Ali Longo and Ashley Kastl could play a prominent part on this year’s Hawaii volleyball team, which opens this Friday against Albany in the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational. But even if they didn’t touch a ball, their loud presence has already made an impact.

The Wahine were quiet last year under the guidance of Kanani Danielson and Alex Griffiths. But they are gone now. In their place are Longo and Kastl, and they have filled the dead air, livening up preseason camp considerably.

"Ali and Ashley definitely have a lot of fire," UH junior Mita Uiato says. "Ashley gets into it. That’s what we need. Our team is really quiet, really nice. Ashley just brings a completely new fire and I love it. She gets me going sometimes and I play better.

"She does talk a lot. I love not being the one that always has to talk. They are definitely helping. Our team is a little louder this year."

Longo was Penn State’s starting libero last season and led the team in digs, adding 32 aces. Kastl led Arizona State — and was eighth in the Pac-12 — in kills with nearly four a set. They could fill critical needs for Hawaii this season, helping replace Danielson’s ubiquitous All-America talents. Both are juniors and arrived armed with a confidence that can only come with time.

They found a practice gym full of kind, soft-spoken souls willing to take in them and their big mouths.

"They are a little quieter than I’m used to," Longo admits. "Bringing in energy is something a libero needs to do anyway. Obviously Ashley is a big talker too, so it’s just habit, something we have done in our careers."

Kastl simply "likes being loud … it doesn’t matter what you’re saying. As long as you have energy it brings everybody up on the court."

There are some 200 names of players who transferred this season on the richkern.com volleyball website. The list includes Punahou graduates Juliana Behrens (Cincinnati to Manhattan) and Ali Santi (Georgia Tech to UC Santa Barbara). Former Wahine Michelle Waber will be here next month with San Diego State, coached by Deitre Collins-Parker, another former Wahine.

Longo said her move was mostly financial. Kastl grew up in Phoenix and was going to ASU with her brother, Cameron, who played football. She already misses her family, but was looking for a change and, "It’s nice to be able to see the water," she says with a smile.

There is one other stark difference here.

"It’s a little more technical," Longo understates, "a lot more skill-focused, which is always good."

UH coach Dave Shoji happily pleads guilty to emphasizing technique more than most. One exception is Long Beach State, picked to finish second in the Big West behind Hawaii.

"I still feel like we need to teach the technique," Shoji says. "The other philosophy is you learn how to win by playing games and different competitions. We do our share of tactical things too, but I think a combination of both is best."

Kastl is fine with that.

"At Arizona we did a lot of ‘wash’ drills, a lot of playing and not really focusing on little things. We had a little time here and there focusing on hitting or defense, but never full-on practice all technique.

"Here, we work on pin blocking, work on defense, work on hitting. It was very different for me and it’s exactly what I was looking for."

Both knew what was coming. Longo has been in touch with Shoji constantly since committing months ago. They talked about team goals and individual goals. Longo’s priority coming in was getting familiar with her new teammates to create a "good team dynamic."

What has struck her so far is how well 20 players are getting along: "We can push each other without getting the girl cattiness kind of thing. We’re doing a good job with just working in the gym together, which is always important."

Kastl is struck by the depth of talent.

"It’s awesome to see how many talented people are out here," she says. "When you have this much talent on a team it pushes you. You need to grind day in and day out. I feel like you’re not really set with a spot. You have to come in and work harder. There’s no time to relax. You just have to make sure you come to practice focused and ready to work. If you’re not, you never know where you’ll end up. You could be refilling the Gatorade cups."