2015 Big West All-Conference Awards

| Big West Release | Hawaii Release |

The Big West has released the 2015 Big West All-Conference Awards today and Hawaii picked up multiple accolades including some of the top ones. Junior opposite Nikki Taylor (Honolulu, HI) was named the Big West Player of the Year and head coach Dave Shoji was named Big West Coach of the Year. A few others received awards as well.

Senior middle blocker Olivia Magill (Shoreline, WA), senior outside hitter Tai Manu-Olevau (Hilo, HI), sophomore middle Emily Maglio (Coquitlam, Canada), and Taylor were named to the All-Big West First Team while sophomore outside hitter Kalei Greeley (Riverside, CA) and sophomore libero Savanah Kahakai (Kalihi, HI) were named All-Big West Honorable Mention.

Taylor received First Team for the third season while Magill and Manu-Olevau did twice. Taylor also received weekly conference awards five times this season which ties the UH record and she is the seventh Hawaii player to be named Player of the Year. This is Shoji's fifth Big West Coach of the Year award. Congrats to all members for these awards.

2014 Wahine Roster Updated

The 2014 Wahine Volleyball Roster is now up (July 12, 2014) and we all know it is something that gets us excited for the upcoming season. I will keep updating this same post when the website updates (Bios, Photos, Info..etc) so stay tuned. *Note: I know people say that it is the media director (or whoever) that puts these up so the info could or could not be accurate

2014 Wahine Roster

First Update Notes (July 12)

• Katiana Ponce is back on (Was removed in previous roster)
• Magill is listed at 6'1" compared to her being 6'2" at Arizona
• Bio added for Magill and Koelsch

Roster Numbers: (Former Players with that uniform #)

• Koelsch - #2 (Kaela Goodman - 2013/Amber Kaufman - 2009)
• Anderson - #4 (Ali Longo - 2013/Brittany Hewitt - 2011)
• Huff - #5 (Kyra Goodman - 2013/Ashley Kastl - 2012)
• Magill - #9 (Jade Vorster - 2013/Alexis Forsythe - 2010)
• Greeley - #11 (Jane Croson - 2012/Dani Mafua - 2010)
• Guinasso - #13 (Mita Uiato - 2013/Aneli Cubi-Otineru - 2009)
• Kahakai - #15 (Ashley Kastl - 2013/Kristina Kam - 2012)
• Maglio - #19 (Katie Spieler - 2012) 

 Second Update Notes (July 31)

• Bio updated for Anderson, Greeley, and Kahakai

Third Update Notes (August 4)

• Bio updated for Maglio 
• Kaleo Baxter removed from roster (Volunteer Assistant)

Fourth Update Notes (August 6)

• Headshots posted

Photo Credit: Hawaii Athletics (L-R: Kendra Koelsch, Clare-Marie Anderson, Megan Huff, Olivia Magill)

Photo Credit: Hawaii Athletics (L-R: Kalei Greeley, Gianna Guinasso, Savanah Kahakai, Emily Maglio)

Fifth Update Notes (August 7)

• Bio updated for Huff

Sixth Update Notes (August 8)

• Bio updated for Guinasso

2014 Girls Junior National Championships

The 2014 Girls Junior National Championships being hosted in Minneapolis, MN have started and many Wahine Volleyball recruits are participating. There will be seven players there from the 2014 and 2015 recruiting classes and they will all be playing in the 18s Division.

Clare Anderson
| Punahou HS | Honolulu, HI | 'Imi'Ike Volleyball Club | 5'5" Libero | 2014 Class |

Savanah Kahakai
| Farrington HS | Honolulu, HI | 'Imi'Ike Volleyball Club | 5'8" Outside Hitter | 2014 Class |

McKenna Granato
| Punahou HS | Kailua, HI | 'Imi'Ike Volleyball Club | 5'11" Outside Hitter | 2015 Class |

'Imi'Ike Pool: Seeded 9th - View Results

Gianna Guinasso
| Huntington Beach HS | Huntington Beach, CA | Tstreet Volleyball Club | 5'6" Libero | 2014 Class |

