Happy Birthday, Dave Shoji and Jim Leahey; Congrats to incoming Wahine Mia Johnson, district co-MVP

Jamm Aquino/HSA

A very happy birthday to former Wahine coach Dave Shoji, born on this day in 1946. He shares the same birthday as retired sportscaster Jim Leahey, the latter born in 1942).

We often celebrated Shoji’s birthday during the NCAA tournament including 2015 in College Station. That was a near-disaster with the No. 7-ranked Wahine, snubbed again by the NCAA and unseeded, opened against TCU in the first round. With the match tied 1-1, Hawai’i got stuck in a very bad rotation in Set 3 when leading 24-19. The Horned Frogs scored seven straight to take Set 3 26-24.

The Wahine pulled out Set 4 25-21 and then Set 5 15-13. They went on to defeat host Texas A&M and then up to Iowa for the huge win over Penn State.

On this date in 2003, No. 2 Hawai’i opened the NCAA tournament at home with a sweep of Idaho. The Wahine also hosted the regional, and advanced to the final four in Dallas.

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Fall 2021 commit Mia Johnson was named Co-MVP on the All-District 24-6A team. She’s a senior OH at Clear Falls, Texas. Her coach, Alison Willams, was named Coach of the Year. The Knights won the district at 11-1, finished 18-4, losing  in the state tournament’s regional semifinal by Dawson, 25-22, 20-25, 13-25,  25-23, 18-16. Johnson had a match-high 25 kills, hit .469 (25-2-49), 14 digs with three of her team’s four aces, and 2 solo and 2 assist blocks. Was not aced once in 16 receptions.

Correction to the final score. I originally typed it in as a reverse sweep. Above score is corrected. Thanks to CruiseControl for pointing it out. 

6 Comments

  1. Hi Cindy. FYI the Falls vs. Dawson match was actually not a reverse sweep. The set scores for sets 1 and 3 are backwards. It should be 25-22, 20-25, 13-25, 25-23, 18-16. Clear Falls won sets 2 and 3. The match is on YT:
    [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz4P69zpuVU[/url]

  2. That was a great tourney year! It was the first time I ever saw Dave almost jump out of his pants in celebration when they beat Penn State. If I remember correctly, didn’t the Wahine sweep them? Hau’oli La Hanau Dave Shoji and Jim Leahy!
    I’m hoping Mia Johnson will be another undersized hitter like Brooke Van Sickle where the other team won’t know, or believe, that she came outa nowhere!
    Much mahalos for your dedicated effort Cindy! GO BOWS!

    • Yes they swept Penn State. 25-22, 27-25, 25-16. Snapped a five-match losing streak to the Nittany Lions. We’ll have to see about Johnson. But this coaching staff has an eye for talent and has been getting the most out of their players.

  3. By the way, Cindy, where do you get all those banner photos from? I’d love to live on the waterfront like that!

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