Hawaii vs. Stanford Assesment (Kind of Long) Posted by sLide on 4/27/2002 at 03:26:43
First of all, I just want to congratulate both Stanford and Hawaii. Both teams played EXCEPTIONALLY well tonight, and for an exhibition match, every single player played with the will to win. And may I say the atmosphere in the Stan Sheriff Center was amazing. It seemed like the NCAA Final in there! I give ALOT of credit to the Wahine fans who are obviously the most dedicated in all of NCAA Volleyball.
For Stanford, I was pleased with the performance of the Cardinal. Logan Tom started off H-O-T, and she seemed unstoppable. Ogonna Nnamani was also very good, firing off bullets. Several times she hit the outside set inside the ten-foot line. Here is my opinion on Stanford's play...
Outside Hitters
Logan Tom and Ogonna Nnamani played exceptionally well. I give them alot of credit for not giving up and fighting all the way. In game one, Tom and Nnamani were great. It seemed as if all Anna Robinson had to do was push it out to the antenae, and they'd get an automatic kill. But after game one, they were not much of a factor. In games 3 and 4, Logan Tom seemed to completely loose composure, and it was sort of dissapointing. She was getting blocked, and couldn't pass very well at all. Ogonna Nnamani played pretty consistent for the whole match, but let me say that the girl can't dig a ball for beans. But hitting wise, she was very effective and very "crowd entertaining." For 2002, I think Stanford's outside duo of Tom and Nnamani will be key to their success. If both can hold there own out there and play as good as they have, there is no doubt they will be in New Orleans come December.
Setting
All I have to say is, Anna Robinson= DISSAPOINTING. She was not very good at all! I don't know if she was just having a bad day, but she was just... off! She seems V-E-R-Y slow, and at times, doesn't make very good decisions. Several times she was called for ball handling errors, and she didn't block very well for someone who is 6-2. At times she did show flashes of excellence, delivering perfect sets to Tom and Nnamani, but other times- her sets were off. She has a good connection with McGee, and Ivy seems to be comfortable hitting her sets. On a scale from 1-10, i'd give her probably a 6. But you can't exactly blame her. Stanford's passing was horrible! She was chasing down ALOT of passes, and didn't really have a chance to run a great offense. She also likes to attack ALOT, and got only one kill out of like 8 attempts. She also was blocked by Kahumoku I believe. But overall, she was okay.
Middles
Sarah McGee is a solid attacker. Jenn Harvey is SLOW! I don't know, but I read in a thread below that Harvey seemed nervous. And I totally agree! She didn't get a kill until like the end of the second game, and it wasn't even pretty. In fact, almost all her kills came off of over passes, and dinks. McGee has a nice sLide, but hitting in front of the setter seems to be her weakness. She was slowed by Maja Gustin's SOLID blocking, but played overall well. She has a very lollipopish serve, and picked up like two aces. But for someone who led the PAC 10 in blocking, she sure didn't block many balls at all. Now to Harvey. Another dissapointment tonight. Towards game 3 she started to turn on, blocking several balls, but her attack was just not there at all. She was REALLY SLOW and didn't come in to hit very often. I KNOW she is capable of soooo much more though!
Opposite
Ashley Ivy played well. She troubled the Wahine with her slithering serve at times, and her attack was consistent. But like Tom, Ivy slowed down towards the end and lost composure. She did not play her usual "magnificent defense" and she couldn't pass for beans. Several times, she and Logan Tom just sort of looked at eachother when a serve came over and let it drop. But she played WELL. Go Ashley!
Libero
Jennifer Hucke played as the libero, and was okay. She wasn't amazing, but okay. She passed fairly well, and dug some nice balls. But at times she just was to slow and couldn't get there in time. And she also let some balls drop like RIGHT in front of her. I don't think she will be the libero come August though. Leahi Hall also played some, and seemed to be really upset over something. She played with absolutley NO emotion, and didn't even smile!
