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There is no hiding in sand volleyball.
The indoor game has become so specialized that some front-row players never see the back row and hold their breaths if they need to set an off-ball. The same goes for the defensive specialists/liberos who would pay to get more than a very rare swing from behind the 3-meter line.
The beauty of sand is in its equality, it’s AYSO-like quality where — with just two players to a side — everyone sets, plays defense, hits, serves and usually gets at least one touch every play. Those all-around skills are a requirement for success and a number of indoor players are seeing the value of being on the beach to develop their overall game.
"It’s really good cross-training," UCLA junior Rachel Inouye said prior to Friday’s pairs portion of the inaugural Aloha Invitational. "And it’s good to mix it up. I’ve been playing indoors since I was 10.
"It’s funny because people expect me to be really good at sand because I’m from Hawaii. I played a little when growing up but no one had a hunch then that you’d be going to college to play it. It wasn’t even a thing. But I love it and I’m really excited to be at home playing."
Inouye, a Punahou graduate, has teamed at No. 4 with senior Karly Drolson, another defensive specialist/libero on the UCLA indoor team, for a 14-2 record. Inouye had 13 kills and 17 digs in last Saturday’s match against Arizona State’s Sydney Palmer-McKenzie Willey, 21-15, 21-10, one of the two bright spots as the eighth-ranked Bruins were upset by the Sun Devils 3-2.
"That loss to ASU was disappointing but we learned a lot from it," Inouye said. "What we’re trying to do this week is finish off the season on a good note."
While UCLA will not be at next week’s AVCA Collegiate Sand Nationals as a team, the Bruins had their No. 1 pair of Zoe Nightingale and Kamila Tan selected for the 10-team Best of the Rest tournament that feeds into the pairs championship portion of the event at Gulf Shores, Ala.
UCLA coach Stein Metzger, also a Punahou graduate, knows first hand the benefits of playing and training both indoor and sand. What he has seen in Inouye is her increased reading awareness (where the opponent will hit the ball) and her overall defense.
"All positions benefit from being on the beach but with liberos it really helps the underhand ball control," Metzger said. "That’s where Rachel has improved because she gets so many more opportunities to touch the ball when you have so much more area to cover. It’s just two of you out there."
ALOHA INVITATIONAL
At Queen’s Beach
FRIDAY / PAIRS
>> 8 a.m.: With No. 6 Long Beach State (13-4), Saint Mary’s (4-13) and No. 8 UCLA (9-4).
SATURDAY / TEAM DUALS
>> 10 a.m.: No. 2 Hawaii (15-1) 2, 3, 5 vs. UCLA 2, 3, 5 and Long Beach State 2, 3 vs. Saint Mary’s 2, 3
>> 11:30 a.m.: Hawaii 1, 4 vs. UCLA 1, 4 and Long Beach State 4, 5 vs. Saint Mary’s 4, 5
>> 2 p.m.: Winners 2, 3 and Losers 1, 3 5
>> 3:30 p.m.: Winners 1, 4, 5 and Losers 2, 4
>> TV: Delayed broadcast, 7 a.m. May 16, CBS Sports Network
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