Pomona Gets Boost From Tomoyasu : Volleyball: All-American candidate has helped Broncos climb to No. 14 in NCAA Division II poll.

Rosie Wegrich, the women’s volleyball coach at Cal Poly Pomona, does not hesitate when asked to assess the ability of Bronco senior Mitsue Tomoyasu.

Wegrich is in her first season at Pomona, an NCAA Division II school, after coaching for 16 years at Division I Arizona. She has instructed and coached against some of the nation’s best women’s volleyball players as they developed in the Pacific 10 Conference.

“Tomo would start on any Pac-10 team, with the possible exception of UCLA and Stanford,” Wegrich said. ‘She’s by far the best defensive player I have ever coached.

“I have to keep her challenged. She wants to train hard every day.”

Well, not quite every day.

Tomoyasu got her fill of practicing seven days a week, eight hours a day, when she played in Japan’s highly competitive industrial leagues.

Tomoyasu, who is just under 6-feet, was a middle blocker in Japan. When her team was not playing a match, her daily schedule included eight hours of blocking and hitting drills.

“Every year during Christmas break I go back and watch my old team practice or go to matches and cheer for them,” Tomoyasu said. “As I’m sitting there watching them, I wonder, ‘How did I do that?’ ”

Tomoyasu, 27, set a Pomona single-season record in 1991 with 517 kills as an outside hitter. The Broncos finished 25-8 under Gene Krieger and fell a victory short of qualifying for the postseason’s elite eight tournament.

An All-American candidate this season, she has moved from the left side to the right, opposite the setter, and is expected to help an experienced Bronco team contend for the championship of the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. and qualify for a berth in the NCAA playoffs.

Last weekend, Tomoyasu was named all-tournament after she helped the Broncos win a tournament at Christ College Irvine. Pomona, ranked 14th in Division II, travels to Cal State Dominguez Hills this weekend to participate in an eight-team tournament that also includes Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State Los Angeles, Sonoma State, Chapman, Cal State Hayward and Cal State Stanislaus.

“I think we’re going to be better this year because we have a lot of returning players,” Tomoyasu said. “We’re in pretty good shape.”

Tomoyasu transferred to Pomona last year after playing two seasons at Pasadena City College, where she led the Lancers to the 1990 state tournament. She is studying international business.

Tomoyasu came to the United States to learn English. She planned to stay only a year. But volleyball, and the friends and scholarship opportunities it afforded, became the vehicle that offered her a chance to pursue a degree.

“I don’t know how or why I got it, but I always had the feeling that I wanted to go to another country and do something different,” Tomoyasu said. “When I first got (to Los Angeles), I had a hard time adjusting. Playing volleyball helped me make friends and practice my English.

“When I first started playing at Pasadena, I would ask, ‘How come they don’t practice every day? How come they only practice a few hours?’ But I got used to it pretty quick.”

Tomoyasu’s experience at Pasadena and Pomona have influenced another Japanese player to come to the United States. Akiko Matsushita, who played for Japan’s national team and was a teammate of Tomoyasu’s in the industrial league, is attending Mt. San Antonio College this year.

Tomoyasu enjoys the beach and said she will probably participate in sand or grass court tournaments when she finishes her indoor career.

Wegrich said she has already toyed with the thought of asking Tomoyasu to stay as an assistant once she completes her eligibility.

“I’m going to take advantage of having a player like her around,” Wegrich said. “There won’t be a player to replace her next year. She’s superb.”