings out the best in the Sea Warriors and she predicted two hard-fought matches. BYUH leads the all-time series at 80-18. Last year, the two teams split four matches.
"There has always been a good rivalry between the two schools," Ahuna said. "I've said this before when I first started coaching, they set the standard of what champions should look like and what a championship team should be."
Ahuna said she believed that BYUH's upset loss to UH-Hilo Friday will serve as a motivator for them against HPU.
"I know they don't want to lose again," Ahuna said. "It's going to be a fierce, competitive match."
Apo said the Hilo loss provided a wake-up call and has given other teams confidence against BYUH. He said the HPU matches should be interesting.
"If we play the way we're capable of playing, it should be a good match," Apo said. "The matches can go either way. It's just war when we get out there."
