For the second time, University of Hawaii women's volleyball coach Dave Shoji has been named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I National Coach of the Year. The honor was given out at the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Championship Tournament.
Shoji was also named National Coach of the Year in 1982. The Rainbow Wahine had an incredible season in Coach Shoji's 35th year at Hawaii.
They went 16-0 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) giving Hawaii its' 14th straight WAC regular season title. Coach Shoji and the Rainbow Wahine also won their 10th consecutive WAC tournament.
On October 17th, Coach Shoji recorded his 1,000 career win as a coach. He was the second coach to have reached this mark. Penn State's Coach Russ Rose became the third when the Nittany Lions defeated Hawaii in the semifinals of the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Championship on Thursday.
The 2009 NCAA Volleyball Championship was the 28th time Hawaii has gone to the tournament. The Rainbow Wahine has made it to the Regionals in all but three times.
Hawaii was seeded number 12 in the NCAA Volleyball Championship tournament, even though they were ranked 3rd since October. As a result of Hawaii's incredible season, Coach Shoji was named the WAC Coach of the Year for 2009.
Shoji, 63, has coached Hawaii for over half of his life. His players refer to him as "Grandpa." He is just as fond of them as they are of him.
The 2009 Volleyball Coach of the Year and the rest of the Rainbow Wahine will have to wait another year to win the NCAA Volleyball Championship. Coach Shoji and Hawaii lost to the number one seed Penn State and the National Volleyball Player of the Year, Megan Hodge in four games in the semifinals.
Written by Denise Clay
For Huliq
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