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What had been touted as one of Hawaii’s strengths this volleyball season — depth — took another hit Wednesday with the announcement that junior middle Annie Mitchem would be out for approximately six weeks following surgery for a fractured dislocated finger.
Mitchem, the two-time reigning national two-year college player of the year, injured the little finger on her right hand during Saturday’s win over UC Irvine. She had surgery Wednesday and, if the projected timeline holds, would not return until the week of the NCAA tournament’s first round.
It was a shock wave of news that quickly traveled to the mainland where Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji is on a recruiting trip. In a word: sickening.
"It’s an unfortunate injury for Annie and the team," Shoji said. "She was playing well and improving daily."
Mitchem played in 18 matches, starting two at middle and one at opposite. Her lone start on the right side was Saturday in place of junior hitter Nikki Taylor, who was held out for precautionary reasons after being hit in the head in Friday’s match during a collision with sophomore setter Kendra Koelsch.
Mitchem’s injury is the latest for No. 8 Hawaii (18-1, 8-0 Big West), which is on a bye week. Freshman middle Natasha Burns fractured her right hand during preseason camp and is out for at least two more weeks; junior setter Tayler Higgins sprained her right ankle at Cal State Fullerton and missed four matches before returning Saturday; and sophomore hitter Kalei Greeley missed the past two matches with sore right shoulder.
The loss of Mitchem leaves Hawaii with two middles in senior Olivia Magill and sophomore Emily Maglio. Freshman Casey Castillo is now third on the depth chart at middle as well as second behind Taylor on the right.
In 18 matches, Mitchem had 51 kills and 33 blocks. On Saturday, she had career-highs of seven kills, two aces and 13 digs to go with three blocks.
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