The first glimpse many of us got of Jane Croson was the wide, bright-eyed smile from the “Faces in the Crowd” feature in the Sept. 6, 2010, edition of Sports Illustrated.

Croson, a high school senior in Lakewood, Calif., had won three gold medals in summer international volleyball competition and was verbally pledged to attend the University of Hawaii, where hopeful comparisons would be drawn with great All-American hitters of the past.

“I think Hawaii is perfect for what Jane needs at this stage of her life,” Tim Jensen, her coach with the Sports Shack Volleyball Club and a Pepperdine assistant, had said when Croson arrived on campus in 2011 as one of the most anticipated prospects in UH history.

Sadly, somewhere along the way in the past six months, there was a sudden and supposedly unrepairable disconnect. Apparently Croson’s smile left and, now, No. 11 will depart UH, too, for parts unknown.

It is a curious and lamentable turnaround for all concerned that leaves no winners and a lot of questions. Which is why, you suspect, UH has denied a waiver that would have allowed Croson to be immediately eligible elsewhere.

Head coach Dave Shoji said he was “disappointed” at the loss of the immensely talented, twice-sanctioned star who could have helped UH accomplish so much in the next two seasons. Croson, meanwhile, has said little in walking away from the largest, most faithful following she is likely to find anywhere. A move she may come to regret as she sits out the 2013 season.

Although last month Croson seemed less than enamored by her lot, posting on her Facebook account, “Aw when we played carefree and volleyball was fun, now it’s like a job!”

Perhaps, in the wake of a seven-game suspension in the fall and being left off a sand volleyball traveling squad in the spring, Croson chafed at some of the accountability demanded of her.

For all her ability on a volleyball court, Croson has struggled with some choices off of it. At Los Alamitos High, she sat out her senior season for what were described as violations of “school rules.” There were issues here, some serious, to hear UH tell it, leading to the undisclosed sanctions.

As much as UH attempted to help Croson work through issues, it could not be seen waiving discipline or backing off on personal responsibility. Not when there are 17 other members of the team.

But if her feelings are indeed that strong, then to have let the situation fester into the fall would have been to invite bigger problems, making the Rainbow Wahine a far bigger loser in the long run.

What UH needed was a cessation to the drama and somebody that could be counted upon. Without the prospect of both, it was time to move on.

“She (Croson) is still a great player, so, as a coach, we would all love to have Jane be part of our programs, so I can only imagine that Dave is not happy,” Jensen said Tuesday. “But, like I said, I’m not there, so I don’t know what goes on …”

We may never know. But the one thing that is clear is that it had become time to part ways.

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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.