Fun. Serious fun.
It was how both the Hawaii varsity and the Rainbow Wahine alumnae approached Friday night’s exhibition match at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Lots of pride. Even more All-Americans.
An appreciative crowd of 2,925 didn’t have to take sides when cheering equally for the Wahine, past and present.
Although there were no official stats taken, there was plenty of mental scorekeeping going on while the varsity pulled out a 25-19, 25-19, 28-26 victory.
Who had the best blocks?
Alumnae Juliana Sanders Beckwith and Brittany Hewitt had to be considered.
Who hit the hardest?
Current Wahine Tai Manu-Olevao and alumna Aneli Cubi-Otineru both knocked over opponents with bombs.
Toughest decision of the night?
It had to be by alumnae coach Ryan Tsuji when having to choose between All-America setters Robyn Ah Mow-Santos and Kanoe Kamana‘o Ka‘aihue. (Ah Mow-Santos, the current UH assistant coach, got the nod).
Second toughest?
Associate coach Scott Wong needing to call a timeout in Set 3 with the varsity trailing 9-3.
The varsity rallied behind Ashley Kastl and Manu-Olevao, taking match point at 24-23 when Hewitt hit wide. Ah Mow-Santos connected with Hewitt to tie at 24.
It was tied twice more before Manu-Olivao ended the entertaining night with (unofficially) her sixth kill.
"I thought the alums played really well, put up a good fight," said Wahine senior Emily Hartong, who sat out the final two sets. "It was competitive and a lot of fun. Aneli (Cubi-Otineru) played really well."
As did Hewitt, who retired after her junior season in 2011 due to back problems. She is currently working on her master’s degree in speech pathology at Idaho State.
Unofficially, the All-America middle blocker was credited with five kills, three blocks and two spectacular digs.
"I had a blast out there," she said of playing in her first alumnae match. "It was different, playing against (the varsity). I didn’t know many of them except for (seniors) Hartong, Mita (Uiato) and Kaela (Goodman). They have a solid team.
"What was nice for me was being reunited with some of the group that played in the final four (2010) … Aneli, Stephanie Brandt. It was fun to be back."
White 1, Green 0
In the one-set match that was laden with defensive specialists-turned-outside hitters, Jayme Lee and Emily Maeda led the White over the Green 25-19.
Charlie Ushijima Award
The prestigious award from the athletic department for outstanding volunteer service was given to James "Jimbo" Buccella, the Wahine equipment manager for the past 19 years.
