Throughout the month of November, University of Hawai‘i middle blocker/outside
hitter Emily Hartong will
write a weekly blog on her teams progress and what it's like to be a student-athlete in-season. Check back each Monday to read a new entry.
Monday, November 30, 2010
Hello.
This is Emily Hartong, freshman middle blocker/outside hitter from the
University of Hawai`i volleyball team, here for my final blog.
This last week at the WAC Tournament we played the University of Idaho on
Tuesday and took the match in three, therefore we moved on to play in the
finals on Wednesday. We played Utah State who had an amazing match and beat us
in three.
A huge thanks to all our amazing fans who made it out to Las Vegas to support
us. It was a great atmosphere to play in, as if we were back in the Stan
Sheriff Center. My family was able to come so it was nice seeing all them, and
even the ones who couldn’t make it were still watching. Even my Grandpa Joe, a
Pearl Harbor survivor, was watching it back in California so that made me
smile!
Today after this morning’s practice our team sat around and watched with
anticipation the ESPN NCAA Selection Show to see who we play, where we play,
and when we play.
Our first round match will be against Portland State at the University of
Washington. Tomorrow night we will be heading to Seattle around 9 o’clock!!
Thanks again for reading my blogs and keep up with the NCAA Championship! Go
Bows!
Emily Hartong
Monday, November 22, 2010
Hello. This is Emily Hartong, freshman middle
blocker/outside hitter from the University of Hawai‘i volleyball team, here for
my fourth blog.
This past Thursday was our senior night where Dani Mafua and Elizabeth Ka’aihue
had their last hoorah in the Stan Sheriff Center. It was the cherry on top of
four unforgettable seasons that they have played in that arena. After our
win that night over the University of Idaho, there was a very special ceremony
that was held to honor those amazing seniors.
Elizabeth’s uncle sang a song that carried love throughout the arena then she
and Dani were introduced with their families to the entire arena and graced
with lei after lei. Following that was a short film were the girls were
featured. Afterwards, the entire team walked around the arena to give
autographs for our all phenomenal fans who come out and support us. It’s
such an awesome feeling knowing how many people are there to watch you play and
are cheering for you.
This past Sunday was the WAC banquet held in Las Vegas. It was so cool to be
around all the girls that you see across the net throughout the season, but at
the same time it was so hard to recognize everyone outside of their
uniforms!
Many awards were given out to very deserving players. A special congrats
goes out to Dave Shoji for Coach of the Year and Kanani Danielson for Player of
the Year! (Note: Emily was named the WAC Freshman of the Year as well)
This week we will be wrapping up the WAC with the conference tournament.
Tomorrow we will be playing the University of Idaho and the winner of our game
will be playing in the finals on Wednesday. Good luck to everyone!
Thanks for reading!
Emily Hartong
Monday,
November 15, 2010
Hello. This is Emily
Hartong, freshman middle blocker/outside hitter from the University of Hawaii
volleyball team, here for my third blog.
This last week we played three more WAC teams on the road: Fresno State, San
Jose State, and the University of Nevada. Although they were three tough
matches, considering the opponents and the fact that we were on the road, we
took each match in three straight sets.
It was nice being back in California. I haven’t been back since I left
for school in early July. Some of the Cali girls were fortunate enough to
see their families who made the drive to either our Fresno or San Jose
game. My parents made the drive up to San Jose and it was such a treat having
dinner with them. As well as having family as our fans in San Jose, we
had many dedicated Hawaii fans present. It was awesome having so many
supporters on the road with us!
This Thursday, November 18th, we will be playing the University of Idaho.
Besides being our last regular season game, it will also be our senior night;
so you know we will have a great atmosphere in the arena and incentive to play
our best.
Then the following Saturday night we will be departing for Las Vegas where the
annual WAC Tournament will be taking place. This last week of play will
determine where each team will be seeded, so we’ll see how things play out!
Thanks for reading my third blog and stay tuned for WAC Tournament!
Emily Hartong
Monday,
November 8, 2010
Hi.
This is Emily Hartong, freshman middle blocker/outside hitter from the
University of Hawai'i volleyball team, here for my second blog.
This
last week was not quite as hectic as the past weeks have been. After our
victories over three WAC teams last weekend, we didn’t play again until this
past Friday, November 5th, which was against a non-conference team, Hawai'i
Pacific University. It was a good match with a awesome vibe considering
how cool it was to play another Hawai'i team, we ended up taking the win in
three.
To
prepare for this week we had practice each day with two solid days of
lifting. Granted, we don’t get to lift quite as much as we did preseason
due to our busy schedule so we try to fit one in there as much as possible to
keep us in shape for when playoffs roll around.
This
Tuesday we will be heading to the mainland for three more WAC opponents. We
will be playing Fresno State, San Jose State and the University of Nevada.
It’ll be another long week on the road and a quick turnaround after our back to
back games.
With
the countdown of four WAC matches left, not including the tournament which will
be held in Las Vegas, it gives our team a lot of incentive to really come out
and play hard, to just keep preparing ourselves for the playoffs. Each game is
an opportunity to make ourselves better, to perfect our game in the areas which
need improvement.
Thank
you for reading my second blog!
- Emily
Monday, November 1, 2010
Hi. I am Emily Hartong, a freshman middle blocker/outside
hitter on the University of Hawai‘i volleyball team. I grew up in Long
Beach, California, with my parents, sister and two brothers. As a child, I
played soccer, softball and was an active swimmer. Once I began playing
club volleyball, at the age of eleven, I knew it was my calling. From then
on I focused all my attention and passion into that one sport.
During my sophomore year in high school was when the crucial
decision making of what college I was going to be playing at came into action.
Hawai‘i was always a top school for me. There were so many elements about
Hawai‘i that intrigued me. They have one of the, if not the best,
attendance numbers with all their amazing fans that come out and support the
Rainbow Wahine and create an awesome atmosphere to play in. Not to mention,
Dave Shoji is such a phenomenal coach. He has accomplished so much and I knew
if I had the opportunity to play for him, I would learn a lot. Besides
these reasons, Hawai‘i has an incredible history and a legacy to indulge, with
all the amazing women that have played here and what they done.
After the Junior Olympics of my sophomore year was the when
I received my first letter from the university. I’ll never forget that moment
when I was swimming in my pool and my dad came out and showed me, I was so
excited! I knew then where I wanted to play for the next four years of my life.
Season has been going really well. So far we are undefeated
in the WAC and hopefully can continue that. Tonight we will be playing New
Mexico State. It’ll definitely be a tough match. They’re a great team and will
have a high incentive to come out and want to win, especially in our gym. We
played them earlier this season and took the win, but we know that tonight they
will no doubt come out stronger.
Thank you all for reading my blog! I’ll be sure to keep you
updated on all the news circling with the Rainbow Wahine and the rest of our
season!
-Emily