Before her head coach could tell her the good news, Winthrop junior Siani Yamaguchi saw that she was named the Big South player of the week on Instagram.
“It was unexpected,” she said Tuesday. “I found out from Coach later, but I already knew.”
Yamaguchi, a three-year starting setter for the Eagles, has been ahead of the game for her entire career.
She started her first collegiate match and hasn’t missed a set yet, recording more than 2,500 assists and 700 digs with more than a year left to go.
The 2016 Kalaheo alumna averaged 16.5 assists per set and added 20 digs, three aces and three kills in wins over UNC Upstate and UNC Asheville last week to win the weekly conference award. The Eagles added a sweep of Campbell on Tuesday to push their conference record to 6-2.
“So far, so good,” Yamaguchi said. “It’s a new coaching staff and we’ve had to make a lot of adjustments, but so far everything has been working out.”
A two-time OIA first-team all star with the Mustangs, Yamaguchi played her first two seasons at Winthrop with Keaupono Fey, a Punahou alumna who graduated in the spring.
Now the only player representing Hawaii on the team, Yamaguchi has grown into her role as a vocal leader both on and off the court.
“I’ve got more confidence being a junior setter on this team,” Yamaguchi said. “There are more responsibilities now than just beating the (other) team. Being able to communicate with each and every one of my teammates and making sure everyone is doing a great job has kind of been my role since I got here, but I’ve learned to grow in that area.”
Yamaguchi has yet to win a game in the Big South Conference tournament at the end of the season.
The team didn’t qualify in 2016 after finishing 6-10 in league play and was swept in the first round by Radford last season.
Winthrop hasn’t had a winning record since 2014, when it lost to the top seed in the conference tournament semifinals. Midway through their conference slate, the Eagles are in third place, just a half-game behind league-leading High Point.
“I think we can take it all the way if we just keep progressing every practice and every game,” Yamaguchi said. “Now that we’re experienced and we have a lot of juniors and seniors, it has helped a lot because we’ve played with each other for the past two years.”
Yamaguchi chose to play at Winthrop to experience something different from Hawaii.
One of the biggest surprises about her time on the East Coast is how much she’s enjoyed playing with such a diverse team.
Winthrop has players on its roster from 12 states as well as China and Puerto Rico.
“It means more places to visit after we graduate,” said Yamaguchi, who was then asked where she wanted to visit first.
“I’m going to have to say Puerto Rico. I’ve been to California and Nevada and stuff, so I’ve got to go to Puerto Rico. Lourdes (Rosario) makes it sound really fun.”
