Three months into Jane Croson’s collegiate career, a libero from Northern Colorado finally painted a vivid verbal picture of her monstrous serve.

"Insane." 

Amanda Arterburn smiled a beaten smile at last week’s NCAA volleyball subregional and then continued, "I don’t know whether to watch her or the ball."

It is tough to do both.

Croson, the Rainbow Wahine’s most coveted recruit since Kanani Danielson, chucks the ball underhanded, with backspin, as high as she can let it fly. She sneaks up on it from 10 feet behind the endline and launches herself into the court, ripping the ball before she lands.

"I was just fooling around, tossing it as high as I can and it started working," Croson said. "I just kept working on it and working on it. It finally clicked for me.

"Last year the toss wasn’t that high because our club’s gym ceiling wasn’t high. But when I got to the (Stan Sheriff) arena I was like, ‘Whoa, I can toss it as high as I want now.’ "

It sets the tone for her precocious high-risk game. Croson came to Hawaii with no fear and hasn’t backed off for a second. She is the rugged, volleyball-bashing counterpart to the graceful Danielson on UH’s outside.

Croson’s part in the 10th-seeded Wahine’s rise to their 16th regional in 19 years has been critical and complete. They ask everything of her and she has just kept coming at teams, through passing and hitting struggles and the pressure that keeps building as Hawaii heads into its third-round match against seventh-seeded USC on Friday.

"Obviously Kanani is very steady. She rarely has bad nights," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "Jane has been up and down. Everybody has up-and-down nights, but with Jane she’s so much a part our offense that it’s very noticeable when she’s off. We really have no substitute for her. She’s out there for the duration."

Ripping and grinning or grabbing her head from beginning to end.

Croson drilled four aces against UNC and Colorado State, clearly inducing fear in the serve-receivers. That made Emily Hartong and Chanteal Satele’s jump serves look more imposing and left passers unprepared for the jump-floaters Brittany Hewitt and Alex Griffiths serve up.

Croson leads Hawaii with 40 aces and is second to Danielson in kills and digs. There have been 12 double-doubles. Every night is an adventure. Against Pepperdine in September, she hit .000 with 10 errors negating all her kills, and 24 hours later hit .388 with 23 kills and 15 digs.

All-American numbers from the first American woman to win a world beach volleyball championship.

Shoji knows his fate could be in a freshman’s hands. Croson is a force, mostly for good if you are Hawaii. She and Danielson, at their frick-and-frack best, give Hawaii threats all over the court.

The freshman might be the difference between staying home and breaking out of the Honolulu regional to next week’s final four in San Antonio’s Alamodome.

That is insane. Croson has crazy game, and she sure has been fun to watch.

The feeling is mutual.

"I look foward to playing in front of the fans," Croson said. "I just have a blast, whether we’re playing a good or bad team."

From now on, it’s all good.

Notes

» Hawaii senior All-American hitter Danielson and sophomore hitter/middle Hartong were named to the first team of the AVCA All-West Region squad. Junior middle Hewitt was honorable mention. It was the third all-region honor for Danielson and the first for Hartong.

» Today, Wahine junior Hartong celebrates the memory of her grandfather, Royal George Hartong, who was a Pearl Harbor survivor. He was on the USS Montgomery, which had No. 17 on its bow — the number Hartong wears on her jersey. His dream was to watch her play for Hawaii and that came true last season when he watched video of her games. Royal George Hartong died in January.

» There will be a free NCAA Youth Volleyball Clinic run in conjunction with the Honolulu regional Saturday at UH. It is open to kids ages 8-16. Participants receive sports instruction from NCAA coaches and student-athletes and get information on fitness, healthy lifestyles and sportsmanship. Clinics also feature a session for parents and guardians with information on recruiting, academic and eligibility issues. Registration is open at planningpoint.net/events/2012youthclinics. For more information, contact Shelton Tang at 348-7243 or shelton@hawaii.edu.