Team
Overall, Stanford played pretty junk. They did not look like a team that swept Long Beach in last years final. I know they are capable of being better, but how much better- I don't know. They seemed to be playing really hard, but were just slowed by a good Hawaii team. Overall, the thing they lacked most was passing/defense and COMMUNICATION! Gosh, they had absolutley no communication AT ALL and they were letting balls drop all over the place! They couldn't pass for beans and there defense was just ugly. Total slopiness and confusion. But with careful time and practice, they will be a complete team come August. Finally, they need to play with some spirit and SMILE! Gosh, they are like the living dead! I don't know if they were nervous around the Hawaii crowd, but gosh; absolutley no spirit!
HAWAII
Outsides
AMAZING! Lily Kahumoku and Kim Willoughby were unstoppable! In my opinion, they beat out Tom/Nnamani and were alot better than them tonight. Lily and Kim both started off slow in game one, but ended up with 23 and 21 kills, respectively. They did a GREAT job of tracking down the sets and hitting with consistency. They also dug and passed very well and were just great. With them on the outside, Hawaii has a very good shot at the National Title come December. Lily looks stronger than ever, and is hitting with some authority. She's just telling Stanford to SIT DOWN baby! She ruled out there. Tonight was definitley her night, and the crowd LOVED her. Way to go Lily! Kim was amazing too. Great hitting and Defense! And her blocking! Oh wow! She is AMAZING!!
Setting
Margaret Vakasausau and Jenn Carey both set throughout the match, and to be honest I can't decide on who was better. Both have there stregnths/weaknesses, and I enjoyed how Dave used both of them to his advantage. They both were good and ran the offense well. After a slow game one, Dave put Jenn into set game 2, and the Wahine were on. Margaret was very good in setting the outsides, but still doesn't seem to set the middles. Jenn went to Maja/Ody/Lauren alot more, and set Kim and Lily well also. Come August, I think both will be sharing setting positions.
Middles
ALOHA MAJA! Welcome back to the middle girl! She was great! She hit with authority, and seemed really comfortable there. Her block was ON and she just was great. She slowed down McGee/Harvey, and she made Tom and Nnamani find other ways to go around her. Several times, Maja caused a serve reception for the team, as she reached her hand out several times. But that can be fixed. Her serve was tough as usual, and she picked up several aces. Ody Eckmier and Lauren Duggins both played in the middle as well. Ody was extremely good, and has improved much. She placed her attacks well, and I think she was a perfect 4-4. She also was blocking much better, and is no longer as slow as she was before. Her serve is also great! It reminds me sort of a Veronica Lima serve. Very low and fast. Good job Ody! Duggins played both middle and right. She started off HOT picking up Hawaii's first two kills. She seemed to have gottern alot stronger, and is hitting more consistent. She finished with no errors, and blocked well. She also played well in the backcourt, picking up at least like a dozen digs. Overall, the middle was evident tonight. Stanford couldn't stack block on the right, because they had to worry about the middle attack alot more. It was good.
Opposite
Nohea Tano was pretty good. She blocked a couple of balls, and had some nice kills. She wasn't the most amazing player, but she was good. She will be an important asset to the team come August. Duggins and Eckmier both also played middle, but were not set very much when they were there.
Libero
Hedder Ilustre and Melissa Villaroman played well. There passing was sort of shaky at times, but overall they were good. They dug alot of balls, and passed alot of the court. It was sad to see only one of them in a green uniform, but they also got to play alongside eachother at times in the backcourt. Ashley Watanabe also got her first action of her career and even picked up a dig. Once, she made a beautiful pass to Jenn Carey off of a Logan Tom serve. Go Ashley!
Team
The team played EXCEPTIONALLY WELL! They seemed to get along really well, and they played with emotion and fire. This win may not mean anything as far as records go, but they recieved pride, and it was evident throughout the match. They played with composure, and communicated well. I enjoyed seeing Shoji use his players to his advantage. I think he is lucky he has such talented players to go to. I think if they all work hard enough this summer, they will be hard to stop in 2002. They look really dangerous as a team, so everyone better watch out!!
I just want to congratulate both Stanford and Hawaii for a WELL played match. I am a very big fan of both teams, and I hope to see them both in New Orleans. And I can't wait for November when they play again. It should be interesting!
Kim was amazing too. Great hitting and Defense! And her blocking! Oh wow! She is AMAZING!!