It’s no surprise that Azusa Pacific was voted No. 1 and UH-Hilo at No. 2 in the PacWest volleyball preseason coaches poll. After all, the Cougars are the two-time defending league champion, and the Vulcans finished as the conference runner-up in 2019 and reached the preseason.
What was surprising Wednesday was that Chaminade tied UHH for the second spot and that only three votes separated the top three teams.
Biola was voted fourth, followed by Point Loma, Concordia, Fresno Pacific, Hawaii Pacific, Holy Names while Academy of Art and Dominican tied for 10th or last.
UHH outside hitter Bria Beale was named to the preseason all-PacWest team as was APU outside hitter Annaka Jorgenson. In a surprise, Fresno Pacific junior outside hitter Corrine Acosta was selected preseason player of the year. She averaged 2.53 kills and 3.66 digs per set, .124 hitting average for the Sunbirds in 2019, numbers far short of Beale’s work (3.69 kps and 2.94 dps, .240 attack average).
“Chaminade got a solid recruiting class coming in this year. They’ll be right in the mix,” UHH coach Chris Leonard said. “Azusa is the defending champion until they prove otherwise. It’s strange because we didn’t go head to head. Azusa is solid year in and year out.”
Under coach Kahala Kabalis Hoke, the Silverswords have mirrored the Vulcans’ success. They reached the postseason in 2018 for the first time to end a 14-year drought. Under Leonard, the Vulcans qualified for the postseason in 2019 for the first time since 2011.
But the Silverswords are the first to reload and compete with a new cast of standouts. They graduated their two best players, outside hitters Rachel Reedy and Emma Teklenburg.
UHH’s three best players (Beale, middle blocker Ashton Jessee, and opposite Alexandria Parisian) are back for one final glory run. The Vuls added two highly regarded transfers in sophomore middle blocker Sydney Gott (Feather River College) and sophomore hitter Nicole Schmitz (University of Jamestown, NAIA).
Chaminade recruited a pair of Division I transfer sisters in Brooklen and Kaybrie Pe’a, both from Youngstown State in Ohio. Brooklen is a junior and Kaybrie is a sophomore.
Leonard was far more surprised how little respect the West Region teams, those in the PacWest, CCAA, and GNAC, had in the national preseason poll.
Cal State San Bernardino, the 2019 national champion and from the CCAA, was ranked No. 3, and Western Washington, from the GNAC, was 14th. They were the only West Region teams ranked.
But as Leonard pointed out to his team polls are opinions and results matter. But here’s the thing: the PacWest, CCAA, and GNAC conference champions earn the AQ or automatic qualifier to the West Regional. The other five playoff teams are voted in by the West Region poll. So opinions, based on facts, do matter.
“Our goal is to hunt for our first conference championship, which is a long time coming,” he said. “We can’t just look ahead of us but behind us in the poll. All the teams are very good.”
The last time the Vulcans won the PacWest title was in 2010 but it was shared with BYU-Hawaii, which eliminated athletics in 2017. UHH’s last outright title was in 2009.
Leonard is fond of saying that the Vulcans compete every day in practice and called this year’s edition the deepest he’s had. He’s in his third year as coach after five seasons as an assistant.
“We have more competitive depth on the roster, 19 players, but only six can start and only 12 travel,” he said. “They’re all here for a reason because they’re talented enough to be on the roster. Some will play more. But it’s important that they continue to push to improve themselves individually and to help our team.”
He likes to point to 2019 as a reference. That year, the two starting middles (Jessee and Emily Wade) went down with injuries. The backups (Armani Moultrie and Kamilla Marinas) became starters and solidified the lineup.
After this season, UHH will be in the same boat as Chaminade this year with a big question: How to win without your best players? So enjoy Beale, Jessee, and Parisian for one final run.
On the recruiting front, UHH has seven Hawaii girls, including libero Tani Hoke, from Chaminade’s back yard. Hoke, a Maryknoll graduate, played for Chaminade assistant Kolby Kanetake’s club team, Aloha State VBC. Kanetake is a former UH-Manoa two-time All-American libero.
How did Leonard snatch one of the conference’s best liberos right under Chaminade’s nose?
“I was talking to her for a while. It was his club, but Gabby Matuatia was the head coach and I know Gabby,” he said. “She split time with another libero, but I liked what I saw. She came over for a visit and worked really, really hard. If you want to be a good libero, you have to earn your keep in serve-receive. That’s where good liberos are made.
“She worked super, super hard. She’s coachable and really quick. The progress she made her first year was outstanding. I hope to find kids who are talented and have that desire to improve.”
Chaminade has three Hawaii products on its roster while Hawaii Pacific only has one.
When it comes to five-star local recruits, Leonard pointed out it’s not just the Rainbow Wahine who will be in the mix but other big-name Division I programs as well.
Take Elena Oglivie, a 2020 Iolani graduate and three-time Hawaii Gatorade player of the year. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter went to Stanford as a libero.
“Manoa is very storied. It’s tough and if Manoa is following a player at that level there’s a whole bunch of Division I programs,” Leonard said. “We may not have the biggest or shiniest arena but have a good volleyball community. When a player gets here, she’ll be adopted by a bunch of new aunties and uncles. The support is great, and that’s one thing we share with Manoa. Volleyball in Hawaii is different from most parts of the country.
“That’s something we sell to prospective athletes. We hope to compete year in and year out and put the right people in place to do that.”