By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

So, when the University of Hawai'i was in danger of losing to UCLA Monday, was Rainbow Wahine volleyball coach Dave Shoji second-guessing his decision not to start All-American Kim Willoughby for disciplinary reasons?

If he wasn't — and Shoji maintains there were no regrets even after UH lost the first game, 30-25 — there were plenty of people willing to do it for him.

Given the e-mail wrath that Shoji said was waiting for him yesterday, it isn't hard to imagine the outcry had the No. 2-ranked Rainbow Wahine not managed to pull out the five-game victory over 11th-ranked UCLA.

So, give Shoji some credit for sticking by his principles on this one, especially in the face of what could have been a painful loss and a torrent of criticism. Give him some points for exactly the kind of tough love and attention to off-the-court detail that many in his line of work only give lip service.

Faced with Willoughby's late arrival for game preparation Monday and her importance to the team, the easy thing would have been to pretend it didn't happen or do nothing about it. And plenty of coaches, especially faced with an important early-season match, would have found a way to do one or the other.

Only Shoji and the team would have likely known otherwise. But that was enough. "People don't understand that you have to maintain team unity," Shoji said. "Some of them would rather that you just win the games. But doing that can hurt your team in the long run, too."

Shoji, long a man of few rules, expects the ones he has — attending classes and being on time for meetings and matches — to be followed.

"I just try to treat players as adults, let them figure out what is best for them and the team, and let them live their lives," Shoji said. "I don't have many rules. But if you establish rules, they have to mean something."

And they have to mean something for everyone, whether they average 7.3 kills a game and are a candidate for NCAA player of the year or somebody who barely gets off the bench.

Shoji could have made Willoughby run laps, a slap on the wrist that would let himself off the hook, and nobody would have complained.

But it likely wouldn't have been nearly the pointed reminder that sitting down your star for half the first game turned out to be, either. "I know one coach who set his (star) player down for just the first three plays and that's not much of a message," Shoji said.

UH won a tough match over UCLA Monday, but the message that accompanied it was more remarkable.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044