Coaches aren’t giving UH free passes for Shoji’s 40th

It seems that Dave Shoji’s volleyball national coaching brethren have two messages for his coming milestone 40th season.

One for the celebratory cake and one for the court:

On one hand, "Congratulations!"

And, on the other, "Show us what you’ve got, oldtimer."

The latter came through loud and clear Monday with the release of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 preseason poll, where the accumulated wisdom of 60 coaches’ ballots (Shoji did not have one) had UH a very un-Rainbow-Wahine-like 17th.

In the 33 years the AVCA has been polling coaches, including four years when UH was deemed No. 1, it is the lowest the Rainbow Wahine have been picked in the preseason.

And this was before the announcement Sunday that outside hitter Nikki Taylor would be out indefinitely with a hyper-extended right elbow.

While, maybe, 314 of the 334 schools that play Division I women’s volleyball would take a No. 17 ranking, run it up the flag pole and immediately call for an awards banquet, that isn’t the way it has been in Manoa, where four national championship banners flutter in the rafters of the Stan Sheriff Center.

"I can’t recall being ranked that badly or poorly … or lowly," Shoji said. "But I guess people saw what we lost — and we did lose quite a few players — so it is probably pretty accurate right now, as far as anybody would know. Nobody knows anything about anybody at this point, until we play."

What is known is that UH lost All-American Emily Hartong and setter Mita Uiato, among other mainstays, from a 25-5 team that finished 18th. Meanwhile, it welcomed eight freshmen, half the roster, giving it a big unknown quotient when practice opened Sunday.

"The only thing that would have surprised me is if we had been picked in the top 10," Shoji said.

The previous low for UH in the preseason poll was 16 in 1993, when UH was coming off Shoji’s worst season, a 15-12 finish that marked the only time the Rainbow Wahine failed to go to the postseason.

So his fellow coaches aren’t giving him any votes for old time’s sake. Even a record 1,228 victories and pioneering status don’t buy you that these days.

It comes on the heels of an eye-opening Big West Conference coaches poll last week. The Rainbow Wahine were picked to win it, again, but for the first time in a while were hardly the usual runaway choice. UH got five of the nine first-place votes, the fewest of any conference they have been in since the 2004 Western Athletic Conference season.

That was taken as a sign that the Big West, where UH had to rally to claim a tri-championship in 2013, believes the Rainbow Wahine are even more vulnerable. Never mind that none of the other Big West schools cracked the AVCA Top 25.

"You have to earn your spot and we haven’t done that, yet," Shoji said. "No one is going to give you any style points right now."

Even if you are the sport’s winningest all-time coach and this is your 40th season.

Not that you imagine the uber-competitive Shoji would have it any other way.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.