Tstreet Pool: View Results

Kendra Koelsch
| Huntington Beach HS | Huntington Beach, CA| Laguna Beach Volleyball Club | 6'1" Setter | 2014 Class |

Laguna Beach Pool: View Results

Kalei Greeley
| Martin Luther King Jr. HS | Riverside, CA | Rancho Valley Volleyball Club | 6'2" Outside Hitter | 2014 Class |

Rancho Valley Pool: Seeded 16th - View Results

Casey Castillo
|  Santa Fe Christian HS | Solena Beach, CA | Wave Volleyball Club | 6'3" Outside Hitter | 2015 Class |

Wave Pool: Seeded 17th - View Results

Notes:

• All teams are in the 18 Open Division
• 'Imi'Ike, Rancho Valley, and Wave are in the same pool for Day One
• 18s Division run from June 28-July 1
• Seeds were posted but were removed (Will add if reposted)

Live Stream
 Courts 7-10 are being streamed live (Link)

• Rancho Valley vs Spiral (6/28 - 8am ET/2am HT) Court 10
• Rancho Valley vs Wave (6/28 - 10am ET/4am HT) Court 10
• Wave vs San Gabriel (6/28 - 12pm ET/6am HT) Court 10
• Imi Ike vs Texas Advantage (6/28 - 12pm ET/6am HT) Court 9
• Laguna Beach vs Northern Lights (6/28 - 1pm ET/7am HT) Court 9
• Tstreet vs Goldenwest (6/29 - 9am ET/3am HT) Court 9
• Rancho Valley vs San Gabriel (6/29 - 10am ET/4am HT) Court 8
• Tstreet vs Club West (6/29 - 11am ET/5am HT) Court 9
• Rancho Valley vs Texas Advantage (6/29 - 12pm ET/6am HT) Court 8
• Tstreet vs Orlando Volleyball Academy (6/29 - 1pm ET/7am HT) Court 9
• Tstreet vs A5 (6/30 - 9am ET/3am HT) Court 10

Tournaments for volleyball tend to go past the time listed so expect delays for later matches

Summer Recap

A lot has happened in the last two weeks for the U of Hawaii volleyball. So here is a recap of it all.

Girl's Junior National Championship (Dallas, Texas)

2013 Recruits
Tayler Higgins
5'9" Setter
Kui'kahi
Division: 18 Open
Started: 24th
Finished: 13th

Nikki Taylor
6'3" Outside
Imi Ike
Division: 18 National
Started: 29th
Finished: T-5th
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM

*Hannah Rooks
6'2" Opposite
Imi Ike
Division: 18 National
Started: 29th
Finished: T-5th

2014 Recruits
Kalei Greeley
6'2" Outside
Rancho Valley
Division: 18 National
Started: 3rd
Finished: T-5th
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM 

Savanah Kahakai
5'8" Libero/Outside
Imi Ike
Division: 17 Open
Started: 12th
Finished: 11th

*Kendra Koelsch
6'1" Setter
Laguna Beach
Division: 18 Open
Started: 17th
Finished: 11th

*=Sand Recruit

Boy's Junior National Championship (Reno, Nevada)

2013 Recruit
Kupono Fey
6'5" Outside
Kui'kahi
Division: 18 Open
Started: 7th
Finished: 13th

Jennings Franciskovic
6'4" Setter
Pacific Palisades (Pali)
Division: 18 Open
Started: 13th
Finished: 17th

Dane Keckin
6'6" Opposite
Pacific Palisades (Pali)
Division: 18 Open
Started: 13th
Finished: 17th

2014 Recruits
Larry "Tui" Tuileta
6'3" Outside
Ka Ulukoa
Division: 17 Open
Started: 7th
Finished: 1st
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
TOURNAMENT MVP

Luke Owens
6'7" Middle
Kui'kahi
Division: 18 Open
Started: 7th
Finished: 13th

Kama Paio
6'2" Outside
Pilipa'a
Division: 18 Club
Started: 35th
Finished: 26th

New Foreign Recruit for Warriors

Head Coach Charlie Wade has brought in a new foreign recruit from Norway. His name is Hendrik Nikolai Mol and he is a 6'6" outside hitter. Stephen Tsai of Warrior Beat posted and confirmed that Mol will be playing next season. Tsai also mentioned that Mol can touch 11'4" and is one of the top beach volleyball players in Norway.

