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Wright State's starting libero digs new setting
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Leilani Tafuna lived in Hawaii all her life, so when she visited Wright State last February wearing shorts and flip flops, "I guess I was a little underdressed," she said.
Underdressed maybe, but not unimpressed. Tafuna liked what she saw and heard and committed to the WSU volleyball team, where she now is the starting libero for the Raiders. The team has won six of its previous nine matches entering a match with Indiana State on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
"I had spent my whole life in Hawaii, and when I got here, everyone said, 'What, are you crazy?' But I bonded right away with the coaches and players. And I wanted something different.
"I have to go through my closet and go through my wardrobe. I haven't actually gone through a winter yet."
Volleyball coach Trina Smith had an answer for everything when she saw Tafuna at a Las Vegas tournament last year. First, she convinced Tafuna to make the recruiting trip right away, without returning to Hawaii. That's why Tafuna didn't have the clothes she needed to visit Ohio in the winter.
Then Smith pointed out Tafuna lives in Hawaii and there was a nearly two-month break from classes in November and December.
"Of course, I left out the part where she comes back to the coldest part of the year," Smith said.
No matter. Tafuna, who has two older brothers playing football — one at Navy, the other at New Mexico State — is happy to be here.
"I started playing volleyball when I was 7, on the beach," Tafuna said. "Coach Smith said I better be ready when I came here. I was an outside hitter, but always wanted to be a libero. I have my chance."
The next two weekends, WSU takes a four-match Horizon League swing to Green Bay, Wis., Milwaukee, Youngstown State and Cleveland State. Tafuna had better look for a jacket, or at least a heavy sweatshirt.
'Best team ever'
Women's soccer coach Pat Fitzgerald has a winning record with 20 freshmen and sophomores on a roster of 28.
"We've been able to pull things out, but the odds might be working against us," Fitzgerald said. "With this group, it's like a Forrest Gump box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get."
On the other hand, even with a quiet 8-7-1 record, Fitzgerald said, "This is the best team I've ever coached."
The team is in Horizon League action this weekend at Alumni Field, hosting Detroit at 7 p.m. Friday and Youngstown State at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Basketball changes
ESPNU has grabbed a couple of basketball games, necessitating changes in the men's and women's schedules. The men's game at Detroit has been moved back a day to Friday, Jan. 16, at 9 p.m., and the women's game at Butler was moved up a day to Friday, Feb. 6, also at 9. Because of that move, the women will now play Valparaiso at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157
or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.
