Little separates the six Hawaii players groveling to get volleyballs hit at them this season, with "little" being the operative word.

The Rainbow Wahine looking for time at libero and defensive specialist are between 5-foot-4 and 5-8. The Smurfs, Littles or Smalls — their more common monikers — are all grinders, and No. 1 on the depth chart might be the best grinder of them all, if not the biggest.

Emily Maeda grew up pounding and picking off volleyballs at Booth Park. After an all-state career at Roosevelt, she realized her one shot at playing for the Wahine was in the backcourt. She redshirted in 2008, made four appearances in an injury-plagued 2009 and broke out last year with 28 starts as defensive specialist. Maeda collected 160 digs and 14 aces, but didn’t finish the season as well as she started.

For a grinder, that was perplexing. She spent the offseason working on passing and believing in herself.

"I think my technique broke down toward the end of the season," Maeda says. "This year, I want to make sure I feel confident every day in practice — not just in the beginning of the season — and think that will carry me through to the end.

"It’s just confidence and mentally preparing every day … make sure I ‘bring it’ to every practice. There’s so much competition. I’m trying to make sure I feel good about myself before I go in the gym every day so I can perform."

The libero position is made up of three skills — passing, digging and setting when the setter takes the first touch. Serving is also on the menu, and it might be on there twice as coaches ponder playing a defensive specialist who goes in solely to serve and defend.

Sounds simple, but the margins for error are tinier than the players.

Ideally, Hawaii wants a pass that always makes the middle attack an option. If that isn’t possible, the team wants at least two attacking options. One option, particularly for a small team, is offensive disaster.

Defensively, the goal is not to allow the ball to hit the floor. Beyond that, transitioning from defense to offense starts with aggressive and accurate digging, a tough combination when the ball comes hard and fast, at different angles.

The off set from a backcourt player has to be hittable, ideally giving the attacker multiple options.

The Wahine are also looking to go after serves more aggressively.

Maeda is ahead of the other five early, primarily because of experience.

"Her passing numbers have been solid," UH coach Dave Shoji says. "She understands the defensive positioning and system. That’s what’s putting her ahead right now.

"I thought she didn’t have her best games at the end last year. It was a surprise to me. I thought she got nervous, but this is another year and she’s got another opportunity to be out there all the time. She needs to play with more confidence. It’s her fourth year in the program. She’s done really well, she works hard. She’s just got to get over that stage fright kind of thing and I think she will. She reminds me a lot of Ashley Watanabe, who didn’t play a lick for three years and then it kind of clicked in for her."

The best of the rest might be senior Alex Griffiths, but she needs to make strides in her conditioning and range. She smacked 42 aces last year at NAIA Vanguard and averaged more than four digs a set before moving up and across the ocean.

From there, Shoji is looking for someone to make a consistent move and distinguish themselves in a crowded group of hard-working grovelers.

Kristina Kam and Courtney Lelepali are redshirt sophomores out of Punahou. Lelepali led Southern Utah in digs and launched 30 aces in 2009 before coming home. Both are exceptional defenders and instinctive players, but are struggling with consistent passing and technique.

Lizzie Blake and Kayla Kawamura, all-state setters for Kahuku and Hawaii Baptist Academy, have great experience and court sense, but are adjusting to a new position.

Freshman Monica Stauber, who played setter and libero in high school and club, has set at such a high level in practice that coaches have kept her out of the free-for-all in the backcourt. They have enough talented players to sort out, and while passing remains a major worry, Shoji feels good about his defense.

"Our defense is going to be really good if our block is solid," he says. "Our defense is probably the best part of our game."