Shoji expects visitors to bring 'physical' game

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Dave Shoji and his Rainbow Wahine could face their toughest match so far this season when they meet Samorodok of Russia. Eugene Tanner The Honolulu Advertiser Exhibition volleyball WHO: Second-ranked Hawai'i vs. Samorodok of Russia WHEN: 7 tonight WHERE: Stan Sheriff Center TV/Radio: None TICKETS: $7 general, $6 senior citizens, $4 students PARKING: $3

Samorodok, which means Nugget, is owned by Russian gold mining company Amur. It is based in Khabarovsk, a city of 850,000 located on Russia's east coast. It is an 8-hour plane ride from Moscow.

Samorodok has played two years, advancing into Russia's High League after its first season. Last season it was 12th in the 24-team High League. The first- and second-place teams move up to the Russian Super League, considered one of the strongest in the world. Russia's women's national team is ranked No. 1 in the world.

Hawai'i coach Dave Shoji expects tonight's match to be "fun," and more of a challenge than any collegiate opponent his 8-0 team has faced. He still remembers the last Russian team to come here, in 1989.

"These are professional athletes," Shoji says. "They'll be very physical, I'm sure. Last time we had a Russian team here we had an unbelievable five-game match. It was one of the most entertaining matches I've ever seen."

Samorodok watched both UH matches last week. It has played a series of international tournaments since June. Last month, it trained in Korea and Japan. Its only loss in Korea came to the national team.

Earlier this month it played in a domestic tournament, winning its Eastern Division. That success forced it to cut its O'ahu trip short. Instead of playing all four teams here, Samorodok will play Hawai'i tonight and Brigham Young-Hawai'i tomorrow, then return home for the tournament championship. Its club season begins again next month.

Players on the team range in age from 17 to 34. The coach is Victor Bardok. Captain Elena Svinolobova is one of two 30-somethings on the team, and the only Russian who has been to the U.S. before. Svinolobova played one year for Utah Valley State Junior College.

This trip came together because Arthur Katanski, assistant to the Amur president and the club coordinator, was searching for a "good-looking" American team that would help his team "progress."

He found out about Hawai'i's exhibition against defending NCAA champion Stanford last April and came to watch. He asked the Rainbow Wahine to come to Russia for his tournament. That did not work out, but Shoji invited him here.

"Hawai'i has pretty good control, they are nationally known and the type of play is a nice-looking game," Katanski says. "They have good experience and at the same time they play like actors. That's good to get people to come. They have a really good show."

Katanski wants Samorodok and Hawai'i to have a "good, ongoing relationship" and still hopes to get the Rainbows to Russia. Amur expects to have a new 7,500-seat arena open next August.

"It's not just to see what team is stronger," Katanski said. "It's good for different aspects. Not just for the result, but to socialize."

After tonight, the Rainbow Wahine face Houston Friday and St. Mary's Saturday before opening Western Athletic Conference action next Friday against Rice.

COACHES' POLL

Wahine now No. 2: Hawai'i moved into second place in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll yesterday.

The Rainbow Wahine (8-0), who began the season at No. 4 and were third last week, have 12 first-place votes and trail only Southern California (6-0), which received 44 first-place votes.

Stanford (8-1), which had topped the poll since the preseason, tumbled to fourth after losing at Florida last week. Florida (7-1) moved from sixth to third in the poll on the strength of the sweep.