UH begins NCAA play
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
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LONG BEACH, Calif. — Hawai'i's Cayley Thurlby has gone games without touching a volleyball. She didn't play at all when 12th-ranked Hawai'i took down 19th-ranked New Mexico State to win the Western Athletic Conference championship last week. She might not again tonight when the Rainbow Wahine face Oregon in the first round of the NCAA Championship at Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid.
How is it that Hawai'i can't find its way without its senior co-captain, who has spent her collegiate career behind All-American setter — and senior co-captain — Kanoe Kamana'o?
Thurlby is the one there for every Rainbow. She organizes, makes lists, reminds them of what uniforms to wear, what to put on in practice, where their knee pads are. Her impact is so ubiquitous that before this year's alumnae game even they were asking her where to find things.
When a match is over, whether she plays or not, Thurlby is such a huge part of it all that she is the first to offer praise, or a shoulder to cry on.
"She is just the greatest kid you would ever want to coach," Dave Shoji said. "She has the greatest attitude. Her work ethic is so great. You just feel like you want to play her. She's had to take several roles. Even now, she's probably the first in on the left, right and at setter so it's hard for her to get enough reps at any one position. But she understands she is very, very valuable to us. I just can't play her in a starting role."
She might be the invisible Rainbow Wahine for those not intimately involved with the team. But if you ask her teammates, Thurlby is the heart and soul of everything remotely connected to Hawai'i.
"They need her spirit, her courage," former UH All-America Victoria Prince said last year. "Everything that you don't have, she will give you."
So, as Thurlby stands at the end of the bench, orchestrating cheers and wondering when, where or if she might go in, she has become much better than she ever wanted at understanding precisely what this team needs from each player, and what is going on in their heads.
If Hawai'i is to win tonight and tomorrow — against the winner of the other first-round match between Long Beach State and 24th-ranked Pepperdine — and get home for next week's Honolulu Regional, this is what Thurlby believes the Rainbow Wahine need from each of their prominent players:
When Thurlby came to Hawai'i from Chicago and the hard-core Sports Performance Club in 2002, a coach told her not to go somewhere where, if she got hurt right away, she wouldn't enjoy her college time.
The advice has taken on profound meaning for Thurlby. She red-shirted her first year for a final-four team. Then Kamana'o came from 'Iolani and Thurlby never could have predicted what the next four years would — or would not — bring.
She never seriously contemplated leaving. Thurlby could have been setting for Ohio State now, or starting for probably 90 percent of the teams out there. But she was drawn to Hawai'i's diversity and "learning more outside than in school."
She leaves for Europe days after this final season is over. She will finish the last 10 credits of her marketing/broadcast journalism degree in independent study and wants to play professionally — "while I'm fresh out of the blocks" — and travel, then maybe give the beach game a try.
Ironically, all she's been through here prepared Thurlby perfectly for the beach game. She had the sweet setter's hands when she came. She has had to work on blocking, passing and hitting to play any part at all on this team — at least on the court.
With one exception. Kamana'o missed her only two matches earlier this season with a hip injury. The 'Bows beat Fairfield and Northwestern, barely missing a beat and probably earning Thurlby the distinction of retiring unbeaten as a starting collegiate setter.
"I thought Cayley did a great job of running her team considering Kanoe was actively playing up 'til the match before ours," Northwestern coach Keylor Chan said. "It is never easy for an elite setter to join a program and compete for a starting position with another elite setter. Kanoe has been a wonderful setter for Hawai'i. ... It is all too easy for players to transfer because they aren't playing on game days, but I feel Cayley has put the needs of her team above her desire to compete on game day during her career and that shows a tremendous amount of character. I thought she led her team well during our match and found a way to beat us."
For Shoji, it was simply an affirmation of what he knew, and had seen in practice, all along.
"She could have handled things a lot differently and caused some chemistry problems," he said. "Anytime you've got a senior not playing a lot, those players tend to bring you down and she only brings you up. I'm really thankful for that."
Thurlby sees herself as a "career woman living in Chicago and wearing a suit," ideally working in sports, in five years. Shoji has no doubt she can rule the "Magnificent Mile" by Lake Michigan. And when she tells her professional friends, and her kids, about her time in Hawai'i, they will hear no regrets.
"It's probably one of the most memorable experiences in my life," Thurlby said. "I don't know what else is ahead, but I'll say this has been the college experience of a lifetime. You have these experiences, but you don't remember the experience. You remember the faces and the people you're with. I've got this whole network of friends and I don't know when I'll see them, but everyone is pretty awesome and really special in my heart.
"I'm a pretty spiritual person. I want to say God put me in these situations to prepare me for other situations later on."
First Round
Yesterday's Results
At Gainesville, Fla.
Florida def. Florida A&M, 3-0 (30-18, 30-16, 30-26)
Arizona State def. College of Charleston, 3-1 (30-26, 30-23, 29-31, 30-20)
At Albany, N.Y.
