Lady Mules Return With New Coach, Busy Preseason
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usShould Leilehua return to the high-rent district of Island volleyball this fall, they’ll do it with a defense-first approach, to hear first-year coach Kalei Nathaniel tell it.
“Defense wins championships, as the saying goes, and it’s a good motto to follow,” said Nathaniel, who was the head coach at Campbell from 1999 to 2003 before taking a break. “Defense isn’t fun, but you can make spectacular plays on defense. They’re slowly buying in, but it’s hard for them. The glory is always with how hard you hit or how nice a shot you make and not how well you play on defense.”
Of course, solid defense starts with solid effort, and on that note, Nathaniel is encouraged by what she’s seen of the Mules, who officially began preparations for the 2008 season last Monday.
“We have kids with a wide variety of abilities,” she said. “The one thing they all have in common is that they all work hard and they all want to play. We’re going to be a scrappy team. We’ll be competitive in our league.”
The Mules will rely on veteran outside hitters senior Ashley Gonzales and junior Darian Tolentino to lead the way early on. Both earned varsity letters last season when Leilehua finished 6-5.
“Darian will be our go-to player,” Nathaniel said. “She has good court presence, and she knows where the ball is going to be. Her passing is her strength. She plays Club ball - she’s a year-round player - so she had good skills coming in.”
Gonzales was not with the Mules’ volleyball program during the summer because she was competing for a traveling all-star basketball team, but she’s quickly returning to volleyball form, according to her coach. “From what we’re seeing of her, she’s an all-around talent. She has good jumping ability, and she’s quick, which helps her in basketball.”
Nathaniel is also expecting sophomore middle blocker Tatiana Alailima to have a big impact this season after excelling at the JV level last year as a freshman.
“She’s still a little raw yet, but she brings a fresh outlook,” Nathaniel said. “She has a lot of athletic ability. She has a spirit, she never gives up and she’s coachable.”
Nathaniel, who starred at Aiea and later at UH-Hilo during her own playing days, was hoping to carry between 12 and 15 players when she finalized her roster over the weekend.
The Mules will play a busy preseason, beginning Friday and Saturday when they compete at the Hanalani Tournament in Mililani. An appearance in the Longy Okamoto Invitational, co-hosted by Aiea and Pearl City, will follow Aug. 14-16.
“Our preseason schedule should prepare us immensely,” said Nathaniel, whose team opens its OIA Red West schedule on the road Sept. 2 versus defending conference champion Mililani. “It’s always good to play against teams you don’t know much about. You learn a lot about yourself.”
While defense has been a focal point during fall camp, the team’s passing has been given almost as much attention, she said. “Everyone loves to hit, but you can’t do anything without passing. We want to be a proficient passing team. Right now we’re working on it a lot and we’re pretty decent with it.”
Leilehua meets Waialua in its opening round game at 6 p.m. Friday at the Hanalani tourney. Christian Liberty and host Hanalani also will play, with each of the four teams meeting each other twice.
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