There is a few recruiting videos of him on Youtube. Some fans have seen it and have been impressed with his hitting. People also mention he will make a great replacement for JP Marks who signed a pro contract before the end of the 2013 season.

Recruiting Video #1
Recruiting Video #2
Recruiting Video #3

Wahine on the USA A2 Team

Current Wahine outside hitter Tai Manu-Olevau and setter Mita Uiato both went to Dallas, Texas to train with the USA Women's National A2 Program. They were among 46 other college players to participate in this event.

All players were placed on one of four teams (Red, Blue, White, Gold) and Uiato and Manu-Olevau were both put on Team Red. Both players had significant playing time. Team Red ended the tournament by winning bronze.

Wahine Roster Changes

The University of Hawaii updated their Wahine Volleyball roster with changes but no real surprises. Jane Croson, Stephanie Hagins, Monica Stauber, and Kristina Kam have all been taken off due to their transfers. Katie Spieler who would be a redshirt freshman this season has also been taken off the roster because she is now a sand only player.

The new additions to the roster are freshman Nikki Taylor, Tayler Higgins, and Kyra Goodman. Also on it is junior transfer Keani Passi. People expect a new walk-on or transfer to come in soon but I don't.

Also Ashley Kastl changed her number from #5 to #15.

New additions to other school rosters are Croson, Hagins, and Kam. Croson was the only Wahine transfer who has a click-able profile while Kam and Hagins are just on the roster. UCLA has a 2013 roster up but has not updated it with their new players.

Future Wahine at Junior Nationals Schedule

Here is the schedule for all the future Wahine playing in the Girls Junior National Championships in Dallas, Texas. In my previous post I listed who will be playing for what team so you can check that out. They usually do not update for a while after the match finishes. So you may want to just check every once in a while

6/28:
(24) Kuikahi Wahine RSB vs. (25) AVC Clev Rox 18 (8am CT/3am HT)
(9) WAVE 18Brent vs. (17) Laguna Beach MS 18-1 (8am CT/3am HT)
(1) Skyline 18 RSB vs. (24) Kuikahi Wahine RSB (10am CT/5am HT)
(16) Mizuno LB Rockstar vs. (17) Laguna Beach MS 18-1 (10am CT/5am HT)
(8) STL CYC 18 Green vs. (24) Kuikahi Wahine RSB (12pm CT/7am HT)
(17) Laguna Beach MS 18-1 vs. (25) AVC Clev Rox 18 (12pm CT/7am HT)
(4) Sunshine 18 South Bay vs. (29) Imi Ike 18-1 (3pm CT/10am HT)
(3) Rancho Valley 18 vs. (30) Colorado Jrs. Kaepa (3pm CT/10am HT)
(29) Imi Ike 18-1 vs. (36) NYC Juniors 18 (5pm CT/12pm HT)
(3) Rancho Valley 18 vs. (46) Premier 18 Black (5pm CT/12pm HT)
(29) Imi Ike 18-1 vs. (45) OK Charge 18-1 (7pm CT/2pm HT)
(3) Rancho Valley 18 vs. (19) Zona 18-1 (7pm CT/2pm HT)

