Chargers Conquering Growing Pains

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If Pearl City’s defense is its best offense this fall, that will be just fine with head girls volleyball coach Stephanie Shigemasa.

“Our passing and defense will have to be really good. We’ve been focusing on our offense a lot, but that won’t work without passing and defense. That’s a major thing for us.”

If any team enters the season with a collective chip on its shoulders, it is likely the Chargers, who went 3-7 with the youngest team in the West last fall. Even with an additional year under their belts, only two of the holdovers from that group are seniors - outside hitter/setter Tiana Inong and setter Matala Keiki.

“For us, our maturity level (will be a key),” Shiemasa said.“We still have a young team, and getting the girls to stay at a high level of intensity all the time is something we’re working on, especially the mental part of the game.

“Hopefully we’ve matured. There were a lot of growing pains last year, but the girls are excited about the season, and they’re looking to redeem themselves.”

The Chargers should know long before their OIA Red West opener versus Waianae Sept.2 where they stand following what promises to be an ultra-competitive preseason schedule.As in past years, Pearl City will play in the Kauai Challenge, the Ann Kang Invitational (Iolani) and the Kamehameha preseason tournament in successive weekends. The Kauai Challenge Aug. 7-9 figures to set the tone for the 2008 season. Twenty teams will take part in the event, including Moanalua, Hawaii Baptist Academy, Roosevelt and Mid-Pacific, plus Valencia and Redlands high schools from California.

“The Kauai tournament should be a good one for us - it will be our first chance to see the kids (in a game situation),“Shigemasa said. “It would be good for us to compete with the big teams and get used to playing together as a team.”

The Chargers will look to Inong for leadership early on and throughout.A four-year varsity player, she’s one of the team’s most athletic.

“Other than her volleyball ability, her leadership is her strength,” Shigemasa said of Inong, who is one of the Chargers’ tallest members at 5-foot-9.“She’s team-oriented, and she keeps us together.“Keiki enters her second year on the varsity, meanwhile, after becoming a regular as a junior. Shigemasa also expects sophomore outside hitter Tonisha Buford to be an impact player after a solid summer.

As her team gets ready to officially begin fall camp Monday, Shigemasa hopes it can carry over its work ethic from the summer workouts.

“Their whole attitude toward the game has been great. They enjoy the game, and they enjoy each other.”