Then there is Danielle Heilala Keali'iwahinekalahanohano'onalani Mafua, more commonly known as Dani in Manoa. Like Satele, she is connected at the hip bone to half of Hawai'i. Apparently, it is the extremely athletic half.

Father Daniel was a football/basketball/track star at Kaimuki, where he also coached. Former UH offensive lineman Manly Kanoa III and former men's volleyball player Jimmy Kalaukoa are also related, to name a few. Her volleyball pedigree came from mom Joni.

Her competitiveness, and probably many of her athletic gifts, came from all of the above. She will need it all, and much more, as one of the heir apparents to Kamana'o.

The Rainbow Wahine, who open their season Aug. 24, grew accustomed to Kamana'o's All-America face at setter the past four years. For the next few years, that face will probably be Mafua's or Stephanie Brandt's, who transferred after starting for UC Santa Barbara last year.

They will follow in remarkable fingertips, with the fame and fallout that comes with it.

"We know our setter position is not going to be as good as last year," UH coach Dave Shoji said. "That's obvious. We had a four-time All-American. There's going to be a real adjustment period."

Then Shoji, looking strangely serene, threw a curve ball.

"I don't think setting will be the focal point this year," he said seriously. "You may not notice the setters as much, but they're going to get the job done. I'm confident of that."

So is associate coach Kari Ambrozich, a former UH setter who was here to see the radical switch in 1997, after Robyn Ah Mow — who has set the U.S. at two Olympics — graduated.

"Dani and Stephanie can't and shouldn't be overwhelmed by expectations," Ambrozich said. "I really don't know what fans think, but I do think our fans are really knowledgeable and understand there's a difference between every setter we've had in our program. Both of these setters are going to be exciting so fans will enjoy them. They are totally different than Kanoe, but that's not a bad thing.

"I think people will be relatively surprised in a good way. I think we're in good hands. And they are only going to get better as they get more comfortable."

Brandt can lean on her freshman year, when she guided the Gauchos to yet another NCAA Tournament. The 5-foot-9 sophomore led the Big West in assists and aces and was named to the all-freshman team.

Mafua has her senior year of setting at Mid-Pacific Institute to fall back on — the only year she set — and a redshirt season when all she did was watch Kamana'o and Cayley Thurlby, and flick thousands of volleyballs into the air at practice.

She was watched constantly by all three Hawai'i coaches. All are setters and notoriously picky about everything from the precise positioning of feet to the "hittable" nature of the set.

They recruited Mafua more for her tremendous athletic gifts than her setting skills, confident they could create someone to fill the huge gap Kamana'o left. That confidence has only grown over the last year.

Shoji admits this year's offense will be "very simple." The coaches are actually more worried about getting the ball to the setter — passing was a massive challenge last year — than what comes after.

"We've got enough firepower at every position — left side, right side and the middle — that decision-making probably won't be hard for either one of them," Ambrozich said. "As long as the (set) location is in a good spot where they can hit the ball I like our chances because we've got really good attackers."

That should be a comfort to Brandt and Mafua, who also has her close ohana to offer constant support.

"I've been waiting a long time for this," she said. "Now I'm not a redshirt. I'm so fired up to play. Walking in here again, this arena, I felt like a freshman again, like I'd never been through it. I'm so fired up."

NOTES

The annual alumnae match is scheduled for Oct. 28 at 3 p.m., prior to the Rainbow Wahine's 5 p.m. WAC match with Louisiana Tech. The night will also be part of the 35th anniversary celebration of Rainbow Wahine Volleyball. A sculpture of Dr. Donnis Thompson, Hawai'i's first Rainbow Wahine athletic director, will be dedicated at 2 p.m.

Family news: Melissa Villaroman (2000-2003) has a wedding date in September, and Melody Eckmier (2001-2004) and husband Benjamin Studer are expecting their first child in October.

Career news: Jennifer Carey (1999-2002) is the new assistant coach at Georgia Tech, after two years as Texas A&M's director of volleyball operations; Jessica Sudduth Kaven (1997-2000), who was an assistant for former UH associate coach Charlie Wade last year at Pacific, is now head coach at Cabrillo Community College in Santa Cruz, Calif.

WAC news: The 2007 WAC Volleyball Tournament begins with quarterfinals Nov. 15 at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M. Semifinals are the following day with the championship scheduled for Nov. 17. Five all-WAC first-team players return this season, including Hawai'i's Kari Gregory, Jamie Houston and Juliana Sanders.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.