6/29:
(16) Mizuno LB Rockstar 18-1 vs. (24) Kuikahi Wahine RSB (8am CT/3am HT)
(17) Laguna Beach MS 18-1 vs. (32) Omaha Wave 181 (8am CT/3am HT)
(12) Imi Ike 17s vs. (20) Houston Skyline 17 (9am CT/4am HT)
(9) WAVE 18Brent vs. (24) Kuikahi Wahine RSB (10am CT/5am HT)
(1) Skyline 18 RSB vs. (17) Laguna Beach MS 18-1 (10am CT/5am HT)
(12) Imi Ike 17s vs. (29) Skyline 17 RSB Royal (11am CT/6am HT)
(24) Kuikahi Wahine RSB vs. (32) Omaha Wave 181 (12pm CT/7am HT)
(8) STL CYC 18 Green vs. (17) Laguna Beach MS 18-1 (12pm CT/7am HT)
(4) Coast 17-1 vs. (12) Imi Ike 17s (1pm CT/8am HT)
(13) CVA 18 Silver vs. (29) Imi Ike 18-1 (5pm CT/12pm HT)
(3) Rancho Valley 18 vs. (35) JJVA 18N (5pm CT/12pm HT)
(20) Rockwood Thunder 18Mizuno vs. (29) Imi Ike 18-1 (7pm CT/2pm HT)
(3) Rancho Valley 18 vs. (14) Niagara Frontier 18-1 (7pm CT/2pm HT)

6/30:
(17) Laguna Beach MS 18-1 vs. (24) Kuikahi Wahine RSB (8am CT/3am HT)
(5) Fusion 17 Black vs. (12) Imi Ike 17s (9am CT/4am HT)
(12) Imi Ike 17s vs. (21) Maverick 17 Elite (11am CT/6am HT)
(12) Imi Ike 17s vs. (28) NCVC Black 17-1 (1pm CT/8am HT)

7/1:
(12) Imi Ike 17s vs. (13) MEVBA MIZUNO 17 BLACK (9am CT/4am HT)

Others in Florida

I found out that 2014 indoor Wahine recruit Gianna Guinasso and her Tstreet 17's team are in Orlando, Florida competing in the AAU Girls Junior National Championships. Also there is 2013 sand recruit London Chow and her 951 Elite team.

Guinasso's team is the only Tstreet team that flew to Orlando while the rest of the teams are in Dallas. Her team is in the 17's Open division. Chow's team is in the 18's Open Division. I can't seem to find any results page but there must be something somewhere on the internet.

There is also being some recruiting down in Orlando from the University of Hawaii. The AAU website has a list of over 100 colleges that are going down to watch which included UH.

Future Wahine at Junior Nationals

Of the seven total women's indoor recruits coming in the next two years, four of them will be playing in the 2013 USAV Junior National Championships in Dallas, Texas.

All Team Results

2013 Recruits
Tayler Higgins:
Higgins is playing in the 18 Open division with her Ku'ikahi team. Her team is seeded 24th out of 32 teams. She is in the same division as Kendra Koelsch and Laguna Beach.

Nikki Taylor/Hannah Rooks:
Taylor and Rooks is playing in the 18 Nationals division with their Imi Ike team. Their team is seeded 29th out of 48 teams. They are in the same division as Kalei Greeley and Rancho Valley.

2014 Recruits
Kalei Greeley:
Greeley is playing in the 18 Nationals division with her Rancho Valley team. Her team is seeded 3rd put of 48 teams. She is in the same division as Nikki Taylor and Imi Ike.

Savanah Kahakai:
Kahakai is playing in the 17 Open division with her Imi Ike team. Her team is seeded 12th out of 32 teams.

*Kendra Koelsch:
Koelsch is playing in the 18 Open division with her Laguna Beach team. Her team is seeded 17th out of 32 teams. She is in the same division as Tayler Higgins and Ku'ikahi.

*=Sand recruit
 
Notes:

• Kyra Goodman was on the same team as Koelsch but has been taken off the roster due to some injuries she has been going through for a while 
• Koelsch went from the starting opposite to the starting setter because of Goodman's injury and other teammate Kelsey Humphreys is with the USA Junior National Team
• Gianne Guinasso's Tstreet team is the only team in her club not listed in this tournament
• Emily Maglio's team from Canada is not in this tournament
• Sand recruits Sydney Shinn, London Chow, and Kelsi Delgado are also not in this tournament
• Higgins' team and Koelsch's team will play each other on Day 2

The link for each players name is the results page for their club team. I will post a schedule for the matches later. I may or may not post results. The 18's division starts June 28th and the 17's division starts June 29th.