The chance to play against some of the nation's best led Camilla Ah-Hoy to Corvallis, Ore. — home to Oregon State University.

Ah-Hoy, a 5-foot-10 setter from La'ie, enters her senior season as the undisputed starter at the position and one of two captains for the Beavers.

The 2006 Kahuku graduate is sixth on OSU's career assists list with 2,028 — including 1,143 (10.21 per set) in a breakout junior campaign last year.

"I definitely think our team is good, we've had our flashes where we played with the best, but we just need to find the right chemistry and be able to finish games," said Ah-Hoy, who said the Beavers' 14-17 record in 2008 wasn't indicative of their ability. "I think leadership and commitment will have a lot to do with it."

Ah-Hoy has tackled the leadership component head-on since being named co-captain during the winter.

"Ever since then, I've had more responsibility than the rest of my teammates, but I kind of expected it," Ah-Hoy said. "In the past we've had captains that were our liberos, so I was already kind of the on-court captain."

Beavers coach Terry Liskevych said it wasn't much of a decision.

"Camilla is a great leader on the floor and she does a lot of things for us," said Liskevych, who coached the U.S. Women's National Team from 1985 to 1996 — including a bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. "She's very coachable and a great competitor, she's certainly come a long way since she's come here."

In 2008, Ah-Hoy posted eight double-double (assists-digs) matches and she recorded 60 or more assists in three matches, including a career-high 63 against Washington State. Ah-Hoy notched back-to-back 15-dig matches against USC and UCLA with her season total of 232 digs putting her second on the team.

But, success hasn't come without heartbreak for Ah-Hoy, a two-time Advertiser All-State player. Midway through her freshman season, Ah-Hoy suffered a torn ACL in her right knee that sidelined her for the rest of the year.

"It was really hard for me, because I just started getting into the role of starting as a freshman, then not even half way into the season I got hurt," Ah-Hoy said. "I was still struggling with homesickness and the rehabbing — it was the first major injury I had in my life — and being away from my parents for the first time, that was the hardest part ... it was a hard road."

Ah-Hoy rebounded from the injury in time for the 2007 season and again took over the starting job at setter midway through the year.

She went on to record 468 assists with a career high 23 digs against UCLA. In another meeting with the Bruins, Ah-Hoy had 38 assists and 17 digs to lead OSU to an upset of the perennial powerhouse.

The Beavers went 10-20 that year, an improvement from the 3-24 record they posted in 2006. OSU's 14-17 record last year was its best under Liskevych since he became the program's 10th head coach in 2005.

"It's not about having a good team one year, we want to be good all the time," Liskevych said. "We want to make the NCAA's 20 years in a row and we've had a lot of good wins under our belt, but it's a matter of winning in the Pac-10 and against NCAA tournament-caliber teams."

The Beavers have undoubtedly struggled in the mighty Pac-10 — going 6-48 in the past three seasons against conference foes — but Ah-Hoy described the experience as "really, really fun.

"Coming from Hawai'i, not everyone is that big in high school, but in the Pac-10, you have huge girls that can play front and back row and you don't really get a break because every team is good," Ah-Hoy said. "But, that makes it even more fun because you're playing at a high level."

Said Liskevych: "It's just a great conference, every team top to bottom makes for a great match every night. Our conference has some great coaches, great players and a lot of tradition."

Ah-Hoy — a two-time Academic All-Conference honoree — said she would have it no other way.

"It was hard for me to pick a college, I didnt know if OSU was the right one, but it was the last school I visited and I got that feeling that it was the right school," she said. "I've actually had a good time here. Corvallis is a small town, there's not really that much to do, so you can't really get into too much trouble, but I've grown to love it here."

Ah-Hoy and the Beavers report Sunday for fall camp with the first practice set for Monday. OSU opens its season on Aug. 28 against Cal Poly in the first day of the ASICS Classic in Fort Collins, Colo.

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Four players with Hawai'i ties were named to the preseason All-Pac-10 Conference first team by http://www.CollegeFootballNews.com. Oregon junior quarterback Jeremiah Masoli (Saint Louis '06) and Arizona State senior offensive tackle Sean Lauvao (Farrington '05 of Honolulu) are on the offense while Washington senior defensive end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim (Hawai'i Prep '04 of Waikoloa) and California senior defensive end Tyson Alualu (Saint Louis '05 of Honolulu) are on the defense.