For one UH-Hilo program, aloha will mean hello. For another, the greeting signifies a farewell.
The men’s and women’s soccer teams have finally moved away from the constraints – not too mention dirt – of playing on their campus baseball field, and they are set to kick off the PacWest season against Chaminade on Saturday at Kamehameha’s Paiea Stadium in Keaau.
Meanwhile, the volleyball team heads to BYU-Hawaii in Laie, Oahu, for a final time.
The Cannon Activities Center has been a house of horrors for UH-Hilo of late, but coach Tino Reyes is nevertheless sad to see the program go. The Seasiders are fazing out all of their athletic programs after the school year.
“Oh yeah, I’ll miss it,” Reyes said. “Any time you lose a program, that’s not a good thing. We’re talking about people’s livelihoods here.”
The Vulcans (2-3) have a chance to leave a lasting memory in a gym they’ve struggled mightily at recently. BYU-Hawaii has often treated UH-Hilo as a mere three-set speed bump toward contender status in the Pacific West Conference.
Reyes called BYU-Hawaii the “dean of PacWest programs,” but getting players to join a near-extinct one has been understandably challenging.
\BYU-Hawaii is just 2-7 this season.
“That’s unprecedented of late and we’re not used to seeing that, but we can’t take anybody for granted,” Reyes said.
Since finishing 2-2 at the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase, UH-Hilo has been busy shoring up its serving and passing. The process has been made more difficult with the absence of libero Mina Grant.
Reyes was hopeful the sophomore could return from injury by Wednesday’s home match against Hawaii Pacific. Junior Trixie Croad will fill in at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Vulcans’ PacWest opener.
Soccer coach Gene Okamura is familiar with the artificial turf at Paiea Stadium, having coached Kamehameha’s girls soccer team.
The men’s team is winless entering its 12:30 p.m. match against the Silverswords (0-1).
At 3 p.m., the Lady Vulcans (1-2) get a shot to debut in front of the home fans against a Chaminade team that is off to an 0-2 start.
The Silverswords likely will pay a lot off attention marking sophomore Tiera Arakawa, who has scored all three goals for UH-Hilo this season and is the league’s reigning Player of the Week.
While Okamura gushes about Arakawa, he’s bullish on the women’s team in general.
“I like to the way they work together toward a common goal,” he said.
