Ah Mow-Santos always admired Brazil’s passion

The trademark of a great setter in volleyball? Great hands. Sweet hands. Soft and precise.

Setters leave fingerprints, not just on the ball, but on the game itself. Those belonging to Robyn Ah Mow-Santos are all over USA Volleyball, from her three Olympics to her current position as an assistant on the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team.

If there was any question about her imprint, her WJNT players only have to look above the door leading to Gym 1 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. White letters on a heart-red background read:

"If you’re going to be in the gym, be in the gym." RAS.

Ah Mow-Santos laughed when seeing it back in May just before the WJNT tryouts, saying that she couldn’t believe they still had the quote that she wrote. After all, she retired from the national team in 2008 after setting the U.S. to an Olympic silver medal in Beijing.

But Ah Mow-Santos definitely still has the memories, including those of her last match when wearing the Red, White and Blue. A 25-15, 18-25, 25-13, 25-21 loss to Brazil.

The frustration was revisited in mid-May with the announcement that top-ranked Brazil would be playing two USA Volleyball Cup matches against No. 2 U.S. in the Stan Sheriff Center. For the former Hawaii All-American, it was two-fold, the first that this hadn’t happened during her national team career (1999-2008).

Second? She wasn’t going to be in Honolulu for the July 11-12 matches. She will be some 4,420 miles away at the NORCECA Women’s U-20 Continental Champions scheduled for July 6-14.

"I was so excited, but when I found out they were coming when I wasn’t (going to be) there, I was very disappointed," said Ah Mow-Santos, currently in Minneapolis at the Girls Junior National Championships. "This is a must see!

"I had always wanted to have something like that in Hawaii. But it’s great they are going to. I hope that people will take full advantage of it. High-class teams and possible sneak peak at the gold-medal match in 2016 Rio."

Brazil and the U.S. have met in the past two Olympics for the gold, with the Brazilians victorious both times. Ah Mow-Santos said she appreciated their style of play during their numerous meetings over her nine years with the national team.

"They have such a passion for volleyball, an understanding of the game, it’s not just getting a whole bunch of athletes together," the McKinley High graduate said. "They have the ball control and there is passion from the coaches who want to be good. There is such pride for their country. I always liked to watch them play and loved the flow of their game.

"My first few years (playing Brazil) was very frustrating. But Team USA got better. The best memory for me was the World Cup in 2007, when coming from behind, down 0-2, and coming back to win in five. It was awesome."

Ah Mow-Santos joked that she nearly called USA Volleyball to tell them she couldn’t go to Guatemala. But she’s focused on her coaching career path, which includes being an assistant at her alma mater; with ‘Imi ‘Ike Volleyball Club, which has three teams at the Girls Junior National Championships; and now, the WJNT, which has players also competing at the junior nationals.

Ah Mow-Santos has fans in high places.

"Three-time Olympian says it all," said Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji, the all-time winningest coach in collegiate women’s volleyball. "She’s learning all the time about coaching. She has seen it all.

"She relates to the players and they respect her."

"Robyn is not only one of the most decorated and skilled players to ever wear a USA Volleyball jersey, but she is also one of the greatest leaders I have ever been around," WJNT head coach Tom Hogan said. "It will be an incredible experience for these future Olympians to learn from such a legend, an experienced veteran of the USA National Team."

Her only wish is to be in two places at one time. She regrets that she can’t and hopes the volleyball-loving fans in Hawaii will be there in her stead to watch "the one team I just can’t stand losing to."

"It would have been great to have brought the team there when Heather (Bown), Kim (Willoughby), (Lindsey) Berg and myself had been on it.," Ah Mow-Santos said of the former national team players with Hawaii ties. "I mean it would have been going crazy. I could just picture it."