The foundation of Waiakea High girls volleyball remains a pillar of strength even as the program swayed a bit in 2018.
Coach Ashley Hanohano enters her seventh campaign and is suddenly one of the more tenured coaches at her school, and she’s bolstered as usual by a coaching staff that includes mom Rachelle Hanohano – who does an ample amount of dirty wok and heavy lifting – and Jazmin Paakaula, her former teammate at St. Joseph
“I think it’s hard for her to give up this job,” senior Bethany Honma said. “She definitely loves it and she has a certain connection with us and makes a bond.”
As the Warriors have followed an arch that peaked with BIIF Division I titles in 2015 and 2017 before taking a step down last season, the younger Hanohano has learned to adapt.
“Millennials are very different from when we started coaching,” she said, “we tend to be a little bit softer than we usually are.”
With the rise of social media, it’s completely different from her playing days with the Cardinals, graduating in 2004.
“There are positives and negatives,” she said. “We learn a lot about drills and techniques from all over the world (on social media), so it’s not a bad thing. But you do find in practice there is a difficulty in focusing on long periods of time. Our drills always have to be 15 minutes or less.”
Annually a member of he Big Three in BIIF Division I along with Kamehameha and Hilo, the Warriors were fourth last year, also finishing behind Kealakehe, and missed on a state berth for the first time since 2013, the coaching staff’s first season.
One of the problems, Honma said, was team chemistry, and improving in that department will be one of primary tasks for the Warriors at they host their seventh annual girls volleyball tournament from Thursday (starting at 3:30 p.m.) through Saturday at the school gym.
Beyond intangibles, Ashley Hanohano, said job No. 1 is shoring up the team defense.
“Our first defensive aid is our block, I want to see if they are able to move quick to the net, are they able to read the other team, can our defense work around the blockers, that’s mostly what were focusing on,” she said.
Thank to libero extraordinaire Jordyn Hayashi – and to lesser extent 2018 grad Makena Hanle – the position has become a point of pride at Waiakea, and Hanohano said many taller players, who might not otherwise ask to play the role of a defensive specialist, ask her to try out at the position.
That list of players includes senior Kelsie Imai. The University of Hawaii basketball commit was denied in her libero request, but she’ll fill a versatile role for the Warriors at either hitter or blocker.
“We haven’t chosen one individual just yet,” Hanohano said, “but we do have four great defenders right now and two that we’re tossing up at libero. This tournament will be a good show into what we’re doing.”
Hitting can wait, she said, though Honma, a left-hander and the team’s only fourth-year varsity contributor. is primed to be play L1 (primary hitter) in a 6-2 (two-setter system.
“I think I will have to take a lot of swings, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” she said.
Honma was asked to compare her role to that of former teammate Kayla Kahauolopua, an outside hitter who shared co-BIIF Player of the Year with Hayashi in 2017.
“We also have (junior) Kailey Doll, I think she’s a great hitter, she’s my opposite,” Honma said. “I think with us two, we can make one Kayla, for example, fill that role.”
Of the four Warriors who made all-honorable mention last season, only senior setter Halee Sweat returns. Senior Michelle Vintero is expected to contribute at middle blocker, a position that Hanohano thinks is loaded with future standouts.
The pipeline of talent coming from local clubs dried up for a couple of years, denying the Warriors a feeder system, but the staff welcomed what his perhaps its best freshman class this season.
Setter Grace La’akea Nakoa-Oness has already impressed Hanohano, who also is excited to welcome back a couple of her former players, Kryssie Okinaka and Kylee Ancheta, as volunteer assistants.
That will only strengthen the foundation.
Whether Waiakea sways again remains to be seen.
“Kamehameha is definitely the favorite,” Honma said. “They have the biggest and baddest hitters, but sometimes the underdog comes out on top.”
Notes: Joining two Waiakea squads in the tournament is three teams from Kamehameha, Hilo’s junior varsity, Honokaa, Kealakehe, Keaau I, Keaau II, Kauai High, and Oahu’s Hanalani. Play on Friday begins at 3 p.m., and action begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, when gold and silver division titles will be decided.
Editor’s note: This story has been modified to correct the name of assistant coach Rachelle Hanohano.