The world has been one giant oyster for Dave Shoji, one filled with pearls appropriately shaped as volleyballs. The career wins record — 1,108 after Saturday’s sweep of UCLA — will continue to be added to during this, his 39th season as the Hawaii women’s volleyball coach.

The grains of sand that have been tossed in — passion, hard work, dedication, to name a few — have created not just a tangible number but also the magic that is the most popular and only profitable women’s collegiate volleyball program in the country.

However, the real magic, perhaps, is the reciprocity. For every volleyball pearl added inside, at least another makes its way out, creating a necklace worn around the coaching world.

One pearl was at Pitt last week, where Shoji’s intramural rival at UC Santa Barbara in the 1960s, Mike Hebert, was back helping former Rainbow Warriors associate coach Dan Fisher with the Panthers women. Hebert and Shoji met "before anyone would predict either of us would be coaches," said Hebert, who retired with 892 victories and final-four appearances with Illinois and Minnesota. "Our fraternities played against each other in a lot of sports — flag football, basketball, softball. I went my way (Peace Corps), he went his (Army) and we reconnected when I was starting at Pitt and him at Hawaii.

"What has impressed me over the years about Dave is how, as the sport has changed, he perceived it and was ready. His teams were known for small outside hitters and great defense. As the game got bigger, he changed with taller outsides. What never changed was that great team defense.

"And what has never changed is Dave as a person. That is part of his legacy, being well-liked as well as well-respected in a profession where it is rare to be both."

Another well-traveled pearl was most recently in Japan, where the U.S. women’s national team finished sixth at the FIVB World Grand Prix.

"He’s definitely a legend; everyone in the volleyball world knows who Dave Shoji is," said Hilo High graduate Reed Sunahara, the U.S. assistant coach and former UCLA All-American. "He put Hawaii on the map in college volleyball.

"It’s fun to watch his teams; they are always disciplined and very good defensively. What makes him such a great coach is he has kept his style while adapting. I think his sons (U.S. men’s national team members Kawika and Erik) have helped influence him by keeping him very current in the sport.

"Some coaches who have been doing this for so long see no reason to change. If he was coaching the same way he was 20 years ago, he might not have continued to be so successful. What he has is a good system. He trains his players well, they are technically sound and they rise to his system. His players like him. He’s really a player’s coach."

One of those players is currently on the Rainbow Wahine bench. All-American Robyn Ah Mow-Santos, the setter in Hawaii’s last NCAA championship final appearance (1996), said she appreciates the lessons learned from Shoji now as a coach perhaps more than ones learned as a player.

"I have learned patience, something I didn’t have when I was playing," she said. "Players don’t understand how hard it is for coaches to put together a lineup. They are only concerned about playing time, why they aren’t starting. It’s hard to get everyone — coaches and players — on the same page.

"He’s looking beyond individual players. I’ll say this person looks good and he’ll say yes, but I think this person looks good at this because that’s what we need as a team. He’ll come up with things that make me say, ‘Oh, now I see that.’ Not everyone can see what he sees."

The pearl of appreciation is also found at San Diego State in Aztecs coach Deitre Collins-Parker, the first volleyball player to win the Broderick Cup as the top women’s collegiate athlete in the country (1983).

"Dave is synonymous with Hawaii volleyball; he IS Hawaii volleyball," Collins-Parker said. "I tell people I played at Hawaii and they know I played for Dave Shoji. My dilemma is I still see him as my coach, even though he’s my colleague.

"What may be the most impressive thing is every year you can count on his team being top 10, top 15. That’s hard enough to do, but for a non-BCS program, to do that is phenomenal, knowing his budget, the distance from the mainland, the recruiting obstacles no one else has. He keeps winning at the most disadvantaged top program because he has great players in his own backyard who want to play for him and develops good players into the best.

"Tradition is the hardest thing to build. A winning tradition is even harder. When I played, we did with the expectation that we were going to win. But it was winning with humility. That is part of Hawaii’s tradition."

USC coach Mick Haley respects Shoji’s enduring success and the fire he still brings to the court.

"I have always appreciated the intensity of our competitions, pushing each other to win," said Haley, whose Texas team defeated Hawaii for the 1988 NCAA title. "But it’s pretty special when you have someone keep it in perspective. When we crossed (trading sides with the 2011 NCAA regional semifinal tied at 2-2), he said. ‘We’re getting too old to do this.’ We both laughed.

"Dave always puts out a good product. Always. How many coaches can deliver that year after year, your players changing, your coaching staff changing, your schedule changing? Hawaii has challenged for the championship every year for 40 years. I think one of the signs of his greatness will be after he leaves. It’s going to be very hard for someone to come in and do what he’s done year after year. People need to appreciate that."

Shoji’s reputation for development doesn’t stop with players (35 All-Americans). It also extends to assistants, including current UCLA coach Mike Sealy and Rainbow Warriors men’s coach Charlie Wade, who spent 11 seasons with Shoji.

"He paved the way for this generation to be able to call coaching a profession," said Sealy, a Wahine associate coach from 2006 to 2009.

"I think he made the mistake of being too good, too early, too often and he became accountable for a whole state. That happens only at Hawaii and Nebraska, and he’s always handled that pressure, is so dedicated to the sport and the people of Hawaii. He transcends the sport."

Adds Wade: "His legacy? It’s how long he’s had that program in the Top 10. Back in the day, the top programs perennially were Hawaii, Pacific, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara. Hawaii is the one left. He’s kept the program relevant in the sport the whole time.

"His footprint is a deep one. It’s always been important to him to help people learn to be better citizens.

"The record is historic. No one’s going to get a job in their 20s and stay in the same place for 40 years. Dave is part of an era in the sport that will never happen again."

That era includes Russ Rose, in his 35th year at Penn State and 14 wins behind Shoji (1,094).

"Some of my favorite teams of his were in the ’70s and ’80s, I loved their style of play," said Rose, who became the third active Division I head coach to reach 1,100 wins when Penn State defeated Hawaii in a 2009 national semifinal. "The fact that he’s kept the faithful excited, that the community embraced his teams and it was reciprocated for so long, it’s a tribute to him. It’s not just about the wins and losses.

"He’s an icon in our sport. He’s always competitive and he’s always been a gentleman."

And so respected that former UCLA coach Andy Banachowski made the trip to see his record broken last week by someone who was not just a rival coach but a rival player. Their relationship dated back to playing against each other in the late 1960s, Shoji at UCSB, Banachowski at UCLA.

"Records are meant to be broken, and I’m happy to turn the the crown over to him," said Banachowski, whom Shoji called out of the stands Friday night to share the spotlight. "It’s nice someone is keeping track of the wins, but we don’t coach for that. To stay in this this long, you have to love what you do. That’s something we also have shared.

"He’s given so much to the sport. When he decides to hang it up, he has to be very content with what he’s accomplished."

Wahine associate coach Scott Wong notes Shoji’s lack of ego.

"There are two sets of coaches. There’s the one who says, ‘Look at me and what I’ve done for my team.’ Then there’s the coach that says, ‘Look at the team, what all they’ve done,’ which is Dave.

"He’s done it the right way. He’s done it through thick and thin. What I’ve learned most from him is how to run a program the right way. He’s done it for decades and he’s done it well."

It was a testament that so many rival coaches wanted to congratulate Shoji on his milestone.

Senior hitter Emily Hartong, the latest in the line of Wahine All-Americans, may have summed it up best: "Playing for a living legend is pretty awesome."