It brought back a lot of memories for Jerritt Elliott when walking into Klum Gym for practice this week. He had wanted his Texas volleyball team to get a feel for the culture and tradition that is Hawaii volleyball.
It doesn’t get any more historic than venerable Klum Gym, home to the Rainbow Wahine and Warriors until the Stan Sheriff Center opened in October of 1994. The Longhorns coach, a member of the 1990 Warrior team, shared his experiences that included the Bow-Zows, a zany student-driven group whose antics were only outmatched by colorful costumes, and the embracing fan support.
“We’re excited to play here, play in front of the fans, the aunties in the corner, ” said Elliott, head coach in Austin since 2001. “Our girls see how important (volleyball) is here. Hawaii has such a great tradition. There’s uniqueness here.
“Our girls were shocked the other day in the grocery store. A woman rolled up in her wheelchair, said ‘I’m a big volleyball fan. You’re in town. I’m coming to the game.’ It’s kind of cool that we’ve become part of the culture because we’ve had so many (players from Hawaii) in our program. When we call recruits here, they are aware of our program. Those kids paved the way.”
“Those kids” include Punahou’s Sydney Yogi (2008-11), Hawaii Baptist’s Sarah Palmer (2010-13), Punahou’s Kat Brooks (2012-15) and rising sophomore setter/defensive specialist Jhenna Gabriel, Maryknoll’s all-time leader in assists and digs.
“We’re always joking that we gotta have a least one on the team,” Elliott said of island players. “They bring a different knowledge. They see so much volleyball here from an early age, see the game at a high level.
“There’s a lot of physical kids out there but there’s not a lot of complete volleyball players. They (players from Hawaii) are complete players.”
Elliott said that was what he saw in the 5-foot-8 Gabriel. As a freshman in a two-setter offense, she finished with 393 assists in 81 sets, including a career-high 53 in the win over Michigan in the NCAA regional semifinal at BYU. Texas then lost in the regional championship to the host Cougars.
“I like the way she plays the game,” Elliott said. “She’s a really good volleyball player. She’s very relaxed out there but very competitive.
“She’s good with processing the game, doesn’t seem too focused on the last play, moves forward and makes good decisions.”
Rather than come to Honolulu for a regular-season match, Elliott decided the Longhorns would get more out of the trip during spring break. The last time Texas played in the Stan Sheriff Center was in the 2013 season opener where the top-ranked and defending national champion Longhorns were upset by No. 11 Hawaii, 25-19, 19-25, 27-25, 25-16.
Texas started four freshmen last season, winning the Big 12 (15-1) and finishing 23-5. They return 11, including senior hitter Micaya White, the reigning Big 12 player of the year and second-team All-American who averaged 3.87 kills per set and hit .301.
Also back is junior setter Ashley Shook and outside hitter Logan Eggleston, the Big 12 freshman of the year last season. One player Elliott said he is looking forward to seeing in a match is redshirt freshman Asjia O’Neal, an athletic 6-3 middle who has been perfecting her slides (step-outs).
Coming into Friday’s spring exhibition with the Rainbow Wahine, the Longhorns had concentrated on individual techniques. They’ve begun incorporating more team things for Friday as well as for their three other exhibitions: at home against North Texas on Tuesday and Texas State on April 4, and at Texas A&M April 12.
Under Elliott, Texas won the national title in 2012 and finished second in 2009, 2015 and 2016. The road to 2019 starts now.
The Longhorns will see a Wahine team with seven returnees — led by three-year all-Big West setter Norene Iosia — and two transfers from Oregon in 6-2 outside hitter Jolie Rasmussen and Kamehameha graduate Kyra Hanawahine, a 5-2 defensive specialist. Hawaii finished 18-9 and was second in the Big West for a second consecutive year.
Elliott said he reached out to Hawaii head coach Robyn Ah Mow-Santos about coming out.
“We like to let the kids know what life has to offer them, see the world, see how other people live,” he said. “Making that long flight in season is hard. Coming out in spring gives us an opportunity to enjoy being in Hawaii.”
Note
The Wahine are fresh off their scrimmage and youth clinics in Hilo last weekend. They conclude spring competition at a four-team tournament at Pepperdine on March 30 along with USC and Division II Point Loma, a PacWest member.