St. John's, N.Y. def. Albany, N.Y., 3-1 (30-21, 23-30, 30-22, 30-22)
Minnesota def. Siena, 3-0 (30-16, 30-23, 30-15)
At Los Angeles
Southern California def. Mississippi, 3-0 (30-17, 30-24, 30-23)
BYU def. UC Santa Barbara, 3-2 (27-30, 30-32, 30-27, 30-21, 15-12)
At West Lafayette, Ind.
Purdue def. Saint Louis, 3-0 (30-21, 30-20, 32-30)
Kentucky def. Ohio, 3-2 (20-30, 30-27, 24-30, 30-25, 15-9)
At Boulder, Colo.
Colorado def. New Mexico State, 3-0 (30-24, 30-20, 34-32)
Washington def. Colorado State, 3-1 (26-30, 30-26, 30-24, 30-22)
Today's Matches
At Lincoln, Neb.
American (25-6) at Nebraska (27-1)
Winthrop (34-2) vs. Northern Iowa (27-7)
At Knoxville, Tenn.
Duke (28-3) at Tennessee (19-11)
Jacksonville State (24-4) vs. San Diego (24-5)
At Long Beach, Calif.
Pepperdine (16-11) at Long Beach State (25-5)
Oregon (17-11) vs. Hawai'i (26-5)
At Fayetteville, Ark.
Missouri State (26-8) at Arkansas (16-12)
Oklahoma (26-5) vs. Oral Roberts (26-8)
At Los Angeles
UAB (27-9) at UCLA (29-3)
Utah (27-3) vs. Michigan State (19-11)
At State College, Pa.
Long Island University (25-10) at Penn State (29-2)
Cornell (18-8) vs. Hofstra (23-6)
At Louisville, Ky.
Middle Tennessee State (26-7) at Louisville (25-6)
Ohio State (23-7) vs. Belmont (24-6)
At Austin, Texas
Prairie View (23-10) at Texas (21-6)
Stephen F. Austin (30-3) vs. Alabama (17-12)
At Madison, Wis.
Notre Dame (18-13) at Wisconsin (24-6)
Iowa State (20-10) vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (24-5)
At San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Michigan (21-12) at Cal Poly (22-5)
California (20-9) vs. LSU (26-5)
At Stanford, Calif.
Sacramento State (30-5) at Stanford (25-3)
Missouri (17-12) vs. Santa Clara (20-7)
Second Round
Today's Matches
At Gainesville, Fla.
Florida (29-2) vs. Arizona State (16-14)
At Albany, N.Y.
St. John's (31-4) vs. Minnesota (24-7)
At Los Angeles
Southern California (26-4) vs. BYU (25-5)
At West Lafayette, Ind.
Purdue (22-10) vs. Kentucky (19-11)
At Boulder, Colo.
Colorado (17-11) vs. Washington (26-4)
Tomorrow's Matches
At Lincoln, Neb.
American-Nebraska winner vs. Winthrop-Northern Iowa winner
At Knoxville, Tenn.
Duke-Tennessee winner vs. Jacksonville State-San Diego winner
At Long Beach, Calif.
Pepperdine-Long Beach State winner vs. Oregon-Hawai'i winner
At Fayetteville, Ark.
Missouri State-Arkansas winner vs. Oklahoma-Oral Roberts winner
At Los Angeles
UAB-UCLA winner vs. Utah-Michigan State winner
At State College, Pa.
Long Island University-Penn State winner vs. Cornell-Hofstra winner
At Louisville, Ky.
Middle Tennessee State-Louisville winner vs. Ohio State-Belmont winner
At Austin, Texas
Prairie View-Texas winner vs. Stephen F. Austin-Alabama winner
At Madison, Wis.
Notre Dame-Wisconsin winner vs. Iowa State-Wisconsin-Milwaukee winner
At San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Michigan-Cal Poly winner vs. California-LSU winner
At Stanford, Calif.
Sacramento State-Stanford winner vs. Missouri-Santa Clara winner
Third Round
Sites TBA
Friday, Dec. 8
Lincoln winner vs. Knoxville winner
Gainesville winner vs. Albany winner
Los Angeles (USC) winner vs. Long Beach winner
Fayetteville winner vs. Los Angeles (UCLA) winner
State College winner vs. West Lafayette winner
Louisville winner vs. Boulder winner
Austin winner vs. Madison winner
San Luis Obispo winner vs. Stanford winner
Quarterfinals
Sites TBA
Saturday, Dec. 9
Lincoln-Knoxville winner vs. Gainesville-Albany winner
Los Angeles (USC)-Long Beach winner vs. Fayetteville-Los Angeles (UCLA) winner
State College-West Lafayette winner vs. Louisville-Boulder winner
Austin-Madison winner vs. San Luis Obispo-Stanford winner
Semifinals
At Qwest Center Omaha
Omaha, Neb.
Thursday, Dec. 14
Lincoln-Knoxville—Gainesville-Albany winner vs. Los Angeles (USC)-Long Beach—Fayetteville-Los Angeles (UCLA) winner
State College-West Lafayette—Louisville-Boulder winner vs. Austin-Madison—San Luis Obispo-Stanford winner
Championship
At Qwest Center Omaha
Omaha, Neb.
Saturday, Dec. 16
Semifinal winners
Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.
