ONLY in Hawaii ... Bigger ’Bows expect
to be better, tooWould some 3,000 show up for a men's volleyball match. And it was only an intrasquad scrimmage.
Last night's Block Party III raised more than $10,000 for the University of Hawaii athletic department's scholarship fund. At most schools, the men's volleyball team would have to pay the fans to come watch such a match.
Not at Manoa, where the love affair with the sport continues.
Being on the bench, instead of behind a press table, gives you another perspective.
As honorary coach of the White squad last night, I got an up-close-and-personal look at the makings of a national title contender.
The 'Bows are big, athletic, big, powerful ... did I mention big? With seven guys 6-foot-5 or taller, they've got more height than the men's basketball team.
The teams traded rocket serves and booming kills for nearly three hours. The White, with at least four of the projected starters, began dominating toward the end of Game 3.
Poised for the sweep, the White served for the match six times. The fans gave up standing for aloha ball and began cheering for the underdog Green, which responded to tie it at 16-all.
The scoring cap is a 17. White coach Tino Reyes refused to blink first and didn't call a timeout.
Clay Stanley hit wide to give the Green the 17-16 win. It was the beginning of the end as the momentum was volleyed to the other side of the court -- and stayed there.
It was what Hawaii coach Mike Wilton had hoped for -- a long match with chances for both sides to respond to challenges.
Game 4 was ugly: 15-2, and not even as close as the score.
Game 5 was worse: rally scoring with the White again serving for the match.
Oh, the frustration. Ahead, 14-12, the White needed only to sideout for the victory.
BYU transfer Torry Tukuafu appeared to win it for the White at 15-13, but referee Ernie Ho overruled the linesman and it became 14-14. Eventually Stanley would hit long and the Green would escape with a 13-15, 13-15, 17-16, 15-2, 17-15 victory.
"We needed to execute and we didn't," said Tukuafu. "We had an unfortunate call that didn't go our way. That's the breaks. It was 17-15 in the fifth. You can't ask for anything better."
"I don't know what happened in Game 3," said White teammate Russell Lockwood. "We needed some confidence. We mentally took ourselves out of the game.
"The mental game was what we were missing last season. I think we're already ahead of where we were last year. I think we have the hitters to take care of business."
And they've got the block, too. Andre Breuer is a viable Player of the Year candidate. He had 33 kills and nine blocks last night.
Newcomer Brenton Davis, touted as having more potential than Jason Ring, was in on 12 blocks. Freshman Imai Karratti, brother of Wahine hitter Leah, showed that hops run in the family.
Hmmm. Considering that Breuer, Davis and Karratti -- as well as senior Mason Kuo -- were on the Green team, maybe their win wasn't a surprise after all.
The Rainbows have two months to work on their game, both mental and physical. They've got a four-match, four-island tour with BYU later this month.
Can they make it to UCLA for the national tournament in six months? Very possibly. Hopefully, I'll be behind the press table for that one.
NLY in Hawaii II: The Wahine go for the 100,000 mark in attendance this week and, with matches against BYU and Utah, they are sure to surpass that for the fourth straight year.
Hawaii has drawn 90,052 in 14 matches at the Stan Sheriff Center, an average of 6,432. Second in the country is Nebraska with a total of 35,758 and an average of 3,576.
Cindy Luis is a Star-Bulletin sportswriter.
Her column appears weekly.
