Lady Marauders Making The Leap To Division 1 Status
By Jack Danilewicz
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In his 17 years as a varsity assistant and head JV volleyball coach at Waipahu, Ron Yanos always has a good read on the talent level at the school. The good news for fans is that he’s seeing more collective natural ability than in the past.
“I like our physical abilities,” said Yanos, who is entering his first year as the head girls varsity coach at Waipahu. “We have all of the physical aspects to play well. I like that - although we’re still kind of raw, since a lot of our girls don’t play club volleyball.”
Waipahu makes the leap to Division I this season, where its schedule will include OIA Red West foes Aiea, Pearl City and Mililani, among other powers. The Marauders went 7-4 last season, their last in Division II. The 2010 team’s public unveiling is set for Aug. 18, when Waipahu enters the Longy Okamoto Pre-Season Tournament. On Aug. 24, they open their OIA season against defending Red West champion Aiea.
Transition issues usually come with a coaching change, but Yanos, who was on Waipahu’s OIA champion teams in 1990 and ‘91, was also the JV coach at Waipahu last year, so he has a head start - at least in knowing his personnel. With that in mind, the Marauders are banking on big seasons from senior Vycenthia Misiafa and juniors Kaiulani Abasial and Kelli Nakayama to lead the way. Misiafa is a three-year letter-winner and an outside hitter; Abasial and Nakayama were starters as sophomores last year at setter and outside hitter, respectively.
“Kelli and Kaiulani will both be big contributors for the next two years,” Yanos said. “Kelli plays year ‘round.
She is still young, so she has more to learn, but experience is what she brings to the table for us.
“What stands out about Kaiulani is her pure athletic ability,” he added. “If you gave her a tennis racket, she might do well with that. She’s an excellent jumper. I don’t think she realizes how athletic she is.”
As the most visible senior in the program, Misiafa will be counted on for leadership. “Her passion for the game is her strength - she just loves being around volleyball. She wants to learn more. Hopefully that, and her dedication, will rub off on all the others.”
In practice, Waipahu has been emphasizing ball control, according to Yanos. “We really want to solidify our ball control for the (Longy Okamoto) tournament,” he said. “With nine players (total on the roster), we’ll have to work at our ball control. There are some pretty good servers out there in our league. Once we can pass the ball, our transition game should be a lot better. It’s one of our goals.”
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