Shoji doesn’t go deep into rotation

The only constant is change. The sport of volleyball is a testament to that.

Purists have decried the major overhauls and minor tweaks over the past decades, including the latest of three additional substitutions. Does anyone really need 15, instead of 12?

Hawaii coach Dave Shoji didn’t think so, until he was out of subs towards the end of Set 2 eight days ago against Stanford. But unlike when it last happened — the NCAA-record marathon victory of 3 hours and 38 minutes against Brigham Young in 1998 — the Rainbow Wahine didn’t have to sneak their defensive specialist through the front row.

What the added subs have added to Hawaii this season is almost an AYSO atmosphere. Sixteen Wahine have played so far, with the four remaining roster players likely to redshirt.

The "DS" abbreviation normally means defensive specialist. In Hawaii’s case, it means designated sub, usually in the back row, where players get development time in real-game situations.

Friday against San Francisco, it was the debut of redshirt freshman Kayla Kawamura, who was the third option after the normal serving sub pattern of senior Emily Maeda and junior Courtney Lelepali.

Saturday against Baylor, it was junior Kristina Kam getting the call at No. 3.

And Sunday? The sixth-ranked Wahine didn’t go very deep into their depth when needing to dig deep against No. 25 Cal in the finale of the 25th Hawaiian Airlines Classic.

Shoji only used 13 players in the 25-23, 16-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-12 loss to the Golden Bears. Seeing the most time were Maeda, the top sub, and Lelepali, who led a late rally from the serving line in Set 4 that fell short.

"I think Cal presented things we hadn’t seen before," Maeda said. "And we didn’t keep our focus, we didn’t execute the little things we needed to do, and our passing broke down.

"It’s not that we were pushing too hard, but maybe we got a little tight. There’s never a good loss, but I think you learn more from a loss. The emotional part is going to stay with us as motivation."

"Our team will go back into the gym and work hard this week," Lelepali added. "This is good motivation for us to work even harder to get better."

The loss will help evaluate things, Shoji said. The right-side position is still under review, where junior transfer Ashley Kastl played for most of the match. Junior Kaela Goodman came in on the right when Shoji used a double sub, changing out setter Mita Uiato for Monica Stauber.

"Our substitution pattern is pretty well set and when we use those other players (such as Kam and Kawamura), it’s to get them playing time," Shoji said. "What we learned from tonight is if you don’t pass well, you’re going to get beat."