There’s something about Emily

Over a phenomenal four-year Hawaii career, the wonder of All-American Emily Hartong’s athleticism on the volleyball court has been a constant. What her Rainbow Wahine teammates appreciate most, however, has little to do with physical gifts or a relentlessness matched only by her competitiveness.

When they talk about Hartong, they always end up smiling. She is a little out there and a lot quirky. Hartong is the first to admit it and has come to embrace it.

"She’s the only person who can pull off her personality," Hawaii junior Kalei Adolpho says. "Some of the things she does, you’re like what the heck is this girl doing? But she does it so well that it’s funny. It’s adorable."

"It makes you smile," teammate Ali Longo adds. "You can’t go through a day when you see Emily and not be happy you saw her. Once you walk away, your day is probably a little better."

This from a teammate who admits she and Hartong are both so competitive they are no longer capable of playing board games together.

Hartong is so universally liked –and hard to dislike — that the skills she has developed with such devotion are never what those closest to her see first. And most of those closest to her here are Wahine teammates, who have lost just 12 times in Hartong’s career.

She has embedded herself into this Hawaii team, and the community that follows it so faithfully, with a rare passion. She wears 17 because it was the number painted on the bow of the USS Montgomery, where her grandfather Royal George Hartong served. He was a Pearl Harbor survivor and followed Emily faithfully until his death at 90.

He was ecstatic she came to Hawaii, and she was intent on playing in paradise since small-kid time.

"When I was in fifth grade we visited and I fell in love with the island, thought it was a beautiful place," she recalls. "I grew up in Southern California, by the beach, and this was just 10 times better than that was in regards to scenery and location. That was a huge asset.

"I knew about the caliber of volleyball and the reputation Dave (Shoji) had built through the years.

"Being coached by someone like Dave … I found that fascinating. I’d talk to friends and they’d be like, ‘You talked to Dave Shoji on the phone?’ At the time I thought, I want to go there, they’re a good team. I started following them at playoff games when they’d come to USC when I was young. There was something about Hawaii."

There is something about Hartong. She is a pure athlete — not a pure volleyball player — with a personality so kind and unaffected she finds it hard to write "I." Asked about "the meanest thing Hartong has ever done," her team goes silent.

"That girl," said volunteer assistant Kaleo Baxter, "doesn’t have an ounce of bad blood in her."

Tellingly, Hartong immediately has an answer. In second grade, she made a classmate cry. She has never forgotten it, and probably never repeated it.

She prefers to take out her frustrations on a volleyball court. Shoji and then-assistant Mike Sealy recruited her because she possessed "five-tool" skills. It’s a baseball term for players who hit for average and power, have baserunning skills and speed, and throwing and fielding abilities.

Hartong’s volleyball talents are comparable. Her career hitting percentage is over .300. She has a live arm and great strength. She soars over blocks. She is among the country’s top servers and has transformed herself into a six-rotation player who can pass.

"She still is not the most accomplished outside hitter, but she won’t get tentative," Shoji said. "Even when she’s struggled at times this year she’s never backed down or been cautious. She goes for every ball and every kill."

Hartong just moved past Olympian Deitre Collins into the top 10 in career kills. She could end up just behind Kanani Danielson, the "five-tool" player she replaced.

"She is tremendous physically …the complete package," Shoji said. "It’s a rare athlete nowadays in volleyball. It’s become so specialized you rarely get the whole package."

Hartong plans to play professionally after graduating next year in communications –she is fascinated by cinematography.

She has refined her game immeasurably, indoors and on the beach. She came with gifts and grace, but her competitiveness and relentlessness have placed her in rare Rainbow Wahine airspace.

"She wasn’t a highly recruited player," Baxter said. "Her work ethic has shown a lot in four years — what hard work can do. She’s become one of the top players in the nation because of it."

From the first week she was here, Shoji described Hartong as "having a motor that never stops." Sealy can’t say her name without adding "the hardest working player in volleyball."

Good thing, because the Wahine have fed her so many volleyballs the past two seasons they refuse to let her jump in most practices, to give her body a break. Hartong swung at fewer than 1,000 sets her first two seasons, when she mostly played middle. In the last two, she has taken nearly 2,300 swings and soared into the top 10 nationally in kills.

There could be another 500 or so on the way, if the 12th-ranked Wahine achieve their dreams. They face UC Davis tonight and Cal State Northridge Saturday in their final regular-season home matches. They close the conference season in Southern California next weekend, then likely will play in the NCAA tournament.

Hartong remembers her official visit four years ago, on senior night.

"It was amazing to see what the Stan Sheriff is like in person, all the fans there supporting the team," she recalled. "It was really … that was changing for me. That’s when I knew this is going to be a great next four years."