2006 Volleyball Preview

The Brigham Young University Hawaii Seasiders are poised for another exciting run at the Pacific West Conference championship and an NCAA II berth in the upcoming season. The Seasiders went 20-5 last season and qualified for the NCAA II Tournament where they were eliminated in the first round. The team hopes to improve on that finish this season and have a number of returning players and talented newcomers to do it with.

Of course, the Seasiders lost National Player of the Year Yu Chuan Weng, who led the nation in kills last season, and replacing her at the outside hitter position will be a difficult task. However, the team should be better balanced this season and should not have to rely on one player as often as they did last year.

Local favorite Tuli Peters will hold down one of the hitting positions after transferring from Division I Fresno State. Peters, a former Hawaii Player of the Year (Kahuku, 2003), was second on the Bulldog's team in 2004 in kills, digs, and blocks, and led the team in service aces. She sat out last season after transferring to BYU-Hawaii but is ready to go as a junior and will provide solid power from the outside.

Noelle Filimoeatu returns for her junior season at the outside for the Seasiders. Filimoeatu, the PacWest Freshman of the Year in 2004, came on strong last season after a slow start due to injuries and will give the Seasiders another experience attacker from the outside. She averaged nearly three kills per game last season.

Senior Lesina Funaki's versatility and athleticism will also be brought to bear on the outside. She was the team's starting setter in 2004 and played primarily as an outside hitter last season but her defensive skills are very strong as she has over 750 digs in her career so far, putting her in the top ten all-time at BYU-Hawaii. Christine Bobik also returns on the outside for the Seasiders. Bobik, a sophomore, knocked down just over two kills per game as a freshman. Also joining the team this year as outside hitters will be a pair of newcomers, Amanda Bybee and Ane Vea. Bybee, a junior, is a transfer from College of the Sequoias where she was First Team All-Conference two years in a row but will begin the season sidelined with an injury. Hopefully, she will return to the team before too long. Vea, a freshman, joins her older sister, Roseanne, on the squad after playing for Hawaii High School powerhouse Kahuku last year.

The Seasiders should be exceptionally strong at the setter position this year. Sophomore LeeAnn Mapu, Pacific West Conference Freshman of the Year last season, returns after having finished sixth in the nation in assists per game and leading the team is service aces. However, she will be pushed by senior Kaala Lo who returns to the team after serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the last two seasons. Lo was the starting setter on the last NCAA II championship team for the Seasiders in 2002 and was named to the All-Tournament Team that season. She was AVCA Honorable Mention All-American her junior year in 2003. Lo is slated to begin the season at the libero position in the starting lineup. Junior Nyoka (Nikki) Peniata will also see time at the setter position.

Sophomore Faylynn Merrick, who saw limited playing time last year as a freshman but came on strong at the end of the season, will be the only returning middle blocker on the squad. She will be joined by versatile sophomore Roseanne Vea, who got most of her playing time last season as a libero. Freshman Margery (Puni) Kreuger from Kamehameha Maui High School will also see action in the middle. The middle blocker position suffered a loss when newcomer Agnes Tuilevuka from Fiji suffered an injury that will cause her to miss the entire season.

The libero/defensive specialist spot will be well-staffed this season as well. In addition to Lo, sophomores Kawehi (Wallace) Kammerer and freshman Brianna (Imi) Chang will provide a defensive boost. Kammerer started most of last season as a freshman and Chang comes from the strong Kahuku High School program.

With a solid core returning and some talented newcomers, this season should shape up as another successful one for Head Coach Wilfred Navalta and the Seasiders. It would be wise to expect BYU-Hawaii to be playing into the postseason once again this year.