The first of the last is always hard to deal with. That realization that senior year has begun.
Tuesday was that day for Savanah Kahakai, the first of the last two-a-day practices that the Hawaii senior libero ever will have as a Rainbow Wahine volleyball player.
She’s ready. As ready as anyone can be when receiving the unknowns as if they were opponents’ bullet serves.
And there are many unknowns this 2017 season.
How will it be to have her former assistant coach and club coach running the show as a rookie head coach?
How will the offense work without an All-America terminator on the right side?
And, most immediate and pressing, how will she and her teammates survive the next few days that Kahakai already has deemed “the true meaning of hell week?”
The mantra is simple: “Nothing worth having comes easy.”
“It’s going to be different,” said Kahakai, just one of 14 Wahine who have reached the 1,000-dig career mark. “Robyn (new head coach Ah Mow-Santos) told us we’d better be in shape for this week. We’ve been doing extra cardio, but she’s already told us that it will be 10 times worse than what we had for club.
“Open gym hasn’t been where we want it to be, but I told everyone that we can only get better. We’ve been focusing on our skills, doing the little stuff first, because when camp comes, that is when everything will start.”
The 5-foot-7 Kahakai is one of six seniors, and she and middle Emily Maglio have the most starting experience. The other seniors are setter Kendra Koelsch, who may be looked at as an outside hitter; hitter Kalei Greeley, who is close to 100 percent following shoulder surgery; and defensive specialists Clare-Marie Anderson and Gianna Guinasso.
“The seniors have been helping our new freshmen, asking them to let us know if they have any questions or problems,” Kahakai said. “All we can do is guide them.
“If they see us playing at a high level, then hopefully that goes down to them. This is serious, but we can still have fun. The new kids are all really good but quiet. We’ve been trying to get them out of their shells and let them know that they are here to take someone’s spot.”
It remains to be seen who will take the spot left open by the graduated Nikki Taylor, one of the most dominant players in the history of the program. Koelsch has played some, but when not setting was used more as a blocking sub; the 5-10 McKenna Ross has the most experience but is undersized; and incoming 6-1 freshman Shaney Lipscomb has been sidelined with a injury.
“We’re kind of low on options at the position,” Kahakai said. “We don’t have a true right-side hitter, just a lot of outsides and two freshmen (Sophia Howling and Skyler Williams, both 6-2) who came in as middles. So we have to work with what we have over the next two weeks and be able to find what we need.”
Kahakai and Ah Mow-Santos believe that Hawaii will need solid ball control and passing to compen- sate for the lack of height and a terminator on offense.
“That’s our focus,” Kahakai said. “That’s where the cardio is going to come in. If we have cardio and ball control, we feel we can hang with teams.
“This is going to be a different season. Robyn’s style is different than Dave’s (retired coach Shoji). She comes from having played with the national team and overseas, and that is a different standard.
“I’m trying to look at this as just another season, not have the senior jitters. I’m scared, but I’m excited.”