The ultimate home court advantage

Tony Altobelli

Congratulations to the University of Utah for making the NCAA

women’s volleyball regionals. Tell’em what they win, Don Pardo....

A trip to HAWAII! That’s right. After a year of playing in the high

altitudes of Salt Lake City, you get to travel to paradise to take on the

nation’s best at sea level and by the way, if you win the first round,

you get to face the home team, the University of Hawaii in the second

round.

All the Rainbow Wahines have done is go 29-1 and are ranked third in

the United States and first among teams in the tournament that aren’t

suffering from jet-lag.

Sound inviting?

Oh yeah, one more thing, you’re gonna play in front of anywhere from

6,000- to 12,000 screaming Kaunas who love their volleyball, brudda.

Hawaii leads the country with an AVERAGE attendance of 7,298 in 18 home

matches thus far. No other team cracks 4,000 a match.

With all that staring at the Utes, it’s of little surprise that they

bowed out quietly, 15-11, 15-6, 15-4, to the Rainbow Wahines in the

second round of the NCAA championships.

A freshman setter from Newport Harbor High, Jennifer Carey, knows

first hand what it’s like to play under that fine of a microscope.

Carey led the Sailors to their first of, now, back-to-back CIF

Division I State Championships last year, and is now trying to lead

Hawaii to the top of the NCAA volleyball mountain, or volcano, as the

case may be.

“I’m still learning so much over here,” Carey said. “One thing I’ve

learned is that nothing prepares you for college volleyball, except

college volleyball. The players are bigger, faster and stronger at every

position and it’s a constant learning experience.”

Carey is the first freshman setter starter for Hawaii since Melinda

Beckenhauer in 1985 and so far, she’s handling the job rather well.

Carey was a 1999 All-Western Athletic Conference’s second team

selection this season while averaging over 33 assists per match for the

Rainbow Wahines.

So far, Carey has played in 94 out of the 100 regular-season games

played for the Rainbow Wahines and the 6-foot-1 freshman totaled 1087

assists.

Carey has a team-high nine double-doubles for Hawaii (10 or more in

two different offensive categories), including a 63-assist, 18-dig

performance against USC on Sept. 10.

“Each game, I’ve gained more confidence,” Carey said. “At first I was

a little intimidated, coming to such a strong program, but it’s getting

easier with each game and each practice.”

Perhaps her transition was also made a tad easier after enduring four

years of “Camp Pendle-Glenn” while at Newport Harbor.

“I really learned about hard work and being responsible for my effort

in practice and putting that same effort into our matches,” Carey

recalled. “We were worked much harder in our practices than in any match

we had while I was there.”

That self-discipline is crucial for success in the collegiate level,

as Carey has already found out.

“In college, there in more pressure put on yourself to do the extra

work and to make sure you get better,” Carey said. “My motivation is

knowing that I have to get better and I’ve already learned so much over

here.”

For those not to familiar with the role of a setter, Carey has an easy

definition.

“My job is to make my teammates look real good out there,” she said.

“My coaches and teammates have been great with helping me fit into this

program.”

With all the games played in Hawaii, Carey’s crew has about as big a

home field advantage as any team could possibly have.

Is a national title in the Rainbow Wahine’s future?

“With the talent on this team, if all 12 players get rollin’, it’s

pretty scary how good we can be,” Carey said. “Right now, we’re taking it

one match, even one practice at a time and we’ll see what happens.”

Who’s our next culture-shocked contestant?

Texas A&M;, COME ON DOWN!

Aloha.