Mustang Girls Working On Mental Resiliency For VB Play
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usWith a schedule that features five state tournament qualifiers from a year ago in its first five matches, Kalaheo girls volleyball head coach Hoku Liu knows her team will have to do more than assert itself physically to compete with its Division I opponents.
“We don’t have the mental resiliency yet to play in high-pressure games,” said Liu, matter-of-factly. “You need to have a ‘controlled aggression’ to win. You play without regret - you always look to the next point.
“I’m confident in this team. The skills are there. Now we’re working on the mental part.”
The Mustangs, who won the OIA Division II title in 2006, are in their first season of DI play, having moved up during the off-season. Liu’s team opened last Tuesday with a win over Kalani before dropping a match to Moanalua the following night to take a 1-1 record into the weekend. This week, the schedule is no less demanding with matches against Roosevelt Tuesday, Farrington Thursday (away) and Kahuku Saturday.
Roosevelt is the defending OIA champion, while Kahuku was runner-up in 2007. Farrington also made the state tournament in DII to earn a promotion to DI much like the Mustangs.
While each conference school will play each other twice under the round-robin format, every win is critical, especially at home in a league that is among the most balanced in the state.
“Potentially, it’s a good opportunity for us,” Liu said of this week’s games. “It depends now on which team shows up. We’re growing. I’m hoping our learning curve remains at a high level.
“It’s the mental part that kills us sometimes - and a lot of the teams from town have more players in club (year-round play). Our school has never been an ‘all-club’ team, and this has put schools like Moanalua in a different place than us (as a program).”
Liu’s current team is built largely around key returnees in middle blockers Mariah Panapa and Carli Huihui as well as outside hitter Kiana Wasson. Seniors all, Panapa and Wasson were both named to the OIA DII’s First Team last fall, while Huihui had a huge night against Moanalua last Wednesday night when she recorded a team-best eight kills in the match.
“What I like about Mariah is her leadership and her aggressiveness,” said Liu, who led Kalaheo to an 8-5 record last year. “She’s a great athlete with a lot of power and a lot of fire, and she tries to be the bridge between the coaches on the bench and the players on the floor. She’s an emotional player. Right now, she’s learning to lead and be an emotional player at the same time, which isn’t always easy.
“Kiana is another one with a lot of power,” she added. “She also brings a lot of experience as a year-round player, and with two years on the varsity already. For the most part, she’s tried to pitch in the leadership area.”
Huihui switched back to her more natural position of middle blocker in fall camp after spending last season at outside hitter. She was a middle blocker on Kalaheo’s DII OIA title team in 2006.
“Her best feature is that she can hit the deep corners, which is what we want,” Liu said. “She plays more of a ‘college style.’ At setter, we’re still looking for the right combination, although we have lot of potential there.”
The Mustangs will take a defensive-minded approach into their games this week, according to their coach. “We need to be aggressive with our defense,” Liu said, “and we need to play smart and be resilient.”
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